Liuzhou

Biodata

Geography and Landmarks

Liuzhou’s position among mountains and waterways made it the court’s tenth directly administered prefecture. Its combined land and water connections supported a major commercial hub between Jiangnan and the north 42.

History

Demonic Infiltration

After the King of Qin’s death, remnants of his faction retreated to Jiangnan and exploited the new dynasty’s weak local control. Master Huang and Mister Miao replaced residents over decades; Huang’s Puppet Painted Skin Technique eventually placed the city under pervasive surveillance 11.

The conspiracy extended into Liuzhou’s entire officialdom. Painted Skin Mister controlled its officials, while Thousand-Faced Fox killed the third-place examination graduate and infiltrated the Yuchi Household. During the resulting upheaval, as many as a hundred households around White Willow Lane were reported missing, including numerous respected teachers 14 21.

Purge and Depopulation

The emperor approved Lu Ming’s proposal to recall Liuzhou’s officials for investigation and replace them with examination graduates and spellcasters. Chen Qing was selected to lead the prefecture and promoted to the fifth rank 21.

The purge deepened public panic. Prospective officials refused transfers, some surrendering their seals rather than accepting appointments; only about two-thirds of the intended new graduates agreed to go. Wealthy merchants and teachers escaped the city, followed by crowds rushing its gates, reportedly causing trampling deaths 42.

When Chen Qing arrived, the gates lacked guards and the streets were nearly deserted. Some remaining households still cared for relatives who had become mindless painted-skin puppets, capable only of repetitive work and simple commands 42.

Recovery Under Chen Qing

Chen Qing initially hoped to develop the spring-water economy, but the departure of wealthy customers, businesses, and teachers undermined those plans. Provincial administration commissioner Gong Qinian feared that Liuzhou’s collapse would damage all of Jiangnan’s revenues 43.

The appearance of a functioning gate god changed the city’s prospects. Merchants witnessed its guards destroy disguised demons, prompting renewed confidence and a rush to buy abandoned property. Teachers who had hesitated to sell their homes began considering a return 52 55 58.

Living-Corpse Crisis

Chen Qing warned neighboring counties of approaching living corpses and assigned recruits to the city gates, South Mountain, and rescue expeditions. Spirit Deer County’s magistrate, Gu Beiquan, publicly dismissed the warning 88.

Liuzhou became a refuge for people from surrounding districts and counties. Grain purchased during the property acquisitions, supplemented by Nanming’s aid, could sustain generous meals for four or five months, or basic gruel until winter 102 121.

The Tiger Guard Army subsequently enabled long-range rescues beyond the limits of ordinary soldiers. Hong Lie and Wu You arrived with five thousand elite Black Armor Guards, finding a lively city where farmers still worked outside in the morning and returned by noon 116 122.

Regional Expansion and Commercial Revival

Liuzhou’s supernatural military system attracted experienced soldiers from outside Chen Qing’s original following. Members of the Black Dragon Guard joined the Tiger Guard Army, while Wu You attempted to test the limits of Liuzhou’s resources by permitting further recruitment 128 129 130.

The city later helped organize Jiangnan’s mobilization against the West Sea. Zhou Haitao and Wei Gongcheng managed the accounts while confronting shortages of educated administrators and Yellow Academy craftsmen 208.

By the time Yuchi Peng and Luo Yi visited, Liuzhou’s harbor was busier than at its former peak. Its academy, enchanted goods, new textiles, and investment opportunities drew merchants and representatives of powerful families 240 241 242.

Later Security Crises

Government and Residency

• Prefectural administration — Before the purge, the senior local officials included the prefect, assistant prefect, and judicial commissioner, alongside education officers and circuit intendants 14.
• Centralization under Chen Qing — Chen Qing confiscated county magistrates’ seals after their territories fell. Shen Yuan regarded this as an unauthorized attempt to monopolize power, while the displaced officials’ own discussion acknowledged serious failures 102 169.
• Military settlement benefits — Recruits received household registration, housing, and regular meals. Soldiers also gained priority in settlement and government-school admission for their children 128 169.
• Civilian welfare — Most refugees were eventually guaranteed three meals daily, although temporary accommodation did not automatically confer ownership or permanent residency 116.

