Yi Zhongzhou

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Yi Zhongzhou (易中州)
Gender	Male
Apparent Age	Approximately in his fifties, according to Qi Wu’s assessment 89
Occupation/Role	Feng shui master; player skilled in Daoist arts and corpse driving 88 90 93
Affiliation	Player group in the five-star “Corpse Driver” instance 87 88
Status	Alive; survives and exits “Corpse Driver” 96
First Appearance	Chapter 88, “Corpse Driver (1)” 88

Background / History

Arrival in Peach Blossom Village

Yi enters Peach Blossom Village with nine other players. He explains the ghost-face folklore surrounding an old pagoda tree, understands a local woman’s dialect, and presents the group as tourists. After learning that the village chief can arrange accommodation, he leads the players to the chief’s house and establishes a friendly rapport with him 88.

When Qi Wu attempts to investigate the house without permission, Yi stops him on grounds of courtesy. He then identifies Qi’s rare pure-yang physique, predicts a death tribulation within three days, and suggests that abandoning his attachment to a ghost might avert it. Qi’s acknowledgment of his ghost lover convinces the others that Yi has genuine abilities, and they begin following his direction 89.

Investigation of the Mountain Graves

Yi detects signs of a zombie near Wang Gang’s home. An inspection of the chicken coop reveals dead chickens with paired puncture wounds, confirming the threat. He offers to handle the zombie, and the village chief eventually permits him to investigate 90 91.

After Qi Wu and Han Mo report a distressed old man’s references to fallen comrades, Yi connects the clues to the 1945 Battle of Western Hunan. He investigates the mountain’s mass grave with three local corpse drivers and encounters a zombie wearing a Japanese Army uniform. Later, he identifies evidence of a much stronger drought demon and directs the players to excavate seven preserved corpses 91 92.

The drought demon takes one of the recovered bodies without harming the players. Yi interprets its behavior as evidence of intelligence and a connection to the fallen soldiers, possibly as a former soldier itself. Nevertheless, he considers direct communication too dangerous to attempt 92.

Escort to the Martyrs’ Cemetery

When the local corpse drivers refuse to leave the endangered village, Yi takes responsibility for transporting the seven bodies to the Martyrs’ Cemetery, ten kilometers away. He obtains corpse-driving clothing and tools, teaches the surviving players how to prepare the bodies, and leads the procession 93 94 95.

During the journey, a strange wind dislodges a corpse’s talisman. Yi reapplies it while Qi Wu restrains the body, but Qi is scratched and another corpse escapes. Yi entrusts the procession to Qi while retrieving the missing body. The group reaches the cemetery and places all seven corpses in coffins, completing the quest 96.

A corpse then rises and fatally impales Qi Wu. Yi interprets this as the fulfillment of Qi’s death tribulation through the karmic burden of killing. Yi and two other surviving players leave the instance; the subsequent chapter reveals that Chu Qingjiu actually arranged Qi’s death through his puppet control 96 97.

Appearance

• Build: Thin and small; approximately a head shorter than Qi Wu 88 89.
• Hair and beard: A long beard and a few white hairs at his temples 88 89.
• Clothing: Introduced wearing a dark blue robe 88.
• Bearing: Despite his aged skin, he appears vigorous and healthier than the village chief, with an air resembling a Daoist sage 89.
• Characteristic gestures: Frequently narrows his eyes and strokes his beard while speaking 88 89.

Personality

Yi cultivates an inscrutable, authoritative manner and enjoys being treated as the group’s leader. His presentation initially strikes some players as mystical rambling, but his accurate observations win their respect. Wang Jue is especially impressed by his breadth of knowledge 88 89 90.

He combines sociability with caution. He chats easily with villagers, objects to entering someone’s home without permission, and refuses to gamble his life on the drought demon’s apparent restraint. Under immediate pressure, however, he acts decisively—warning the old man away from a zombie and giving urgent instructions as the recovered corpses begin transforming 88 89 92 94.

Abilities & Skills

Feng Shui and Supernatural Detection

Yi’s claimed profession is supported by his ability to recognize dangerous environments and supernatural traces 88 92.

• Explains why villagers cover a pagoda tree’s purported ghost faces with red cloth 88.
• Detects that a zombie has visited a house before the dead chickens are discovered 89 90.
• Identifies the mountain as an excellent corpse-raising ground, while judging it insufficient to produce a drought demon naturally 92.

Fate and Constitution Reading

Yi recognizes Qi Wu’s unusual constitution and approaching danger after examining him 89.

• Identifies a rare pure-yang physique suited to Daoist or Buddhist practice 89.
• Detects an aura of death between Qi’s brows and places the tribulation within the next three days 89.
• Recognizes Qi’s attachment to a ghost and suggests letting go of it as a possible escape from the predicted fate 89.

Daoist Arts and Zombie Knowledge

Yi explains his broad expertise through the principle that feng shui, yin and yang, the five elements, and the eight trigrams all derive from the Dao 90.

• Burns a low-ranking zombie with glutinous rice and drives it back with a Peachwood Sword 92.
• Recognizes the drought demon as a rare, high-ranking zombie beyond the effective reach of those basic tools 92.
• Understands that full moonlight accelerates corpse transformation and that obscuring the moon slows it 93 96.
• Identifies heavenly lightning as punishment directed at the drought demon and explains how its keeper and lack of killings had protected it from discovery 95 96.

Corpse Driving

Yi can perform corpse driving himself rather than merely explain its customs 89 93.

• Teaches the players to seal the dead’s seven corporeal souls inside their bodies using Chen Sand and Divine Talismans 94.
• Directs them to place cinnabar in the corpses’ ears, noses, and mouths and seal those openings with talismans 94.
• Leads the bodies using a fixed sequence of three gong strikes and one bell ring 95.
• Avoids villages, living beings carrying yang energy, and suspicious white mist that might conceal spiritual interference 95.
• Can halt the procession with his bell, but a corpse whose talisman falls off can escape its control 96.
• Warns that fallen corpses cannot be made to rise again during their attempt, leaving the group only one chance to complete the escort 95.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Peachwood Sword — Used against a Japanese-uniformed zombie; inadequate against the drought demon 92.
• Glutinous rice — Burns the low-ranking zombie on contact 92.
• Little Yin Gong and Soul-Summoning Bell — Used together to direct the corpse procession 95 96.
• Chen Sand/cinnabar and Divine Talismans — Used to prepare the corpses and restrain their transformation 93 94 96.
• Corpse-driving attire — Obtained from the local specialists: straw sandals, a long blue robe, black belt, blue cap, and a waist pouch for talismans 93.

Relationships

• Qi Wu — Fellow player and investigative collaborator. Yi warns him of his death tribulation, accepts information from his inquiries, and later trusts him to lead the corpse procession temporarily 89 91 96.
• Wang Jue — An admiring fellow player who addresses Yi as “Master” and repeatedly expresses amazement at his expertise 88 89 90.
• Han Mo — Helps Qi Wu investigate the old man and reports the resulting clues to Yi 91.
• Village chief — Local contact who arranges lodging and eventually authorizes Yi’s involvement in the zombie investigation 88 91.
• Three local corpse drivers — Assist him during the mountain encounter and supply the clothing and tools needed for the players’ escort 92 93.

Notable Quotes

“Hey—you young man, you can't just walk into this house. That's very rude and disrespectful.” 89

“Ah, all the arts under heaven share common principles.” 90