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Ghosts
The Four Great Calamities
Bai Wuxiang (白无相)
One of the Four Calamities, the "White-Clothed Calamity". Xie Lian is deathly afraid of him, for reasons unknown.
- Berserk Button: When Xie Lian figures out that Bai Wuxiang is the Crown Prince of Wu Yong, Bai Wuxiang doesn't take kindly to being referred to as "Your Highness".
- Big Bad: He's Xie Lian's greatest enemy and the one driving the whole plot.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: He tends to have a lot of casual dialog when they're both in incredibly dangerous places or situations.
- The Dreaded: By everyone, but especially Xie Lian who is terrified of him like nothing else. Just his voice alone causes Xie Lian to break out in a cold sweat.
- Light Is Not Good: They're dressed in all white, but they cause suffering to Xie Lian every time they appear, which leads the latter to run whenever he realizes they're nearby.
- Lonely at the Top: Bai Wuxiang's goal is to make Xie Lian become like their heir.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Bai Wuxiang is never seen without a cry smiling mask covering his face, and he's one of the Four Great Calamities.
- The mask was used to hide three other faces that grew on Bai Wuxiang/Crown Prince of Wu Yong's face, which are of the three former friends that the Crown Prince sacrificed to the volcano when they found out what he was planning (along with countless others). Bai Wuxiang/Crown Prince of Wu Yong is patient zero of the Human Face Disease.
- Mysterious Past: Not much is known in how Bai Wuxiang became a Supreme, and all Xie Lian knows is that whenever he appears, something around him always goes wrong. Turns out, he's actually a part of Jun Wu.
- Pet the Dog: He helps to give Xie Lian's parents a proper burial after all he's suffered through and claims he's doing the prince a great favor.
- Softspoken Sadist: He speaks gently to Xie Lian as if he's a child, cooing and kindly assuring the prince he only wants the best for him. He says all of this while encouraging the people inside the temple to continuously stab Xie Lian onto a coffin in order to cure themselves of the Human Face Disease, likely being the cause of Xie Lian's parents hanging themselves and when he tells Xie Lian to give up.
- Stronger with Age: He's the first Calamity and thus the first of the four to become a Supreme, and is likely the most powerful. Even Hua Cheng, a powerful Supreme himself and The Dreaded among the gods, doesn't have an easy time with him.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: As a powerful ghost, he can change his forms and uses them mainly as a way to mess with Xie Lian. From showing Xie Lian's face underneath his mask to eating Lang Ying and using his form to torment Xie Lian as well.
- Walking Spoiler: It is near impossible to go further into Bai Wuxiang's character without revealing he is part of Jun Wu.
- White Mask of Doom: This is his mask which terrifies Xie Lian whenever he even catches a glimpse of it.
He Xuan (贺玄)
- Animal Motifs: He's usually depicted surrounded by skeletal fish.
- Anti-Villain: He Xuan may be a ghost hell-bent on killing Shi Wudu out of revenge, but only because said god was responsible for cursing his human life and any none close with him with misfortune by swapping He Xuan's fate with Shi Qingxuan's fate.
- Big Eater: Due to the trauma from the past where he was imprisoned and starved, hunger ruined him and it passed on to his demon life, where he would either feed nonstop or refuse to eat anything. He would also devour hungry ghosts and water ghouls to increase his powers.
- The Bus Came Back: Appears in the last book after going underground once he killed Shi Wudu to assist in the final showdown.
- Came Back Wrong: After suffering a cursed life under the Venerable of Empty Words and eventually starving to death. He comes back as a fierce ghost, devours the Venerable and soon becomes a Calamity level ghost.
- Capture and Replicate: He kidnapped the Earth Master Ming Yi, and kept him imprisoned for centuries in his lair, so he could steal his identity and take his place in Heaven.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Once Shi Wudu swapped his fate, He Xuan's life and anyone close to him were ruined. He Xuan's fiancee and sister were abducted and forced into sexual slavery, which eventually led to one committing suicide and the other beaten to death. Meanwhile, when He Xuan was falsely imprisoned in jail his mother passed away from illness and his father was implied to die from overwork eventually.
- Dark Is Evil: He wears dark robes, is known for sinking ships, and is usually surrounded by skeletal fishes.
- Dead Person Impersonation: He took over Ming Yi's identity.
