HWE Jiangshi

Name: Jiangshi

Aliases: 'Stiff Corpse', Hopping Vampire, Chinese Zombie, Gangshi(Korea), Kyonshi(Japan)

Faction: None, bound to the will of the Necromancer that made them, solitary or small groups.

Status: Active

Alignment: Neutral Hostile

Rank: 1 Undead

Measurements: H- variable, any human height. W- variable, any human weight though somewhat heavier

Race: Yokai, Undead

 

Powers:

 

Feed on Qi - Qi or Ki, also known as life force, is what Jiangshi primarily run on. More to the point this is basically  the elements of Enigma within a person as well as their raw vitality. Jiangshi grow stronger the more they feed on this energy source. Becoming stronger, faster, and more durable. The Jiangshi typically grabs the victim and then brings them in close to literally 'inhale' the Qi out of the victim, slowly draining them into a lifeless husk.

 

Feels No Pain - Jiangshi are undead and do not feel physical pain. This makes them incredibly tenacious, hard to stun, and very difficult to put down for any length of time.

 

Super 'Hop' - Hopping Vampires are aptly named for they are able to jump incredible distances, often several dozen feet in a single bound.

 

Undead Strength - Feeling no pain, Jiangshi have no sense of physical limitation and are often stronger than they were in life. As they grow in power from draining Qi, this strength only increases, as does their physical resilience and speed. A newly created Jiangshi can be almost comical, an ancient Jiangshi that has fed on countless victims, is a ping-pong balling nightmare. It's also notable that their nails tend to grow quite long and become deadly talons. It's senses, especially its sense of smell and hearing, are strong with the exception of its sense of touch and sight which are naturally defunct.

 

Martial Arts - Hailing from a region where martial arts are practiced professionally as well as recreationally with over a thousand years of history, it's small wonder that the Jiangshi, the reanimated dead from the continent, tend to have engrained muscle memory and can perform whatever variety of martial art they knew in life. Granted, many Jiangshi are riddled with such strong rigor mortis that they can't fully utilize these skills, hence why they hop everywhere. But when a Jiangshi has acquired a large amount of Qi, they can once again perform this dazzling and dangerous combat techniques. To an even more lethal degree than a living practitioner on the quality of sheer power alone.

 

Resistance to Shinto Arts - Hailing from China, Jiangshi pay Shinto and even most Buddhist rites little mind. Rather Taoist arts are more effective.

 

Weakness:

 

Everything But the Kitchen Sink - Jiangshi, like many vampires, have a laundry list of cultural remedies to end their existence. Including:

Mirrors - Their own reflections scare them

Peach Wood - Powerful Taoist medium of purification

A Rooster's Call - Causes them to run as it signals the sun coming up

Jujube Seeds - Nailing seven of them into acupuncture points in the back will stop it from moving

Fire - Goes without saying how well corpses burn

Hoofs of a Black Donkey - Instrument of displacing Qi and shattering their bones

Vinegar - Acts like an acid.

Bagua Sign - The eight trigrams force the laws of nature back onto the corpse

I Ching - an ancient divination text, a copy repels them.

Zhou Dunyi - Legendary Taoist Philosopher, his visage or his writings recited rebuke them.

Tong Shu - Book of Changes, one of Zhou Dunyi's greatest works (see above)

Glutinous rice and rice chaff - weighs the Jiangshi down

Adzuki Beans - 'bleed holes' through the Jiangshi when shot at them

Handbell - Disorients the Jiangshi, effectively blinding it.

Thread Stained in Black Ink - Jiangshi are color blind as shit, they can't see it.

Blood of a Black Dog - ruins their sense of smell

Stonemason's Awl - Hitting them with it makes the injured limb unresponsive

Axe - Dismemberment is one of the only ways to physically stop them.

Broom - Effective 'brushing away' the Necromancer's control over the Jiangshi, leaving it confused.

 

The Sun - Unlike a classical vampire that will burst into flame, Jianshi simply have no temperature regulation and the sun immobilizes them and dries them out.

