Chen Miao

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Chen Miao (陈淼)
Alias(es)	San Shui, used by his eldest uncle 23 35 40
Gender	Male
Age	24 at the beginning of his supernatural encounters 6 11
Affiliation	Tianmen Funeral Home, Tianmen County 1
Occupation/Role	Licensed funeral rites specialist; later deputy director with full director’s authority 6 12 40
Status	Alive; managing Tianmen Funeral Home 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1, “Notes on Achieving Divinity in the Mortal World” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Access to the supernatural book	1 2 3	Receives Notes on Achieving Divinity in the Mortal World and establishes that it predicts futures involving him, updating when concrete actions change events.
Makeup · proficient	6	Awarded through Qian Xiaomei’s gratitude after he arranges her preferred mortuary makeup. Also receives two qian of yin virtue and incurs Wang Tao’s seven-day grudge.
Six Jiangzhen Secrets	8 9	Resolves Old Wang’s resentment through offerings and Jiangzhen Incense, earning the six incantations, one qian of yin virtue, and Old Wang’s memory fragment.
Iceheart state	9	Acquired after experiencing Old Wang’s memories; improves concentration and resistance to distractions.
Heart-to-Heart / kindred connection; Zhong Family Talismans	19	Completing the twins’ incident grants five qian of yin virtue, a thought- and feeling-sensing state, and knowledge of the Zhong family’s talisman methods.
Century-old peachwood equipment	22 23	Redeems century-old peach wood and fashions three sword blanks, twenty small plaques, and simple protective talismans.
Zhong Clan’s Secret Manual of Corpse Driving	30 31	Defeating the Leaping Hopping Corpse grants five qian of yin virtue, Wang Dong’s memory fragment, and knowledge of corpse nurturing, refining, control, and associated tools.
Lin Ziyang’s memory fragment	33	Completing the “Little Ghost” afterword grants two qian of yin virtue and the child’s memory fragment.
Yin Gathering state	36	Acquired from Wang Dong’s memories; allows him to gather nearby yin energy around his body and concentrate it in his palm.
Hide-and-Seek / reduced presence	39	Tests the ability after experiencing Lin Ziyang’s memories. It makes others more likely to overlook him rather than rendering him invisible.
First successful Yin-Gathering Talisman	41	Produces a working talisman by concentrating yin energy into his drawing hand, overcoming repeated failures with ordinary blood ink and paper.
Talisman Drawing · beginner	42	Appears in the book’s skill list during continued practice; his genuine talisman success rate is approximately 3%.

Background / History

Chen Miao lost both parents during childhood and was raised by his grandfather; his grandmother had also died early. When he began high school, he moved into his eldest uncle’s home because travelling from the village to Tianmen County by bicycle was unsafe 1.

His grandfather died less than six months later. Chen developed a fever upon returning to the family home, but it broke after he attended the burial. The experience left him with both reverence for death and curiosity about it. Together with his uncle’s funeral business, it influenced his decision to study funeral services in college 1.

After graduating, he became a funeral ceremony coordinator at Tianmen Funeral Home. Early mistakes exposed him to bereaved families’ anger, with his uncle taking abuse on his behalf; Chen subsequently became meticulous about documents, eulogies, and ceremony arrangements 1.

Taking Over Tianmen Funeral Home

Chen Weiyi offered Chen the director’s position after hearing his assessment of the struggling business. Although initially afraid of squandering his uncle’s achievements, Chen began studying its finances, equipment, staffing, supplies, and land lease 10 11.

The succession arrangement required Chen to pay his uncle 100,000 yuan annually from the funeral home’s roughly 300,000-yuan profit. Nothing would be owed if profits fell below 200,000 yuan or the business closed 11.

The eventual appointment made Chen deputy director in name but director in authority. Chen Weiyi retained the formal title to reassure employees. Chen moved into the Director’s Office and earned staff confidence by personally handling supplies, transportation, family arrangements, and memorial-service coordination 40 42.

Appearance

• Wears a white shirt and black suit when officiating Qian Xiaomei’s memorial service 9.
• Uses a cap and sunglasses to conceal his identity while investigating Zhong Fa’s shop 23 24.
• Carries his supernatural book during daily inspections and increasingly keeps protective peachwood items on his person 23 31 39.