- Determinator: It takes plenty of willpower to experience all the shit he went through in his mortal life but have more than enough resolve to overpower and consume the spirit responsible for jinxing him. Of course, there's how patient he can be when it comes to exacting his revenge.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite his hatred for Shi Wudu, it's strongly implied that part of him did care for Shi Qingxuan, even though he also sees him as the primary cause of his suffering. At the end of the story, it's implied that He Xuan continues to stay in the mortal world because he's looking after Shi Qingxuan from afar.
- False Friend: He got close to Shi Qingxuan as part of his plan to murder Shi Wudu.
- Foil: To Hua Cheng. Both suffered in their mortal life, which was why they became vengeful ghosts after their deaths. However, they have different motives in becoming Supremes; Hua Cheng is driven by his love for Xie Lian, while He Xuan is driven by his hatred for Shi Wudu.
- Master Actor: It takes a lot for someone to not only take the place of a heavenly official for hundreds of years without rousing suspicion but also getting close enough to his target that by the time he enacts his revenge, they've been blindsided. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu even calls He Xuan the "best actor" of the entire cast.
- Master of Disguise: He has plenty of other disguises besides his main one as Ming Yi, and in the final arc, he's able to disguise as Hua Cheng.
- The Mole: He served as one for Hua Cheng not only under the guise of Ming Yi, but also as servants in heaven or anyone else who could be easily forgettable for hundreds of years.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: His moniker is "Ship-Sinking Black Water". Definitely not an assuring title.
- Pet the Dog: There are hints that while he resents Shi Qingxuan, he also cares for him to some extent. One example is when he spared Shi Qingxuan's life, fixed his Windmaster fan and in the epilogue he's implied to be invisibly watching Shi Qingxuan from afar.
- Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: The Reverend of Empty Words, which got sicced onto him by Shi Wudu, was supposed to devour He Xuan after the latter's death. But He Xuan's hatred overpowered that outcome and he ended up absorbing the entity onto himself instead.
- Tragic Villain: Calling him a villain may be a bit of a stretch, but he did kill Shi Wudu, causing his younger brother to cross the Despair Event Horizon. And yet, it's hard to get mad at him for his actions when you take into account his backstory, which turned from fortunate and joyful to completely bleak and hellish thanks to Shi Wudu's machinations.
- Trauma Conga Line: Having his path to ascension stolen and replaced with the Venerable Of Empty Words gives him a lifetime of misery. He loses his wife and sister to sex slavery where they both die horribly, gets thrown into jail where he almost starves to death, and once he gets released and tries to start over by becoming a merchant, he gets sabotaged by his competitors for being too successful and ends in absolute poverty. This all leads to him becoming one of the Four Great Calamities.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: His whole goal is to get revenge on the Shi brothers, Shi Wudu specifically, for taking away his fate and switching it with Shi Qingxuan. However, after beheading Shi Wudu, it's implied that afterwards, He Xuan has nothing left to do aside from assisting Hua Cheng in keeping the human array intact. It's implied that he regrets destroying his friendship with Shi Qingxuan as he returns his Windmaster fan at the climax of the story, and secretly watches over him in the epilogue.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He takes on Hua Cheng's form in the final book during the final battle.
- We Used to Be Friends: It's not like he can continue being friends with Shi Qingxuan after he killed the latter's brother.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After killing Shi Wudu he suddenly is absent for most of the story and only reappears during the final battle as he pretends to be Hua Cheng.
- You Owe Me: He Xuan has a huge debt to Hua Cheng, thus he readily assists the latter at any opportunity to lessen it.
Qi Rong (戚容)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Liang Dawei (animation), Xiahou Luofeng (audio drama)
Voiced by (English): Jordan Dash Cruz (animation)
Played by: Bian Tianyang (web series)
One of the Four Calamities, "Night-Touring Green Lantern". Unlike the other three, however, he is only a Wrath-level rather than a Supreme-level ghost. Heavens do not pay much attention to him until the Black Water Arc.
- Abusive Parents: He often threatens to eat Gu Zi and won't hesitate to use the kid as a Human Shield or call him useless and easily replaced. Gu Zi nonetheless sticks with him because Qi Rong manages to be an improvement after his biological father.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Xie Lian punished the bullies who secretly made Qi Rong pray for his own and his mother's deaths, and from then on, Qi Rong was loyal to Xie Lian and only him, until his idolized version of Xie Lian could not live up to his expectations.
- Becoming the Mask: He first impersonates Gu Zi's biological father out of convenience, complaining all the while about dragging the kid along. Qi Rong ultimately grows to genuinely care about the boy, proudly acknowledging himself as a father and doing a Heroic Sacrifice in order to save Gu Zi from Jun Wu's fire.
