Qian Xiaoyi

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Qian Xiaoyi (钱小乙)
Alias(es)	Brother Yi; Mr. Qian
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Lingkong Exorcism Office
Occupation/Role	Taoist priest; exorcist; investigator
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background / History

Qian Xiaoyi was orphaned early and grew up alongside an elderly relative whom he was, by seniority, supposed to call his grand-nephew. He lived with this relative until age twenty-three. 1

Daoist Lingkong adopted him as a disciple so that his Taoist arts would not be lost. With little supernatural work available in China, master and disciple lived frugally. Before Lingkong died peacefully, he appeared to Xiaoyi in a dream and instructed him to seek work in Japan, believing its oppressive social climate would produce ghosts while its security would remain good. 1

After holding Lingkong's funeral alone, Xiaoyi spent two years teaching himself Japanese. Lingkong's old friend Zhang Chunfa arranged his long-term visa, rented him a second-floor Roppongi apartment for use as an office, and covered a year's rent. Xiaoyi arrived in Tokyo at age twenty-five, intending to establish himself as an exorcist. 1

His first three months in Tokyo were financially difficult. Chinese clients introduced by Zhang provided only minor feng shui work, while his attempts to help harmless local spirits resulted in police attention and an arrest for suspicious public rituals. Advertising also failed to bring commissions, leaving him dependent on discounted supermarket bentos. 2

Appearance

Qian Xiaoyi is a young man in his twenties who can look older when he has not shaved for several days. He commonly carries cigarettes, though he does not always light them, and adapts his clothing when conducting surveillance. 3 7 25

• Often has a cigarette in his mouth. 2 3
• Wore a loose jacket, baseball cap, and messenger bag while investigating a storage facility. 25
• Uses a business-card holder for the Lingkong Exorcism Office. 4

Personality

Xiaoyi is confident to the point of arrogance about his Taoist training. He dismisses many Tokyo psychics as scammers or poorly trained amateurs, yet his boasts about accepting only high-value work conceal his lack of clients and poverty. 4 5

He is blunt, cynical, and highly pragmatic. He charges for consultations, takes advantage of free food at gatherings, and treats deception as a practical investigative tool. He is also socially unrestrained, such as deliberately making Matsui uncomfortable by smearing cream onto his expensive suit. 7 9 10

Despite this mercenary presentation, Xiaoyi repeatedly protects vulnerable people and spirits. He arranges employment for Heita, warns him against dangerous ghost-child practices, and ultimately takes the exploited infant spirits to his office to help them attain Buddhahood. 5 29 40 He is willing to test and manipulate Heita, but later reveals that the test was meant to determine whether the boy could be trusted. 38 40

Abilities & Skills

Taoist Exorcism

Qian Xiaoyi is a trained Taoist priest with inherited supernatural arts. He can perceive spirits, identify malicious ritual practices, handle residual souls, and perform exorcisms or spirit-sealing rituals. 1 4 13 17

• Recognizes the difference between harmless spirits, residual souls, and cultivated infant spirits. 2 4 16
• Identifies black Kuman Thong-style amulets as tools used to raise malicious ghost children rather than pacify them. 16 17
• Creates a temporary altar and a new container for a captured infant spirit. 18
• Intends to help the infant spirits exploited by the Lucky Mutual Aid Society attain Buddhahood. 40
• Avoids forcibly sending on spirits whose attachments remain too strong, believing it would harm both the spirit and himself. 2

Spirit Sight Bestowal

Using smoke, hand seals, and a tap to the forehead, Xiaoyi can temporarily allow ordinary people to perceive ghosts. 3 38

• Made delinquent bystanders see the ghosts in an alley, causing them to flee. 3
• Revealed the true forms of the “lucky” infant spirits to the Mutual Aid Society’s senior members. 38
• The technique did not allow Suzuki to see the spirits, which Xiaoyi found noteworthy. 38

Divination and Ritual Implements

Xiaoyi uses Taoist tools to locate, contain, repel, and manipulate supernatural entities. 2 13 25 30

• Uses a Bagua Compass to locate supernatural disturbances and trace a jade pendant. 2 3 25
• Uses Soul Guiding Incense and a Scrap Jade Pendant to absorb a smoke-formed infant spirit. 13
• Gives Harada Taro a Law Ruler, which protects him from a residual soul. 30
• Uses a sealed infant spirit and compass to trace the location of related ritual objects. 25

