Mao Ruoyu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Mao Ruoyu (茅若雨)
Alias(es)	Madam Mao
Gender	Female
Occupation/Role	Ghost Arts practitioner; Lin Tianlu's neighbor and household cook
Status	Alive
First Appearance	Chapter 9

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ghost Master	33	Breaks through after holding Lin Tianlu's jade flute; the warmth transferred through it strengthens and harmonizes the yin energy within her body. Her cold-blooded weakness also improves.

Background

Mao Ruoyu initially presents herself as Lin Tianlu's widowed neighbor and claims to have a daughter, using warm pastries and a request for future instruction to establish contact with him. Both identities are fabricated; she is neither a widow nor a mother. 9 15

Before meeting Lin, she practiced Ghost Yin Arts by drawing small amounts of vitality from sleeping people and refining it into yin energy. She states that she never killed anyone through this practice, limiting the harm to nightmares and morning fatigue. 15

Her first attempts to affect Lin—Soul-Capturing Incense, Heart-Enchanting Pastries, and the Soul-Snatching and Spirit-Hooking Technique—fail completely. After witnessing him effortlessly destroy an evil spirit, she becomes convinced that he is an unfathomable master and fears retaliation for her earlier schemes. 9 10 14 15

Unable to confess, Mao instead blurts out that she wishes to remain at Lin's side. She subsequently becomes responsible for cooking and cleaning at his residence. 19 20

Lin's assurance that spiritual abilities and association with ghosts are not inherently evil relieves her fear of being judged as an ill omen. From then on, she becomes more open, comfortable, and affectionate around him. 30 31

Appearance

Mao Ruoyu is described as a mature, beautiful woman with an outwardly gentle and alluring presence. 9 14

• Long black hair, often worn in a braid or flowing over her shoulders. 14
• Faint greenish coloration is visible in her eyes upon close inspection, distinguishing her from ordinary people. 15
• Frequently wears light-colored ruqun, silk robes, or gauze outer garments. 19 30
• Her appearance becomes noticeably healthier after her cultivation breakthrough. 31 33

Personality

Mao Ruoyu is initially anxious, secretive, and prone to panicked improvisation. Her false identity and failed attempts to influence Lin leave her terrified that he is silently testing or judging her. 15 20

Despite her fear, she is protective of Lin. She repeatedly warns him away from the yin fire at the cloth shop, then risks using her own techniques to restrain the evil spirit when he proceeds anyway. 12 13

Once Lin accepts her spiritual nature, Mao becomes considerate and domestic, expressing care through meals, pastries, music, and assistance around his home. 30 34 44 Her growing affection for him frequently leaves her embarrassed and emotionally overwhelmed. 33 44

Abilities & Skills

Ghost Yin Arts

Mao Ruoyu practices a form of Ghost Arts that cultivates yin energy through vitality drawn from sleeping people. 15

• Can perform the Soul-Snatching and Spirit-Hooking Technique. 9
• Uses Soul-Capturing Incense and Heart-Enchanting Pastries to induce sleep or influence targets. 9 10
• Her techniques are ineffective against Lin Tianlu. 9 10 15
• Her cultivation formerly caused physical frailty and a cold constitution. 14 33
• After becoming a Ghost Master, her yin energy coexists more harmoniously with the unusual yang energy she receives through Lin's jade flute. 33

Spiritual Perception

Mao can perceive supernatural presences and distinguish yin and yang energy. 15 38

• Senses demonic and evil entities, including the evil spirit at the cloth shop. 13 15
• Perceives Lin Tianlu as radiating yang energy “as warm as a furnace.” 38
• Is highly sensitive to oppressive supernatural phenomena, including the unnatural thunderstorm over Changling County. 36 37
• Recognizes the Sophora Sword's thunder-and-fire essence and its suitability for suppressing yin energy. 40

Music

Mao has a personal attachment to music, having longed for a flute since childhood and later teaching herself to play. 32

• Plays Lin Tianlu's jade flute competently. 32
• Accompanies Lin's flute with a pipa. 44
• Musical contact with the jade flute triggers her Ghost Master breakthrough. 33

Cooking and Household Work

Mao is a skilled cook whose pastries and meals are repeatedly praised by Lin Tianlu. 9 10 34

• Makes Heart-Enchanting Pastries, initially intended as part of her Ghost Arts. 9 10
• Prepares regular meals after entering Lin's household employment. 20 34
• Makes Nourishing Heart Cakes with herbs intended to replenish qi and blood and clear the mind. 44
• Helps tend Lin's courtyard, including trimming its trees. 30

Equipment / Items

• Soul-Capturing Candle — A Ghost Arts tool used in her unsuccessful attempt to affect Lin Tianlu. 15
• Heart-Enchanting Pastries — Drugged pastries intended to influence or incapacitate a target; Lin eats them without effect. 9 10
• Jade flute — Lin Tianlu's flute, which Mao plays and later holds during her breakthrough. 32 33
• Pipa — An instrument Mao buys and uses to accompany Lin's flute. 44

Relationships

• Lin Tianlu — Neighbor, employer, and the object of Mao's growing affection. Her initial attempt to draw on his yang energy becomes fear and guilt after she learns his strength; Lin's acceptance of her abilities allows her to trust him. 9 15 19 30 33
• Hua Shuya — Fellow resident in Lin's household. Their early interactions are awkward due to misunderstandings over Mao's “widow” identity, but they later share a mutual understanding of their feelings for Lin. 29 41
• Cheng Yishi — Mao reacts warily to Cheng's unusual yin-infused state; their first direct exchange is marked by mutual suspicion. 36

Story Role / Major Arcs

Initial Schemes

Mao approaches Lin as a friendly neighbor while secretly attempting to use pastries, incense, and Ghost Arts to affect him. Her failure to influence him becomes the source of her ongoing anxiety. 9 10

Cloth Shop Fire

She recognizes the supernatural danger of the yin fire and tries to stop Lin from entering the burning cloth shop. Mao later attempts to block the evil spirit herself, but her technique is repelled and she faints after seeing Lin unharmed. 12 13

Service at Lin Tianlu's Residence

Fearing that Lin has seen through her, Mao tries to confess but instead offers to stay by his side. She begins cooking and cleaning for him, gradually replacing deception with genuine care. 19 20

Acceptance and Breakthrough

Lin reassures Mao that spiritual gifts and yin energy do not make someone evil. Her emotional recovery is followed by a cultivation breakthrough when contact with his jade flute transforms her yin energy and elevates her to Ghost Master. 30 33

Thunderstorm and Sophora Sword

Mao is severely unsettled by the heavenly thunder over Changling County, but Lin protects her and takes her to a clinic after the storm. She later recognizes the Sophora Sword's harmonious response to her yin cultivation and recommends leaving it to guard the courtyard. 37 38 40

Trivia

• Mao's fabricated daughter becomes difficult to maintain after Lin cleans her mansion and finds no sign of a child. 14 15
• Lin Tianlu unknowingly treats her Heart-Enchanting Pastries as an especially delicious dessert. 10 29
• She deliberately planted the sophora tree in her former courtyard as part of arrangements to gather yin energy and facilitate her remote Ghost Arts. 39