Three documented routes to Liuzhou residency were available 169:

Divine Infrastructure and Defense

Door Gods

Liuzhou’s door gods provided both screening against disguised monsters and supernatural support for gate guards 52.

• Detection — A gate god could identify disguised fiends below its own level. Witnessed targets included water ghosts and insect demons 52 72.
• Combat blessings — Guards received wind-related mobility and enhanced physical strength from the demonic wolf 52.
• Early limitations — The south gate initially remained unranked, with spiritual power comparable to a fifth-grade spellcaster. Its first wind attack consumed most of its reserves 83.
• Later expansion — Liuzhou eventually possessed four gate gods. Heavenly Wolf Gate was the most imposing, supported by reinforced-concrete walls 242.

Military Forces

Defensive Formations

• City defensive formation — Allowed Chen Ying to wield Above First Rank spellcasting power and activate spells faster than ordinary spellcasters. She used it to freeze a developing conflict involving students and fighters 327.
• Underworld Grand Array — Enveloped Liuzhou when Shen Shiyi entered its core during the West Sea operation 771.

Underworld

Wei Gongcheng served as Liuzhou’s City God. Its Underworld appeared as a gray-and-white counterpart of the living city, with the bustling mortal Liuzhou visible overhead in an inverted reflection 137 245.

• Separation from the Yin-Yang Road — Liuzhou’s section of the Yin Road shattered away and vanished from the wider Yin-Yang Road 98.
• Living officials — Learned living people could hold Underworld posts, earning merit and potentially an everlasting Underworld lifespan 137.
• Public worship — Residents worshipped the City God and commemorated deceased relatives. Wei Gongcheng sometimes allowed virtuous souls to visit the living through dreams 162.
• Karmic fruit — Liuzhou’s Underworld produced rare fruits capable of rapidly restoring qi and blood; only three were available during one major crisis 764.
• Spiritual growth — The opening of Nine Heavens Mirror Valley increased Liuzhou’s spiritual energy and accelerated the evolution of Spirit bodies, creating pressure for the Underworld to develop more quickly 107.

Education and Research

Chen Qing announced the opening of Liuzhou Tsinghua Academy with government-funded foundational instruction. Students who could recite the Thousand Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames qualified for these classes, followed by an examination selecting spellcasting apprentices 137.

• Curriculum — Arithmetic and the investigation of things were taught alongside classical studies; Master Wei became dean of arithmetic 137.
• Practical disciplines — Formation work, runes, medical sorcery, agricultural sorcery, and engineering were promoted as fields capable of improving Liuzhou 177.
• Heaven Academy — Researched military projects and received greater training resources. Its students learned defensive techniques such as the Blade Formation 262.
• Earth Character Institute — Developed enchantment techniques that granted special functions to jadeite, jade, and suitable gemstones 241.
• Merchant investment — At Liuzhou Yin-Yang Academy, merchants funded research projects in exchange for exclusive rights and profit shares. The Nanyang Shen Family could outbid competitors for desirable projects 242.

Economy and Products

Society and Festivals

Liuzhou’s social prestige shifted from classical scholarship toward military service and practical sorcery. Scholars worried that young people increasingly preferred enlistment, while soldiers became desirable marriage partners. Later, Fighter Army families and academy sorcerers formed the city’s new elite 128 137 578.

• Public life — Visitors observed healthy, energetic residents strolling at night without needing markets to draw them outdoors, a marked contrast with ordinary laborers exhausted by subsistence work 143.
• Families of the fallen — Disputes arose when other City Gods retained the souls of Liuzhou soldiers killed elsewhere, complicating benefits and sometimes forcing their relatives to relocate 216.
• Spirit Return Festival — Liuzhou’s first festival allowed spirits to visit living relatives. It coincided with notices announcing the selection of ten county Underworld City Gods and a public vote 574.