 

Paper Talisman - The primary device of control and reanimation, the paper talisman on a Jiangshi is what allows the Necromancer to control it as well as what animates it. If it is removed, the Jiangshi becomes inactive and uncontrolled. If it a Jiangshi that reanimated on its own, or if the body is not destroyed properly after the talisman is removed, the Jiangshi might simply arise and go into a berserk feeding frenzy. Some Jiangshi have multiple talismans and thus often lose some other attribute, requiring multiple de-tagging.

 

Mindless Murder Monster - Unlike the suave or charismatic western vampire, the Jiangshi without a master directing it, is a simple nocturnal predator with a supernatural capacity for death. It doesn't think or feel as the it's three 'huns', the part of its soul that was sentient, is gone. All that remains is the seven 'po's which are base animal instincts and primal motivations. This makes the Jiangshi a very deadly but direct threat that cannot plan, strategize or prepare on its own. The extent of a Jiangshi's subtlety is to ambush the target from literally yards away from out of seemingly nowhere. They are blind and thus track targets by scent and sound. It's possible to throw them off your trail by simply not breathing and distracting them with a rock. Though with their tenacity one would have to breathe within the time they spend searching an area. Even the slightest breath alerts them.

 

Description: Jiangshi all used to be living human people. Granted, a majority come from as far back as the Qing Dynasty and some are rotted to a horrifying degree but they are still look like people...strangely animated dead people but people. However, the art of Chinese Necromancy is not as stagnant an art as one would think. Rather those families that kept the art alive have gradually made improvements and different techniques to both make new Jiangshi faster and to increase their versatility. The classic variety of a mandarin (Chinese official) is still common but 'stranger' varieties have appeared. What is common is that most Jiangshi have pale white and sometimes green tinged skin, long talon like nails, and a sealing talisman plastered to their heads. Many Jiangshi are heavily riddled with rigor mortis and thus 'hop' everywhere with their arms outstretched. New varieties however seem to be a bit more...'flexible'.

 

Personality: Jiangshi are mindless and thus have no personality. The talismans used to reanimate and control them keep them from acting out whatever memories are locked within the reanimating hitodama bestowed upon them by their animating Necromancer. When on the hunt or uncontrolled they are animalistic and savage, desperate to feed on Qi. The most personality thus comes from the history of the Jiangshi and their Necromancer masters. The creation of Jiangshi once had rather humble and utilitarian beginnings. As a regional method of moving a corpse that needed to be buried in a specific way but was far from its family crypt. This kept the corpse from decomposing and also got it to make its own way to the family crypt to be properly buried. Over time, and through political corruption and treacherous clan dealings, the art was turned to more selfish and sinister purposes. It is unknown where the knowledge of making Jiangshi first came from but many speculate it was some form of Yokai with many pointing fingers at the Nekomata or even Kasha despite these Yokai being native primarily to Japan. Others understand that bodies not properly buried can rise on their own and some Jiangshi have done just that, becoming feral predators of their fellow man. Today, making Jiangshi has entered something of a renaissance. Methods of extracting Yang Qi and putting it into more freshly dead bodies. Making Jiangshi more limber and replacing destroyed or damaged body parts and even stitching together body parts, some not even human, together to make Jiangshi with unusual abilities are becoming possible. However the core aspect of the Jiangshi's core existence being a dead human is still necessary as all arts are based on the mapped circulation of Qi that flows through the human body. While their movements are as secret as they ever were, the Necromancer Families are a reemerging force in the world and are the primarily source of Jiangshi and a majority of the activities involving these reanimated Yokai.

-----

Jiangshi Bio: Continued from HWE Funa Yurei - As Ruki continued to laugh in stuttering hysterics, Amaro looked on in mild confusion. What was so funny about vampires that hop? The grumbling voice of Kaitheros meanwhile only sighed.

 

"Ruki, I really can't stress enough that the Jiangshi is a serious problem."

 

"Right Thero-kun, if we don't burn the bodies and substitute the practices with more pragmatic and spiritually wholesome alternatives the horrible undead politicians will rise up and tip their silly hats at us while bunny hopping after us and trying to eat our souls~ ...*snort*"

 

"You're impossible." Kaitheros groaned. Amaro's curiosity however was piqued.

