Shen Le

Biodata

Physical Description

Shen Le is a young man with short hair and an appearance that is generally described as scholarly or intellectual 231 515. He commonly wears practical modern clothing suitable for restoration work, including lab coats, work clothes, and protective equipment, though his appearance changes considerably when he enters historical memories, performs ritual work, or uses disguises 231 515 617.

His appearance has repeatedly been altered by Artifact Spirits and cultivation. The Little Wood Comb and the three porcelain cosmetic boxes once styled his hair and painted his face into a stark white opera-like mask, resembling the white-faced makeup used for Cao Cao in Peking Opera 139. A professional makeup artist later teaches him that substantial cosmetic changes can help conceal his identity during dangerous assignments 515. Following his extended border journey, prolonged exposure to sun, wind, and earth energy darkens and damages his skin before cultivation-assisted recovery restores it to a fair, healthy complexion 745.

• Hair: Short in his normal modern appearance; can be styled by the Little Wood Comb and other Artifact Spirits 139 231.
• Eye Color: Not specified.
• Typical Attire: Practical work clothes, lab coats, protective gear, and outdoor equipment; he also wears historical armor and ritual garments when required by Artifact Spirit memories or combat 231 485 617.
• Build: Initially an ordinary young man, but his repeated cultivation enhancements greatly improve his stamina, strength, resilience, and agility 382 186.
• Physical Condition: His constitution has advanced beyond ordinary human limits. He can leap long distances, throw large stones, endure harsh mountain and desert environments, and recover rapidly from exhaustion and superficial injury 186 382 614 745.
• Distinctive Changes: His face may be cosmetically altered by sentient artifacts; his body can become sun-darkened and weathered after prolonged fieldwork, but cultivation accelerates recovery 139 515 745.

Personality and Traits

• Compassionate and brave: Shen Le jumps into a river to rescue what he believes is a drowning child, only to find it is a puppet 4. He feels empathy toward struggling day laborers and considers hiring them in the future 34. He uses the Ink Marker to create a picture frame that helps reconcile a quarreling couple, showing his willingness to help others resolve conflicts 47. He repeatedly accepts difficult commissions to help Artifact Spirits, soldiers, and civilians despite the personal risk involved 335 742 783.

• Patient and meticulous: He spends an entire night and a day carving a Jujube Wood Bead despite finger pain, and applies multiple layers of paint and intricate wood-grain details during restoration work 34 38. His careful cleaning of a dirty artifact with acetone demonstrates his commitment to precision 33. His later restoration work on silk, metal, pottery, armor, and ritual objects continues to reflect this precision 265 569 805.

• Determined and persistent: He refuses to hand over the Ink Marker to the Special Affairs Department, insisting he can handle it safely 30. When the Five Animal Frolics fail to protect his fingers, he tries a different circulation technique and keeps working until the bead is completed 38. He continues restoration attempts even when artifacts repeatedly collapse, reject him, or force him into dangerous historical memories 571 812.

• Resourceful and adaptable: He orders an industrial dust mask and considers building a fume hood to safely use acetone 33. He experiments with different auras in the Copper Fragment, testing how they fuse or repel, to understand their nature 50. In later missions, he combines cultivation, modern scientific equipment, Artifact Spirits, and Special Affairs Bureau resources to solve restoration and combat problems 484 578 730.

• Empathetic and understanding: He sympathizes with the financial struggles of the couple he bought the Ink Marker from, and feels for the wife who cries over her husband’s minor faults 35 39. He puts himself in Xiao Ling’s position when he accidentally startles her 17. He treats newly awakened Artifact Spirits as individuals with memories, wishes, and the right to choose their own work 502 626 783.

• Protective and responsible: He sets strict rules for Xiao Ling—no talking, no moving unless he controls her—when taking her to the hospital 18. He refuses to let the Special Affairs Department confiscate the Ink Marker, believing he can keep it safe 30. As his collection of sentient artifacts expands, he assumes responsibility for their safety, maintenance, livelihoods, and emotional well-being 502 626 639.

• Curious and observant: He uses his Spirit Eye to examine the auras on the Ink Marker, Xiao Ling, and other objects, noting differences in color and density 27. He becomes obsessed with understanding the auras in the Copper Fragment and how they interact 50. He later investigates maps, earth veins, spiritual patterns, historical memories, and the connection between material and spiritual worlds 142 718 730.

• Cautious and safety-conscious: He seeks proper safety equipment before working with hazardous solvents and tests techniques cautiously to avoid injury 33. After being whipped by the sentient camphor tree, he decides not to pester it further 23. He is highly risk-averse outside of emergencies, preferring extensive preparation, defensive equipment, and official support before entering dangerous areas 412 614.

• Appreciative of companionship: He watches a supportive couple and wishes he could meet a similar partner, reflecting on his isolation as a shut-in 36. He feels comforted when Xiao Ling helps him in the workshop, contrasting her helpfulness with the Ink Marker’s troublemaking 40. Although he remains romantically inexperienced, he increasingly values the bustling household formed by his Artifact Spirits and allies 502 533.

• Obsessive-compulsive tendencies: He notices a disrupted aura on a repaired chair and feels compelled to fix it, even though it may not be necessary 50. He is similarly unable to ignore damaged artifacts, incomplete spiritual patterns, or historical mysteries once he has identified them 382 730.

• Self-reflective: He considers that the Ink Marker’s lack of a name stems from its previous owners never treating it as a person, and he deliberately gives it identity 49. He also acknowledges his own lack of social interaction has limited his romantic prospects 36. He regularly reflects on the ethical consequences of intervening in historical memories and on the responsibility attached to his growing power 674 781.

• Honest and direct: When the police call about ink lines on a door, he immediately denies any intentional wrongdoing, though he later admits the Ink Marker acted on its own 40. He later openly presents his Special Affairs Bureau identification to gain Chen Guohua’s trust and handle dangerous porcelain shards responsibly 149.

• Has a dry sense of humor: He internally scoffs at the notion that not smoking, drinking, gambling, or beating a spouse count as merits for a husband, thinking “basic human decency” 39. He sarcastically wonders if the sentient camphor tree is a sister or brother 23. His internal commentary remains wry even in historical memories, supernatural crises, and situations involving absurd cultivation demands 424 626 745.

