Dead Spirit

Biodata

Appearance

Dead Spirits can retain the condition or final pose of their deaths. Once freed, they regain their living appearances before entering reincarnation 2 10 16.

• Gu Shanhe’s victims crawl toward him as paper-thin youths; a later group appears like torn pieces of flesh 1 2.
• Wang Xiaoya remains at the window in the pose she held while trying to escape 10 13.
• Crocodile Dragon victims appear torn apart, then resume their former appearances after touching Luo Zhou 9 28.

Abilities & Nature

Conveying Grievances

• Through Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil, Luo Zhou can feel a Dead Spirit’s grievance and experience what the victim endured. This helps him identify a killer’s ritual and plan a countermeasure 2.
• Contact with freed Dead Spirits conveys essence, qi, and spirit to Luo Zhou as a reward associated with punishing their killers 2 3 16.
• Communication is not assured: the Wang family’s Dead Spirits initially cannot respond. Soul-crossing offerings briefly restore enough of Wang Xiaoya’s consciousness for her to show Luo Zhou an image of Li Haitian 10 13.

Collective Retribution

• Victims of Gu Shanhe surround and devour his remaining soul after Luo Zhou kills him 1.
• Luo Zhou’s Curse Master invocation draws out Dead Spirits of the old Crocodile Dragon’s victims. Even older victims who had faded into soul shadows appear as Dead Spirits 33.
• Tens of thousands surround the dragon, wear down its protection, and consume its flesh. The Fairy of Green Ridge’s spells cannot destroy them because they are neither ordinary undead souls, fierce ghosts, nor specters 34.

Story Role

• Gu Shanhe’s victims: After his death, sixteen youths touch Luo Zhou, regain their appearances, and enter reincarnation as he burns incense for them 1 2.
• The Wang family: Their Dead Spirits reveal the true timing of the family’s murder; Wang Xiaoya later identifies Li Haitian. After his death, 235 victims gather, recover their awareness, and depart family by family 10 13 16.
• The Blood Parrot’s victims: Fang Ningshuang is revealed to be a Dead Spirit fused with and controlled by the Blood Parrot. After its death, she joins the other victims before reincarnation 24 25.
• Liu Changlong’s victims: The children’s Dead Spirits devour his soul. Luo Zhou later offers them a Northern Mang Sacrifice Seat and Soul Crossing Incense before they depart 31 32.
• Yue Canglong’s victims: Tens of thousands confront and consume the old Crocodile Dragon. They subsequently thank Luo Zhou, regain their living appearances, and enter reincarnation 33 34 35.