 

"Kaitheros-sama, what is a...'vampire'?" Ruki raised an eyebrow before realizing that the vampires in and of themselves were a strange concept compared to most Yokai who became very different upon their birth or full transition into a Yokai from a human.

 

"Amaro-kun, a vampire is generally a corporeal undead creature that 'generally' feeds on human blood or life force. The Jiangshi is the most famous and silliest variant of this creature native to Asia, primarily China. As such it has strong roots in Taoism which is how they are created in the first place."

 

"So they are like the Mogui? Could we slay them with peach wood swords?"

 

"That's one of many ways that Jiangshi can be dealt with. I'm glad someone is taking this seriously." The Arbiter huffed. Ruki just rolled her eyes.

 

"Oh come on. How am I supposed to take a bunch of dead politicians with silly hats hopping around with paper stuck to their faces seriously?"

 

"As I've said before Ruki, they aren't just made from Mandarins of the Qing Dynasty, though a large majority of them dating back to that time are. This is due to the boom in their creation thanks to wide spread necromancy in the imperial courts. The creation of Jiangshi is generational and it usually takes a long time for the necessary amount of 'Qi' to build up in order to raise one. Besides it's not the creatures themselves that are truly the most dangerous aspect of them, it's those that would create and use them that are the real threat."

 

"Oh sure, some bored, morbid, noble man-children sometimes decide to spice up their courtly gossip contests with life stealing corpse puppets. Dey probably all tawk like thees and hiss ovah their showlders whal wearing hevee maykup and  long black trench coats, ah ah ah!" Ruki pantomimed the image of a classic Hollywood vampire , baring her teeth over her sleeve and doing her best attempt at a Transylvanian accent. Amaro's could only make an utterly blank face in response.

 

"Miko-san, I still do not understand why this is humorous."

 

"I'm literally over a thousand years old and what is this?" Kaitheros added. Ruki hung her head in defeat over her cultural reference being entirely lost on her audience.

 

"What I'm saying is that the entire concept of these things is laughable. Who would waste that much time dressing up a corpse and making it 'hop around' eating people? They're probably made by the same sorts of people that would collect little colorful horses made for children as a hobby. It's silly and sad and preeetty pathetic." Ruki droned out.

 

"Their origins are anything but 'silly' though I will give you sad and indeed pathetic. Jiangshi are a result of a tradition among Taoists that was considered necessary due to the large distances needed to transport a body to its ancestral tomb or burial ground. Transporting a body was dirty, treacherous but important work as otherwise the soul of that person would not rest in peace according to their beliefs. Sometimes getting the body back home was easier said than done and so with the aid of ritual and talisman a corpse could be forced to animate and effectively deliver itself."

 

"These were measures not taken lightly I imagine. To disturb and defile the dead even for such a purpose carries great risk." Amaro concluded, recalling common wisdom abundant in the Den.

 

"Right you are, but life outside the Den during that time was a treacherous one. Civil war, invasion, famine and drought, treacherous mountain roads where bandits and animals alike could accost you... delivering bodies was no easy task. If the body could deliver and even defend itself, then all the better. For a time this was all Jiangshi were created for, to deliver the dead to their proper rest when so far afield."

 

 "Pfft, didn't stay that way." Ruki interjected.

 

"As the practice became more ingrained by clans that had risen to power, they began to use the Jiangshi for purposes other than self delivery. They soon became tools of their creators, acting as dark agents of their will to sabotage rivals and assassinate dangers to the creator's family. Jiangshi were powerful weapons if controlled properly and many were passed down family lines as objects of succession. After all how do you punish someone who is already dead? The idea that the dead would come to attack you cast a certain pall on those attacked and many victims were seen as having earned some horrid karma that must have been deserved. However all of this quickly went wrong when a Jiangshi was accidently freed or went wild in the hands of an amateur. Jiangshi were not mere puppets and their bodies quickly adopted a designation as Yokai."