Background and History

Shen Le was a graduate student specializing in the restoration of ancient architecture at Beijing University, where he spent nearly two years working in the field alongside his supervisor on various heritage sites. Upon completing his studies, he found himself unemployed, sending out dozens of resumes without a single offer. He possessed a family heirloom, a mottled copper fragment roughly half the size of a palm, which had been passed down through his family. This fragment, whose jagged end suggested it had broken off from a larger object, possessed unusual properties: when he pressed it against his neck after long hours of hunching over his work, a surge of heat would relieve his accumulated stiffness. Over the course of his three years of graduate study, he discovered that only repairing artifacts seemed to trigger changes in the copper fragment, causing a faint cyan glow to spread across its surface. Facing financial hardship, he had resigned himself to returning to his hometown to study for the civil service exams, hoping to secure a position in a museum’s artifact restoration department where he could access a steady supply of items to repair. On the day he finished packing, a phone call informed him that he had inherited an estate from a granduncle he had never known existed 1.

The lawyer explained that the property—an ancient mansion located at 18 Nanhua Street in Zhuxi Town—had been the family property of Shen Yinmo, a granduncle who had gone abroad as a young man and had no descendants. According to the will, it was bequeathed to the descendant with the closest blood relation whose household registration remained in his hometown. The mansion was vast, covering two thousand square meters with two sections—east and west—each containing three courtyards. The property rights could not be transferred within twenty years, so Shen Le would have to develop it himself. Though initially overwhelmed, Shen Le signed the documents quickly, his mind racing with the possibility of renting out the extra courtyards. Upon arriving at the street, he found the mansion standing out from the surrounding old buildings: a pair of vermilion-lacquered doors beneath an intricately carved brick gatehouse, with relief carvings of pomegranates, magpies, lotus flowers, and auspicious clouds, and the characters “Jiayi Youchang” inscribed in the center. Inside, he discovered a treasure trove of antique furniture—a rosewood thousand-work bed, a sandalwood daybed with magpie-and-plum carvings, a black-lacquered five-drawer chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and a twelve-panel floor screen behind two grandmaster chairs. The mansion and everything inside it belonged to him, and he realized he could potentially sell the contents or, more enticingly, restore them to charge his copper fragment 2 3.

Despite the mansion’s grandeur, Shen Le soon faced practical challenges. The location on an old street with low foot traffic made renting difficult, and the costs of maintenance and security were alarming. When he consulted the local police officer, Shi Guangbing, about installing a surveillance system, the price proved prohibitive. A search for a missing child on the property required the use of a life detector borrowed from the fire department, and Shen Le became acutely aware of the burden of upkeep 7 8. Nevertheless, his involvement with antiques and the supernatural began almost immediately. To test whether repairing the mansion’s furniture could charge the copper fragment, he selected a small, damaged rosewood screen with gold-painted landscape motifs tucked away in a corner of the west side room. He disassembled it piece by piece, cleaned the mortise and tenon joints, scraped the dirt out with a small chisel, reassembled the components with wood glue, and touched up the gold paint. Upon completing the repair, he checked the copper fragment and found that a faint bump on its surface had lengthened into a curved stroke resembling ancient seal script—proof that it could indeed be charged through restoration work. This discovery meant he no longer needed to hunt for antiques or endure the drudgery of civil service exam preparation 3.

The copper fragment’s powers soon extended beyond charging. After saving an injured ginger cat, Shen Le used the fragment to heal it, and the cat transformed into a fox and ran away. Shortly thereafter, while exploring the river near the mansion, he heard a child’s distress call and jumped in to rescue what turned out to be a puppet. He brought the puppet home and began restoring it, accidentally activating a memory from its past. The puppet, which he later named Xiao Ling, proved to be sentient and could invite people into the mansion—though a large camphor tree in the courtyard, referred to as Sister Ah Lu, controlled who could enter. Through Xiao Ling, Shen Le learned of a paralyzed child, Zhang Zihan, and used the copper fragment to secretly restore feeling to the boy’s legs 4 5 18. His restoration work also uncovered a chest of antique woodworking tools in the family’s old house, including an unusual ink fountain shaped like a crouching lion with a ghost-work ball embedded on its plumb bob. Using his “Spirit Eye” ability, amplified by the copper fragment, he perceived that the tools carried a unique quality—perhaps from being deeply involved in manual labor 26. He later restored a valuable ink marker, named Zheng Mo, and taught Xiao Ling to paint. The ink marker itself exhibited intelligence, leading him back to the couple he had purchased it from and seemingly wanting him to intervene in their dispute 34 38. As he continued repairing the mansion’s furniture, he earned a substantial sum that allowed him to upgrade his workshop and purchase new equipment, and he began learning new skills from the copper fragment, including a carpentry technique that came with a forced infusion of memories from his grandparents’ dedication to their work 44 49.

As Shen Le’s abilities and reputation expand, his mansion changes from an isolated inheritance into a refuge and workshop for Artifact Spirits. He restores increasingly complex items—including porcelain cosmetic boxes, a magical wooden boat, pottery fragments, armor, weapons, ritual objects, and parts of historical residences—and repeatedly enters their memories, where he experiences the lives of their former owners firsthand 139 420 501 571 783 812. He becomes an external Special Affairs Bureau expert, cooperating with the organization while preserving his autonomy and refusing to treat sentient artifacts merely as dangerous property 149 186.

His later cultivation connects him more directly to earth veins, spiritual barriers, the natural world, and the Copper Fragment’s unexplained true form. By the time he participates in major national and overseas supernatural incidents, he has become a powerful cultivator able to travel through earth veins, command Artifact Spirits, fight powerful demons, and perceive the mismatch between the material world and the spiritual world 614 717 718 730 764. Despite this transformation, Shen Le remains fundamentally a restorer: he approaches supernatural crises through repair, research, historical understanding, and a conviction that broken things—and the lives and memories attached to them—deserve care.

Plot Summary

The Inheritance

• Shen Le inherits an ancient mansion from a granduncle he never knew existed, located at 18 Nanhua Street in Zhuxi Town. The property rights cannot be transferred for twenty years, and he must develop it himself. The mansion is in poor condition but features a richly carved brick gatehouse with patterns such as “pomegranates and magpies” and “lotus flowers and begonias” 2.
• After completing the property transfer, Shen Le travels from Shanghai to Zhuxi Town. Behind the scenes, a lawyer and an older man named Old Hu have been manipulating the inheritance for their own purposes, with Old Hu’s grandson being the intended recipient. The lawyer’s silver glasses were damaged by some mysterious force 2.
• Shen Le initially feels overwhelmed and disheartened by the mansion’s remote location and low foot traffic, but becomes excited about the potential value of the antique furniture, which he hopes to restore to charge his copper plate 2.

