Half-Immortal

1,174 words

“Eighty percent? That’s practically doubled!” At the mention of Kui Sanjin’s reward, Lu Xiucai’s drool nearly dripped down his chin.

But just as he opened his mouth to agree, he immediately cooled down.

I know my own limits. Following his master all this while, he’d seen his share of possessions—some mild, some vicious.

Master had told him these five copper coins could sever evil, but he’d never actually done it himself.

Seeing Lu Xiucai’s conflicted face, Kui Sanjin let out a disappointed sigh. “Ah, I don’t blame you. Fair enough—this kind of thing really isn’t for just anyone.”

That jab was all it took. Lu Xiucai’s brain went hot. “Fuck it, I’m in! Live or die, it’s all the same. Master Lu’s not afraid of some ghost! If Li Huowang could do it, why the hell can’t I?”

And if things went south, those five copper coins should at least buy him an escape.

“Good man! Master Lu has guts! I’ll drink to that!”

Lu Xiucai promptly mimicked something he’d heard in a story—he set his wine cup down on the table with a deliberate casualness.

“Don’t rush the drink! Let me slay the evil first, and then I’ll drink with you, Master Kui!”

His brimming confidence earned a thumbs-up from Kui Sanjin, which only made Lu Xiucai puff up with even more pride.

This is the treatment Li Huowang used to get. Now it’s my turn. Feels damn good.

“Alright then, Master Lu, let’s go!”

Once on the carriage, Lu Xiucai’s carefree demeanor masked a churning anxiety. He racked his brain, trying to recall how Li Huowang had handled supernatural dangers.

But after thinking for a long time, he found nothing useful. Every time danger struck, that old bastard had run faster than a rabbit—and when there was nowhere to run, he’d shove Lu Xiucai under the wagon and tell him not to come out.

Grumbling to himself, Lu Xiucai eventually felt the carriage stop. He stepped out and looked around, realizing they were outside the city.

The surrounding houses were pitch-black; he had no idea where they were. But Silverrest wasn’t that big—this had to be one of the nearby estates.

In front of him stood an imposing mansion gate, the kind that belonged to someone of considerable station.

“Come, Master Lu, follow me. The employer lives here.” Kui Sanjin knocked on the door.

Creak. The door opened, and an old man with a lantern leaned out.

He recognized Kui Sanjin’s face and quickly waved them inside, as if afraid something might follow them in.

“Sanjin, and this is…”

“Uncle Fang, don’t worry. This man is my sworn brother—not an ordinary folk. He’s studied divine arts with an immortal!”

When the old man hesitated, sizing him up, Lu Xiucai cleared his throat. He tucked one hand behind his back and put on the same cold, aloof face Li Huowang always wore.

“Sanjin!”

A deep voice rang out. Lu Xiucai turned to see a group of men walking toward him.

At their center was a burly, fat man. He was dressed in silk finery, a Buddha bead pendant on his chest, the look of a country squire.

But his face was all thick, rough flesh—completely mismatched with his clothes.

The men around him weren’t much better either—every last one looked like a thug. If there hadn’t been other houses nearby, Lu Xiucai would have thought he’d walked into a bandit den.

Kui Sanjin shrank a little when he saw them, hurrying over.

Watching them mutter among themselves, Lu Xiucai’s confidence began to waver. What kind of “brothers” does Kui have? They don’t look like they work an honest living.

A strange place, at night, with strangers. Lu Xiucai was already regretting coming here.

After a short exchange, Kui Sanjin led the burly fat man over to Lu Xiucai. “Master Lu, this is Master Zhao. The one cursed by evil is his son.”

Looking up at the intimidating, imperious face, Lu Xiucai opened his mouth to say something—when suddenly Master Zhao grasped both of his hands firmly and said with utmost sincerity: “Half-Immortal Lu, please save my son! He’s the only heir of the Zhao family!”

“Easy, easy.” Feeling the respect in those words, Lu Xiucai’s face lit up with pride. He liked being begged like this—it made him feel powerful.

“Half-Immortal Lu, there’s no time to waste. Come quickly—my son can’t hold on much longer!” Zhao Tianhu pulled Lu Xiucai deeper into the mansion.

The place was deep and sprawling. Lu Xiucai was starting to get dizzy. Damn, when I make it big, I’m going to buy a place this size too!

Just as he was thinking that, he was dragged to a stop in front of a single-story building. Inside, no lights were lit, as if no one was home.

“Half-Immortal Lu, my son is in there. As long as you can save him, anything is negotiable!”

Lu Xiucai listened carefully. Dead silence. His heart started to pound. “Master Zhao, is your son really alone in there?”

“Of course he’s alone—who else would there be? Two pageboys he tore to pieces!” Zhao Tianhu and his men shoved Lu Xiucai toward the door.

“Master Zhao, hold on! You need to tell me what kind of evil this is first! Is it fierce or not? Is it a he? It? A male or a female?”

