Wen Chao

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Wen Chao (闻朝)
Alias(es)	Professor Wen; Old Man Wen Chao
Species/Race	Human; Favored One
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Survivor groups within multiple Blessed Lands
Occupation/Role	University professor; researcher; corpse refiner
Status	Deceased; killed in the Flower Immortal's realm 360 361
First Appearance	Chapter 5

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Corpse-refining practitioner	34–35	Reveals Fu He, his deceased wife refined into a Jiangshi, and deploys her as a combatant.
Field engineer and corpse commander	35–42	Prepares lights, electrical equipment, explosives, a timed bomb, and a homemade shotgun; Fu He is used against the Door-Breaking Wraith.
Expanded zombie force	307	After Jiang Chun revives as a zombie, Wen Chao immediately recognizes her state and directs her to clean herself up.
Armored zombie retinue	340, 348	Travels with three veiled zombies; their movements become stiffer and metallic-sounding as the final battle approaches.
Bronze Armor Zombies	360	Commands Jiang Chun and Ma Xiaowan as Bronze Armor Zombies against the Flower Immortal. Their fusion into a figure resembling Fu He breaks his resolve.

Background & History

Wen Chao first appears as a frail but composed elderly man. Unlike the more panicked survivors, he remains observant, knowledgeable, and useful in a crisis; Wu Xian notes that an old man with his calmness and experience could prove unexpectedly valuable 5. During the Shadow Inn incident, he and Fang Zhi investigate the Blessed Land through its survivors, though their questioning initially yields little information 7.

His room rapidly fills with boards, tape, firecrackers, pipes, bottles, electronics, and other scavenged materials. His apparent collection of “junk” conceals a practical ability to improvise weapons, traps, and power equipment 17. The disappearance of corpses from Room 405 and his concealed activities foreshadow his corpse-refining practices 19 44.

Wen Chao eventually reveals Fu He, his lover and deceased wife, whom he refined into a Jiangshi. He presents her as a quiet companion he wants to take sightseeing during their final years, but her existence exposes the unsettling depth of his attachment and experimentation 35. Fu He kills Yue Mei to protect him during the Ghost Mother game, demonstrating both her obedience and Wen Chao’s willingness to use her lethally 34.

During the hunt for Yu Yinghua, Wen Chao handles the plan’s technical problems: darkness, power supply, and terrain. He constructs an extended power strip for the searchlights and helps prepare the group’s equipment 35 36. He later creates a timed bomb with Shi Ji’s assistance and uses a homemade shotgun loaded with filth-empowered bullets to kill the possessed Wang Zhiwu, opening the way out of the Blessed Land 42.

After surviving, Wen Chao appears physically younger and healthier due to lifespan gained through god worship. He trains at the same gym as Wu Xian and Su Mi, where he maintains an outwardly healthy, relaxed demeanor 272 273.

In the Unburied Village Blessed Land, he again proves reliable in survival work: gathering supplies, assisting elderly inhabitants, explaining burial customs, and helping prevent the Favored Ones from splitting into irreconcilable factions 278 281 295. His low Yin Virtue becomes apparent when he suffers a severe Earth Official’s Punishment after worshipping the Lord of Fengdu Underworld 304.

His behavior toward Jiang Chun reveals the darker core of his grief. When she becomes a zombie, Wen Chao treats her as both a subordinate and an experiment, asking whether becoming a zombie is painful so that he can imagine what Fu He endured 307. Wu Xian later concludes that Wen Chao’s apparent cheerfulness is not recovery, but a distorted way of finding comfort in his trauma 310.

Wen Chao continues contributing strategically in the later stages of the Blessed Land. He identifies clues from paper figures with Jiang Chun, obtains burial records from the He Family, and can precisely divide Flower of Nai River petals so the group can time their Underworld excursions accurately 321 340 347.

Appearance

Wen Chao is initially depicted as old, frail, and physically weak, though his bearing remains calm and scholarly 5. After gaining lifespan through worship, he appears notably younger and more robust 272.

• Often addressed as Professor Wen or Old Master Wen.
• White-haired and wears glasses during his confrontation with He Kui 338.
• Retains a refined, academic demeanor even when accompanied by zombies 340.
• His posture becomes visibly strained after receiving Earth Official’s Punishment 304.

Personality

Wen Chao is calm, analytical, and difficult to rattle. His long research career taught him that panic is useless, and he consistently approaches supernatural threats as problems to be studied, tested, and solved 32. He values information, preparation, and practical results over appearances.