- Butt-Monkey: He sees himself as an all powerful demon that the gods and even Hua Cheng should kneel before. But most of the time he easily gets his ass handed to him by whatever god or demon king who happens to be in the vicinity and the other gods only see him as more of an annoyance than anything else.
- Clashing Cousins: With Xie Lian, as his constant boasts and insults hurled at his cousin are often met with exasperation at best, or a punch to the face at worst.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Qi Rong's biological father was abusive to both Qi Rong and his mother, forcing his mother to give birth to him in a "doghouse-like shed," and then forces them to live there until his mother flees with Qi Rong at the age of 5 back to the Xianle capital. Qi Rong also suffers bullying at the hands of noble children upon their arrival, who secretly make him pray for his and his mother's deaths, instead of health.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Literally no one except Gu Zi can stand Qi Rong, and at best his presence is only mildly tolerated. Even the Heavens sees him as a nuisance, with Xie Lian internally admitting the reason he doesn't send Qi Rong to Heaven was that he was going to be a headache one way or another, so it was best not to try at all.
- The Gadfly: He does and says absolutely anything to rile up whoever he runs into, and takes great delight when he causes discord.
- Green and Mean: His main color scheme and temperament. He is regarded by officials in the heavens as being "crass and disgusting," and he often berates and belittles anyone he encounters, with some exception to Gu Zi.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Even in the past, it doesn't take much to set him off. Xie Lian theorizes he picked up this characteristic from mimicking the short temper of Xie Lian's father and being around the rowdy court.
- Hidden Depths: He shown to have some skills in cooking food and making it look good... too bad it's human flesh. Qi Rong is also shown having a deeper backstory than what's presented through the narration, because of his father's child abuse, his mother's death, and the bullying of other noble children. He subverts his own characterization when he sacrifices himself to save Gu Zi from Jun Wu's fire.
- The Hyena: He always finds a way to get into fits of laughter. He gets absolutely hysterical when he manages to effectively push someone's buttons.
- I'm a Humanitarian: He and his followers keep Cannibal Larders full of people hanging upside down with their throats slit so they can cook and eat them.
- Inadequate Inheritor : When Xie Lian ascends, this leaves Qi Rong as the supposed heir to the Xianle throne. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this never becomes reality, as Xianle falls to make way for the next kingdom, as is the circle of life.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite him constantly complaining about Gu Zi, using him as a human shield, saying how he's just waiting to eat him and how he's a "cheap" kid who can be easily replaced, he does show genuine care towards the child as he looks after him in his own way and even sacrifices himself to protect him from Jun Wu's fire.
- Like Father, Like Son: He takes more after his uncle than his father. Xie Lian hypothesizes that Qi Rong took a lot of the emperor's negative traits such as a his pride and ego.
- Motor Mouth: Once he gets talking he does not stop.
- No Body Left Behind: After he protects Gu Zi with his own body, he's left as a green flame and soon dissipates into ashes.
- No Indoor Voice: He often talks in a loud voice no matter where he is or who he is with.
- Papa Wolf: Although he doesn't always show it, when Jun Wu sends flames down at him and Gu Zi, he willingly shields Gu Zi with his body, leaving him as nothing but a green flame after the fact.
- Pet the Dog: Grows more fond of Gu Zi, promising to look after and feed him and admits he sees him as a son before dying.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: Despite being turned into nothing but ashes, Lan Qianqiu ends up recovering what little spirit energy he could and puts it into a lantern which Guzi greets whenever he sees it.
- Royal Brat: While Qi Rong did not always grow up in the palace, he does have his every whim catered to, even by the his aunt and uncle. When he was still human, Qi Rong lacked empathy for everyone except his mother and Xie Lian. It was to the point where he beat up and dragged Hua Cheng in a sack behind Qi Rong's carriage, simply because he believed Hua Cheng deserved it for being the child who disrupted the Offering to the Gods ceremony, and such act would cause Xie Lian to be punished.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Oh boy does he, he'd give even Feng Xin a run for his money. He shouts out profanity so often and so foul that when Xie Lian first sees him, he has to cover his ears.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He's called the "Night-Touring Green Lantern", but no one is really intimated by him compared to the likes of Hua Cheng and it's noted that he's only called one of the four calamities because they needed someone to even out the ranks.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He has similar features to Xie Lian, but what sets them apart are their eyes and brows. This gives away that they're related.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Xie Lian remembers that Qi Rong used to be a sweet, timid little boy, but his temper got worse and more unhinged as he grew up.
- Villainous Glutton: He loves eating humans the most, but was also imitating He Xuan on purpose.
