Mu Xingchen

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Mu Xingchen pursued an idol career against his parents’ wishes. Three years before returning home, he secretly contacted a talent agency, then quarreled with his parents when they discovered his plans. His mother told him not to return until he had achieved something, and he stayed away for three years. During that time, he concealed his family background and described his parents as ordinary employees 67.

His mother, Mu Xiaoxiang, is a leader at the Radio and Television Bureau. His father, Yang Liuxin, is a retired actor who originally entered entertainment to repay debts and later became a full-time husband. Despite the estrangement, Mu Xiaoxiang continued buying her son’s albums 67.

Mu Xingchen participated in a hundred-contestant talent show and subsequently belonged to an idol group whose other members became embroiled in scandals. His appearances on Investigating the Strange brought him greater success; by the cave investigation, he reported gaining followers and more active fans 60 89.

After a dangerous filming session, his father asked him to visit home. Mu Xingchen reconciled with both parents but refused to leave the show. His mother accepted his decision, endorsed his apprenticeship under Qi Gu, and prepared additional apprenticeship gifts and opening gifts for Floating Mist Temple 67.

Personality

Mu Xingchen’s variety-show persona is essentially his own: an enthusiastic, goofy “husky.” He is excitable, eager to help, and readily seeks praise from Qi Gu. He also sincerely values his fans, carrying a signing pen so that an unexpected meeting will not end in disappointment 14 52 60.

His confidence in Qi Gu is wholehearted rather than calculated flattery. He offers his family’s help against smear campaigns and believes his master can handle whatever supernatural threat appears. After Qi Gu’s sachet saves his mother, his gratitude becomes even stronger 20 67 74.

Although easily frightened, he can act courageously when someone needs help. In Huai Shui Village, he runs into dangerous standing water to explain that the banyan tree is also a victim, despite his fear of its vines. Later, he overcomes his initial horror to reassure three little ghosts about their flattened heads 112 113 229.

Studying is his recurring weakness. He struggles with memorization, forgets previously learned passages, and occasionally tries to skip his assignments. Nevertheless, sustained homework improves his ability to answer Qi Gu’s questions 70 82 137 182.

He is particularly oblivious to romance. He insists that Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi are merely friends, mistakes Qi Gu’s blush for an allergic reaction, and interprets their bracelets as a gift being returned rather than a sign of their relationship 163 171 214.

Abilities & Skills

Huagai Fate

Qi Gu identifies the Canopy Star, or Huagai, in Mu Xingchen’s fate as an indication of talent for the mystical arts 20.

• Before he develops substantial cultivation, this fate also makes him especially attractive to ghosts and monsters.
• Qi Gu exploits that attraction by using him as bait when testing Huai Shui Village’s supernatural rules 94.

Spiritual Light and Hand Seals

Mu Xingchen learns to channel spiritual light through incantations and hand seals 70 166.

• Can activate a prepared gourd talisman and direct spiritual light against ghosts 70 166.
• His early attacks are extremely weak; the first strike against the Despondent Ghost causes no apparent pain 166.
• Can reproduce a defensive seal from his reading under pressure, producing golden light that repels an attacker 234.
• Repeated practice rapidly tires him 70 166.

Ghost Capture

Using a Mini Purple-Gold Gourd and an incantation, Mu Xingchen can contain supernatural entities 95 114.

• Captures individual ghosts during supervised investigations 95 96 167.
• Captures several Water Corpses while helping defend a formation 114.
• These successes frequently depend on Qi Gu subduing the target or an ally providing protection 96 114 166.

Evil-Expelling Rituals

Under Qi Gu’s instructions, Mu Xingchen transforms prepared incense ash into a cleansing treatment 117.

• Recites the approximately five-hundred-character Evil-Expelling Chapter three times while following prescribed footwork.
• Mixes the ash with water; the initially black mixture becomes clear when the ritual succeeds.
• Administers larger amounts to severe cases and repeats treatment where necessary, causing villagers to vomit out the filth they consumed 117.

Talisman Work

Mu Xingchen progresses from activating Qi Gu’s prepared talismans to drawing talismans himself 70 257 275.

