Hundred-Household Officer Zhu

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Hundred-Household Officer Zhu (朱百户); full personal name not given
Alias(es)	Officer Zhu; Lord Zhu; Company Commander Zhu in some passages 13 26 32
Species/Race	Human 27
Gender	Male 6
Affiliation	Great Ming imperial court; Embroidered Uniform Guard 6
Occupation/Role	Hundred-household officer; battlefield veteran; Lin Feng’s imperial-side teammate 6 7
Status	Dies during one route through the mountains; appears alive in subsequent attempts and the Act Four cutscene 21 22 26 50
First Appearance	Present among the shrine companions in Chapter 4; identified by rank and surname in Chapter 6 4 6

Background / History

Military service

Zhu served under the Prince of Zhongshan, identified by Lin Feng as Xu Da, during campaigns against Wang Baobao. His recollections include monstrous fish larger than boats, strange mountain inhabitants, and a Yellow River god that devoured soldiers. According to Zhu, the commander forced religious practitioners to resolve the river threat or face being sacrificed themselves; offerings and chanting eventually settled the matter 27.

The Thirty-Six Stockades mission

Lord Mao assigned Zhu to communicate secretly with Clear Spring Stockade’s grand elder. Contact began half a year before the stockade investigation. The frightened elder offered information about a secret jointly guarded by the Thirty-Six Stockades in exchange for relocating his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to Yingtian Prefecture 7.

A further confidential letter arrived half a month before the investigation. Zhu did not know its contents. A thousand-household officer subsequently entered the stockade with a group of experts and disappeared 7.

Zhu’s own imperial party included two other hundred-household officers, six squad leaders, veteran soldiers, and a head constable. All his companions died along the journey, leaving him as the party’s sole survivor at Clear Spring Stockade. The expected map handoff had also failed: the inhabitants were dead, and the contact left to meet the party was missing 6 7.

Appearance

Zhu is sallow-faced and outwardly unremarkable, with a normally impassive expression 7 14.

• Dull, clouded eyes — his gaze returns to this subdued appearance after the confrontation with Peng Tianli 7.
• Sudden killing intensity — touching his saber transforms his bearing; Lin Feng compares the threatening presence beside him to a “sick tiger” 7.

Personality

Zhu is taciturn, disciplined, and practical. He ignores Peng Tianli’s provocations until violence becomes imminent, follows Lin Feng’s tactical instructions without demanding explanations, and readily takes the lead through dangerous terrain 6 7 9.

His composure comes from battlefield experience rather than ignorance of supernatural threats. Ghostly voices and the baleful corpses at the inn do not visibly unsettle him, although the washed-out mountain road briefly makes him anxious 21 27 29.

His cooperation with Lin Feng does not make him gentle. He calls the local faction “savages,” withholds sensitive information in their presence, and repeatedly uses a blade against the guide’s neck to enforce orders 7 14 26 43. His attachment to his saber is especially stubborn: during the Act Four lightning storm, he refuses to discard it even as Lin Feng throws away his own metal weapon 50.

Abilities & Skills

Battlefield Combat

Zhu’s saber work emphasizes direct killing techniques rather than ornamental movements. Against the Blood God, his attacks are described as a vicious streak of lightning 12.

• Detects an ambush in the shrine, throws his saber behind Lin Feng, and immediately draws backup blades 7.
• Recognizes that something is watching from the woods before the enemy reveals itself 8 17.
• Reads trampled vegetation to identify the likely route to the stockade’s water source 8.
• Initially exceeds Lin Feng in strength and battlefield effectiveness, but later struggles to keep pace with Lin Feng’s enhanced mountain-running abilities 8 27.

Physical Strength and Improvised Weapons

Zhu can swing an altar table weighing more than sixty pounds as though it were weightless 8.

• Smashes multiple Worm Thralls apart while keeping their flesh and parasites from splashing onto himself and Lin Feng 9.
• Uses the table to open an escape path when the thralls pursue the group 11.
• Must discard it when red threadworms begin crawling from the weapon toward his body 10.

Veteran Passives

The exchange unlocked after the Blood God battle associates Zhu with several combat passives 12 13.