The Little Puppet

• Shen Le finds a wooden puppet floating in a river and brings it home with the help of community officer Shi Guangbing. He adds Shi Guangbing on WeChat and begins restoring the puppet 5.
• While repairing the puppet, Shen Le accidentally activates a memory from its past: he sees a seven-or-eight-year-old boy clutching the puppet and defiantly telling an adult man, “Xiao Lin is my friend!” The puppet is shown as a precious companion from the 1980s 5.
• The puppet triggers an alarm in the Special Affairs Department’s equipment, leading Gu Yulin and Zhang Bingxin to investigate. They try to seize the puppet, claiming it is linked to a child’s fall from a building, but Shen Le refuses, shouting “Get out!” which causes a massive spike in spiritual pressure, revealing his hidden power 15.
• Shen Le later learns that the child who fell kept asking for his “big sister” – the puppet. He also witnesses a puppeteer using a similar puppet to cheer up crying toddlers, performing a scene from Tianbo Mansion 16.
• The puppet, which Shen Le names Xiao Ling, begins to move on its own at the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant, emitting a halo that absorbs black gas from diners, alleviating their sorrows. The Special Affairs Department duo arrives at the restaurant, heading toward Xiao Ling, worrying Shen Le 23.
• Shen Le teaches Xiao Ling how to paint, using the Ink Marker as a practice piece. He also instructs her to be careful not to get her clothes dirty before a performance 30 34.

The Ink Marker

• Shen Le discovers a chest filled with antique woodworking tools in his family’s old house, including an unusual ink fountain shaped like a crouching lion with a ghost-work ball embedded on its plumb bob. The police report strange events involving ink lines appearing in a house 26.
• Using his Spirit Eye, Shen Le observes that the ink marker has black mist similar to Xiao Ling’s. He decides to repair it to see if it gains intelligence. The ink marker requires repairs to the lion head, ink line wheel, and the Devil’s Work Ball 27.
• The Special Affairs Department duo confronts Shen Le again, demanding he hand over the tool chest and ink marker due to suspected yin energy. He refuses, believing it is safe in his hands. He adds them on WeChat and asks them to buy concentrated nitric acid for him 30.
• Shen Le begins removing rust from the Ink Marker’s shaft using dilute acid. Xiao Ling watches and asks questions. Shen Le feels the Ink Marker is well-behaved, though he suspects it may have its own will 30 34.
• The Ink Marker begins to act independently: it marks an ‘X’ on a poor couple’s backs without Shen Le’s consent, and Shen Le has a vision of his father from decades ago as a woodworker, discussing factory closure and job prospects with his wife 35.
• While Shen Le struggles to manually find the North and South poles of a wooden ball for carving a new Devil’s Work Ball, the Ink Marker unexpectedly helps set the poles and divides the equator into five parts 36.
• Shen Le completes a Jujube Wood Bead after a night and a day of carving. The Ink Marker activates, pulling him out of the house and leading him back to the couple he bought it from, where they are arguing loudly about divorce and money 38.
• The Ink Marker forces Shen Le to follow the arguing couple to their home. It snaps ink lines all over their door, causing the couple to report it. Shen Le tries to understand the Ink Marker’s intentions, sensing that it wants him to mediate their dispute 39 40.
• With Xiao Ling’s help using silk threads, Shen Le successfully repairs and reattaches the Devil’s Work Ball. The Ink Marker comes to life with a bad temper, hitting Shen Le on the forehead 42.
• Through the Ink Marker’s memories, Shen Le sees the previous owner’s parents arguing about sending their son, Zheng Xiaohua, to vocational school or high school, and the father’s back surgery. The Ink Marker reveals its desire to be used for carpentry, but the previous owner resisted 43.

The Ink Marker’s Special Functions

• Shen Le uses the Ink Marker to create a picture frame that helps the quarreling couple, Zheng Xiaohua and his wife, reconnect by appreciating their shared past. He observes the harmonizing effect on their auras 47.
• He is called about being late for Xiao Ling’s performance at the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant. At the restaurant, two massive men are fighting, causing destruction. The proprietress intervenes, makes them pay damages, and gives Shen Le a large payment to restore the old furniture in the restaurant 47 48.
• Shen Le develops a new skill from the Copper Fragment, which allows him to absorb brownish-yellow energy. The Ink Marker works diligently on restoring the furniture, but Shen Le criticizes its repair technique as incorrect 49 50.
• Shen Le considers naming the Ink Marker to give it a sense of identity, explaining that its first owner was Zheng Aijun and the second was Zheng Xiaohua. The Ink Marker falls silent after being shown that “Ink Marker” is a generic term 49.

Cooperation with the Special Affairs Bureau

• Shen Le becomes an external member of the Special Affairs Bureau after presenting his identification to Chen Guohua while handling dangerous porcelain shards. He negotiates to buy and restore the shards rather than allowing them to remain a hazard 149.
• Although initially resistant to official procedures, Shen Le gradually develops a cooperative relationship with the Bureau. Internal assessments describe him as self-disciplined, unwilling to exploit others, and willing to act immediately when people are in danger 179.
• He undertakes increasingly dangerous commissions while maintaining his independence, repeatedly requiring the Bureau to provide equipment, research support, logistics, security, and access to protected sites 186 324 614.
• The Bureau becomes increasingly concerned about his safety and exceptional growth, eventually helping arrange close-combat training and personal protection through the sentient Iron Armor Li Xingtang 626 627.

Growth of the Artifact Spirit Household

• Shen Le restores additional sentient artifacts, including the Little Wood Comb, porcelain cosmetic boxes, Little Oil Lamp Qing Deng, Silk Skirts, Red Wedding Dress, Lan Zhuang, Old You, Alloy Master, Clay Figurines, and the Ancient Residence Huang Yutong 139 335 420 502.
• He treats these beings as members of his household rather than disposable tools, giving them work, food, cultivation resources, and opportunities suited to their preferences and abilities 502 626.
• His assistance to Xiao Yu during her heavenly tribulation reveals that Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant’s workers are also supernatural beings. In gratitude, the Landlady offers cultivation-aiding food, elixirs, and Xiao Yu’s help around Shen Le’s residence 55 57.
• Shen Le restores the Brush Pot with the aid of its Mud Figurines, discovering their connection to it and later using the repaired vessel to store spiritual ingredients and supplies 500 501.
• After restoring the Pottery House, he names its Artifact Spirit Shen Zi. Shen Zi can gather, soothe, and guide restless dead spirits, becoming another member of Shen Le’s growing household 769 783.