• A practice talisman on his palm blocks Bai Yu’s black-energy attack 257.
• Later draws yellow talismans publicly during his concerts 275.
• His studies remain incomplete after the Sea Lord Island investigation: he cannot perform the proposed summoning because he has not learned the Summoning Yin Text 243.

Idol Performance and Field Support

• Singing and dancing: His training gives him strong balance, demonstrated when he hops away from a live Man-Faced Conch on one leg 226.
• Physical stamina: Helps haul Qi Gu, Lin Hanzhi, and a cameraman up steep mountain steps 39.
• Livestream support: Carries filming equipment and handles the broadcast during investigations 167 178.
• Hazard cleanup: Proactively bags a slain Man-Faced Conch’s remains rather than leaving them for other sea creatures to eat 216.

Equipment / Items

• Protective sachet — Supplied by Qi Gu and attached to his backpack. It glows during the Qingji Mountain incident, when a branch stops his fall; Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi subsequently rescue him from the force still dragging him backward 39.
• Mini Purple-Gold Gourd — His principal ghost-capture tool, initially summoned from a talisman supplied by Qi Gu 70 95 114.
• Introductory mystical texts — Qi Gu assigns twenty thick books for him to read and memorize before receiving further instruction 70.
• Signing pen — Habitually carried so he can give autographs to fans he meets unexpectedly 60.

Relationships

• Qi Gu — Master and the person Mu Xingchen trusts most in supernatural matters. Qi Gu initially declines his apprenticeship request, later accepts him, and combines practical instruction with strict memorization assignments 20 44 52 70.
• Lin Hanzhi — Fellow guest, rescuer, and an effective intermediary when Qi Gu pushes training too far. Mu Xingchen initially regards him as a fellow weak member of the group, only to be shocked by his combat abilities 39 166 217.
• Mu Xiaoxiang — Mother. Their conflict over his career causes a three-year separation, but she follows his work throughout and eventually supports his apprenticeship. A sachet he brings from Qi Gu saves her during a near-collision with a truck 67.
• Yang Liuxin — Father. Initiates Mu Xingchen’s return home and helps arrange further gifts for Qi Gu after Mu Xiaoxiang’s escape from the crash 67.
• Xi Shuang — Strict manager. Monitors his weight, discourages ill-advised performance ideas, and prepares a legal notice when Wei Cai attacks his reputation 89 117 123.
• Pubu Gesang — Close companion with whom he studies equipment, plays games, and frequently misunderstands social situations. Mu Xingchen considers Pubu Gesang more intelligent than himself 36 40 89 214.
• Miao Yue — Friend and investigation teammate. Helps him treat villagers and carry equipment, while repeatedly steering him away from interrupting Qi Gu and Lin Hanzhi 117 178 214 245.
• Hot-tempered Big Sis — Devoted deceased fan who says his hard work helped her through a suicidal crisis and inspired her to study. He fulfills her wish for a photograph and autograph before she departs 60.
• Old Village Chief — Initially frightens him as a Water Corpse, then entrusts him with Huai Shui Village’s history and protects him during the formation battle 110 112 114.
• Wei Cai — Public accuser who treats Mu Xingchen’s family connections as proof of favoritism without supplying substantive evidence. Fans and a gossip blogger counter with records of his consistently poor career opportunities 121 123.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Notable Quotes

“Master, whenever you feel like taking a disciple, just say the word. I’ll come right away with apprenticeship gifts, kneel three times and kowtow nine times, and serve you the initiation tea!” 20

“Don’t worry. I may be a total noob, but my shifu is really powerful. He’ll definitely be able to protect the remaining villagers and deal with what’s happening here!” 112

Trivia

• He takes his mother’s surname rather than his father’s 67 121.
• He wanted to learn Sichuan opera face-changing for his talent-show performance, but Xi Shuang ordered him to stick to singing 89.
• After supervising the villagers’ prolonged vomiting, he recalls being unable to eat or drink for two days. The resulting weight loss lets him pass his manager’s weigh-in without extra treadmill work 117.