Ghost Seal

The ghost seal from Time Raiders

### Also Known as

Gui Niu Longyu Yuxi, Ghost Knob Dragon Fish Imperial Jade Seal, Ruler of the Dead’s Imperial Jade Ghost Seal

### References

Volume 1, Volume 3, Volume 7, Volume 8, Ten Years Later

**The Ghost Seal** is an imperial jade seal that opens the Bronze Door. There are two in existence.

## Appearance

The seal is four centimeters in size and has a square base. Its color is a very deep lusterless cyan and was made from meteorite jade.

The seal knob (the head or top side of a seal) was in the shape of a Qilin stepping on a ghost. The Qilin was holding his head high with his chest out and stepping on a three-headed ghost, whose claws were caught in the Qilin’s claws. The Qilin was also made up of a lot of little ghosts. The whole shape wasn’t like the Qilin stepping on a ghost, but the ghost combining to form the Qilin. And these ghosts had scales on their bodies, which made them look like entwined snakes. If looked at from another angle, the Qilin’s shape changed into the shape of countless dragon fish. Based on the style of the seal knob, it was likely created during the Warring States Period.

The ghost seal had three places where very fine carved lines suddenly broke off. The faulty places were very smooth and were where the three fingers pointed to the abdomen when the imperial seal was used. The three ghost heads are actually three rings. When the person wearing the three rings grasps the seal, the position of the rings is right on the fractures. Grasp it just right, and the seal will take shape.

## History

### Seven Star Lu Palace Tomb

In the Seven Star Lu Palace tomb, the ghost seal was described in inscriptions that were engraved on a coffin. The inscription discussed a vassal of the State of Lu called King Lu Shang. This person was said to be born with a ghost seal and could borrow ghost soldiers from the underworld, which made him invincible in battle. When the ghost seal was revealed, a large number of ghost soldiers would rise from the ground, kill the enemy, and take their souls. Wang Pangzi later refutes this story and believes that it was a cover. If anyone questioned why the soil over the graves had been disturbed, they would say that King Lu Shang borrowed the souls of the tomb owners. Pangzi believed that the ghost seal should be in the tomb.

### The First Exploration of the Heavenly Palace Tomb

Ning and her team believed that Wang Zanghai robbed King Lu Shang’s tomb and replaced the ghost seal with one of the snake-eyebrow copper fish. Then, Wang Zanghai put the ghost seal in his own tomb. However, when they searched Wang Zanghai's tomb, the ghost seal could not be found.

In 2003, Zhang Qiling was holding one of the ghost seals when he went into the Bronze Door.

### Xin Yue Restaurant Auction

In 2004, one of the ghost seals showed up at an auction at the Xin Yue Restaurant. In a roster for the auction, it was called "鬼钮龙鱼玉玺" (Gui Niu Longyu Yuxi) which translates to Ghost Knob Dragon Fish Imperial Jade Seal and came from Baiyanping, Guzhang County, Hunan province. The seal was the only item being sold at the auction that day. It was covered in a poisonous chemical substance likely to prevent theft.

Wu Xie had lit the sky lantern and had inadvertently placed the highest bid on the seal. The price had reached almost a hundred million yuan before one of the hotel's employees caught onto Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi's plan of stealing the goods and running away. A fight broke out and total chaos erupted at the auction. Upon leaving, Zhang Qiling grabbed the ghost seal from its glass cabinet. The three of them successfully stole the seal from the auction.

### Ten Year Meeting

Before Zhang Qiling went into the bronze door he grabbed two ghost seals out of his bag. He got the second one from Huo Xiangu. He told Wu Xie that if he still remembered him in ten years, the ghost seal could be used to open the bronze door.

## Adaptations

### Time Raiders

In the game *Time Raiders*, the ghost seal is called the Jade Qilin Seal and is a collectible artifact. In its profile it states:

> A jade seal with a majestic Qilin design, highly detailed and lifelike with terrifying creatures underfoot, a triumph of the art of jade carving. The vivid representations of demons on the piece reflect the strong belief in supernatural beings at the time of its manufacture and are considered of great archeological significance.
>
>

### The Lost Tomb

In the television series *The Lost Tomb* in the Seven Star Lu Palace tomb, the ghost seal was described in inscriptions on the wall. The inscriptions said that King Lu Shang was born with a ghost seal that could be used to borrow undead troops from the underworld. If he showed the ghost seal on the battlefield, troops would come out of the ground to take away people’s souls. Wang Pangzi later refutes this story and believes that it was a cover for King Lu Shang's grave robbing. If anyone questioned why the soil over the graves had been disturbed, they would say that King Lu Shang borrowed the souls of the tomb owners. Pangzi believed that the ghost seal was in the tomb.

There was another record about the ghost seal in the tomb's main chamber. It stated that when King Lu Shang was 20, he inherited his official position from his father. He robbed ancient tombs for the State of Lu army. One day, he entered a tomb of an unknown dynasty and found a giant serpent lying in a coffin. He killed the snake and opened its belly to find a purple-gold box, likely the same one the green-eyed fox corpse was holding.