- Would Hurt a Child: Drags a beaten up child Hua Cheng in a sack behind his horse drawn carriage when he was a human and as a ghost, he threatens multiple times to eat Gu Zi, though he makes no effort to go through with this even though he had multiple opportunities.
Wrath-level Ghosts
Xuan Ji (宣姬)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Shan Xin (animation), Qiu Qiu (audio drama)
Voiced by (Japanese): Yuko Kaida (animation)
Voiced by (English): Michelle Rojas (animation)
Played by: Liu Lingzi (web series)
A former female general who fell in love with Pei Ming who was on the opposing side and gave away all of her army's secrets to aid him. However, when he wouldn't return her advances she became mad, crippling herself in hopes that he would marry her then, to killing herself. She's since become a malevolent ghost killing brides who pass by the mountain.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Pei Ming tried to make it clear he didn't want to marry her, which flew past her head as she continued to demand he marry her and even going so far as to break her own legs and kill herself.
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: In the donghua, she sports long sharp nails that she uses to shred anyone in her way.
- An Arm and a Leg: She broke her own legs because she thought it would make Pei Ming like her more. It didn't.
- Badass General: She was this in the past before she fell for Pei Ming. This is what drew Pei Ming to her initially, but then he cut ties with her after he realized she wanted something more out of their relationship than a fling. He was disappointed that she willingly sold out her kingdom just so she could be with him.
- Berserk Button: The idea or hearing that Pei Ming is with any other woman but her pisses her off, as well as Pei Ming in general.
- Black Eyes of Crazy: In the Animated Adaptation, her sclera are black while her irises are red, and she has been madly killing brides who come near her mountain because she thinks they're off to marry Pei Ming.
- Bungled Suicide: In the donghua, Xuan Ji attempted to kill herself as a general, but Pei Ming stopped her.
- The Bus Came Back: She somehow manages to break free from under her mountain imprisonment and reappears near Mt. Tong'lu with Qi Rong.
- Faster Than They Look: Despite having stumps for legs, she can easily chase after someone in the blink of an eye.
- Green-Eyed Monster: She hates all the brides who come by the mountain to be married as she couldn't be married to Pei Ming and thought that they were to be offered to him.
- Karma Houdini: Sure, she finally gets a reality check from Pei Ming that her love will never be returned and she passes on after accepting this fact, but she never faces any official punishment for all the lives she's taken in her rampage.
- Killed Offscreen: At the end of the novel when she's jailed in Heaven, Yushi Huang asks Xie Lian to come with her so she can talk to Xuan Ji. By the time the two get to her cell, she had already passed on, but Yushi Huang still insists on giving her a sending off ceremony.
- Laughing Mad: In the donghua, once Pei Xiu arrests her and has her taken away, she starts laughing maniacally as she curses that Pei Ming never find love like she did.
- Love Makes You Evil: Her undying love for Pei Ming had twisted her to the point she had committed suicide and continues to haunt the earth as a powerful ghost who hasn't given up on making Pei Ming hers. She was also willing to betray her own people if it meant that she and Pei Ming would be together.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: In the donghua, her maddened shrieks give off powerful shockwaves.
- Maternally Challenged: She has a hard time dealing with Gu Zi and tells Qi Rong she'd be fine if it was her own child.
- No Body Left Behind: After the final battle and hearing Pei Ming tell her uptfront that he will never love her or return her affections, she seems to have finally made peace with herself. When Yushi Huang attempts to visit her prison in heaven, she had already passed on, leaving nothing behind.
- Not Good with Rejection: Her response to Pei Ming refusing to marry her? Go on a bloody rampage, cutting off her legs and eventually killing herself. Even as a ghost, her refusal to not rest until Pei Ming is hers is what keeps her tethered to the mortal world.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: She manages to break free from being pinned underneath a mountain.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the donghua, she's depicted with red eyes as a ghost. Besides showing the fact that she's a supernatural threat, it also helps accentuate just how batshit insane she is.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: She later on becomes sealed in one of Banyue's pots.
- Slasher Smile: When she's about to kill someone, she sports an unhinged grin on her face.
- Unfinished Business: She refuses to move on until she has Pei Ming to herself. However, in the finale, he forces her to confront the fact he never wanted to be with her and asks her to live for herself. She is then locked away in a cell in heaven but when the Rain Master goes in hopes of speaking with her she had finally vanished and moved on. The Rain Master sends her off with a ceremony.
- Wight in a Wedding Dress: She wears a red wedding dress and kills any bride who comes near Pei Ming's shrine.
