Old Liu

Biodata

Appearance

• Withered hands with exceptional strength: His bloodless, twig-like hand bruises Li Yao’s wrist during their first encounter; his grip remains painfully strong at Tiger Waist Mountain 5 19.
• Emerald-green artificial right eye: The former security guard’s account connects his lost eye to his rescue efforts during the fire at No. 2386 37 44 45.
• Hole-ridden white undershirt: A recurring part of his appearance 29 46.
• Battered walking stick: He has difficulty walking and habitually uses the stick for support 45 46.
• Right-sided heart: A doctor discovers this after a nurse mistakenly reports that he has no heartbeat 48.

Personality

Old Liu is cold, blunt, and impatient, frequently refusing explanations or answering only as much as he considers necessary. He makes Li Yao dig for the Demon Cave entrance despite his broken leg, dismisses further questions after answering one with “I don’t know,” and initially makes an introduction to Mr. He conditional on receiving a book 23 26 40.

His actions repeatedly contrast with his manner. He leaves the tiger-patterned copper coin with Li Yao, destroys the deadly bronze bell, and continues searching for Mr. He immediately after suffering a serious head injury. Li Yao consequently comes to regard him as family 25 26 29 48.

He is also quick-tempered and confident in his abilities: he nearly strikes a police officer who blocks him and dismisses the coffin-shop owner’s ability to curse him. Nevertheless, he openly acknowledges threats beyond his capabilities, particularly the red-wrapped well at Tiger Waist Mountain 19 25 36.

Abilities & Skills

Exorcism and Supernatural Treatment

• Expels a weasel spirit possessing Wang Dazhong’s wife, restoring her to normal 30.
• Uses verbal warnings and the threat of his stick to make a possessing spirit leave an elderly woman 47.
• Defeats a more violent spirit by striking its host with his blood-smeared stick; the final blow shatters the room’s glass 47.
• Distinguishes between visiting deceased relatives and dangerous spirits, criticizing indiscriminate use of forceful exorcism methods 47.
• Physical cost: The violent exorcism leaves him bleeding heavily and causes him to collapse 47 48.

Paper Animation

• Tears paper into doglike shapes that bark and run after he mutters over them 24.
• Uses animated paper figures during his magical duel with Liu Yunbo 24.

Spiritual Diagnosis and Occult Knowledge

• Identifies a possessing relative through a chopstick standing upright in a bowl of water. The test initially reveals only one of two spirits involved 46 47.
• Detects yin energy and distinguishes a place containing yin energy from one harboring resentment 28 34.
• Recognizes burial-companion paper coffins, the Coffin-Affixed Paper Figure curse, and an arrangement used to cultivate yin energy 34 37.
• Identifies the Bai Family Thirteen Needles, Western Hunan’s Brush-Pointing the Ghost Gate, and the Qingwei Sect’s Thousand-Catty Weight 46 47.
• Limit: He states that he cannot see ghosts unless they want to be seen 24.

Protective Methods and Cursed Objects

• Subdues and destroys the bronze bell before it can kill again on the lunar fifteenth 25 26.
• Directs households to dispose of yin-heavy burial-companion paper coffins, including leaving them in sunlight to rot 34.
• Gives Li Yao a protective procedure involving drinking chicken blood and sitting on white paper sprinkled with incense ash 28.
• Warns that a demon child’s letter breaks bones when accepted and causes death if discarded 24.

Hypnosis

• Hypnotizes the Tiger Waist Mountain village chief when the chief refuses to let him and Li Yao go outside at night 19.

Equipment / Items

• Battered stick — Walking aid, weapon, and tool for examining suspicious objects and locating the buried cave entrance. He also coats it with his blood during an exorcism 23 34 47.
• Tiger-patterned copper coin — Said to have immobilized the man-eating creature at Tiger Waist Mountain. Old Liu strings it onto a cord for Li Yao to wear and does not reclaim it afterward 20 25.
• Paper — Material for his animated figures 24.
• Chicken blood, white paper, and incense ash — Supplies prepared for protection during the inn investigation 27 28.

Background / History

The Fire at No. 2386

Ten years before the main investigation, a deadly fire swept through Old Liu’s residential compound. Accounts of his involvement initially conflict: Sixth Uncle says Liu Qingzhu died there, while Old Tang claims Qingzhu remained at the compound to watch over another man surnamed Liu who had died. Qingzhu later tells Li Yao that he survived and is human 6 7 19.

Liu Yunbo subsequently accuses Qingzhu of starting the fire that killed many residents. When questioned, Qingzhu attributes it to a security guard’s discarded cigarette, but his reaction makes Li Yao suspect concealment 37.

The former security guard later explains that Liu Yunbo had cursed him through a yellow paper figure, bringing about A Hundred Ghosts Cry at the Door. The fire was set to prevent everyone in the building from dying, and Qingzhu sacrificed an eye to save the guard. This account leads Li Yao to understand Qingzhu’s actions as a rescue attempt rather than an act of malice 44 45 46.