Armor, Historical Memories, and Li Xingtang

• Shen Le discovers damaged Tang-era armor in the desert and painstakingly excavates its fragments. He takes the helmet to Dunhuang Academy for study and restoration 565.
• Although Shen Le restores the helmet physically, it repeatedly collapses because it does not initially acknowledge him. Wearing it draws him into the memories of its former owner, a Tang soldier named A-Li 571.
• Through repeated memories and restoration, Shen Le learns battlefield skills, acquires the remaining armor components, restores the Bronze Mirror associated with A-Li’s family, and experiences periods of Tang history through A-Li and his descendants 609 617 619.
• The fully restored armor awakens as Li Xingtang, a close-combat Artifact Spirit who recognizes Shen Le’s authority. Li Xingtang becomes Shen Le’s protector and unwilling combat instructor after the Special Affairs Bureau persuades him not to enlist at the frontier 624 626.
• Shen Le trains under Li Xingtang, learning evasive movement, close-combat reactions, weapon handling, and coordination with armor and flying swords 627 636.

Major Cultivation and National Crises

• Shen Le’s cultivation reaches a major turning point after he opens all twelve regular meridians, substantially improving his strength, agility, stamina, and jumping ability 186.
• He studies and tests spells including Fireball, Water-Repelling, Flight, wind control, Five Thunders, and sword-flying methods, combining traditional cultivation with modern technology and scientific infrastructure 433 437 442 485.
• During the Black Wind Monster incident, Shen Le works with Qing Deng and the Special Affairs Bureau to protect a solar thermal power facility. He lures the monster toward the solar tower and uses concentrated sunlight as part of the counterattack 449.
• He later incorporates nuclear energy into the Five Thunders to temper Peach Wood Swords, with the assistance of the Shanghai Special Affairs Bureau and a nuclear power station 444.
• While restoring and operating major artifacts aboard Cloud Kun, Shen Le undergoes a breakthrough that allows him to directly draw spiritual energy from heaven, earth, and the void. His spiritual awareness rises beyond his physical body, and he gains a higher-order perception of spiritual and material reality 717 718.
• Shen Le becomes capable of traveling through earth veins and across mountains, sensing distant artifact fragments, repairing barriers, and responding to threats against China’s spiritual territory 614 730 764.

Later Historical Restoration

• Shen Le restores gilded clay tablets containing ancient assassination techniques. Their metallic aura temporarily possesses him and causes him to perform the movements of an ancient assassin, allowing him to record and study the techniques 805.
• He experiences the memories of Jing Ke’s assassination attempt while restoring the Madam Xu Dagger and survives severe injuries within the memory, strengthening his understanding of the dagger’s spirit 812.
• He later studies the Great Iron Mallet’s intense spiritual will and attempts to integrate the spiritual essences of several powerful weapons into spirit jade 817.
• Through historical artifacts and memories, Shen Le has witnessed the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the fall of dynasties, the suffering of common people, and the personal costs hidden behind cultural relics. These experiences deepen his compassion and his resolve to preserve both artifacts and the lives connected to them 737 738 781 875.

Abilities and Skills

Antique Restoration

Shen Le possesses professional expertise in artifact restoration, having trained as a graduate student in the field 1. His skills are grounded in a deep understanding of materials, historical techniques, and meticulous handcraft. He demonstrates patience and a systematic approach, whether restoring a small rosewood screen with gold-painted motifs or a complex piece of furniture 3. His methodology includes disassembly, cleaning, sanding with increasingly fine grits, applying wood glue, reassembly with clamps, and final finishing with varnish 3 35. He also shows resourcefulness in identifying wood types by measuring density and using various solvents like acetone for cleaning, while being mindful of safety hazards such as flammability 27 33. His craftsmanship improves after absorbing memory infusions from the Copper Fragment, allowing him to tackle more demanding tasks such as carving a Devil’s Work Ball and repairing an old Ink Marker 37 38 41.

Over time, Shen Le expands beyond wood restoration into silk treatment, ceramic and porcelain restoration, metalwork, armor restoration, archaeological excavation, silverworking, ritual instruments, and the repair of large spiritual structures 265 565 578 730 805. He combines modern imaging, CT scans, laser scanning, 3D modeling, ultrasonic cleaning, and laboratory analysis with Spirit Eye observation and spiritual power 484 578 730.

• Applications: Restoring antique furniture, repairing and reactivating spiritual artifacts, performing fine joinery and carving, restoring silk, pottery, porcelain, weapons, armor, buildings, and ritual objects, and selecting appropriate lumber and tools for specific repairs.
• Limitations: High difficulty tasks, such as creating a three-layered Devil’s Work Ball, require a skill level far beyond his baseline; initial attempts using power tools fail, forcing a switch to manual tools 37. The hardness of certain woods, such as jujube wood, causes physical strain and finger injuries, requiring supplementary techniques to protect his hands 37 38. New materials and specialized historical techniques require extensive research, expert guidance, repeated practice, and sometimes failure before Shen Le can proceed 569 578.

Spirit Eye

The Spirit Eye is a supernatural perception ability granted and enhanced by the Copper Fragment. Shen Le activates it by circulating a surge of heat flow through his meridians—rising from the lower dantian, passing through key acupoints, and condensing into his eyes 26. This grants him the power to see auras, energy flows, spiritual fields, and spiritual patterns around objects and beings. He uses it to inspect artifacts for lingering spiritual essence, detect disruptions in the aura of repaired furniture, and observe the black mist indicating sentience in tools like the Ink Marker 26 27 50. The ability also allows him to perceive colored breaths within the Copper Fragment’s dimensional space 49.

As his cultivation advances, Shen Le’s spiritual perception develops far beyond its original form. He can trace distant spiritual signals, see material and spiritual layers as misaligned realities, inspect earth veins, detect hostile supernatural beings, and perceive complex elemental balances in damaged artifacts 491 718 730 805.

• Applications: Identifying whether an antique tool or artifact possesses spiritual energy, diagnosing damage to an object’s energetic integrity, guiding precise aura-restoring strokes on furniture, tracking artifact fragments, observing spiritual formations, and detecting supernatural threats.
• Limitations: Early in his cultivation, one cycle grants only about five minutes of active use before the vision fades and must be recharged through circulation techniques 50. Even later, certain powerful energies, including heavenly lightning and extremely dangerous spiritual structures, can harm or overwhelm his mental perception if he approaches without caution 737.

