Fang Shenyan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Fang Shenyan (方慎言)
Alias(es)	Mr. Fang; Teacher Fang; Manager Fang; “Xiao Fang” during a regression period 362 597
Species/Race	Human; able to transform into a ghost through the White-faced Ghost Mask 243 340
Gender	Male 109
Age	31 372
Affiliation	Tianhai Hotel Seventh Branch 372
Occupation/Role	Seventh Branch staff member; later a top-tier Branch Manager 372 1124
Status	Alive; was reported dead during the Rose Hotel incident, but later continued operating with the Seventh Branch 1548 1584 1645
Condition	Lost his left arm during the World Heritage Museum mission; suffers from late-stage lung cancer that later appeared suppressed 562 1307 1645
First Appearance	24

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Supernatural perception awakened	109	Gains the ability to decipher illusions and perceive ghosts’ movement trajectories, allowing him to guide Ji Li through danger.
Ghost Eye active use	187	The Ghost Eye in his left palm can dispel mental attacks, but its third activation in one mission is the final safe use; another use would immediately turn its user into a ghost.
White-faced Ghost Mask acquired	243	Obtains and uses the White-faced Ghost Mask, which transforms him into a ghost and allows him to fight a Ghost Tide.
First facial feature gained	386	After devouring a face, the originally featureless mask develops a left eye. The eye lets Fang retain a fragment of human sanity while transformed.
Mask assimilates auxiliary powers	563	The mask absorbs the Human Skin Glove and Human Skin Mask, inheriting telekinesis and sight penetration; Fang also absorbs Stephanie’s Smile from its host.
Becomes a recognized “Skin” backup	596	By wearing a dead staff member’s skin, he gains Stephanie’s Smile’s recognition and survives its attempt to abandon him.
Two-eyed, five-thread ghost form	599	His mask manifests two open eyes and projects five-colored threads capable of binding targets and exerting overwhelming supernatural pressure.
Advanced mask manifestation	1414	The evolved mask and Five-Colored Threads effortlessly restrain and annihilate Huang Banxian’s ghost form.

Background

Fang Shenyan originated from an island on the Huangpu River. Before joining the Tianhai Hotel, he lived a markedly different life; during Mu Nianmei’s time reversal, he recalls wearing plain clothes and carrying fishing nets beside a gentle woman. He also states that he once had a daughter. 319 387

He came to the Tianhai Hotel after following the direction of a fortune teller. Fang firmly believes in fate and divination, viewing the fortune teller’s guidance as the reason he entered the Hotel. 138

During the Li Mansion mission, Fang separated from the group to investigate independently. He killed one laborer, interrogated another for information on the mansion’s succession conflict, and followed Chen Fu into the hidden backyard area. Chen Fu’s trap led Fang into a confrontation with the Ghost Bride, where he nearly drowned in a vat before driving a fountain pen into his own neck cavity to resist the ghost’s control. Yu Guo rescued him, but the injury left him temporarily unable to speak. 79 84 85

Appearance

Fang Shenyan usually presents himself as a refined, reserved man whose ordinary appearance is offset by an increasingly severe and gloomy gaze. He favors formal, old-fashioned clothing and keeps himself meticulously composed even after extreme missions. 109 305 1645

• Wears a sharp, neat Zhongshan suit. 305 1645
• Has medium-length, salt-and-pepper hair combed back. 109 1645
• Commonly wears black-rimmed glasses. 109 305 1645
• Lost his left arm during the World Heritage Museum mission. 562
• His right eye later becomes completely white after merging with the eye monster’s gaze. 1225 1259
• His ghost form manifests a bone-white mask, black mist, and multicolored silk threads. 340 599

Personality

Fang is highly intelligent, patient when a lead is worth pursuing, and exceptionally decisive under pressure. He rapidly identifies rules, weaknesses, and information gaps, then exploits them even when doing so requires deception or personal risk. He is willing to act alone and regularly withholds intelligence until it serves his own plan. 80 109 582 595

He is also ruthless and utilitarian. Fang kills civilians, sacrifices temporary allies, and uses human lives as experimental variables when he considers them useful to mission survival or his own objectives. His attitude is fundamentally self-centered: he does not particularly desire authority, but seeks the psychological stimulation of missions and claims to have no burdens, including fear of death. 163 309 386 593

Despite this detachment, Fang follows his own concept of repayment. Xiao Qian Duyue’s repeated efforts to save him create a debt he cannot ignore, causing him to protect her and spare her when he otherwise would not. Their repeated rescues are explicitly framed as plot-driven rather than romantic. 341 371 374 387

Abilities & Skills

Ghost Eye

The Ghost Eye is embedded in Fang’s left palm and reacts to supernatural activity.