- Woman Scorned: Because Pei Ming would not marry her, she broke her own legs and killed herself when none of her advances were met. As a ghost, she kills every bride that approaches Pei Ming's shrine since she mistakes them for women getting married to him. Even after Pei Xiu comes to retrieve her, she hopes the general actually came himself, but when he confirms he didn't she curses Pei Ming to never fall in love.
Banyue (半月)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Tao Dian (animation), Shan Xin (audio drama)
Voiced by (Japanese): Kana Hanazawa (animation)
Voiced by (English): Emi Lo (animation)
Played by: Huang Riying (web series)
Formerly the Head Priestess of Banyue, who opened the city gates to invaders and ensured the kingdom's defeat. After her death, she was trapped in the ruins of Banyue, where many travelers were lured to their deaths.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: She was never really described as good-looking in the original novel, but her other adaptational counterparts look very pretty.
- All of the Other Reindeer: She was bullied and ostracized as a young child because she had mixed heritage between two countries at war.
- And I Must Scream: Trapped in the ruins of the Banyue kingdom, all immortal and unable to escape, Banyue and the soldiers who killed her were caught in an endless cycle of them hunting her and her taking revenge with spells.
- Animal Motifs: Her snake-tailed scorpions, which were even used as part of her outfit as the guoshi of Banyue.
- The Atoner: She willingly lets Kemo and his men go after her and hang her, as she feels she deserves it for killing all of the Banyue kingdom and it allows them to direct their resentful energy at her and hopefully quell it. Because this process is so long and so painful, Pei Xiu began luring merchants and travelers into the Sinner's Pit to help Banyue.
- The Beastmaster: She controls the scorpion-tailed snakes. Although during the Banyue arc, most of them stop listening to her because of Pei Xiu overriding her command over the creatures.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: She's incredibly loyal to Xie Lian because he looked after her when she was still alive. She's also this to Pei Xiu, since he was her only friend and looked after her when she was still living on the streets.
- Braids of Action: She has her hair tied in twin braids in her donghua, and she can more than hold her own in a fight.
- Child of Forbidden Love: Not so much forbidden as frowned upon, but her parents were from two different countries with significant tension between them, and this caused problems for them and their daughter.
- Conveniently an Orphan: Her father abandons her and her mother, and later on her mother likely dies of starvation, leaving her alone.
- Creepy Child: While she was the Head Priestess, people hated and feared her for her knowledge of dark magic and her gloomy personality. The centuries that passed after her death didn't help.
- The Dark Arts: Her backstory claims she went to Yong'an to learn dark magic, which was how she learned to control the scorpion snakes.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She wears dark robes when she was the priestess of the Banyue kingdom and after its fall. She's later revealed to be not as evil as the stories made her out to be.
- Death Glare: She pulls an incredibly murderous one when she's fighting.
- Deceptive Disciple: Kemo took her under his wing, but she ended up betraying him and his kingdom, albeit for good reason.
- Emotionless Girl: In Kemo's flashbacks in both the donghua and the manhua, she hardly emotes. This is subverted later on when she ends up opening up more after seeing Xie Lian and she's much more open around Pei Xiu.
- Heroic Sacrifice: How she died. She unleashed all of her snake-tailed scorpions on the Banyue kingdom in order to stop a war from happening between her kingdom and their enemy and dies as a result.
- Hero Worship: She looks up to Xie Lian and does everything he tells her to. In the donghua, it was due to General Hua's death that she decided to avenge him by learning dark magic and becoming the Guoshi of Banyue.
- In the Hood: Before more of her backstory is uncovered, her face remains hidden beneath her hood.
- Killed Offscreen: How she died isn't really shown. Subverted in the donghua where it implies she was hung by Kemo once they found out who let the gates open and caught her.
- Lethal Chef: Under Xie Lian's tutelage, her cooking becomes this which causes Pei Xiu to collapse afterwards and unable to string his words together.
- Little Miss Badass: Although immortal and centuries old, she's physically 15, in contrast to the largely adult cast. When she was still mortal, she even fought alongside Kemo and the other Banyue soldiers, who easily tower over normal humans. She's also the second most powerful type of demon there is.
- Location Theme Naming: She's named after the kingdom she was born in.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: She's hyped up as the villain of the Banyue arc, but it's eventually revealed she betrayed her kingdom to keep them from enacting bloody revenge on the civilians of the invading country. While some of her actions are still questionable, she's far more of an Anti-Villain than our heroes were led to believe.
