Wood Crow

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Wood Crow
Species/Race	Mechanical wooden crow; a mechanism powered by an artificial artifact spirit
Affiliation	Azure Sun Hall; White Moon Palace
Occupation/Role	Debt collection, funeral-services sales, aptitude scanning, targeted advertising, examination grading
Status	Active
First Appearance	1

Background / History

Wood Crows are wooden mechanisms shaped like crows. Their bodies are carved from wood apart from their beaks and talons, and their crimson eyes can move independently. They are deployed throughout lower-reach settlements as public-facing service and enforcement mechanisms. 1

Azure Sun Hall uses Wood Crows to announce deaths, market funeral arrangements, collect inherited debts, and assist debt collectors. A crow informed Lu Li of his mother's death, attempted to sell him discounted funeral services, then disclosed her outstanding debt to Azure Sun Hall. 1 2

Although their speech often resembles rote salesmanship, Wood Crows can shift abruptly from fawning to stern or threatening behavior. One used public accusations of unfilial conduct to pressure Lu Li into purchasing funeral services; another coldly explained that Azure Sun Hall would appraise his body for organ harvesting if he could not repay the debt. 1 2

The mechanisms are made using mortal souls. A lower D-grade soul can be refined into a Wood Crow, while stronger souls may be used for puppet dolls or first-turn spirit cores. Lu Li realizes that Wood Crows are living people stripped of their memories and reduced to repetitive labor. 21 22

After losing her body, Elder Duan Xuanyuan possessed a Wood Crow before locating Lu Li, whose earth-wood spiritual roots made him suitable material for the Azure Attendant Female Puppet. 28

Appearance

A Wood Crow resembles a carved bird rather than a living animal, with mechanical movement and a conspicuous wooden texture.

• Entire body covered in wood grain. 1
• Beak and talons are distinct from the carved wooden body. 1
• Crimson eyes roll or shift in color while operating. 1 7
• Eye glow can change from red to white during an aptitude scan. 7
• Can hover, perch, pursue targets, and land on a handler's shoulder. 1 6 7

Functions

Debt Collection and Enforcement

Wood Crows act as Azure Sun Hall's debt-collection agents.

• Notify debtors of outstanding balances and daily interest. 1 5
• Present promissory notes and invoke inherited-debt obligations. 1
• Offer body-part collateral arrangements, including the Five Viscera Loan. 5
• Accompany Azure Sun Hall disciples during collection operations. 6 7
• Can be used to locate and identify debtors. 7

Aptitude Scanning

A Wood Crow can scan a person's physical condition, divine sense, and spiritual roots.

• Its eye-light passes through the target's body similarly to an internal examination. 7
• Identified Lu Li as fifteen years old, with low D-grade physical condition and divine sense, and earth-wood spiritual roots mixed with metal, water, and fire. 7
• Produced a recommendation to extract Lu Li's five viscera and spiritual roots for sect processing. 7
• Assessed Lu Ling's lower D-grade physique, upper D-grade divine sense, and four-colored mixed spiritual roots, recommending soul extraction. 21

Sales and Advertising

Wood Crows market services through persistent, personalized pitches.

• Sell funeral services such as hired mourners, pallbearers, and banquet arrangements. 1
• Promote loans and Puppet Devices to financially desperate targets. 5 6
• Advertise private academies, examination insurance, study materials, and workshop equipment. 36 37 44
• Use personal information from White Moon Palace's intelligence network to target likely customers. Lu Li's late registration, lack of academy enrollment, study-material purchases, and mechanism rentals marked him as a high-value prospective enrollee. 37
• Alter their approach based on a target's responses, becoming obedient when a customer claims to be willing to enroll. 37
• Retain enough recognition to remember Lu Li's repeated false promises to return after buying materials or pears. 40

Examination Grading

Wood Crows grade fixed-answer written examinations.

• The Human-grade fitter assessment papers are graded by Wood Crows. 39
• Their limited intelligence is suited to repetitive evaluation with predetermined answers. 39

Limitations

• Wood Crows possess limited intelligence compared with higher-grade artificial artifact spirits. 39
• Their sales protocols can malfunction; one convulsed and shut down after Lu Li rejected the Five Viscera Loan. 5
• They observe operational restrictions, such as not broadcasting advertisements inside an examination hall. 40
• Their behavior is strongly shaped by assigned work patterns, leaving them prone to repetitive, formulaic pitches. 37

Relationships

• Lu Li — Initially notified him of his mother's death and inherited Azure Sun Hall debt; later scanned him for organ-harvesting value and persistently targeted him with academy advertisements. 1 5 7 37 40
• Lu Ling — A Wood Crow assessed her aptitude and recommended soul extraction; Lu Li later inferred that people with similar aptitude could be made into Wood Crows. 21 22
• Elder Duan Xuanyuan — Possessed a Wood Crow after her physical body was destroyed, using it to find Lu Li. 28
• Azure Sun Hall — Uses Wood Crows for funeral commerce, debt collection, target scanning, and enforcement support. 1 7
• White Moon Palace — Controls the Wood Crows operating in Maple Fragrance City and connects them to its intelligence network. 25 37

Trivia

• Lu Li compares a Wood Crow's internal scan to an MRI from his previous life. 7
• Wood Crows are common enough in Maple Fragrance City to fill the sky above its streets. 25
• Lu Li considers shooting advertising Wood Crows from the sky with the Qi-Combining Cauldron, but refrains because he would have to compensate for any he damaged. 36