Hu Jiu

Biodata

Power Progression

Background and History

Hu Jiu grew up with parents who married and had a child largely to conform to social expectations. When he misbehaved, he could be confined in a cramped, dark room. The family had little contact after he became an adult 252.

In his first life, Hu Jiu joined Headquarters as a Ghost Tamer but died during a supernatural conflict at a meeting. Reborn before a major incident in Lizhou City, he used his foreknowledge to pursue the Ghost Book and Mirage Ghost, intending to seize an opportunity originally associated with Chu Shan 1.

Appearance

Hu Jiu was initially good-looking and well-built, with a gentle, modest appearance that concealed an unsettling quality 5.

• Dimple: A small dimple marked the right side of his face 5.
• Supernatural changes: After mastering the Ghost Book and Pen, his face became paper-pale with black veins, and part of his body flickered between solid and insubstantial 54.
• Bronze Tree form: After absorbing the Bronze Ancient Tree, he initially appeared as a towering tree with a human face growing from its trunk 130.
• Disguises: He can alter his appearance, including adopting the female identity Queen of Spades 25 110.

Personality

Hu Jiu openly regards his own interests as paramount. He recognizes himself as a villain and sees no reason to excuse his conduct, though he frequently presents a courteous or helpful exterior to others 1 31 343.

He is cautious, suspicious, and willing to manipulate appearances. During one Linjiang incident, he hid outside a dangerous Ghost Domain, then accepted credit when it dissipated. He also maintained a respectable public image while concealing crimes and framing others 16 44 126.

His ruthlessness extends to bystanders: he once unleashed Black Cloud over Linjiang City to counter a suspected enemy, preventing anyone from leaving. Even so, he can cooperate or offer protection when doing so serves his interests 60 139 229.

Abilities & Skills

Mirage Ghost

Hu Jiu’s central ability creates a Ghost Domain that blends into reality and manipulates the boundary between illusion and substance 4 54.

• Turns objects within the domain into phantoms or makes phantoms solid; gold is an exception 4 54.
• Conceals himself, alters his appearance, senses his surroundings, and teleports within the domain 11 25 54.
• Makes his own body insubstantial, rendering it immune to physical attacks 54.
• Copies supernatural abilities, though early copies operated at roughly thirty percent of the originals’ strength. Converting a captured ghost entirely into a phantom could take a very long time 54.

Ghost Book and Ghost Pen

The Book and Pen warp reality through writing and drawing. The Pen is suited to creating objects, rules, or concepts, while the Book modifies things already present in reality 54.

• Combined writing persists unless both the Book and Pen are destroyed 54.
• Hu Jiu used them to protect his consciousness, tame the Mirage Ghost, and immobilize a ghost resistant to several other abilities 54 123.
• Both can change form, although the eye on the Ghost Book’s cover remains visible 55.

Bronze Ancient Tree

The Bronze Ancient Tree greatly strengthened Hu Jiu’s ability to materialize thoughts and create supernatural effects 127 130.

• His uncontrolled thoughts could alter the environment and his own appearance, so he placed a seal on the power 130.
• He can create simple artificial supernatural items and ghost-like entities. These creations are crude and generally need their power replenished over time 130 131.

Ghost-Drawing Talisman

Hu Jiu produces enhanced black talismans after merging with the Ghost-Drawing Talisman 166 168.

• The underlying ability can ward off evil and suppress ghosts 168.
• His Ghost-Summoning Talismans attract nearby Fierce Ghosts and can potentially draw unknown ghosts into reality 168.
• He is wary of creating clones because he expects a copy of himself to seek independence; he nevertheless created one when threatened by a time-related enemy 168 311.

Magic Mirror

The Magic Mirror lets Hu Jiu copy Fierce Ghosts and Supernatural Items. After taming it, he copied most of his collection, although several powerful ghosts and items could not be copied 212.

Other Powers

• Dreams and curses: Hu Jiu can invade dreams and kill remotely with curses 158.
• Beauty Goddess: Its power gives him extreme bewitchment and mental-control abilities, including the ability to compel worship 342.
• Supernatural Game: He can send people into supernatural scenarios 343.