- Older Than They Look: She looks like she's 15 , but is really over hundreds of years old.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's the smallest member in the entire cast and although she doesn't get to show this in the earlier arcs, save for when she easily escapes her bindings that the soldiers put her under. Later on she shows just how powerful she is by calmly beating Xuan Ji without breaking a sweat all while showing the woman a murderous look.
- Purple Is Powerful: She wears purple robes in her donghua adaptation.
- Put on a Bus: After Xie Lian asks Shi Qingxuan to look after her, she ends up staying with the Rain Master in order to keep Pei Ming from kidnapping her and is only mentioned by name. She later makes a reappearance during the Mt. Tong'lu arc where she serves a greater role in helping Xie Lian and the others.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: At the end of the Banyue arc, Xie Lian puts her inside a jar to keep her safe. Later on, she can seal creatures inside the jars she carries.
- Shrinking Violet: When being confronted by others like Pei Ming, she shrinks into herself.
- Street Urchin: She lived on the streets before becoming Head Priestess.
- Stronger Than You Look: She looks like a frail little girl, but she's easily able to hold her own against someone as powerful as Xuan Ji.
- Undead Child: She's basically a ghost with the form of a child.
- Undying Loyalty: Once she recognizes Xie Lian as General Hua, she does everything she can to help him to pay back the kindness he showed her when she was a starving street urchin. She even reappears at Mt. Tong'lu to assist Xie Lian.
- Young and in Charge: She became the Guoshi of Banyue at around 15 years old.
Fierce-level Ghosts
Other Ghosts
Lang Ying (郎萤)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Mu Xiaobai (animation)
Voiced by (Japanese): Akari Kikunaga (animation)
Voiced by (English): Caleb Yen (animation)
Click here to see Lang Ying's unmasked face
A young boy who lives in the mountains and only comes down to steal food. Little Ying looks after him and even tries to keep the mob from attacking him believing he's the ghost bridegroom.
- Bandaged Face: His face is wrapped in bandages which he's afraid to take off. When he does...
- Because You Were Nice to Me: He goes out of his way to protect Little Ying because she bandaged up his face and gave him food. Even if he's visibly terrified, he will still try and put himself between Little Ying and any harm that comes towards her.
- Big Brother Instinct: While Little Ying may be older than him, when the mob starts threatening her, he bites and kicks them to leave her alone. He's also heartbroken when Little Ying dies. In the donghua he even uses a stick to beat up the brides that start closing in on her and the mercenaries.
- Creepy Child: He's seen as this by the mob, due to his bandages and being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
- Facial Horror: Underneath his bandages hides the Human Face disease which shocks Xie Lian since he believed it had stopped centuries ago.
- Killed Offscreen: He allowed himself to be devoured by Bai Wuxiang once he was told who Xie Lian was and wanted revenge as a citizen of Yong'an.
- Meaningful Name: He takes up Little Ying's name after she dies and Xie Lian makes note of this. And it is similar to the Lang Ying Xie Lian met in the past, who later became the Yong'An king and later died from the Human Face Disease. This turns out not to be a coincidence, as the boy was the king's nephew.
- Older Than They Look: Xie Lian suspects he's older than he appears due to having the Human Face disease. He's later revealed to be a ghost.
- Shrinking Violet: When the villagers or mercenaries see him, he immediately shrinks away and tries to hide. Given how he's usually beaten because of how he looks, it's understandable.
- The Voiceless He doesn't speak, which allows the mob to go after him believing he's the ghost bridegroom when he can't defend himself against those claims. Later on it's shown he can speak, but his words are very limited.
- Street Urchin: He had no home and wandered wherever he could to find food. Little Ying was the only person who gave him food and attempted to look after him.
Kemo (刻磨)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Zhang Ruobing (animation), Feng Sheng note (audio drama)
Voiced by (Japanese): Jin Yamanoi
Click here to see Kemo when he was still a mortal
A former general to the Banyue kingdom who did what he could to protect his people. He even took in Banyue, believing she was doing good; but later comes to hate her after she released the snake scorpions.
- The Big Guy: He's noted to be incredibly tall, which is not something uncommon for people born in the Banyue kingdom.
- The Bus Came Back: He makes a reappearance at Mount Tong'lu where he runs into Xie Lian and the others, and proceeds to seek vengeance on them.
- Determinator: Despite not being as tall as other Banyue soldiers, he rose up in the ranks by working hard and continues to fight for his kingdom and his comrades.
- Large Runt: In life, he was apparently fairly small for Banyue men standards and was bullied as a result of it.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: As the others fight him on the road to Mt. Tong'lu they manage to trap him and Rong Guang in Banyue's jars.