Copper Fragment Skills

The Ancestral Copper Fragment, a family heirloom, functions as a supernatural tool that can be “charged” by repairing antiques, which causes it to grow in size and develop new strokes of ancient seal script 1 3. It grants Shen Le a suite of evolving abilities.

Memory Infusion: Activating certain light spots on the Copper Fragment triggers forced memory infusions—dense packets of sensory and technical knowledge from past craftsmen. These infusions transmit carpentry skills, techniques, and emotional experiences directly into Shen Le’s mind, rapidly improving his craftsmanship 44. The infusion is described as exhausting and overwhelming, with the experience of “forced feeding” 44.

• Applications: Rapidly acquiring advanced woodworking, combat, restoration, ritual, and historical skills through the memories embedded in artifacts 44 572 805.
• Limitations: The process is mentally draining, potentially painful, and often dangerous. Shen Le cannot fully control the timing, content, or intensity of memories, and some experiences include injury, death, warfare, or trauma 44 571 609 812.

Aura Manipulation: After completing three cycles of the Five Animal Frolics and guiding heat flow to the second light spot, Shen Le is pulled into a strange space filled with swirling, colored breaths 49. These auras can be caught and manipulated only when he extends heat flow through his fingertips; without it, they evade touch. Identical auras can be fused together by pinching two into one 49. He discovers that a brownish-yellow aura can be absorbed and integrated into his cultivation technique, opening new meridians and accelerating energy growth 50. Other auras prove useless or painful, such as a white speck that causes pain upon contact 50.

• Applications: Absorbing compatible auras to speed cultivation, directing heat flow to open new acupuncture points, manipulating elemental energy, and identifying aura damage in restored objects 50.
• Limitations: The Copper Fragment provides no inherent identification function, requiring Shen Le to experiment blindly. Incompatible energy may cause pain or rejection, and large-scale energy manipulation risks exhausting him or damaging the object being repaired 50 484.

Healing and Object Sentience Support: By using the Copper Fragment’s energy, Shen Le can stimulate healing in living beings, including partially restoring movement to a paralyzed child 18. He can also charge repaired artifacts to the point where they develop or recover sentience, such as Zheng Mo 49. The Little Puppet Xiao Ling similarly gains an ability to emit faint light that dispels dark aura from a hospital ward, contributing to a child’s recovery 20.

• Applications: Healing injuries, supporting Artifact Spirit awakening, nourishing sentient artifacts, restoring spiritual continuity, and helping damaged spiritual objects recognize or accept him 18 49 571 717.
• Limitations: Healing is not instantaneous or universally guaranteed. Not every repaired object becomes sentient, and strong Artifact Spirits may require enormous quantities of energy before responding 38 49 611.

Map, Spatial Travel, and Barrier Interaction: The Copper Fragment can expand to reveal maps and guide Shen Le toward related fragments, Artifact Spirits, and distant spiritual targets 142 730. It also enables travel through earth veins and mountains, assists in repairing spatial or spiritual barriers, and can transport Shen Le to distant locations under certain conditions 433 614.

• Applications: Locating artifact components, navigating dangerous terrain, moving through earth veins, tracing spiritual connections, and interacting with large-scale barriers 614 730.
• Limitations: The Copper Fragment’s true nature, selection criteria, and transport conditions remain unclear. Shen Le cannot always determine where it will lead him or whether it will automatically protect him from sufficiently powerful enemies 453 718.

Supporting Techniques: Five Animal Frolics and Circulation Method

To access and utilize Copper Fragment abilities, Shen Le must first perform the Five Animal Frolics—a qigong-like exercise that generates and circulates a warm current through his body 49. This heat flow is essential for activating the Spirit Eye, entering the aura space, and protecting his fingers during strenuous carving. When carving jujube wood, he discovers that the standard Five Animal Frolics does not provide finger defense; instead, he must use a more specific circulation technique—the “circulation of the heavenly cycle”—to channel heat flow to his fingers, granting temporary protection for about fifteen minutes at a time 38.

As he advances, Shen Le opens the twelve regular meridians and develops greatly enhanced physical ability, internal energy reserves, and control over spiritual power 186. His cultivation later allows direct absorption of spiritual energy from heaven, earth, and the void, without relying solely on the original golden orb in his dantian 717.

• Applications: Generating and directing internal heat flow to enhance perception, manipulate auras, protect body parts during demanding work, support cultivation growth, and fuel spells and Artifact Spirits.
• Limitations: Early protection is short-lived and requires frequent reapplication, interrupting workflow 38. Major techniques and large Artifact Spirits can rapidly consume his energy, requiring rest, meditation, spiritual food, or external energy sources 50 611.

Spells and Combat Skills

Shen Le gradually develops practical combat abilities through cultivation, Artifact Spirit memories, formal training, and experimentation. His early combat style relies on maintaining distance, using Fireball techniques, Talismans, and the support of Artifact Spirits 433 437. He later learns wind control, Water-Repelling techniques, Flight, Five Thunders, sword-flying, earth-vein travel, and close-combat weapon skills 442 485 626 636.

His experiences within A-Li’s armor memories give him practical familiarity with cavalry spear work, sabers, shields, lances, battlefield movement, and the modao 572 703. Li Xingtang subsequently forces Shen Le to train evasive movement, reaction speed, and close-range defense, compensating for Shen Le’s tendency to rely too heavily on ranged magic 626 627.

• Fireball Technique: Projects destructive fire-based attacks; Shen Le practices against Special Affairs Bureau targets and later uses it against powerful demons 433 449.
• Water-Repelling Technique: Can forcefully expel water from a target or area, making it dangerous against living beings if used without restraint 437.
• Flight and Wind Control: Enables limited aerial movement and allows Shen Le to lighten another person’s steps or assist travel over hazardous terrain 449 485.
• Five Thunders: A lightning-based technique enhanced through Qing Deng and later through nuclear-energy tempering of Peach Wood Swords 442 444.
• Sword-Flying: Allows Shen Le to control flying swords, though early porcelain swords are fragile and low-endurance 636.
• Close Combat: Combines inherited battlefield muscle memory with Li Xingtang’s instruction, allowing Shen Le to use sabers, spears, shields, modao, and assassination-style movements 572 626 805.