Personality

Chen is cautious and analytical. Rather than treating the book’s predictions as unavoidable fate, he tests their conditions through phone calls, changed arrangements, offerings, and direct investigation. He also avoids confronting unfamiliar practitioners before preparing equipment and studying their methods 2 3 20 31.

His care for the dead extends beyond self-preservation. He pays for Qian Xiaomei’s preferred makeup, protects her mother from witnessing the crushing of cremated remains, and conducts the twins’ funeral respectfully despite their involvement in a threat to his life 5 10 22.

Family loyalty strongly shapes his decisions. He reverses arrangements that would expose his uncle to a predicted death, gives him protective talismans, and becomes particularly angry upon learning that Du Rui targeted both of them 2 4 39 50.

Chen is not naturally fearless. Facing a physical zombie makes him tremble despite his earlier supernatural experiences, but he forces himself to act. He remains aware that acquiring knowledge through the book has not given him the experience of practitioners who have worked for decades 29 33.

Abilities & Skills

Supernatural Book Interface

Notes on Achieving Divinity in the Mortal World provides Chen with predictions, personal records, rewards, and a redemption system 3 6.

• Changing predictions: Its text updates after consequential events, not merely after he considers an idea. It can reveal facts he does not know, but supplies its own explanations for his motives rather than reading his thoughts 2 3.
• Exclusive access: Chen Weiyi sees an ordinary copy of If Eyes Deceive You, preventing Chen from proving the book’s supernatural contents to him 4.
• Rewards and records: Completed chapters and side stories grant yin virtue, skills, states, knowledge, and memory fragments 6 8 19 30 33.
• Redemption and storage: Yin virtue purchases ritual materials. Redeemed objects can be returned to the inventory, including peachwood sword blanks, plaques, and scraps made from redeemed wood 7 22.
• Memory fragments: These induce sleep and immerse him in another person’s experiences. Intense memories can leave lingering emotions that require Iceheart to control 9 35 36.
• Unconfirmed protection: Chen does not know whether the book warns against ordinary physical attacks, which makes him reluctant to expose himself to Zhong Fa 23.

Six Jiangzhen Secrets

A set of six incantations addressing different kinds of departed souls and malevolent spirits 9.

• Covers violent-death victims, natural-death souls, suicides, infant spirits, unattended ghosts, and evil spirits 9.
• The Resolving Grievances with Jiangzhen Incantation changes a prediction of death involving the drowned twins, but initially only postpones the danger 18.
• The True Evil-Subduing Incantation disrupts Zhong Fa’s talismans and the yin energy associated with Li Shirui 18.
• Jiangzhen Incense combined with an incantation and a century-old peachwood sword burns through the Leaping Hopping Corpse’s defenses 29.
• Preparation, lighting incense, and recitation take time, leaving him vulnerable to sudden attacks. He therefore practices faster recitation and carries immediate defensive tools 19 39.
• He later uses ordinary incense with grievance-resolving and soul-calming incantations after transporting Old Master Xie 48.

Iceheart

A concentration-enhancing state obtained from Old Wang’s memory fragment 9.

• Improves reading, analysis, woodworking, and talisman drawing 11 22 41.
• Helps him observe combat more clearly and anticipate movements 29.
• Suppresses emotional disturbance after experiencing Wang Dong’s memories 36.
• Does not automatically overcome panic: his initial fear during the zombie attack prevents him from entering the state immediately 29.

Heart-to-Heart

Also recorded as kindred connection, this state comes from the twins’ gratitude 19 23.

• Closer relationships allow deeper sharing of feelings and sensing of thoughts 19.
• Reveals brief thoughts when another person’s emotions rise; it is not continuous, unrestricted mind-reading 24.
• Lets Chen recognize Xiang Shang despite his helmet and unfamiliar motorcycle 23.
• Reveals that his uncle’s desire to retire and enjoy life is more prominent than he had openly admitted 23.
• Chen considers combining it with a Heart-Linked Talisman, but the result is untested in the provided chapters 24.

Yin Gathering

Actively gathers existing yin energy around Chen’s body, with the available amount depending on the environment 36.

