Four Eyes

Biodata

Background / History

Maoshan Training

Four Eyes trained alongside Uncle Nine under their master. He initially chose god-invoking as his specialty, but years of unsuccessful practice prevented him from completing his apprenticeship. He therefore switched to corpse-herding, which became his livelihood. He eventually learned to invoke a god, though only with difficulty and inconsistent results 17 32 44.

He later took Jia Le as his disciple. Knowing that Jia Le’s talent was average, Four Eyes concentrated on teaching him corpse transportation rather than the more demanding God-Invoking Technique. Before meeting Lin Yu, he expected that he might pass on the latter only near the end of his life to preserve its inheritance 36.

Visits to Uncle Nine

Four Eyes first arrives at Uncle Nine’s mortuary while transporting corpses. Introduced to Lin Yu, he is maneuvered into preparing a proper first-meeting gift rather than handing over a random trinket 12.

That night, Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng’s zombie prank causes the corpse-controlling lamp to break. Four Eyes helps restore order, but several customers suffer damage when Uncle Nine handles them with force intended for actual zombies. The damage later results in his employer docking his pay 13 14 32.

Uncle Nine persuades him to remain by offering to take him out for foreign tea. During the visit, Four Eyes learns that Lin Yu has studied Daoist arts for only a month. He subsequently agrees to pass his God-Invoking Technique to the boy through Uncle Nine 14 17.

On a later visit, Four Eyes discovers that Lin Yu has invoked the Perfected Lord of Pure Source and Wondrous Way. Comparing this achievement with his own years of effort, he becomes intensely envious that Lin Yu is Uncle Nine’s disciple rather than his own 32.

Hosting Lin Yu

When Ren Fa’s repeated matchmaking attempts become troublesome, Uncle Nine sends Lin Yu away with Four Eyes. Their journey includes several mishaps caused by Four Eyes showing off his corpse-herding methods, followed by an encounter with a corpse-stealing fox spirit. Four Eyes repels the spirit with his Five Emperor Coins, and Lin Yu kills her as she flees 33 34.

At home, Four Eyes attempts to punish Jia Le by commanding his corpses to strike whenever they hear “ouch.” The punishment backfires when Four Eyes says the command himself. Lin Yu stops the corpses and treats his injuries with Healing Talismans 35 36.

Lin Yu later studies the Heaven and Earth Spirit Imbuing Technique in Four Eyes’s library and accidentally incinerates a corpse customer while testing an enchanted Bagua mirror. After the boys apologize, Four Eyes checks the technique, warns Lin Yu to practice dangerous spells with an elder present, and explains why a perfectly imbued treasure conceals its brilliance 38 39.

Lin Yu also challenges his treatment of Jia Le, warning that constant criticism and comparisons could produce resentment or a heart demon. Four Eyes begins reconsidering his methods and attempts to praise his disciple, although Jia Le initially mistakes the unfamiliar kindness for a sign of impending punishment 40 41.

Imperial Zombie Incident

When Chin Hok arrives escorting an imperial zombie, Four Eyes immediately questions why such a dangerous creature has not been burned. He supplies glutinous rice and supports Lin Yu’s warning that rain could compromise the coffin’s protective cord net 42.

At Lin Yu’s insistence, Four Eyes follows the procession. They arrive as rain damages its protections and strange lightning strikes the coffin. Four Eyes gives Lin Yu talismans, urges him to fight from the sidelines, and asks him to enchant his bronze sword before the zombie emerges 43.

Four Eyes fights alongside Chin Hok and his disciples, but his enhanced sword cannot pierce the zombie’s body. He helps prevent it from reaching the people sheltering in a tent and restrains it long enough for Lin Yu to activate the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation 44.

After Lin Yu exhausts himself crippling the creature, Four Eyes and Chin Hok burn it. Discovering that its soul remained within its body leads them to suspect a Qing scheme to establish a zombie empire. Four Eyes carries the unconscious Lin Yu home, then leaves with Chin Hok to report the threat to Maoshan, entrusting Jia Le with Lin Yu’s care and the remaining corpse customers 45 46.

Appearance

• Glasses and yellow robes: Wears both when first arriving with his corpse procession 12.
• Apparent age: Looks to Lin Yu as though he is only in his thirties, despite joking about being old 33.
• Travel clothing: Appears shabby beside Uncle Nine during their outing for foreign tea; his best available clothes are those he brought on the road 14.

Personality

Four Eyes is playful, boastful, and easily drawn into pranks. He turns corpse transportation into entertainment, exaggerates his own prowess, and repeatedly embarrasses himself while trying to impress Lin Yu. His rivalry with Master Yixiu brings out his most childish behavior, including contests of strength and a retaliatory prank that leaves him drinking an entire vat of oil 33 34 37 40.

He is deeply attached to money, especially the income represented by his corpse customers. Damage means deductions from his pay, explaining his distress over broken limbs, burns, and lost bodies. Nevertheless, he is willing to offer a chest of gold bars to buy Yixiu’s house when the monk’s chanting prevents him from sleeping 14 32 38 40.