Before he got an answer, the locked door flew open, and he was shoved straight inside.

Bang. The door slammed shut behind him.

“Don’t close the door! What are you doing?! I’m not running! Open up!” Lu Xiucai pounded on the wooden door frantically, but there was no response.

K-k-k-k-k-k-k—

A strange, chattering sound made every hair on his body stand on end.

He turned around trembling, panic-stricken, raising the five copper coins into the darkness.

Something in the dim room seemed to be hopping around, but he couldn’t make it out clearly.

I’m already here. No use complaining now. Steeling himself, Lu Xiucai shouted into the dark: “Listen here, you little evil! Don’t you know what’s good for you! My master is Li Huowang! If you so much as touch me, he’ll make you pay!”

His threat echoed in the room. When nothing abnormal happened, he steadied himself a little.

“Heh, that’s nothing. There’s nothing here.” Gritting his teeth, Lu Xiucai held the coins out in front of him and walked deeper into the room.

Groping around, he found it seemed to be a bedroom. But the Zhao family’s precious only son was nowhere to be found.

Can’t work like this—it’s too dark. I need to light a lamp. Lu Xiucai fumbled toward the table. Next to the lamp sat a steel striker.

He struck the striker repeatedly, sending sparks flying. One spark jumped onto the oil-soaked wick, and the lamp flared to life.

And at that exact moment, Lu Xiucai saw it.

On the other side of the flame, staring back at him eye to eye, was an extremely long, pale white face.

“AAAAAHHHHH!!!”

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Reading Guide Decoding

Lu Xiucai Learns What ‘Half-Immortal’ Really Means

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

Lu Xiucai’s arc here is a textbook example of the difference between genuine xianxia power and borrowed reputation. The “five coins” are his talismanic weapon, a common motif in Chinese folk-magic—but as a newbie exorcist, he lacks the ritual rigor and spiritual fortitude required to wield them properly. The locked-room trope, where the client or employer is complicit in trapping the exorcist with the entity, has deep roots in Chinese folk horror (zhiguai stories often feature well-meaning but panicked clients who seal the door to “prevent escape” of the evil—while forgetting the exorcist’s own exit).

Locked-room exorcism (闭门驱邪)

A classic trope in Chinese folk horror and xianxia where the client seals the exorcist inside with the possessed, prioritizing containment of the entity over the exorcist’s safety.

Chapter Overview

Lu Xiucai thinks he’s finally cracked the code. With five coins, a mouthful of bravado, and the faint smell of Li Huowang’s reputation clinging to him, he struts into his first solo exorcism expecting a quick promotion in the supernatural pecking order. What he gets instead is a classic folk-horror setup: a locked room, a dead-silent mansion, a client who’s a little too pushy about closing doors, and that final, devastating reveal that no amount of borrowed confidence can prepare you for what’s waiting on the other side of a match-strike. This is a masterclass in building dread through procedural mistakes, and Lu Xiucai makes every single one.

Key Plot Points

Kui Sanjin offers Lu Xiucai a lucrative exorcism job with an eighty-percent reward stake, piquing his greed before his caution.
Despite initial hesitation, a mix of pride and peer pressure (“Li Huowang could do it”) pushes Lu Xiucai to accept the job.
Arriving at a wealthy, intimidating mansion, Lu Xiucai meets the client—Zhao Tianhu, a thuggish rich man whose “son” is possessed.
Zhao Tianhu’s men shove Lu Xiucai into a pitch-black room and lock the door behind him, a sign that this is not a simple consultation.
Desperate but still performing bravado, Lu Xiucai uses Li Huowang’s name as a threat to the unknown entity.
Attempting to light a lamp, Lu Xiucai’s spark reveals a horrifyingly elongated, pale face staring at him from across the flame—leading to his scream.

Reading Guide

Get ready to laugh, cringe, and shudder all at once. Lu Xiucai has been insufferable in his victory lap, and this chapter gives him what he deserves—a cold, hard dose of humility served with a side of existential terror. His transformation from cocky “Master Lu” to a man screaming at a lamp-lit face is the kind of tonal whiplash that makes Dao-Twisted World’s horror so effective: it starts with a swagger and ends with a soul-freezing scream. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a roadside braggart tries to play exorcist, read on.

Deeper Lore: The Locked Room’s Folk Horror Roots

The “shoving the exorcist into a sealed room with the possessed” is a specific, recurring scenario in Chinese rural exorcism lore. In many cases, the family is terrified that the evil spirit will escape into the larger household—or that the exorcist will flee the moment he realizes what he’s up against. This isn’t just trap-setting; it’s a grim form of folk logic where the practitioner’s survival becomes secondary to containing the entity. Zhao Tianhu’s “two pageboys were torn to pieces” remark is the classic red flag that Lu Xiucai, in his arrogance, completely ignores.