• Operates within roughly a ten-meter radius and can concentrate energy into his palm 42.
• Gathered energy disperses when he stops maintaining the process 36.
• Supplies the concentrated yin energy needed to make genuine talismans without entering a yin ground 41.
• Prolonged concentration makes his hand stiffen and sends painful cold into his flesh and bones 41.
• Mountain conditions let him gather energy about twice as quickly as at the funeral home 45.

Chen’s “level one” through “level ten” comparisons are his own estimates of yin-energy concentration, not documented cultivation realms 45.

Hide-and-Seek

Reduces how readily others notice Chen without visibly changing his body 39.

• Most effective when he is not directly in someone’s view 39.
• Once a person notices him, the effect fades for that observer until he briefly leaves their sight 39.
• Effectiveness varies with the observer’s perceptiveness; some people overlook him even at close range 39.

Talisman Drawing and Corpse-Driving Knowledge

Chen receives Zhong Family Talismans and the Zhong Clan’s Secret Manual of Corpse Driving through chapter rewards 19 30.

• Talisman knowledge: Includes gathering and dispersing yin energy, linking minds, sealing spirits, and controlling corpses 19.
• Drawing method: Requires continuous strokes and sufficient yin energy entering the blood ink. Most Zhong family talismans require blood activation, preferably from the middle finger 41.
• Current proficiency: Talisman Drawing · beginner, with approximately a 3% success rate using his purchased materials 42.
• Yin-Gathering Talismans: Gather rather than create energy. Their spherical reach can cover approximately the funeral home, including space above and below ground, but their operation is time-limited 42.
• Corpse-driving knowledge: Covers nurturing, refining, controlling, tools, taboos, and the ranks White Jiangshi, Black Jiangshi, Leaping Hopping Corpse, and Flying Jiangshi 31.
• Demonstrated application: Combines Yin-Gathering, Spirit-Sealing, and Corpse-Control Talismans to transport Old Master Xie’s body. Cooling slows decomposition, while spirit sealing guards against reanimation or ghost formation 48.

Funeral and Management Skills

Skill	Documented proficiency or application
Funeral Hall Arrangement	Beginner in the book’s skill list 6
Funeral Rites	Proficient; licensed specialist responsible for ceremonies 6 12
Eulogy Writing	Proficient; interviews relatives and incorporates their memories into farewell speeches 6 13
Makeup	Proficient, awarded through Qian Xiaomei’s gratitude 6
Business management	Oversees supplies, transport, staffing decisions, family arrangements, and service coordination 40 42 50

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Notes on Achieving Divinity in the Mortal World — His source of supernatural predictions, records, rewards, and inventory storage 1 6 7.
• Jiangzhen Incense — Redeemable at four sticks per qian of yin virtue; used for offerings, spirit rites, and combat 7 8 22 29.
• Century-old peachwood sword blanks — Three unfinished swords carved from a redeemed piece of wood. Chen initially relies on the material’s inherent effects rather than a complete ritual sword-making method 22 23.
• Peachwood talismans and plaques — Portable protection. One cracks and releases warmth that saves him from the zombie’s freezing black vapor; he later replaces it with an uncarved plaque 29 31.
• Paper talismans — Includes working Yin-Gathering Talismans and the Spirit-Sealing and Corpse-Control Talismans used during Old Master Xie’s transport 41 42 48.
• Talisman-making supplies — Brushes, cinnabar, yellow talisman paper, rooster blood, and other tools. Materials obtained through Xiang Shang cost 30,000 yuan 23 40 41.
• Corpse-Control Bell — Made by commissioning its shell and drawing runes inside with blood ink 42.
• Chen Guokun’s contact card — Provides access to an Emergency Affairs Administration investigator; Chen also gives it to his uncle for emergencies 34 35.