 

"I would believe these then 'rogue Jiangshi' then proceeded to feed on populace indiscriminately; provoking the need to exterminate them." Amaro deduced. There was a mental grunt of confirmation as Kaitheros continued.

 

"Yes, such Jiangshi not reined in by their masters act much like starving animals. Hunting humans and devouring their Qi to sustain themselves. As such they quickly became targets of Imperial Exorcists, priests and of course our own Hoskoku no Miko. However due to their origins Jiangshi must be exorcised or sealed with Taoist arts and methods of extermination. Shinto and even a majority of Buddhist rites do not phase them. That is how deeply entwined the Jiangshi is to Taoism. Moreover, Jiangshi sometimes animated entirely on their own with the aid of a necromancer or Taoist practitioner."

 

"This is because of the principles behind a Jiangshi's creation." Ruki added with a minor adjustment to her glasses. "In Taoism the soul isn't a singular ball of energy but rather a combination of three 'huns' and seven 'pos'. Huns are what make people sentient and the Pos are base animal instincts, needs and desires. A Jiangshi is basically a human being with all of its Huns removed which happens naturally during death. However, not purifying and properly giving the body it's burial rites allows the seven Pos to fester and over time that energy builds up and turns the body, bereft of intelligence or reason, into a Jiangshi. It will then start hunting people to satisfy its base nature. So while deliberate creation of a Jiangshi is 'heinous' in any respectable spiritual sense, people who didn't get their funeral rites could easily become a Jiangshi provided they weren't turned into some other Yokai. The difference between wild and controlled Jiangshi is that a controlled Jiangshi is a controlled weapon but with a tangible source that can be rooted out. A wild Jiangshi is an animal with no ability to plan, strategize or even follow basic instincts; however it is also wildly unpredictable  and is much like a specialized predator."

 

"But Miko-san." Amaro asked with confusion. "You still feel these creatures are object of ridicule, how can you find humor in creatures that pose such a real danger if allowed to persist?"

 

"It...it's just...look. Imagine a dead old man in big fancy robes wearing a tiny hat with a ball on the top of it. Big wispy mustache and nails that have grown into claws. His body is so stiff that his back is a permanent steel rod and his arms are always held out in front of him. He's completely blind so he can only detect you by the smell, literally your breath on the air. His face is obscured by a big fancy talisman using characters that even a calligraphy student would find gaudy and have him hop around everywhere he goes. And then there is the laundry list of weaknesses these things have. There is an entire scroll in the shrine dedicated entirely to the many, MANY things that Jiangshi are weak against. I know they are dangerous Amaro, all Yokai are. But these things are just SILLY and...*snicker* I can't help it." Ruki finished as she began to giggle just thinking about the rather bizarre image she had painted for Amaro. Kaitheros mentally picked up where she left off.

 

"It's true Amaro, Jiangshi are rife with weaknesses. Many superstitious remedies are effective against them. To give you a quick idea of how exhaustive this is, allow me to give you a portion of them: Mirrors strike fear into Jiangshi through their own reflection, Peach Wood as mentioned purifies most things in Taoism, a Roosters Call will make them flee as it means the sun is about to rise, Jujube Seeds nailed into seven acupuncture points in the back will paralyze it completely, Fire will burn them quickly, the Hooves of a Black Donkey disrupts their Qi and shatters their bones, Vinegar is an acid, the Bagua Sign returns them to being  corpse, the I Ching repels them, visage and writings of Zhou Dunyi will rebuke them if recited or presented, the Tong Shu is one such work of his for this purpose, Glutinous rice and rice chaff makes Jiangshi sluggishly heavy, Adzuki Beans can bleed out a Jiangshi's Qi if they are shot with them, a Handbell disorients and blinds the Jiangshi who relies on sound and smell to locate prey, A thread stained in black ink is effective as Jiangshi cannot see it via spiritual means, the blood of a black dog ruins their sense of smell, a Stonemason's Awl can render a Jiangshi's limb paralyzed unable to be controlled, an Axe is useful simply for dismembering them as its one of the few ways of physically stopping them, a broom can sweep the Necromancer's control over the Jiangshi off of it, leading to confusion. Finally the sun itself will immobilize the Jiangshi and dry it out, rendering it helpless."