He is also deeply utilitarian. Wen Chao is willing to use corpses, zombies, explosives, and intimidation if they improve the group’s odds. When threatening He Kui, he rejects killing as wasteful because living people can provide more value 338. This pragmatism makes him an effective ally, but an unnerving one.

His defining weakness is his fixation on Fu He. He knows that the cold, bloodthirsty Jiangshi he awakened is no longer truly his wife, yet he cannot relinquish his attachment to her 41. His experiments on Jiang Chun and Ma Xiaowan are driven by the same unresolved guilt: he wants proof that Fu He did not suffer and that she would forgive him 307 332.

Abilities & Skills

Corpse Refinement and Zombie Command

Wen Chao can refine corpses into Jiangshi and command them in combat.

• Fu He obeys him absolutely and can physically pressure the Door-Breaking Wraith despite being slower and less agile than a human 41.
• He recognizes Jiang Chun’s resurrection as a zombie immediately and begins directing her behavior 307.
• By the final confrontation, he commands multiple zombies, including Jiang Chun and Ma Xiaowan as Bronze Armor Zombies 340 360.
• His zombies remain vulnerable to sufficiently powerful enemies; the Door-Breaking Wraith tears Fu He’s head off and leaves her unable to continue fighting 41.

Improvised Engineering

Wen Chao turns scavenged materials into workable equipment under Blessed Land conditions.

• Collects electronics, boards, firecrackers, pipes, bottles, and other construction materials for experimentation 17.
• Builds an extra-long reinforced power strip to operate distant searchlights safely during the Yu Yinghua hunt 36.
• Prepares explosives and a timed bomb with Shi Ji’s assistance 28 42.
• Constructs a homemade shotgun and uses filth-empowered ammunition to kill Wang Zhiwu 42.
• Acknowledges that ordinary explosives are not consistently effective against evil spirits 37.

Research and Ritual Knowledge

Wen Chao studies supernatural phenomena, burial customs, and Blessed Land rules.

• Investigates barriers and supernatural mechanics for their research value 9.
• Explains traditional burial methods and assists the group in planning proper funerals 295.
• Identifies the mastermind behind the paper figures with Jiang Chun’s help 321.
• Secures the He Family’s burial records, allowing the group to locate needed Mingqi and burial goods more efficiently 340.
• Precisely divides Flower of Nai River fragments, enabling coordinated, second-accurate Underworld operations 347.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Fu He — Wen Chao’s corpse-refined Jiangshi wife and primary early combat asset 35 41.
• Improvised explosives — Prepared from scavenged materials; used mainly for tactical disruption 28 37.
• Extended power strip and searchlights — Built for the Yu Yinghua hunt 36.
• Homemade shotgun — Fired filth-empowered bullets that kill Wang Zhiwu 42.
• Bell and yellow talismans — Acquired through worship; implied to support his corpse-refining practices 315.
• He Family burial records — A booklet listing forty years of burials, obtained from He Kui 340.

Relationships

• Fu He — His deceased wife and greatest obsession. Wen Chao refined her into a Jiangshi, knowing she was no longer truly the woman he loved 35 41.
• Jiang Chun — A young survivor whom Wen Chao protects, then treats as a zombie subject after her resurrection; her resemblance to his wife fuels his fixation 296 307.
• Ma Xiaowan — A scholar whose demeanor reminds Wen Chao of Fu He. He seeks her reassurance about his wife’s forgiveness before she later becomes one of his zombies 332 360.
• Wu Xian — A capable but wary ally. They cooperate repeatedly through planning, engineering, and shared survival, though Wu Xian eventually suspects Wen Chao’s trauma has become dangerous 35 42 310.
• Shi Ji — Collaborator in improvised weaponry; Shi Ji helps empower Wen Chao’s bullets with filth for the shotgun 42.
• Du’e — Distrusts Wen Chao due to his unusually low Yin Virtue and warns Wu Xian to remain cautious around him 296 304.

Notable Quotes

“Those who are alive can provide greater value.” 338

“What does it feel like to turn into a Zombie? Do you feel pain? If you don't feel pain, perhaps my Wife didn't suffer either.” 307

Death

In the Flower Immortal’s realm, Wen Chao initially resists the illusion through his attachment to Fu He. The Flower Immortal then merges Jiang Chun and Ma Xiaowan into a single zombie that resembles and speaks like his wife. Faced with an apparent answer to the guilt he had spent so long avoiding, Wen Chao accepts the illusion, embraces the zombie, and is bitten to death. His final Corpse Explosion Technique destroys both him and the Flower Immortal 360.

Wu Xian later finds Wen Chao’s remains among the wreckage of the Flower Immortal’s realm and reflects that the Blessed Land was never a place where Wen Chao could receive the help he needed 361.