Power Progression

Relationships

Xiao Ling

Xiao Ling, the sentient string puppet Shen Le rescued from a river and meticulously restored, is his closest companion and the central figure in his life. Their bond began when Shen Le experienced the puppet’s memories during restoration, realizing it was alive and had been discarded 5 10 17. He named her Xiao Ling—the “Ling” with the person radical, meaning a performer of traditional opera—after she begged for a name, rejecting generic labels like “Little Puppet” 17. Their relationship is one of mutual care and dependence: Shen Le acts as a protective guardian, teaching her about the world and negotiating for her well-being, while Xiao Ling offers unwavering loyalty, obedience, and practical help in his work.

From the start, Shen Le fiercely defends Xiao Ling against perceived threats. When the Special Affairs Department tried to seize her, claiming she was a “dirty thing” that could harm people, Shen Le physically pushed them out of his home, shouting “Get out!” with such force that their detection devices screeched 15. He later rented her out for performances at the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant but only after negotiating strict terms: the proprietress could not break her, throw her away, discard her into a soup pot or stove, or take a hammer or axe to her 22. He also demanded that any mysterious changes be reported to him immediately 22. His protectiveness extends to arranging her performance schedules—he was momentarily alarmed when the proprietress discussed taking her to a hospital, and he carefully monitored the Special Affairs Department personnel who filmed her 24.

Xiao Ling, in turn, demonstrates deep trust and affection. She eagerly agreed to perform at the restaurant, cheerfully demanding that part of her earnings go toward buying clothes 21. She is curious and eager to learn, watching Shen Le restore the Ink Marker and asking to paint with him 30 34. She helps him with his craft: threading ink lines, pulling cords like a plumb bob, and even scrubbing the mansion’s furniture and windows without complaint 31 42. Shen Le appreciates her assistance, noting that she never asks for wages or bathroom breaks—only the occasional new outfit or makeup session 42. She later travels with Shen Le and the other Artifact Spirits, eagerly volunteering to help supernatural beings in need, such as Lady Shiji 335. Their bond remains one of mutual healing, companionship, and trust.

The Proprietress of Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant

The proprietress is a shrewd, resourceful, and authoritative figure who becomes a key collaborator in Xiao Ling’s public performances. Shen Le first meets her when she tastes the mutton noodles at her restaurant and is impressed; she immediately proposes renting Xiao Ling for daily shows at 100 yuan per day, plus free meals for Shen Le 21. Their relationship is professional but cordial, built on mutual benefit and a shared understanding of Xiao Ling’s special nature.

The proprietress commands respect from everyone, including the Special Affairs Department duo, who were warned that “in her shop, it was best to listen obediently” 24. When two massive men start fighting in her restaurant, she coolly intervenes, sings a verse from the Legend of the White Snake to calm them, and then demands immediate payment for the damages—both men obediently pulling out thick wallets 47. She also manages the logistics of Xiao Ling’s performances with impressive efficiency: when Shen Le is reluctant about hospital shows, she smoothly suggests a school instead, using her connections to arrange tours for stressed children during summer vacation 24. She even orders a second puppet—a male young scholar—from Shen Le, paying a deposit of 1,000 yuan and agreeing on a 10-day delivery for 2,000 yuan total 22.

Her later actions reveal that she and Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant’s staff are supernatural beings. After Shen Le risks himself to help Xiao Yu during her heavenly tribulation, the Landlady repays him with cultivation-aiding pastries, elixirs, and Xiao Yu’s offer to assist at his residence 55 57. Shen Le remains cautious about accepting favors, but he recognizes the sincerity of their gratitude and continues to maintain a close, practical relationship with the restaurant.

Gu Yulin and Zhang Bingxin (Special Affairs Department)

Gu Yulin and Zhang Bingxin are a duo from the Municipal Bureau of Culture’s Special Affairs Department, specializing in anomalous events. They first appear when a police officer, Shi Guangbing, brings them to Shen Le’s mansion under the pretext of an intangible cultural heritage project 14. Shen Le initially welcomes them, hoping they can help designate his ancient mansion as a protected building, but their true interest quickly emerges: they want to seize the puppet Xiao Ling, claiming she triggered alarm equipment and may be connected to a child’s fall from a building 15.

Shen Le’s relationship with them is adversarial from the start. When Gu Yulin shows his ID and explains their mission, Shen Le refuses point-blank, shouting “Get out!” and physically pushing them out of his home 15. Their detection devices screech at his outburst, revealing his hidden power, and the two Maoshan Taoists turn pale 15. Despite this confrontation, Shen Le later encounters them again at the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant, where they are filming Xiao Ling’s performance under the proprietress’s supervision 24. The proprietress orders them to keep a two-meter distance and not to touch the puppet, and they obey submissively 24.

Their interactions gradually become cooperative. They later approach Shen Le about the Ink Marker, claiming it harbors yin energy and wanting him to hand it over. Shen Le again refuses, believing the Ink Marker is safe in his hands, but he adds them on WeChat and asks them to buy concentrated nitric acid for him—a grudging cooperation 30. By the time Shen Le becomes an external expert, Gu Yulin increasingly serves as a liaison, coordinator, and warning voice when Shen Le’s missions threaten to become too dangerous or politically complicated 149 500 745. Their relationship develops from mistrust into an uneasy but reliable partnership.

Shi Guangbing (Police Officer)

Shi Guangbing is a community patrol officer who first helps Shen Le out of a river when Shen Le fishes out the puppet 5. Their initial interaction is friendly; they exchange WeChat contacts, and Shen Le develops a favorable impression of him as a reliable and professional person 5 14. Shi Guangbing later becomes a bridge between Shen Le and the authorities, introducing the Special Affairs Department duo under the guise of cultural heritage work 14. He also investigates the child who jumped off a building and, learning that the child cried for his “big sister,” Xiao Ling, informs Shen Le 15.

Throughout these events, Shi Guangbing remains neutral and sympathetic—he gives Shen Le a bitter smile when relaying the child’s condition, and Shen Le notes that he is “easy to get along with” 14. Later, Shi Guangbing calls Shen Le about a problem with the Ink Marker’s ink lines appearing on a couple’s door, but Shen Le deflects, saying it has nothing to do with him 40. Their relationship is built on trust and convenience; Shen Le sees him as a dependable contact in official circles.

