Qian Dayou

Biodata

Background / History

Qian Dayou was a street ruffian before his family became wealthy. Three of the five Qian brothers died; Dayou and his younger brother, Qian Laosan, survived and became influential in Luoyin County. Their rise began less than a year after the local Earth-Fire Cult was destroyed 47.

The brothers kept the severed head of an Earth-Fire Cult member executed years earlier buried beneath a temple. The head is identified as the source of their fortune, though how it produced their wealth is not established 50. Dayou later became powerful enough to be regarded as a local tyrant; he had also used corpses to extort money from others 10 11.

Appearance

Dayou is depicted as a prosperous, imposing householder 10 18.

• Round face, large belly, and blue robes 10.
• Often turns a long string of prayer beads in his hand 10 11 18.

Personality

Dayou can be courteous and generous when seeking help: he thanks Doctor Zhao, presses silver on him despite his protests, and escorts him out after the doctor treats his mother. Once the physician leaves, Dayou threatens whoever he believes has caused his family's trouble 10.

He relies on his wealth, guards, and local standing, but the return of a burned corpse's scent and news of the Earth-Fire Cult leave him visibly afraid. His concern for his mother's safety persists as the danger grows 11 18.

Possessions

• Prayer beads — carried and turned while he considers threats to his household 10 11.
• Severed head — an executed Earth-Fire Cult member's head, formerly buried beneath a temple and secretly retrieved by Dayou 50.

Relationships

• Qian Laosan / Third Master Qian — younger brother and county-office clerk. He investigates the family's troubles and urges Dayou to protect their mother; the brothers disagree when Dayou retrieves the buried head 18 50.
• His mother — frightened by a dead woman at the residence. Dayou obtains medical and ritual help for her 10 11 18.
• Doctor Zhao — physician who treats his mother and advises that her soul may need to be summoned back 10.
• Mr. Zhou — ritual practitioner hired amid the household's disturbances. He directs the rites and later recruits Spirit-Bait for a nighttime offering 17 37 45.
• Zhao Er — corpse stitcher brought into the case after Mr. Zhou requests one; six women's bodies from Dayou's household are sent to him 18 21 32.

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Trouble at the mansion: A dead woman appears along his mother's route through the rear courtyard. Dayou initially suspects a corpse-based extortion scheme, then orders an investigation when no mourners arrive to make demands. The corpse's scent subsequently reappears despite its reported burning 10 11.
• Growing threat: Mr. Zhou's rites point to ghosts rather than a straightforward vendetta. Dayou's brother reports Earth-Fire Cult members near the county, though their involvement in the household's troubles is unconfirmed at that point 17 18.
• The Spirit-Bait ritual: Dayou supplies Mr. Zhou's preparations and is asked to find people with ill-fated lives to serve as Spirit-Bait. The family opens its mansion for a nighttime rite guarded by servants and hired specialists 37 40 45.
• The buried head: Fearing the night's events, Dayou proposes destroying the object behind the brothers' fortune and reveals that he has dug it up. As he opens the bundle containing the severed head, his brother sees their mother's face on the back of Dayou's neck 50.

Notable Quotes

“If I catch him, I'll show him what it truly means to be unable to live and unable to die!” 10

“We're already so rich. Surely that head is of no use to us anymore. Why don't we use tonight's commotion to destroy it?” 50