Investigation and Deception

Xiaoyi is an observant investigator who uses disguises, false identities, social manipulation, and casual conversation to gather information. 9 22 23 25

• Notices a concealed blackish-blue handprint on the Mutual Aid Society receptionist’s neck. 9
• Infiltrates the society by pretending to agree with Matsui’s rhetoric. 10
• Investigates Harada Taro’s background through local gossip and surveillance. 22
• Poses as a struggling businessman to cultivate Harada’s trust at an izakaya. 23 30
• Disguises himself as a prospective storage-unit customer to locate the society’s hidden ritual site. 25

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Bagua Compass — Detects and follows supernatural traces. 2 25
• Soul Guiding Incense — Draws and guides spirits for containment. 13
• Scrap Jade Pendant — Used to seal an infant spirit and later trace connected objects. 13 25
• Law Ruler — Taoist ritual implement given to Harada Taro for protection against ghosts. 30
• Cigarettes — Used both as a personal habit and as part of spirit-related techniques. 3 13 38
• Lingkong Exorcism Office business cards — Advertise his services and identify him as the office’s exorcist. 4

Relationships

• Daoist Lingkong — His deceased master and adoptive teacher; Lingkong entrusted him with preserving their Taoist lineage and directed him to Japan. 1
• Zhang Chunfa / Brother Zhang — Lingkong’s old friend in Tokyo; arranged Xiaoyi’s visa, office accommodation, and initial client referrals. 1 2
• Inuyama Heita — Client, assistant, and eventual trusted partner. Xiaoyi arranged Heita’s restaurant job, later hired him to assist the investigation, and tested his moral character during the Mutual Aid Society crisis. 5 16 40
• Suzuki — Initially suspicious of Xiaoyi, then recruited as an ally against the Lucky Mutual Aid Society. 26 27
• A Jian — An earth-bound otaku ghost whom Xiaoyi allows to remain because he is not causing trouble and refuses to move on. 2
• Harada Taro / President Oiwa — An investigative target whom Xiaoyi befriends under a false identity; Xiaoyi recognizes that Harada is being manipulated by Matsui and gives him a protective Law Ruler. 22 23 30
• Matsui — The Lucky Mutual Aid Society’s manipulative organizer and Xiaoyi’s primary adversary during the case. 23 29 38

Story Role / Major Arcs

Arrival in Tokyo

After Daoist Lingkong’s death, Xiaoyi relocates to Tokyo to continue his master’s work. His planned exorcism career immediately falters due to social distrust, legal risk, and a lack of paying clients. 1 2

The Visible Boy

Xiaoyi intervenes when delinquents harass Inuyama Heita and exposes the delinquents to nearby ghosts. He helps Heita understand his clairvoyance, gives him the office’s contact card, and later arranges restaurant work for him rather than hiring him while the office has no income. 3 4 5

Lucky Mutual Aid Society Investigation

Xiaoyi joins Heita in investigating the Lucky Mutual Aid Society, initially gathering intelligence while posing as an attendee. He secretly captures an infant spirit during a public ritual, identifies the society’s black amulets as ghost-child cultivation tools, and hires Heita as his assistant when the boy cannot pay the requested investigation fee. 9 13 16

He traces the society’s ritual operation to a storage facility, uncovers Matsui’s control over Harada Taro, and recruits Suzuki to gather information on senior members. 22 25 27

At the society’s collapse, Xiaoyi reveals the infant spirits to the senior members and considers allowing Harada to die so that he and Heita could take over the organization. Heita refuses this plan and saves Harada instead. Xiaoyi later explains that the ordeal was a test of Heita’s character, reports the society’s illegal infant-corpse trafficking, and brings the infant spirits to the Lingkong Exorcism Office for release. 38 39 40

Trivia

• He repeatedly calls Inuyama Heita “Heitaro,” despite being corrected. 7 18
• He learned Japanese on his own over two years before moving to Tokyo. 1
• He offered a 50% discount to clients referred by Zhang Chunfa. 1
• His office was named after Daoist Lingkong. 4 40