• Passively detects ghostly images and supernatural disturbances. 161 162
• Can transmit fragmented visions of imminent deaths or ghost actions. 162 163
• Actively dispels Mind Interference and similar mental attacks. 187
• Is vulnerable to suppression or disruption by competing supernatural powers. 161 182
• Repeated activation carries an extreme cost: after the third use in a mission, another use would turn Fang into a ghost. 187

White-faced Ghost Mask

Fang’s primary Sin Item transforms him into a ghost-like entity with immense offensive and control capabilities.

• Normally grants approximately two minutes of ghost transformation. 600
• The transformation can severely damage or erase his human consciousness, reducing him to a childlike state with memory loss afterward. 341
• The mask grows by devouring Sin Items and supernatural objects, developing facial features and new functions. 386
• Its evolved eyes preserve part of Fang’s reason during transformation. 340 386
• Generates Five-Colored Threads that bind ghosts, tear through structures, manipulate targets, and exert crushing supernatural pressure. 340 599 1414
• Can become uncontrollably murderous when Fang’s human consciousness weakens. 777

Human Skin Glove and Human Skin Mask

Fang temporarily used supernatural artifacts acquired during the Mu Nianmei mission.

• The Human Skin Mask lets his sight ignore obstacles within a limited range. 336
• The Human Skin Glove manifests a hand remotely, allowing him to retrieve objects or halt a falling target from a distance. 338
• Neither artifact provides a standard Sin Item prompt, suggesting they were originally meant for ghost use. 336
• Both powers were later absorbed by the White-faced Ghost Mask. 563

Stephanie’s Smile Connection

Stephanie’s Smile partially possessed Fang at the start of the World Heritage Museum mission, tethering itself to him through a supernatural crimson line. 593

• The partial possession briefly caused Fang to kill a companion while unconscious of his actions. 593
• Fang used the connection to locate Stephanie’s Smile and understand the museum’s ghost composition. 593 595
• By wearing human skin, he became a recognized backup for the “Skin” and avoided immediate destruction. 596
• The connection made him effectively “half skin” and “half ghost” during the mission’s final phase. 597

Faceless Person Techniques

Fang has exploited identity-based supernatural rules through the Vermilion Wood Carving and a female ghost’s face skin.

• Briefly becomes a Faceless Person to evade Chen Hansheng’s fifth-second attack. 780 781
• Carves Chen Hansheng’s face onto the Vermilion Wood Carving, reducing Chen to a carving and stripping his Sin Item qualification. 781
• Uses a female ghost’s face skin to temporarily control his body and restrain the Faceless Person within himself. 810

Investigation and Tactical Planning

Fang’s greatest consistent strength is his ability to derive survival paths from incomplete information.

• Identifies illusion mechanics, ghost movement, and hidden mission structures. 109 185 1227
• Recognizes when an apparent Path to Life is flawed and can exploit another person’s plan without revealing his own objective. 595 596
• Uses deception, staged actions, and controlled sacrifices to test ghost rules. 339 593
• Understands that supernatural power is ultimately constrained by rules, and targets those rules rather than attempting direct force alone. 372 746

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• White-faced Ghost Mask — A growing Sin Item that transforms Fang into a ghost and evolves by assimilating supernatural powers. 243 386 563
• Ghost Eye — A Sin Item located in his left palm; detects supernatural activity and dispels mental interference. 161 187
• Human Skin Glove — Grants remote manipulation and retrieval within a limited range. 336 338
• Human Skin Mask / skin — Lets Fang see through obstacles; later absorbed by the White-faced Ghost Mask. 336 563
• Vermilion Wood Carving — Lets him temporarily assume the identity of a Faceless Person and bind Chen Hansheng’s identity. 781
• Female ghost’s face skin — Used to contend with and seal the Faceless Person. 810
• Fountain pen — Used to stab his own neck cavity while resisting the Ghost Bride’s drowning attack. 84 85

