Fierce Ghost

Biodata

Nature and origins

Fierce Ghosts are generally described as entities without reason or humanity that kill according to specific rules. Wen Jingyan compares them to code: when a rule’s conditions are met, the ghost executes it 1 397 423.

The Prophet describes the Ghost World as a vast domain overlapping reality. Many Fierce Ghosts enter reality through weak points in the barrier between them, sometimes only as incomplete fragments. He cautions that whether the Ghost World is the ultimate origin of the supernatural remains unproven 256.

Intelligence and exceptions

• Ordinary Fierce Ghosts are generally unintelligent and do not deliberately erase their traces 274.
• Some Ghost Tamers become intelligent Fierce Ghosts after supernatural erosion consumes their consciousness 208.
• Beauty Goddess’s revived ghost inherited memories and gradually developed intelligence, apparently because many of the ghosts its host controlled were consciousness-based 338.
• Ghost Relative reportedly confuses perceptions and brings misfortune through passive abilities, yet tells He Ming she wants an ordinary life 70.

Forms and abilities

Fierce Ghosts range from complete entities to fragments such as ghost hands and teeth. More complete ghosts are generally more terrifying and revive faster when controlled 2.

Killing rules

Each ghost’s trigger can be simple or complex. Identifying it can make an encounter easier to survive or a ghost easier to contain 10 413.

• Looking-Up Ghost kills people who look up 10.
• Ghost Hand kills by touch and can use corpses’ arms to produce more hands 20.
• A time-related Fierce Ghost hunts people who have traveled through time. Kang Yu says the manifestations people see are clones or derivative phenomena rather than its true body 307 309.
• Suspicious Ghost manifests a victim’s greatest fear when they suspect a ghost is present; its curse can spread to people who contact the victim 6 314.

Ghost Domains

A Ghost Domain is a supernatural space derived from a Fierce Ghost’s power. The ghost controls the space and can alter its environment or even rewrite physical laws within it 4 14.

• The Mirage Ghost’s domain blends into reality and allows Hu Jiu to switch objects between phantom and solid states, except for gold 4.
• The Frozen-to-Death Ghost’s domain spreads frost, freezing people and vegetation. Its power can encroach on another Ghost Domain 208 210.

Ghost Slaves

Ghost Slaves are puppets controlled by a Fierce Ghost after it kills them. They can retain some living instincts and help the ghost kill 4.

Other powers

Ghost Tamers and revival

A Ghost Tamer controls a Fierce Ghost and can use some of its power, but the ghost continually erodes the host. Using its power makes it more active and accelerates that erosion; when the host dies, the ghost revives in the corpse 397 413.

• Controlling another ghost can create a balance between conflicting supernatural powers, though an imbalance can leave that stability fragile 1 120.
• The Ghost Doctor’s power healed illness and injury, but his body deteriorated as his ghost revived. His patients also suffered delayed costs, including shortened lifespans and accelerated aging 306.
• Hu Jiu used the Ghost Book and Ghost Pen to protect his body and consciousness while drawing on the Mirage Ghost’s power, forming a stable loop 54.
• After Hu Jiu attempted to subdue the Bronze Ancient Tree, it consumed the last trace of his humanity 127.

Classification and containment

The Supernatural Investigation Bureau established a D-to-S classification system for Fierce Ghosts 423. An earlier international ranking also assigned Ghost Story an X threat level 6.

Wen Jingyan states that a Fierce Ghost cannot be destroyed once it exists, only contained, restrained, delayed, or redirected 414.

• Gold containment: A completely sealed golden container can hold a physical Fierce Ghost because supernatural power cannot penetrate gold 397 414.
• Conflicting rules: Ghosts with opposing rules can restrain each other. Wen cites the Looking-Up and Looking-Down Ghosts as an example 414.
• Supernatural suppression: The Ghost-Drawing Talisman can suppress corporeal Fierce Ghosts 157.
• Burial: In the Ghost World, Du Zhong identified corpses containing Fierce Ghosts whose revival was suppressed by burial clothes, the land, trees, and sunlight 349.
• Conventional weapons: Modern weapons, including nuclear bombs, do not harm Fierce Ghosts. Gold bullets can harass a ghost but do not inflict effective damage 1 48.

History

The Prophet states that Fierce Ghosts existed in ancient times and may lie behind some legends and historical accounts. He attributes the modern Supernatural Revival in part to weakened barriers, divisions within Big Dipper, and reckless government experiments 256.

In another world, Tian Guanglu’s father recorded an earlier supernatural era in which people controlled Fierce Ghosts to fight them. A Ghost Tamer later sealed countless ghosts and killed Tamers who opposed his effort to eliminate the supernatural 388.

The Time Management Bureau repeatedly used Rollback to avert the world’s destruction. According to No. 37, successive Rollbacks produced new world-ending Fierce Ghosts and worsened the cycle 318.

As Erasure spread, the Investigation Bureau released contained Fierce Ghosts to form a defensive line. Cheng Linzhou stated that grade B and higher supernatural entities could resist or delay Erasure 445.