Mr. Zhou

Biodata

Background

Mr. Zhou is a lay Daoist whose training draws on different traditions rather than a systematic method or a lineage he can pass on. He remembers advice from a former master about the Earth-Fire Cult’s knowledge of feng shui 17 47. He seeks wealth partly because he believes it could help him obtain the connections needed to access a Longevity Method 47.

Abilities & Skills

Spirit-summoning and divination

• Summons souls for questioning and uses protective preparations when a rite may draw hostile spirits 17 18.
• Knows some Witchcraft Arts and Spirit Rice Divination, but cannot use incense to bore into souls 32.
• Cannot summon guardian generals or command spirit soldiers to protect his altar; he relies on disciples to guard him instead 18.

Protective and offering rites

• Uses incense-ash circles as barriers and insists that they have no gaps 18 48.
• Places talismans around the Qian residence and tests Fa Ming with a burned talisman after the disciple returns from an uncanny courtyard 39 47.
• Prepares an Iron Pot Food Offering, though his version shares only its name with the proper rite 39. Its bowl contains Ritual Rice, earth, and chicken’s blood 46.

Equipment & Ritual Items

• Patchwork ritual robe — made from named cloth scraps bearing handprints 17.
• Three Purities and Five Buddhas Crown — has six upright plaques; two are blank 17.
• Cast-bronze ritual seal — carried at his waist 17.
• Bell — used during his rituals; its ringing also interrupts Fa Ming’s strange recollection 17 48.

Relationships

• Fa Ming — disciple and dependable assistant whom Zhou sends to investigate the Qian estate’s rear courtyard. Zhou checks him for danger when he returns 39 40 47.
• Qian Dayou — employer whose household troubles Zhou investigates. Zhou suspects the family’s wealth may be tied to “Borrowed Ghost Fortune” 17 47 48.
• Zhao Er — corpse stitcher to whom Zhou passes six bodies from the Qian household. Zhao Er considers him competent in ordinary matters but likely to retreat from serious trouble 21 32 33.
• Xu Feng — Zhao Er’s apprentice. Zhou offers him the remaining corpse-stitching payment, which Xu Feng refuses to accept on his master’s behalf, and warns that Xu Feng’s Reed Grass may no longer protect him 31.

Story Role

• The Qian household investigation: Zhou’s attempt to summon Qian Dayou’s mother’s soul draws a ghost instead. Suspecting the family has attracted supernatural trouble, he calls for a corpse stitcher and later visits the Earth God Shrine to deliver payment 17 18 31.
• Preparations for the nighttime rite: He recruits Spirit-Bait, arms his disciples with slingshots for use against people, and arranges an offering while anticipating a possible Earth-Fire Cult attack 37 40 45.
• The hidden temple: Fa Ming’s search strengthens Zhou’s theory that an old temple lies within the Qian estate and that the family borrowed a ghost’s fortune. Zhou remains uncertain what the rumored Dragon Pearl is 47 48.

Notable Quotes

“If any one of you dies, my heart will ache!” 40

“The Dragon Pearl, this Dragon Pearl of feng shui—what on earth is it?” 48