Equipment and Items

• Ghost Book and Ghost Pen — His reality-warping implements and the foundation of his perfected control over the Mirage Ghost 54.
• Bloodstained White Silk / White Sash — A strangling weapon he used against an attacker; he later replicated its power 7 54.
• Hanging Rope — Gao Qiuhai’s noose, which Headquarters allowed Hu Jiu to keep after Gao attacked him 120.
• Golden Corpse Bags and Containers — Used to store bodies and contain Fierce Ghosts 120 229.
• Eerie Flashlight — A supernatural item capable of immobilizing a Fierce Ghost, useful when Hu Jiu needed time to copy an ability 19.
• Longevity Candle — A red candle that borrows the lifespan of those who blow on its flame for its holder 55.
• Wooden bead bracelets — Supernatural products supplied to Headquarters that gradually turned wearers into Hu Jiu’s devotees 255 310.

Relationships

• Fu Youhua — A Headquarters minister who valued Hu Jiu’s effectiveness but distrusted his conduct. Their working relationship deteriorated after Headquarters broke free of Hu Jiu’s supernatural control 161 255 325.
• Xiao Mei — Hu Jiu’s Headquarters operator, with whom he maintained a relatively amicable working relationship 120 342.
• Qian Ying — A police contact in Linjiang City who worked with Hu Jiu on supernatural incidents 16 197 229.
• Yue Renchun — A fellow Ghost Tamer with whom Hu Jiu cooperated in Longevity Village and Yuzhou City. Their alliance was transactional and guarded 27 29 44 54.
• He Ming — A survivor Hu Jiu initially kept nearby for his potential usefulness. He Ming came to regard Hu Jiu as reliable, and Hu Jiu later rescued him from pursuing Ghost Tamers 60 136 139.
• Gao Qiuhai — The Ghost Tamer known as Hanged Ghost, whom Hu Jiu killed after Gao tried to take his Fierce Ghost 120.
• Han Yang — Sought to trade for Hu Jiu’s Magic Mirror; Hu Jiu later suspected him of provoking incidents to exhaust him and seize it 219 229.
• Du Zhong — Hu Jiu’s companion in the Ghost World and later in the Horror Game world 349 451 456.

Story Role and Major Arcs

Linjiang and Longevity Village

After joining Headquarters, Hu Jiu killed a Ghost Tamer who attacked him and took over as the person in charge of Linjiang City. In Longevity Village, he investigated the Peng family’s haunting alongside Yue Renchun and encountered supernatural effects that drained lifespan 7 29 30 41.

Yuzhou and Xihe

Hu Jiu investigated Yuzhou City’s transformed inhabitants and the disappearance of Yue Renchun. He and Yue later agreed on a false account that implicated Su Jinghang and other groups. In Xihe City, Hu Jiu warned authorities about Ghost Grass while secretly collecting it 43 44 60.

Bronze Tree and Langzhou

After confronting Gao Qiuhai, Hu Jiu entered an ancient tomb and absorbed the Bronze Ancient Tree. He subsequently rescued He Ming in Langzhou City and took charge of Headquarters’ investigation, using the mission to demonstrate his strength and pursue Chu Shan 120 127 130 139 161.

Tianji, Headquarters, and Big Dipper

Hu Jiu fought Tianji and later tamed his Magic Mirror. Following a crisis at Headquarters, he leveraged his strength to secure access to its resources and intelligence. He subsequently joined Big Dipper under a special mission arrangement 201 212 255 280.

At Fantasy Park, he defeated a queen but warned that she might transfer her consciousness and suspected she was an impostor. A later confrontation with a time-manipulating black-robed figure revealed that Hu Jiu had sent a copy in his place; the copy was destroyed 301 310 311.

Time Management Bureau and Beyond

Hu Jiu confronted figures connected to the Time Management Bureau, captured the Beauty Goddess, and sent survivors into his Supernatural Game. After leaving an erasing universe with Du Zhong, he traced the Horror Game to its brain-like core, destroyed it, and took a crystal of uncertain nature 334 341 343 451 456.

In the finale, Hu Jiu flew through a void, saw worlds he had experienced, and emerged from a screen in front of a person at a computer 470.

Notable Quotes

“As far as I’m concerned, everything you say to condemn me is a compliment.” 343

“Strength and authority go hand in hand. If you have great strength, you should have corresponding authority.” 325

“Call it a 2D character or an NPC, I am who I am.” 470