- Undying Loyalty: To his kingdom, to the point he'd throw trespassers into the Sinners Pit or use them as fertilizer for the antidote.
Lan Chang (兰菖) né Jian Lan (剑兰)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Lucy (animation), Jiang He (audio drama)
Voiced by (Japanese): Emiko Takeuchi (animation)
Voiced by (English): Sara Ragsdale (animation)
Played by: Ma Li (web series)
A ghost prostitute who hangs around Ghost City.
- But Now I Must Go: At the end of the story, Lan Chang decides to leave with Cuocuo and not tell Feng Xin where they're going. Xie Lian suggests she at least say good-bye because Feng Xin truly did love her, but she declines, saying that she doesn't want them holding him down and the time they had when she was still alive was enough for her.
- Lady Swears A Lot: When she's incredibly angry she can curse up a storm, especially towards Feng Xin.
- Mama Bear: She's the mother of Cuocuo, a wild and dangerous fetus spirit that causes Xie Lian trouble, but she refuses to let the Heavens touch her child out of fear they'll do something to hurt him. Despite Cuocuo's ugly looks and evil nature, Lan Chang unconditionally loves him.
- Meaningful Rename: She used to be called Jian Lan and she was originally picked to be one of Xie Lian's concubines. But due to his choice of cultivation, she never went anywhere and after many misfortunate events she comes back as a ghost and renames herself Lan Chang.
- Older Than They Look: She's hundreds of years old, but claims she's younger.
- The Oldest Profession: She's a prostitute in the Ghost City.
- Riches to Rags: She was once a noble girl in the kingdom of Xian Le, but due to circumstances, died and comes back as a ghost prostitute.
- Those Two Guys: Wherever Lan Chang is Cuocuo is most likely nearby and vice versa.
Rong Guang (容广)
The Deputy General and former friend of Pei Ming when they were still mortal, he served as his strategist.
- Brains and Brawn: He was the brains to Pei Ming's brawn.
- Came Back Wrong: He comes back as Ming Guang, the sword Pei Ming famously broke with his own hands.
- Odd Friendship: He and Pei Ming were total opposites in terms of personalities, but in the past they got along well.
- Would Hurt a Child: Whenever he made plans, he left nothing and no one to chance, even planning to eradicate innocents if it meant victory.
Butcher Zhu (朱屠夫)
Voiced by (English): Tom Henry (animation)
A butcher in Ghost City who takes the form of a boar.
- Human Resources: He's a butcher who sells meat that very obviously used to be people.
- Nice Guy: He's very amicable and friendly towards others.
- Undying Loyalty: He greatly respects Hua Cheng, and it's Played for Laughs when they catch Hua Cheng holding onto Xie Lian, and offer to help him assault the latter.
Humans
Little Ying (小萤)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Wang Xiaoqian (animation)
Voiced by (English): Apphia Yu (animation)
A young girl who Xie Lian first meets praying at a temple for the bride's disappearances to end soon.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: She ends up assisting Xie Lian and the others because he made an effort to help cover up her torn dress and was genuinely kind to her.
- Big Sister Instinct: She looks after Lang Ying because she doesn't want him to get caught stealing, and even tries to protect him from the mob who believe he's the ghost bridegroom. They don't listen unfortunately.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: She dies being gently held by Xie Lian who tries to comfort her as she speaks her last words.
- Dies Wide Open: In the donghua after she speaks with Xie Lian one final time, she breaths her last and dies with her eyes open. Xie Lian does close them for her out of respect.
- Informed Flaw: Fu Yao and Nan Feng see her as incredibly ugly, but at most she just seems to be somewhat plain looking. The donghua does make her design more plain.
- Last Words: She asks Xie Lian if she was of any use as she slowly dies from her wounds.
- Nice Girl: Despite the insults and jabs thrown at her by the mercenaries, she is just doing her best to make sure no one else dies, as well as trying to warn the "bride" that they were just being used as bait.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: She tries desperately to steer the men away from trying to find the Ghost Groom and she gets insulted about her looks and bullied by them as a result. She protected Lang Ying because he didn't have anywhere else to go and wanted him to stop stealing, she gets accused of being his accomplice as the Ghost Groom. She tries to protect Xie Lian because he went out of his way to be nice to, she gets killed by Xuan Ji.
- Senseless Sacrifice: She tries to attack Xuan Ji in order to distract her from Xie Lian. However, he would have been able to stop her otherwise, so Little Ying ends up getting tossed into a wall enough to break her bones and kill her slowly. She even admits to Xie Lian as she dies that she knows she put herself in harms way for no reason.