The Ink Marker (Zheng Mo)

The Ink Marker—a tool imbued with a degree of sentience—is Shen Le’s second supernatural companion, though far more independent and less communicative than Xiao Ling. Shen Le buys it from a couple, Zheng Xiaohua and his wife, and immediately sets to restoring it. Initially, the Ink Marker shows no obvious reaction, but as Shen Le works on it, it begins to demonstrate unexpected capabilities: it helps him set the North and South Poles of a wooden ball and divides the equator into five parts when Shen Le struggles manually 36. Shen Le tries to communicate with it, but the Ink Marker remains unresponsive most of the time, leading to frustration—he once complained that it “only knew how to cause trouble” compared to the helpful Xiao Ling 40.

The Ink Marker, however, possesses a strong will. When Shen Le completes a Jujube Wood Bead after a full day and night of carving, the Ink Marker activates and physically pulls him out of the house, leading him back to the couple he bought it from, Zheng Xiaohua and his wife, who are arguing loudly 38. Shen Le realizes the Ink Marker wants him to mediate their dispute 38. It later reveals the couple’s history through a picture frame it helps create, harmonizing their relationship 47. The Ink Marker also sends bewildered vibrations to Shen Le, asking for its own name—Shen Le patiently explains that it cannot simply be called “Ink Marker” because many tools share that name, and suggests the name Zheng Mo 49.

Zheng Mo later becomes one of Shen Le’s most reliable household workers and defenders. It helps maintain the house model and seals made of spirit wood, fiercely insisting on the quality of its materials and work 531. Shen Le indulges its pride while continuing to treat it as an individual rather than merely a useful tool.

Li Xingtang (Iron Armor)

Li Xingtang is the Artifact Spirit of a restored suit of Tang-era armor associated with the soldier A-Li. Shen Le first encounters the armor as a damaged helmet and scattered fragments in the desert, then painstakingly excavates, studies, and restores it 565 571. Through its memories, Shen Le experiences A-Li’s military career, his family’s history, and the long struggle surrounding the Anxi Protectorate 609 619.

After the armor is fully restored and reunited with its flying sword, Li Xingtang awakens as an independent Artifact Spirit. He recognizes Shen Le’s role in restoring him and agrees to follow and respect him 624. Unlike Shen Le’s more domestic Artifact Spirits, Li Xingtang strongly desires military service and repeatedly attempts to find a place on the frontline 626.

Shen Le is protective of Li Xingtang and reluctant to allow him to be used as disposable infantry. The Special Affairs Bureau redirects Li Xingtang’s sense of duty toward becoming Shen Le’s personal guard and close-combat instructor instead 626. Shen Le initially protests intensely, preferring to fight as a ranged spellcaster, but Li Xingtang’s concern for his poor close-range survival skills is sincere 626 627. Their relationship becomes that of restorer and Artifact Spirit, but also reluctant student and strict martial instructor.

Zheng Xiaohua and His Wife (Changle)

Shen Le’s interactions with this couple are limited but significant, driven by the Ink Marker’s fascination with them. He first encounters them when buying the Ink Marker; later, he overhears them arguing in a pig trotter rice shop: the wife berates her husband for charging only 100 yuan for a ceiling installation job, suspecting he has feelings for the client, a widow 34. Shen Le silently memorizes their situation, feeling empathy. Later, the Ink Marker leads him back to their home, where the wife is screaming for divorce 38 39. Shen Le stands outside, listening to an old woman’s mediation, and finds it pathetic that basic decency—not smoking, drinking, gambling, or domestic violence—is considered a virtue 39.

The Ink Marker wants him to intervene, but Shen Le only comforts the tool, not the couple. Eventually, he uses the Ink Marker to create a picture frame that helps them reconnect by appreciating their shared past 47. Their relationship is one of detached observation—Shen Le does not befriend them, but he becomes an instrument of reconciliation through Zheng Mo.

Minor Relationships

Xiao Yu: A waitress at Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant who initially handles Xiao Ling. She demonstrates skillful puppet manipulation and treats Xiao Ling kindly, asking for her name and cooperation 21. Shen Le is satisfied with her ability, feeling confident that she will not ruin the puppet 22. Shen Le later helps Xiao Yu survive a lightning tribulation, after which she and the Landlady seek to repay his kindness 55 57.

Zhang Zihan: A boy who jumped off a building and became paralyzed; Xiao Ling reveals she played with him often 18. Shen Le takes Xiao Ling to the hospital and secretly uses the Copper Fragment to heal the boy’s legs, restoring feeling 18. The mother thanks Shen Le, and the boy’s condition improves, though Shen Le’s connection with the child remains indirect—mediated through Xiao Ling’s affection.

Senior Sister: Shen Le receives a CAD file from her for carving a Devil’s Work Ball; he shows respect and appreciation for her help 36. Their interaction is purely professional and digital.

The Old Puppeteer: Through the puppet’s memories, Shen Le experiences the life of the old man who performed puppet shows for children during the Japanese occupation, telling stories of resistance 14. Though they never meet directly, this memory inspires Shen Le to value and restore the puppet, shaping his relationship with Xiao Ling.

Professor Huang and Other Scholars: Shen Le increasingly relies on historians, archaeologists, material specialists, and restoration professors for guidance. He respects their expertise while retaining his own independence and willingness to research difficult problems personally 324 569 578.

Lady Shiji: A sentient stone who asks Shen Le to help locate a missing stone-spirit friend. Shen Le assists her despite the difficult terrain and uses the Copper Fragment to shrink her into a portable jade-like form 335 337.

Huang Yutong, Qing Deng, Lan Zhuang, and the Other Artifact Spirits: Shen Le acts as caretaker, employer, teacher, and companion to his growing household of sentient artifacts. He listens to their preferences, mediates their conflicts, distributes cultivation resources fairly, and relies on their specialized help during restoration and combat 502 531 717.

Key Items

Ancestral Copper Fragment

The Ancestral Copper Fragment is a mysterious, coin-like relic that Shen Le discovers while taking stock of his inherited residence. Initially small and seemingly unremarkable, the fragment responds to Shen Le’s work repairing antiques by undergoing physical changes, growing in size and developing additional strokes of ancient seal script on its surface 3 44. Its most fundamental ability is to be “charged” through the restoration of antique objects—when Shen Le completes a repair, a tangible shift occurs in the fragment, confirming a direct link between his craftsmanship and the artifact’s power 3.