 

"That is...an exhaustive list. Being completely prepared would require an entire pantry of talismans to defeat an Jiangshi" Amaro mulled over the flood of information. Ruki scoffed and rolled her eyes.

 

"Yeah, like you are going to get one person to carry all of that. You'd look like a medicine seller rather than a Yokai exterminator. This is why most who actually dealt with Jiangshi traveled in teams so that they could use different weaknesses against the Jiangshi from all sides. Often just striking the Talisman off of its forehead is enough to render it inert. Sometimes they have multiple Talismans but really the only way a Jiangshi becomes a problem is if you don't have any of those means of defending yourself or it catches you alone and by surprise."

 

"A more common occurrence than you'd think. A Jiangshi does not simply bite their victims but inhale the Qi, allowing them to feed at not quite intimate range. Simply grappling with one puts yourself in mortal danger. They do not feel pain and they are extremely stubborn. As a Jiangshi feeds it grows stronger and faster. So with each victim the Jiangshi becomes more and more of threat. A newly raised Jiangshi or one that has been starved can be fairly comical as Ruki insists, however one that has fed on many victims and has been raised for a very long time over many generations is anything but. A rebounding ball of unfeeling hunger with claws that can rend rock and the ability to 'hop' incredible distances."

 

"So in that regard it is like any other Yokai. The more human essence it consumes the stronger it becomes, its age also becoming a factor." Amaro nodded, seeing the connection.

 

"That's not all. The most dangerous aspect of a Jiangshi...is that it knows Martial Arts." Amaro stood dumbfounded as Ruki spluttered into another fit of giggles. Amaro however was confused. Something about that entire scenario didn't make sense.

 

"Kaitheros-sama, how can a creature that is so stiff and can only move by hopping about reliably perform Martial Arts?" The boy had a dubious expression screwed up into his face and Ruki managed to stop laughing long enough to answer.

 

"Hihihihi...*ahem* the Jiangshi is a resurrected corpse right?"

 

"Yes Miko-san."

 

"Well Martial Arts creates a lot of muscle memory right?"

 

"Your body eventually knows what your training teaches it, yes."

 

"So, if a corpse used to create a Jiangshi belonged to a skilled martial artist, then wouldn't that body still be able to go through the motions of that art even without thinking about it?"

 

"Even if the body would perform the motion unbidden by thought, it's body is still rife with rigor mortis. How does it get around this?"

 

"Economy of motion. At first the Jiangshi can't move its arms above its head and it can't bend it's back. But a lot of the time it doesn't have to. As it feeds it body gradually loosens up and it can perform the technique much as it did in life, if not even more fiercely due to its undead strength and speed. It's not a zombie, it's not going to shamble and stumble over itself even at its most wretched. As long as it has legs and a head it's a problem. The Necromancer controlling it can even fight through the Jiangshi if he's skilled enough."

 

"So, Jiangshi are powerful and dangerous though for the prepared they can be dealt with relatively simply. But they are still foreign threats are they not? Wouldn't they be only able to create Jiangshi on the mainland continent?" Ruki actually arched her brows in wonderment at the question.

 

"I'd like to think so. Jiangshi take hundreds of years to properly prepare and be animated. Kinda like pickling plums the corpse has to accumulate the necessary Qi over time. That's why many Jiangshi look like Mandarins from the Qing Dynasty. It's the period that has the most Jiangshi because it's far enough back in time for Jiangshi to be made. Really no one culture in the east has had total sovereignty in the Den so I wouldn't think there are that many unpurified Taoist graves around Amaro-kun."

 

"You'd be surprised." Kaitheros interrupted.

 

"You kept giving me the impression that Jiangshi have been a problem before but I've never read or heard about them despite looking for weeks in the records." Ruki huffed.