First Contact with Li Yao

Old Tang’s note directs Li Yao to Liu Qingzhu at 2386 Huaiyuan Road, while Sixth Uncle’s message points him toward Liu Yunbo at the same address. The shared surname causes Li Yao to approach Qingzhu’s home while expecting a different helper 4 5.

At the doorway, Qingzhu’s withered hand seizes Li Yao’s wrist with enough force to bruise it. He releases him after Li Yao shouts that Old Tang asked him to save him 5.

Tiger Waist Mountain and the Demon Cave

At Tiger Waist Mountain, Qingzhu helps Li Yao confront the village’s dangers but forbids approaching the red-wrapped well, warning that even the whole Northeast would be powerless against it. After the village chief disappears, he concludes that the man-eating creature killed him. He also warns Li Yao that abandoning Route 13 would lead to death 19 20.

On a later visit, he confirms that a fourth driver connected to the reservoir crashes is still alive. He then takes Li Yao to a western cornfield, uncovers the Demon Cave entrance, and enters in search of a book’s second volume. Inside, they pass dead people in burial clothes and reach the Tiger Demon Temple 22 23.

Qingzhu later identifies those figures as driven corpses rather than ghosts. He says Liu Yunbo reached the temple first and obtained the second volume 24 37.

Duel with Liu Yunbo and Destruction of the Bell

After the cave expedition, Liu Yunbo attacks Qingzhu’s home through a demon child’s letter and animated paper figures. Qingzhu fights back with his own paper creations while Li Yao and the injured Little Six escape 24.

He later warns that the bronze bell at the bus company will kill again unless destroyed before the lunar fifteenth. Li Yao arranges a distraction for the police guarding it, allowing Qingzhu inside. Qingzhu subdues the bell, then shouts for Li Yao to run before an explosion devastates the lobby. He survives and is hospitalized, with Li Yao caring for him 25 26.

The Fourth-Driver Investigation

After leaving the hospital, Qingzhu accompanies Li Yao to the development zone. He secretly investigates their inn after recognizing that it—not the nearby abandoned building—is dangerous. The innkeeper tricks him, and Li Yao and Bun Head find him bloodied but alive beneath a pile of corpses 26 28 29.

They later locate Wang Dazhong. Qingzhu cures Wang’s possessed wife, securing his cooperation; Wang reveals that Wu Baoku took his place on the last Route 13 bus 30.

Tangwazi Village and the Disputed Book

Qingzhu accompanies Li Yao to Tangwazi Village to find Guan Jun, warning him not to trust the villagers easily. There, he investigates the burial-companion paper coffins and personally helps affected households dispose of them 31 34.

He identifies Liu Yunbo as the person cultivating yin energy inside the moving black coffin. Before leaving, he says he has instructed the village chief and declares that Yunbo will die that night; the supplied chapters do not establish the outcome 37.

His continued demand for Li Yao’s book deepens the latter’s suspicion. Qingzhu calls it Tales of Yin and Yang Dwellings, while Bai Fan reads its title as Wondrous Art of Dream Stealing and Old Wu identifies it as Seven Essentials of Corpse Driving. Qingzhu initially offers to introduce Li Yao to Mr. He only after receiving it 24 25 40.

Search for Mr. He

After Li Yao learns the truth about the fire, Qingzhu returns with news of Mr. He’s whereabouts. He postpones collecting the book so they can reach the elusive expert quickly 45 46.

Their search is interrupted by two possession cases. Qingzhu resolves both but suffers a severe head injury. A nurse mistakenly reports him dead because his heart is on the right; after Li Yao insists on stitches, he immediately resumes the search 46 47 48.

They learn that Scorpion’s gang has taken Mr. He away to treat someone. Qingzhu also warns that the missing yellow paper figure may trigger A Hundred Ghosts Cry at the Door, making it urgent to find He before the lunar fifteenth 48.

Relationships

• Li Yao — Protégé and frequent traveling companion. Their bond develops into a family-like attachment despite Li Yao’s temporary suspicions about Qingzhu’s motives 26 29 40 45.
• Liu Yunbo / Guan Jun — Occult rival and fellow resident of No. 2386. They contest the mysterious book and fight using animated paper figures 24 37.
• Old Tang / Tang Xiansheng — Refers Li Yao to Qingzhu; invoking his request causes Qingzhu to release Li Yao’s wrist during their first encounter 4 5.
• Former security guard — Saved by Qingzhu during the fire. His testimony reveals the sacrifice behind Qingzhu’s artificial eye 44 45.
• Bun Head / Zhang Qiang — Respects Qingzhu after the bell incident and helps Li Yao rescue him from the inn’s corpse-filled room 27 29.
• Mr. He — An old friend whom Qingzhu considers one of the foremost yin-yang experts; he seeks He’s help for Li Yao 46 48.