The Copper Fragment serves as Shen Le’s primary conduit for supernatural skills and knowledge. It grants him access to the Spirit Eye, a heightened perception that allows him to see auras, mist-like energy signatures, and the spiritual nature of objects and beings 26 27 30. It also imparts internal energy and a cultivation technique that absorbs brownish-yellow energy, accelerating his training 30 50. More critically, the fragment stores and transmits memories and skills. By pressing the fragment against an object or tool, Shen Le can enter a “soul space” where he experiences the item’s history, often forcefully—as when the Ink Marker’s memories are infused into him 44. This process is mentally exhausting and can include carpentry knowledge, personal histories, and the intended purpose of the item 44. Over time, the Copper Fragment grows from three-quarters the size of his palm to the full size of his palm, and multiple light spots appear on it, each corresponding to a key item 44.

Its capabilities later expand dramatically. The fragment can display maps, help Shen Le trace connected artifacts across China and beyond, guide travel through earth veins, facilitate interaction with barriers, and transport Shen Le under certain circumstances 142 433 614 730. It remains mysterious even to Shen Le, whose growing spiritual perception suggests that its true form and status far exceed his current understanding 382 718.

Little Wooden Puppet (Xiao Ling)

The Little Wooden Puppet, soon named Xiao Ling by Shen Le, is a string puppet made of wood that he rescues after it was thrown from a height and abandoned 15 10. When he first picks it up, it triggers alarms in the Special Affairs Department’s detection equipment, marking it as a supernatural artifact with strong residual yin energy 15. Shen Le repairs her meticulously, and during the process experiences flashes of her memories, hinting at a deep and possibly tragic past 10.

Xiao Ling’s primary ability is to absorb the sorrows and melancholy of people around her. When she performs at the Heavenly Fragrance Restaurant, Shen Le notices a flame-like orange-red halo around her that actively draws out black gas from diners, alleviating their emotional burdens 23 27. This power makes her highly valued by the restaurant’s proprietress, who rents her for daily puppet shows—performances that attract customers and bring comfort 21. Xiao Ling is also fully sentient and independent. She can move on her own, communicate with Shen Le and other items like the Ink Marker, and use silk threads to manipulate objects, lift paint boxes, or reach high places 23 30 34. She is eager to learn, asking to watch Shen Le work and later learning to paint under his instruction 34.

To Shen Le, Xiao Ling is far more than a tool. He is fiercely protective of her, refusing to hand her over to the Special Affairs Department even when they claim she is a dangerous spirit 15 30. He names her, treats her with patience, and integrates her into his daily life and work. She is his first real companion in the supernatural world, and her power to heal emotional pain aligns with his own growing sense of compassion and responsibility.

Ink Marker (Zheng Mo)

The Ink Marker is a woodworking tool—an ink fountain used for marking straight lines—that Shen Le discovers in a chest of antique woodworking tools found in his family’s old house 26. The chest is inherited from his family, and the Ink Marker is notably crafted with exceptional skill: its plumb bob contains a tiny, multi-layered “ghost-work ball” of jujube wood, an intricate carving that bespeaks a master artisan 26 33. When Shen Le activates his Spirit Eye, he sees a layer of black mist swirling around the Ink Marker—a mist similar in density to that of Xiao Ling, but distinct in color, indicating its own unique spiritual nature 27.

The Ink Marker’s abilities are rooted in its function as a tool. It can snap ink lines that carry supernatural effects—when it inadvertently marks a couple’s door with ink lines, the lines are later found to have a harmonizing influence on the couple’s relationship, reconnecting them with their shared past 40 47. It is also highly autonomous and intelligent. After Shen Le repairs it—scavenging the correct jujube wood for its Devil’s Work Ball, cleaning its metal shaft, and restoring its lion-head top—the Ink Marker becomes fully active 30 33. It can move its lead weight on its own, spin the ink line wheel, and even “kick” Shen Le out of the house to lead him to the old couple who owned it 38 49. It communicates through vibrations and buzzing of its ink line, expressing emotions like joy, excitement, and bewilderment 49. Shen Le eventually names it Zheng Mo, a name the marker enthusiastically accepts 49.

The Ink Marker is defined by a deep-seated belief in the value of labor. Crafted by its first owner—a carpenter named Zheng Aijun—and used for decades, it carries an unbreakable conviction that labor is the most important, glorious, and meaningful expression of personal value 49. When Shen Le tasks it with repairing a batch of old furniture, the Ink Marker works tirelessly with full vigor, even kicking Shen Le out of the workshop to focus on the task 49 50. It later helps create durable house models and spiritual seals, taking immense pride in the quality of its craftsmanship 531.

Iron Armor (Li Xingtang)

Li Xingtang is a Tang-era suit of armor restored by Shen Le from a damaged helmet and scattered desert fragments. The armor contains the memories and martial will of A-Li, a soldier of the Anxi Protectorate, and initially resists restoration by collapsing apart and refusing to recognize Shen Le 565 571. Shen Le eventually earns its acceptance by enduring its memories, restoring its missing components, and nourishing it with vast amounts of spiritual energy 609 617.

Once united with its flying sword, the armor awakens as Li Xingtang, an Artifact Spirit with exceptional close-combat ability and a strong sense of military duty 624. Li Xingtang can wield a modao, use a flying sword, fight independently, and draw on Tang battlefield experience embedded in its spiritual memory 625 639. It also becomes Shen Le’s personal guard and close-combat trainer, though Shen Le initially objects to this arrangement 626 627.

Brush Pot and Mud Figurines

The Brush Pot is a damaged spirit artifact connected to a group of sentient Mud Figurines, including a clay wedding procession and associated furniture 500 501. When Shen Le restores it, its broken channels and spiritual continuity are repaired with assistance from the Mud Figurines, who lend their own strength and demonstrate a close spiritual link to the vessel 501.

After restoration, the Brush Pot becomes a useful storage container for spiritual fruits, herbs, seafood, and other supplies, while the Mud Figurines remain active helpers in Shen Le’s household 501. Their ability to shrink, organize themselves, and work together makes them valuable assistants for transport, display, restoration, and large-scale household tasks 500 501.

Pottery House (Shen Zi)

The Pottery House is assembled from scattered pottery fragments that Shen Le locates across wide regions using the Copper Fragment’s map function 730. Restoring it draws Shen Le into generations of Shen family memories, including migration, financial hardship, conflict, and the family’s persistence through historical upheaval 769 781.

After awakening, Shen Le names the Artifact Spirit Shen Zi because its former owner shared his surname 783. Shen Zi’s principal ability is to gather restless dead spirits, soothe them, and guide them toward a peaceful resting place, though its range and full limits remain unknown 783. Shen Le refuses to let the Shanghai Museum simply exhibit Shen Zi as an object, prioritizing the Artifact Spirit’s welfare and the sensitivity of its spiritual function 783.