Relationships

• Chen Weiyi / Elder Uncle — Guardian, professional mentor, and predecessor at Tianmen Funeral Home. Entrusts Chen with the business and accepts his protection against supernatural threats 1 11 35 40.
• Grandfather — Raised Chen after his parents’ deaths. His burial helped inspire Chen’s interest in death and funeral work 1.
• Xiang Shang — Childhood friend and best friend. Their relationship includes teasing, practical help, and the procurement of expensive talisman-making materials 23 24 40.
• Shi Manman — Mortuary cosmetologist and colleague. Recreates Qian Xiaomei’s preferred appearance for 400 yuan, helping Chen resolve his first major supernatural threat 5 6.
• Qian Xiaomei — Deceased beauty blogger whose unresolved attachment threatens Chen. His intervention earns her gratitude and Makeup · proficient 5 6.
• Wang Tao / Old Wang — Former cold-storage attendant. His posthumous resentment haunts Chen, while his memories later grant Iceheart 6 8 9.
• Li Shilei and Li Shirui — Drowned twins whose bodies are manipulated through Zhong Fa’s methods. Resolving the incident earns their gratitude and Heart-to-Heart 18 19 20.
• Tang Rui — Cold-storage attendant whom Chen trains and later tries to protect during the zombie attack. Surveillance also reveals Tang accepted money to admit people who tampered with the twins’ bodies 13 20 29 30.
• Zhong Cai — Fellow practitioner and combat ally who introduces Chen to the Emergency Affairs Administration. Chen remains cautious because of Zhong Cai’s connection to Zhong Fa 29 30 34 39.
• Zhong Fa — Hostile practitioner responsible for supernatural interference involving the twins and the funeral-home attack. Chen finds him dead before a direct confrontation occurs 18 20 31 32.
• Chen Guokun — Grade-D investigator who questions Chen, offers an official contact, and later informs him of Du Rui’s plot. He declines to take Chen under direct supervision 34 50.
• Kong Fang — Business representative who brings Chen new cases, including the twins and an unusual body-transport job 12 42.
• Xie Songde — Client who offers Chen future assistance through his connections in Shannan City after Old Master Xie’s transport 48.
• Du Rui — Rival funeral-center figure exposed as having hired Zhong Fa against Tianmen and Lai Feipeng against Chen and his uncle 50.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Qian Xiaomei and Old Wang

• The misdelivered book predicts Chen’s death during a cold-storage shift. Testing alternative arrangements shows that sending his uncle or inviting a friend can place them in danger too 1 2.
• Chen stays away, but Old Wang dies after returning to work drunk. Attempts involving purchased peachwood objects and shrine incense ash fail to remove Chen’s subsequent death prediction 3 4.
• Investigation points to Qian Xiaomei’s attachment to her appearance. Chen secures her mother’s permission and pays Shi Manman to recreate her preferred makeup 5.
• Resolving Xiaomei’s wish unlocks the book’s reward interface, but Old Wang’s resentment introduces a separate haunting. Proper offerings and Jiangzhen Incense shorten it, opening Chen’s path to incantations and memory-derived states 6 8 9.

The Twins and Zhong Fa

• The twins’ arrival initially causes no change in the book, leaving Chen uncertain about what triggers supernatural incidents 13.
• When a drowning prediction appears, he uses grievance-resolving and evil-subduing incantations to interfere with the force acting through Li Shirui 18.
• Surveillance exposes paid access to the cold storage and tampering with the twins. Chen begins preparing peachwood defenses and discreetly investigating Zhong Fa’s shop 20 22 24.

Funeral-Home Zombie Attack

• Warned that he will be bitten to death at four in the morning, Chen joins Zhong Cai against a Leaping Hopping Corpse attacking the cold storage 29.
• Their combined sword, incense, and talisman techniques destroy it. Chen then learns about official supernatural incident handling and acquires corpse-driving knowledge 30 31.
• The investigation leads to Zhong Fa’s body and a hidden chamber containing a child’s desiccated corpse, cremation ashes, and a stolen Corpse-Control Bell 32 33.
• Chen cooperates with official questioning and gains Chen Guokun’s contact, but is not assigned under his supervision 34.

Leadership and Practical Talisman Use

• Memory fragments expand Chen’s states, while daily practice develops his carving, incantations, and talisman drawing 36 39 41 42.
• After taking operational control of Tianmen, he uses combined talismans to bring Old Master Xie’s body out of the mountains safely 40 48.
• Du Rui’s arrest exposes the source of the funeral home’s attacks. Improved business allows Chen to raise staff salaries, and his offer to repay the Administration’s help leads to a request for assistance 50.

Notable Quotes

“Ma’am, you might not believe this, but in our line of work, we place the greatest importance on the final wishes of the deceased.” 5

“Elder Uncle, I’ll do my best to run Tianmen Funeral Home well.” 40