Xu Han

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Xu Han (许寒)
Alias(es)	“The deceased Xu Han” — the system’s designation for his hidden NPC form 26
Species/Race	Former human; vengeful ghost and hidden NPC 26 47
Gender	Male 29 30
Affiliation	Sanatorium staff; his family lived in the staff dormitories 26 31
Occupation/Role	Doctor; forcibly made the priest of the director’s sacrificial ritual 15 47
Status	Murdered; subsequently awakened as a ghost and remains present in the Dungeon 27 47 50

Power Progression

Xu Han has no documented personal level. The Level 5 designation below refers to the Dungeon’s difficulty, not his individual rank 39.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Vengeful ghost taking form	26	Xu Tang’s grief-stricken cries activate the hidden NPC. The system identifies his kill target as “the impostor,” placing Yu Qing in danger.
Fully awakened hidden NPC	27	The system confirms that Xu Han has awakened and announces the beginning of his hunt.
Unprecedented brutality	39	Further changes provoked by Yu Qing intensify his violence and raise the Dungeon to Level 5, where NPCs can break its existing rules to kill.

Background / History

Family Life

Xu Han and his wife were both orphans. Unable to afford an expensive proposal gift, he gave her bells. They later lived at the Sanatorium with their daughter, Xu Tang 26 31.

Xu Tang’s diary describes an affectionate father who taught her to write, worried that his wife was becoming too thin, and promised to earn enough money to buy them a large house. When Xu Tang asked whether he could buy the entire Sanatorium, he told her he could 26.

Murder and Stolen Identity

Xu Han discovered that the director was using living human sacrifices to suppress his mother and condemned the practice. According to the director’s diary, the director killed Xu Han, removed his organs, and filled his body with mercury, preserving a permanent smile and making him preside over the ritual as its priest 47.

A substitute then assumed Xu Han’s identity. The impostor abused his wife and tormented Xu Tang; the director subsequently lured the girl away and transformed her into a rabbit sacrifice. The impostor also delivered Xu Han’s wife to the director for further abuse 20 21 26 31 47.

The abusive doctor wearing Xu Han’s badge is not the real Xu Han. Early clues associate the impostor with Xu Han’s death, but the director’s later diary explicitly claims responsibility for the murder and arranging the replacement 21 47.

The Corrupted Dream

Xu Han’s dream became the foundation of the Sanatorium Dungeon. Yu Qing first discovers that the director polluted its Dream Core and took control of the dream for the sacrificial ritual 43 44.

After learning the director’s history, Yu Qing concludes that the Deity corrupted Xu Han’s dream to fulfill the director’s deathbed wish to remain in a sanatorium beside his mother. The resulting Dungeon traps challengers within the distorted setting 48.

Appearance

• Ghostly form: Pale skin, a grotesque smile stretching toward his ears, and bulging veins while strangling Yu Qing. He appears hanging upside down during the nighttime attack 30.
• Preserved corpse: Hollowed out and filled with mercury to maintain a permanent smile for the sacrificial ritual 47.
• Identifying badge: His corpse in the morgue bears the name “Xu Han,” matching the badge worn by the impostor 15.

Personality

Before his death, Xu Han was a caring husband and father. His daughter remembered him as “the best daddy in the whole world,” while his opposition to the director’s human sacrifices demonstrates that he rejected the Sanatorium’s cruelty 26 47.

As a ghost, he is driven by intense resentment and becomes increasingly determined to kill Yu Qing. His family remains an emotional vulnerability: Xu Tang’s cries awaken him, and learning who harmed his wife and daughter begins to loosen his murderous grip 26 39.

Abilities & Skills

Dream Manifestation

The Sanatorium’s supernatural features reflect Xu Han’s memories, fears, and family experiences 41.

• His remark that his dieting wife would become “a bag of bones” corresponds to the nurse becoming skeletal at night 41.
• A frightening story he told Xu Tang manifests as Sprinkler Granny 41.
• His conditioning through violence produces whips that lash out from the walls when people make noise 41.
• His fear of Cafeteria Granny’s red dress and black wig manifests as an apparently living outfit serving food 41.
• Limit: By the time Yu Qing reaches the corrupted Dream Core, Xu Han has not controlled the dream for a long time 43.

