Fugui

Biodata

Background / History

Fugui owned a restaurant and had substantial household resources, including approximately eighty to one hundred servants. His wealth did not protect him from exploitation: a powerful man demanded half his restaurant’s revenue, rather than half its profits, in exchange for protection. Fugui refused because the arrangement would leave him losing money after wages, supplies, and other expenses 56 65.

Seeking authority to defend his livelihood, he took travel money, found a master, and learned supernatural arts to qualify for the Demon-Quelling Office. His ambition was to stop influential people from eating without paying or demanding an ownership stake without contributing money 65.

Appearance

• Heavy build: Described as fat; his weight complicates Ye Qianfan’s attempt to pull him from the well with a bamboo pole 53 87.
• Injured lower leg: The well monster’s bite leaves a severe, demon-poisoned wound. Fugui subsequently limps, struggles to walk, and relies on his companions for support 55 62 99.
• Copper-colored aura: Ye Qianfan perceives Fugui’s surrounding light as faintly copper-hued and resembling copper coins 65.

Personality

Fugui is openly fearful of supernatural danger. He initially resists searching alone, worries about being selected as a sacrificial offering, and panics when he discovers an apparent corpse in his inn bed. Reassurance from Ye Qianfan and Shen Lang often helps him regain his composure 50 68 70 95.

His fear does not prevent him from protecting his friends. He volunteers to guard the regenerating Night Watchman, concealing his terror until the others leave, and later offers to face the final burial ritual himself to repay their help. When the Ghost Wind overtakes them, he attempts to cover his brothers’ retreat 80 90 92.

As a businessman, Fugui understands both financial costs and social incentives. He explains precisely why surrendering half his revenue would ruin his restaurant, and he uses a generous tip to draw indirect safety advice from an inn attendant 65 94.

Abilities & Skills

Magical Abacus Combat

Fugui fights with Ten Thousand Taels of Gold, a magical abacus capable of launching ranged attacks 52 99.

• Fires Gold Abacus Beads rapidly enough to wound the black creature attacking him underwater 52.
• Uses the command “Flawless calculations!” to launch both the abacus’s beads and spare beads toward the Ghost Wind 92.
• Requires significant source energy to fire its counting rods 99.
• Has limited ammunition: repeated attacks in the well consume two-thirds of his available beads 53.
• Can briefly repel ghost faces, but cannot stop the Ghost Wind as a whole 92.

Abacus Divination

• Calculates that “good fortune comes from the east,” prompting his group to search the eastern side of Ghost Village 50.
• No cultivation rank or breakthrough is explicitly established for Fugui in the supplied passages.

Investigation and Social Judgment

• Notices that the red line crossing out Huang Yuanyuan’s name was later scraped away, complicating the group’s interpretation of the genealogy 51.
• Finds the missing clan officials’ spirit tablets submerged in the ancestral hall’s well 52.
• Infers that food and hot water may be unsafe when a tipped attendant recommends early rest but does not offer either service 94.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Ten Thousand Taels of Gold — Magical abacus and primary ranged weapon 52 92.
• Gold Abacus Beads — Projectiles carried in the abacus and separately as reserves 53 92.
• Demon Fang Dagger — Temporarily loaned by Ye Qianfan to cut off any head regenerated by the Night Watchman 80.
• Demon-Quelling Office waist token — Obtained after Huang Moli’s remains are buried and her spirit departs 91.

Relationships

• Ye Qianfan — Sworn brother, rescuer, and trusted protector. Ye helps save Fugui from the well monster, treats his poisoned leg, and refuses to abandon him during the Ghost Wind 53 55 56 65 92.
• Shen Lang — Sworn brother. Shen supports Fugui through his injury, insists they share the danger of the burial ritual, and sacrifices his dragon-soul pendant to rescue the trio 62 65 90 92.
• Eunuch He — Demon-Quelling Office authority who approves Fugui’s medical leave and arranges his return to Fog City 101.
• Roving Exorcist Disciple — Rival examinee whom Fugui condemns for distributing the trio’s clue without permission. Fugui also challenges the Disciple’s accusation that they deliberately supplied false bones 71 90.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ghost Village Investigation

• Joins Ye Qianfan and Shen Lang in searching for an Old Almanac and clues to the village’s history. His discovery of submerged spirit tablets leads to the well monster’s attack 50 51 52.
• Suffers a bite that leaves his foot numb with demon poison. Shen Lang proposes sealing the poison with silver needles and later amputating the leg; Ye instead removes infected flesh and cauterizes the bleeding 55 56.
• Remains with Ye and Shen despite the rule allowing only two people per house. Believing Ye’s supposed Concealment Art has saved him, Fugui pledges his life to him 63.
• Proposes the sworn-brotherhood ritual, and the three pledge to share fortune and hardship 65.
• Helps ambush the Night Watchman and later guards him while the others retrieve the remains. When Ye’s puppet body appears lifeless, Fugui covers it with his own clothes and insists that Ye can recover 73 80 87.
• Helps bury Huang Moli’s bones and prays for the release of the villagers, her father, and the men who laid her to rest. The resulting tokens confirm their success in the trial 91.
• Attempts to hold back the Ghost Wind with his abacus before escaping on Shen Lang’s Golden Dragon soul. The flight reveals his fear of heights 92.

Admission and Medical Leave

• Reaches Dragon Gate Inn with his brothers. Headquarters recognizes the trio as survivors who completely resolved Ghost Village’s problem, though a final physical examination remains 93.
• Fears his poisoned leg will disqualify him. Ye reassures him that the infected flesh has been removed and recommends allicin for the wound 97.
• Receives another wound treatment from Ye, who secretly draws blood from him for his own cultivation and examination preparations 99.
• Passes the Office’s examinations and requests a month to recuperate before taking up duties. Eunuch He grants the request; Fugui then witnesses Ye’s unexpected appearance as a Patrol Constable 101.

Notable Quotes

“In this world, the greatest sin is having neither power nor influence!” 65

“Brothers, get going! I’ll cover your retreat!” 92