 

"That's because a certain powerful clan finds said history 'a dishonorable stain of great magnitude' upon their otherwise illustrious time here in the Den and they are naturally loath to reveal that history to those outside their clan. It is not available for public record. Something everyone agreed to in order to prevent the knowledge of Jiangshi from spreading and provoking curiosity in their creation. Said clan has strong Taoist roots and traditions which in itself is not concerning. However some of those said 'traditions' were carried over from their ancestors from the mainland and so while 'active' creation of Jiangshi only happened once or twice; wild Jiangshi still crop up from time to time when Enigma begins to flow strongly again."

 

"Wait...you don't mean...the TOHSAKAS?!" Ruki burst out. Amaro had a brief look of recognition. The Tohsaka clan was a major clan in Yamatai and were well respected for their contributions to Yamatai as whole.

 

"The Tohsaka have burial tombs deep in the Haryu Mountains and to this day some devoted Taoists insist on being honored in that way. As such, Jiangshi are a very real concern and the Tohsaka, while they take great pains to properly honor and purify their dead, cannot account for acts of nature that occasionally render these tombs collapsed or vandalized by animals or even petty thieves. As such, a rogue wild Jiangshi can still appear. However the accord with the Tohsaka is that they will handle any Jiangshi problem of their own making that isn't too large that the Hoshoku Miko must be called to act upon. In return, no public record of the Tohsaka's burial rites and history with Jiangshi are to be kept or spread openly."

 

"So that's why I got funny looks whenever I asked about them..." Ruki pouted into her sleeve as she recalled the strange stubborn glint of the eye from a Tohsaka that had overheard her probing in search of information. "It would be a great loss of face to have to rely on me after all this time, it's understandable...I guess."

 

"The Tohsaka are not the only source of Jiangshi in the Den Ruki. In China the traditions that create Jiangshi and the families that kept those traditions have stayed in that country for thousands of years. While they are considered little more than mystics and occultists by today's perceptions they and their Jiangshi are very real. Several times have these Necromancer Clans tried to infiltrate and steal resources from the Den. And several times have your ancestors and the Tohsakas kept them out. Not always with complete success but enough to make them regret it."

 

"But they are still Jiangshi right? Still weak to the same stuff, same powers, still goofy hopping around and all that."

 

"I would presume nothing when it comes to the Necromancer Clans. The Tohsakas actively try to prevent Jiangshi from appearing in the Den as best they can, making only small adjustments to their rites to decrease the risk. The Necromancer Clans have been living in the outside world and have changed along with it. The last Jiangshi incursion was within the last two centuries and had a element to it I found...disturbing."

 

"What, did they opt for military uniforms and yellow stars on them this time? Did they teach the Jiangshi how to goosestep in perfect sync?" Ruki smirked. There was an awkward silence.

 

"One of the Jiangshi was different from the rest...it could run." This time the awkward silence was from the peanuts gallery. "It was not as durable as the other Jiangshi but it could move with a feral agility that made hitting it especially difficult. When it was finally brought down and the Tohsaka's dissected it, they learned that it had animal muscle tissue painstakingly sewn into its limbs. This made us realize that the Necromancer Clans were not simply creating Jiangshi but actively seeking to improve on the 'art'. We theorized at the time that the cultural shift in China had pushed the clans to this extreme. Trying to make Jiangshi faster than normal and with less limitations. With Enigma now being active force in the world again, I feel that the Necromancer Clans will be emboldened by this and are assuredly taking measures to capitalize on it. It's likely that we could be seeing not a solitary or a small group of Jiangshi but potentially an army of them."

 

"That's...concerning." Ruki admitted.

 

"Now you understand why I've never considered Jiangshi a joke. But enough of that topic. Our work on the shores isn't quite done yet. You have to prepare to check the tide pools and shallows next. As there is a possibility that a certain 'pest' has appeared there again. For now head back to town and get some rest, we'll be busy."

 

As the two gathered their things and headed inland, Kaitheros mulled over old memories. Memories of an old battle and a sharp eyed man who played with the dead as if they were extensions of his own fingers. Memories of that man's reaction to seeing his creation defeated...a wry smile mouthing the words 'needs more adjustments'. The light of madness that left with his escape had told Kaitheros that the strange Jiangshi was not a solitary incident, but the first of many.