Supernatural Haunting and Strangulation

Xu Han can attack Yu Qing while he is trapped in a nightmare and can manifest hands from the bottom of a bathtub 30 41.

• During the nightmare attack, he lifts Yu Qing from the bed by the throat and leaves dark strangulation marks 30.
• His awakening coincides with violent shaking and destruction throughout the ninth floor 26.
• His renewed attack in the bathroom persists even after surrounding ghosts are frightened into stopping 39.

Resistance and Ritual Authority

Xu Han’s resentment makes ordinary supernatural defenses ineffective, while his role as priest connects him to the ritual’s offerings 30 40 47.

• Qian Lai’s bell and Ghost-Exorcism Formation barely affect him 30.
• Yu Qing observes that the monkey and other offerings obey Xu Han, leading him to identify Xu Han as the ritual’s priest; the director’s diary later confirms that role 40 47.
• Limits: An unidentified freezing force pulls him away during the nightmare attack. His later bathroom manifestation disappears when Yu Qing identifies the setting as his dream 30 40.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Wedding ring and severed finger — Yu Qing retrieves the ring-bearing finger from Granny Ghost’s abdomen. The ring is engraved XH, and the system identifies the clue as “Xu Han’s Severed Finger” 10 15.
• Name badge — Appears on Xu Han’s corpse and is used by others to assume his identity within the Sanatorium’s clothing-based identification rules 15 23 27.
• White coat — Together with the badge, enables impersonation. Yu Qing uses the disguise, then gives it to Zhang Yi; the transfer changes Xu Han’s hunting target 23 28 29.
• Bells — Xu Han’s original proposal gift to his wife. She begins explaining their history before the system freezes NPC activity 31 32.

Relationships

• Receptionist Nurse — Wife and fellow orphan. Their loving marriage is described through Xu Tang’s diary; after his death, she suffers abuse from both his replacement and the director 26 31.
• Xu Tang / Tangtang — Daughter. Her diary preserves memories of his kindness, and her grief awakens him as a hidden NPC 26.
• The Director — Murderer and exploiter. Kills Xu Han for opposing human sacrifice, alters his corpse, installs an impostor, and takes control of his dream 44 47.
• The impostor doctor — Replacement who steals his name and family position. The white coat and badge sustain the disguise 21.
• Yu Qing — Hunting target and investigator. Xu Han repeatedly attacks him, while Yu Qing uses the stolen identity to lure him out and uncover the Dungeon’s secrets 26 30 39 40.
• Qian Lai — Attempts to restrain Xu Han during Yu Qing’s planned confrontation, but his protective formation fails 30.
• Zhang Yi — Becomes a hunting target after accepting Xu Han’s coat and badge from Yu Qing; the system warns him when Xu Han leaves the morgue 28 29 30.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Chapters	Role and discoveries
15 21	The intact hand of the supposed doctor conflicts with the severed-finger clue. Removing the doctor’s coat exposes the stolen identity, raising plot exploration to 20%.
26 27	Xu Tang’s diary reveals the family tragedy, and her cries trigger Xu Han’s awakening and hunt.
30	Yu Qing deliberately removes his protective bell and wears Xu Han’s badge to draw him out. The confrontation ends with Xu Han forcibly pulled away before Yu Qing can question him.
39 40 41	Xu Han’s escalating violence raises the Dungeon’s difficulty. Yu Qing survives by revealing the director’s crimes and recognizing that the Sanatorium exists within Xu Han’s dream.
43 44	Investigation of the Dream Core reveals that Xu Han has lost control; exposing the director’s corruption raises plot exploration to 78%.
47 48	The director’s diary confirms Xu Han’s murder and forced priesthood. The subsequent account links the corrupted dream’s existence to the director’s bargain with the Deity.
50	Yu Qing questions Xu Han while searching for the hidden director, but receives no concrete lead.

Notable Quotes

“You won't leave me alone! Why won't you leave me alone even in a dream?!” 30