Passive	Documented information
Veteran’s Sense	Listed among Zhu’s passives; his demonstrated awareness includes detecting concealed watchers and sudden attacks 7 8 13.
Battlefield Resolve / Battlefield Combat	Named differently across the exchange passages; no separate mechanical description is provided 12 13.
Unyielding	Listed among his passives; its precise effect is not explained 12 13.

Dragon-Tiger Qi and National Fortune

Zhu possesses Dragon-Tiger Qi Protection associated with his official position. The Great Ming’s rising national fortune makes his attacks particularly effective against the Blood God 12 13.

• His protective qi clashes with the Blood God’s aura and strengthens against the stronger opponent 12.
• His national-fortune-enhanced weapon can burn the Blood God 12.
• The same protection is ineffective against gu insects and insect slaves 12.
• It does not prevent his apparent poisoning on the corpse drivers’ route 22.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wild Goose Feather Saber — his principal weapon, also rendered as a goose-feather or goose-quill saber 7 10 50.
• Two short blades — carried behind his waist and drawn after he throws his main saber during the shrine ambush 7.
• Altar table — an improvised blunt weapon used against Worm Thralls 8 9 11.
• Protective sachet — found without its scent after his death; Lin Feng suspects its loss of effectiveness contributed to the poisoning 22.
• Identification badge / waist token — taken by Lin Feng after Zhu dies in one attempt; used by Zhu in another to establish imperial authority before Li Pusa 22 30.
• Travel supplies — water, food, and medicinal herbs are recovered from the dead companions by Lin Feng 22.

Relationships

• Lin Feng — Natural ally through their shared imperial affiliation. Zhu confides mission information to him, follows his combat plans, and assists his investigations and retreats 6 7 9 32.
• Peng Tianli — Hostile counterpart from the local chieftain’s faction. Peng insults him and nearly starts a saber fight over the missing map 6 7.
• Lord Mao — Superior who ordered Zhu’s secret correspondence with the stockade elder 7.
• Clear Spring Stockade’s grand elder — Confidential contact offering the stockades’ secret in exchange for his family’s safety 7.
• Thousand-Household Officer — Missing superior whom Zhu recognizes among the banyan’s hanging corpses; Zhu also identifies the pouch believed to hold the map 10.
• The guide — Traveling companion whom Zhu repeatedly intimidates into obeying Lin Feng 21 26 43.
• Li Pusa — Corpse driver pressured into helping the party travel by Yin Roadwalking; Zhu displays his token before the coercion 30.
• Prince of Zhongshan / Xu Da — Former military commander under whom Zhu fought Wang Baobao 27.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Clear Spring Stockade

Zhu supplies the imperial side of the stockade mystery and becomes Lin Feng’s preferred partner across repeated attempts. He helps investigate the corrupted spring, identifies his dead superior at the forbidden ground, and protects the escape after Third Lady retrieves the map 7 8 10 11.

During the final Blood God battle, Zhu attacks alongside Lin Feng after Third Lady’s insects weaken the creature. He survives the successful attempt with apparently minor injuries 12 13.

On a later run, he reveals that the imperial guards’ purpose is not to find something themselves, but to prevent the local faction from finding it. He then searches a stilt house while Lin Feng holds off the Worm Thralls 14.

The Mountain Road and Inns

In one attempt, Zhu abruptly dies on the corpse drivers’ path. His swollen, split lips and black blood lead Lin Feng to conclude that poison—not ghost possession—killed him. The precise poison source remains unidentified 21 22.

On subsequent attempts, Zhu again accompanies Lin Feng, enforces the guide’s cooperation, and prepares to fight the inn’s Three Baleful Corpses. When Lin Feng stays behind to cover a retreat, Zhu salutes him and takes the guide away 26 27 29 32.

Act Four: “Hymn of Despair”

Zhu emerges from Yin Roadwalking with Lin Feng, the guide, Li Pusa, and Li Pusa’s clients. Lightning incinerates the clients, but Zhu keeps hold of his saber throughout the storm rather than abandoning it 50.

Notable Quotes

“It's not that we're looking for something. We're here to keep these savages from finding something.” 14

“Orders from above.” 28

“Lord Lin said to take another route.” 43