Relationships

• Ji Li — Professional ally and fellow Seventh Branch operative. They investigate missions together, exchange intelligence, and trust each other’s competence without concealing their fundamentally self-interested motives. 80 179 374
• Xiao Qian Duyue — A complicated bond built on mutual rescue and debt. She repeatedly saves Fang despite danger, while he protects her, spares her during the handbag mission, and considers himself obligated to repay her. 165 341 374 387
• Tong Guan — Teammate and intellectual rival. They can combine plans when necessary, but Fang repeatedly withholds information and manipulates Tong Guan’s decisions for his own path to survival. 555 582 595
• Yu Guo — Early companion who rescues Fang from the Li Mansion and provides aid after his neck injury. Fang later regrets losing his memories of Yu Guo. 85 1194
• Mei Sheng — Seventh Branch ally who witnesses Fang’s deteriorating health during the Tenth Supervision Event and assists in responding to its consequences. 1434 1435
• Stephanie’s Smile — The museum ghost that partially possesses Fang, becomes tethered to him, and attempts to make him its replacement “Skin.” 593 596
• Chen Hansheng — Opponent defeated when Fang turns himself into a Faceless Person and carves Chen’s face onto the Vermilion Wood Carving. 781

Story Role / Major Arcs

Li Mansion Mission

Fang investigates the Li Mansion separately from the main group, discovers Chen Fu’s connection to the mansion’s secrets, and pursues him into the Ghost Bride’s territory. His near-fatal drowning leaves him unable to speak, forcing him to rely on prewritten notes and his phone to retain control of the team’s information exchange. 79 84 85 93

Kyoto Mission

In Kyoto, Fang works closely with Ji Li to investigate the Li Mansion’s funeral ritual, the Ghost Bride, and the conflict between red and white ceremonies. He later gains the White-faced Ghost Mask, which becomes the foundation of his later power. 80 81 243

Mu Nianmei Mission

Fang investigates the Mu Nianmei case across altered timelines, saves Xiao Qian Duyue multiple times, and uses his ghost form to challenge Mu Nianmei. Her time reversal forces him to relive his past, but Xiao Qian pulls him out of the regression. 335 340 372 386 387

World Heritage Museum Promotion Mission

Fang secretly wages a parallel battle against Stephanie’s Smile while Tong Guan leads the public effort against the museum’s other ghosts. He conceals critical information, kills Feng Jiafu to test the possession link, obtains human skin, and ultimately becomes Stephanie’s Smile’s recognized backup in order to complete the mission on his own terms. 582 593 596 597

Branch Manager Trial

Faced with the Third Floor’s identity question, Fang rejects every alternate self and answers, “I am me.” He later identifies pride as the core of his origin, then defeats Chen Hansheng through the Faceless Person and Vermilion Wood Carving loophole. 771 772 781

Haunted Academy and Orange Lake Incidents

Fang enters Haunted Academy and becomes a ghost, temporarily losing eligibility for the Manager Mission. Later, he investigates the eye monster incident, extracts an eyeball to merge with its gaze, and identifies the Devouring Ghost’s plan to escape Orange Lake. 1124 1225 1284

Tenth Supervision Event

At Tianming Bridge, Fang identifies the false Xiao Qian Duyue and kills the impostor to trace the anomaly’s source. He transforms using the White-faced Ghost Mask again amid the appearance of nineteen ghosts, but his previously undetected lung cancer erupts and leaves him severely weakened. 1433 1434 1435

Rose Hotel Incident

Fang is reported dead by Xiao Qian Duyue during the Rose Hotel crisis, yet later appears alive and continues directing the group against Ruru despite his weakened condition. 1548 1582 1584

Notable Quotes

“The lake is too calm. The things lurking at the bottom can't surface. So, I'll stir the waters for you. I'll make the choice for you!”
— Fang Shenyan 163

“I am me.”
— Fang Shenyan 771

“What I say now, goes.”
— Fang Shenyan 746

Trivia

• Fang openly believes in fortune-telling and fate, unlike Ji Li. 138
• He considers Ji Li the true “protagonist” of the Seventh Branch and did not originally care much about becoming Branch Manager himself. 309
• Fang’s repeated assistance to Xiao Qian Duyue stems from debt and unresolved feelings connected to his past, not a straightforward romantic attachment. 371 772
• He lost his memory of Yu Guo after the consequences of ghost transformation and later expressed regret over that loss. 1194