King Lu Shang had a dream about the snake who wanted revenge. King Lu Shang was about to win against the snake again but the snake begged for mercy. It was worried it would not be able to reincarnate. In return for this favor, the serpent told King Lu Shang how to open the box and said that the two treasures in the gold box would guarantee him high status. King Lu Shang thought this was a secret no mortal should know, so he killed the serpent. One of the treasures was the Ghost Seal but the other was unknown. King Lu Shang became worried about the secret of the box and killed his subordinates and even their families to keep it unknown. In the next decades, King Lu Shang was victorious in his battles.

Once they left the tomb, Wu Sanxing attempted to authenticate this record and found that it was fake. The gold the record contained was too pure and wasn't available during that era. He and Wu Xie suspected that Zhang Qiling put the fake in the tomb.

### The Lost Tomb 2.5

In *The Lost Tomb 2: Explore with the Note*, Ning and her team believed that Wang Zanghai robbed King Lu Shang’s tomb and replaced the ghost seal with one of the snake brow copper fish. Then, Wang Zanghai put the ghost seal in his own tomb. However, when they searched Wang Zanghai's tomb, the ghost seal could not be found.

### Ultimate Note

The ghost seal showed up at an auction being conducted at the Xin Yue Restaurant where Wu Xie, Wang Pangzi, and Zhang Qiling were attending. Wu Xie and Wang Pangzi immediately recognized the seal from when Zhang Qiling used it in the Heavenly Palace tomb. The ghost seal was originally owned by King Lu Shang. It was said that he found a purple jade box inside the stomach of a huge snake. The box contained the ghost seal. Legend has it that the one that possessed the ghost seal can command the ghost army. It is also rumored that only the ghost seal can open the Bronze Gate.

Wu Xie had lit the sky lantern and had inadvertently placed the highest bid on the seal. The price had reached ¥100 million before the auction stopped for a break. During the break, an employee overheard Wu Xie and Pangzi's plan to wreak havoc at the auction and ordered security to stop them. A fight broke out and total chaos erupted at the auction. Wu Xie, Pangzi, and Zhang Qiling managed to steal the ghost seal from the auction and escape.

Later, Zhang Qiling brings the ghost seal with him to Zhang family's Old Pavilion. In one of the rooms, an ice jade has an engraved pattern on it that resembles the floor plan of the ghost seal. Three of the ghosts were missing heads, however, on the diagram, their heads were there. The team then figured out how to activate the mechanism.

#### Appearance

In *Ultimate Note,* the seal knob (the head or top side of a seal) was in the shape of a Qilin stepping on a ghost. The Qilin was holding his head high with his chest out and stepping on a three-headed ghost, whose claws were on the Qilin’s claws. The Qilin was also made up of a lot of little ghosts. When observed from another angle, the qilin’s shape changed into the shape of numerous dragon fish.

The seal is thought to be made of Jade Meteorite. The owner of the ghost seal likely wore rings while holding it and created three fractures where he placed his fingers. As a result, three of the ghosts on the seal have no heads.

## Trivia

* In *Ultimate Note*, the suggested listing price for the ghost seal at the auction was ¥70,000,000-200,000,000.
* In *Ultimate Note*, the dimensions of the ghost seal are 19 X 18 X 27 CM.
* In *Ultimate Note* on the pamphlet Wu Xie received at the auction, there was a short paragraph in English and Chinese that described the ghost seal. In English it stated "King Lu Gong's ghost seals are the things of King Lu Wei. King Lu Wei found a purple jade box in the belly of a huge snake. The box contained ghost seals. Ghost seals can command Yin soldiers, in addition to opening the ultimate bronze door." The Chinese likely stated "鲁国公 鬼玺是鲁殇王的东西，鲁殇王在一巨蛇的肚子中找到一紫玉盒子，那盒子里装的就是鬼玺。鬼玺能调令阴兵，除此之外还能打开终极的青铜门."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Volume 7, Chapter 9
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Volume 7, Chapter 10
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Volume 8, Chapter 80
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Volume 7, Chapter 20
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Volume 1, Chapter 10
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Volume 1, Chapter 16
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Volume 3, Chapter 37
8. ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 82 ("Winter 2003—Heavenly Palace in the Clouds").
9. ↑ Volume 8, Chapter 82 ("Month A in 2004—the Iron Triangle wreaked havoc at the Crescent Hotel.").
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Volume 7, Chapter 11
11. ↑ Volume 7, Chapter 13
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Lost Tomb, Episode 4
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 The Lost Tomb, Episode 6
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 The Lost Tomb, Episode 8
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Lost Tomb 2.5, Episode 22
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Ultimate Note, Episode 28
17. ↑ This would have been the equivalent of almost US$14.5 million in 2004.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Ultimate Note, Episode 35
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Ultimate Note, Episode 28
20. ↑ Ultimate Note, Episode 35