- Small Role, Big Impact: She is killed off as quickly as she's introduced, but her death causes Lang Ying to be taken to Ghost City and later up into Heaven where he talks with Jun Wu. Offscreen he allows Jun Wu to consume him as White No Face so he can use his form to taunt Xie Lian once Jun Wu tells the boy who Xie Lian really was and why he's the reason the boy has the Human Face Disease.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: She's nothing but kind to Xie Lian, Lang Ying and the mercenaries who are attempting to lure out the Ghost Bridegroom despite being rude to her. Her only goal is to protect Lang Ying from the men and stop anyone else from dying. So of course she dies by the end of the first arc.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: She gets killed off just as quickly as she appeared to show how fragile humans are compared to the gods.
- Youthful Freckles: She's given freckles in her donghua counterpart.
Gu Zi (谷子)
Voiced by (Mandarin): Zhu Rongrong (animation)
Voiced by (English): Veronica Laux (animation)
A young child who Xie Lian meets hiding in his parent's tomb with his father. But when Qi Rong possesses the child's father, he doesn't seem to realize this and continues to look out for him and protect him from Xie Lian and anyone else who tries to hurt Qi Rong.
- Children Are Innocent: Whenever Gu Zi appears in a situation, he takes everything in a positive light, while not realizing how dark some of it truly is. He doesn't realize Qi Rong is possessing his father and continues to look after him. In book 5, he does admit he knew something was off about his father, but he was treating him nicer than before, so he didn't mind.
- Children Raise You: He ends up bringing out a lot of genuine paternal love from Qi Rong despite the other always saying he was going to eat Gu Zi. This culminates in Qi Rong shielding Gu Zi with his body to protect him from Jun Wu's flames and becomes a ghost flame as a result.
- Extremely Protective Child: He hates seeing his father hurt in any way and will put himself between Qi Rong and the person hurting him to make them stop. Qi Rong takes full advantage of this.
Spiritual Weapons
Ruoye (若邪)
One of Xie Lian's items that assist him throughout the entire story and is usually wrapped around his body.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: When Xie Lian throws it vegetables to cut for dinner Ruo Ye tries to show off and impress its master, but is then outdone by E-Ming and it starts to sulk afterwards.
- Clothing Combat: Ruo Ye can unravel itself to grab onto foes, and it can apparently cut into things. It can even stretch for miles.
- Covert Pervert: Xie Lian notes that Ruo Ye is ruthless when wrapping up male targets if he asks, but when wrapping up females, it becomes more docile and unwilling to unravel if Xie Lian needs it by his side.
- Disney Death: In the final battle Jun Wu grabs and tears apart Ruo Ye, leaving Xie Lian weaponless for the time being. However, after the battle, Mu Qing manages to sew Ruo Ye back up together.
- Empathic Weapon: Ruo Ye has a personality of its own, but doesn't show it off much since it's usually wrapped around Xie Lian.
- Guardian Entity: Whenever it senses Xie Lian is in danger, it immediately shoots out to protect the former crown prince. This is played up more in the manhua where Ruo Ye is visibly angry at the snake for biting Xie Lian.
- Living Clothes: Ruo Ye is a sentient bandage brought to life.
- Mundane Utility: Amongst many of the things Xie Lian requires from Ruo Ye besides wrapping up enemies and grabbing onto something is chopping up food for meals.
- Shipper on Deck: As Xie Lian is tossed into the air by a tornado and asks Ruo Ye to grab onto something strong and dependable, Ruo Ye grabs onto San Lang.
E-Ming (厄命)
Hua Cheng's scimitar that he wears at his side and it seems to have a visible red eye.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Not really crazy, but E-Ming loves it when Xie Lian showers it with praise and gets instantly dejected when Hua Cheng throws it away so he could be close to Xie Lian instead.
- Death by a Thousand Cuts: E-Ming has the ability to reopen wounds it has inflicted on its targets.
- Empathic Weapon: E-Ming gets incredibly feisty when Xie Lian's around and Hua Cheng usually scolds it for acting out. It's also impressive how much emotion it can show given it's a scimitar with one eye. This is likely due to the fact that E-Ming is Hua Cheng's eye placed into the scimitar.
- Evil Weapon: He's seen as this to the heavens. But to Xie Lian it almost acts like a puppy begging for attention.
- Fanboy: Is such a fan of Xie Lian that it does whatever it can to be close to him or impress him.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: It has one red eye on its hilt, which is Hua Cheng's missing eye.