His severity toward Jia Le comes from concern as well as temper. Seeing young people dead during his travels convinces him that his disciple needs practical skills to survive. He can recognize criticism of his teaching, however, and begins trying to change after Lin Yu points out how frightened Jia Le has become 36 41.

Despite envying Uncle Nine’s good fortune, Four Eyes takes genuine pride in Lin Yu as a Maoshan junior. During the imperial zombie incident, his teasing gives way to protective action: he shields Lin Yu from the rain, tries to keep him away from close combat, and worries about fulfilling his promise to return him safely 36 42 43 45.

Abilities & Skills

Corpse-Herding

Uses Maoshan secret arts to refine and transport walking corpses 13.

• Leads corpses in coordinated formations, including making them imitate his movements 33 34.
• Can replace their usual bell-based instructions with spoken triggers and order them to wield bamboo sticks 35.
• Uses corpse-suppressing talismans and a controlling lamp; destruction of the lamp allows the corpses to break free 13.
• His refined corpses can become zombies after obtaining blood, making loss of control dangerous 13.

God-Invoking Technique

His original Maoshan specialty, later passed to Lin Yu 17.

• Eventually achieves god-invoking after years of difficult cultivation 32.
• Remains unreliable in practice 44.
• Uses an unusual ancestral worship ritual, gathering incense smoke toward his mouth and head, which he describes as receiving the ancestral master’s gifts to aid cultivation 36.

Bronze Skin and Iron Bones

Possesses a body hardened through years of cultivation 44.

• Provides physical toughness and strength in close combat 43 44.
• Allows him to struggle directly against the imperial zombie, but not to overpower it or hold it back indefinitely 44.

Spiritual Sense and Ritual Knowledge

Can examine magical implements and explain the behavior of spirit-imbued treasures 39.

• Detects residual solar power in Lin Yu’s Bagua mirror through spiritual sense 39.
• Recognizes that a perfectly imbued Dharma treasure retains its brilliance internally until encountering evil 39.
• Identifies the danger suggested by Chin Hok’s copper-cornered golden coffin and ink-fountain cord net 42.
• His talisman proficiency is limited; the narration contrasts it with his long-developed physical toughness 44.

Demon Detection and Combat

Uses ritual weapons and practical experience to confront supernatural threats 34.

• Detects the fox spirit’s unconcealed scent before she attacks 34.
• Resists her attempted bewitchment and defeats her in their direct exchange 34.
• Uses a Fire Talisman obtained from Lin Yu to help destroy the weakened imperial zombie 45.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Longquan Treasure Sword replica — A bronze sword given to him by his master. Four Eyes favors metal over wood because corpse herders may encounter human bandits as well as supernatural enemies 34.
• Five Emperor Coins — A ritual implement he substitutes for his glasses during the fox spirit encounter; releases red light that blasts her away 34.
• Soul-guiding lantern and bell — Implements associated with directing his corpse procession 32 33 35.
• Talismans — Uses them to control corpses and supplies a stack to Lin Yu before the imperial zombie battle 35 43.
• God-Invoking Technique manual — His inherited specialty, passed to Lin Yu through Uncle Nine 17.
• Study collection — Includes the Heaven and Earth Spirit Imbuing Technique discovered by Lin Yu 38.
• Chest of gold bars — Offered unsuccessfully to persuade Master Yixiu to sell his house and move away 40.
• Healing Talismans — Obtained from Lin Yu and used to relieve injuries and soreness 35 36 37.

Relationships

• Uncle Nine / Lin Jiu — Senior martial brother. Their familiarity supports constant teasing and rivalry, but Uncle Nine trusts him to take Lin Yu away and keep him safe 12 32 33 45.
• Lin Yu — Martial nephew and recipient of his God-Invoking Technique. Four Eyes envies his talent, offers technical guidance, and protects him during their travels and the imperial zombie battle 17 32 39 43.
• Jia Le — Disciple. Four Eyes intends to give him a dependable livelihood, but his harsh discipline makes Jia Le reflexively fearful of him. He begins reconsidering this approach after Lin Yu intervenes 36 40 41.
• Master Yixiu — Neighbor and bickering rival. Their relationship includes insults, physical contests, and magical pranks; Yixiu also intervenes when Four Eyes threatens the boys after the destroyed-customer incident 37 39 40.
• Chin Hok — Junior martial brother. Four Eyes supplies provisions, joins his fight against the imperial zombie, and accompanies him to report the suspected plot to Maoshan 42 44 46.
• Wen Cai and Qiu Sheng — Martial nephews whose prank damages his corpse customers and costs him pay. He retaliates with cheek-pinching and enjoys watching their later embarrassments 14 15 32.

Notable Quotes

“The dead are passing through, the living make way!” 32

“Don’t forget to have fun while you work. When fun comes knocking, you have to see it through.” 34