Chapter 38: A stand-in doll

Sitting in the car, I had a hallucinatory feeling and also had some doubts about my cheap master.

“Master, how did they get this car for us to ride in?”

“Nothing, they are officials. I used to help their boss catch ghosts.” Old Jiang’s answer seemed to be without any problems.

I was young and didn’t think much about it. Whatever he said was true, and even my only remaining doubts were dispelled.

“Sanwa,” the old man suddenly called out to me.

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell your family that we took this car, and don’t say we went to the town either.”

“Why?”

“No reason. If you want to ride the bus again, keep it a secret! And remember, I’m your master, so whatever I say goes. Do you understand?” Old Master Jiang threatened and cajoled me, a seven-year-old boy.

“Okay,” I said, “I don’t know what respecting the teacher and respecting the way means, but I know I really want to ride this bus again.”

When we got home, it was already around 8 o’clock in the evening. After all, the car only took us to the entrance of the country road, and we had to walk the rest of the way.

I was tired when I got home, and after eating, I just laid down in bed. But my cheap master didn’t even bother to eat.

I lay in bed for a while, feeling comfortable, and then I wanted to see what the old man was doing. In the meantime, my parents came in to see me several times, and each time they wanted to say something but then left, leaving me confused.

Now I think they probably wanted to ask what the old man had taken me out to do that day, but they didn’t think it was appropriate. After all, they had already given their son to someone else as an apprentice, and as long as the old man took me out and brought me back safely, that was the greatest peace of mind.

When I got to the courtyard, I saw that the old man had lit a lamp and was carefully pasting paper on it.

When I ran over to take a look, I saw that he had made a frame out of bamboo strips and was now pasting paper onto it. Looking at the outline of the frame, I could tell at a glance that it was a human being!

“Master, what are you doing?” I asked curiously.

“Can’t you see? It’s a paper doll.” The old man was very careful. While pasting the paper, he was also writing on the bamboo frame with a strange-colored ink.

I squatted down next to the old man and watched him carefully make the paper doll. After a while, I got bored and noticed two pieces of paper on the stone table next to him. I was curious and picked them up. I found that one of the papers had something written on it, like the year and month, but I couldn’t read it all because I was only in second grade. The other paper was a picture of a person. It looked like a picture, but it was on paper. I knew that it was printed on paper. Isn’t that what textbooks are like?

I looked at the portrait (let’s call it a portrait) carefully. It was a woman, very beautiful, with two eyebrows flying into the temples, a pair of narrow eyes, a high nose, and small, thin lips.

Looking at it, it looks like a good-looking woman and a handsome man. I’m not stupid, and I guessed it right away. I said to the old man Jiang, “Master, is this Yu Xiaohong? What are you doing with her picture?”

“Not just a photo, I also need her birth date and time. I’m making a doll, and I can’t do it without these two things.” The old man finished pasting the last piece of paper and answered me in great detail.

“A stand-in doll?” I was a little confused.

“What is Li Fengxian’s greatest wish? It is to stay with Yu Xiaohong until old age. To resolve her grievances, I can only untie her knot. This paper doll is meant to replace Yu Xiaohong, and it can also be used as Yu Xiaohong to accompany Li Fengxian.”

“Can a paper doll replace her?” I scratched my head, not quite understanding.

“Of course not. This substitute doll is not simple to make! For example, the bamboo strips used to make the skeleton must be made according to the weight of Yu Xiaohong’s bones. This bone weight is not the weight of the skull, but the weight of the bones according to the eight characters. There must also be a transformation rune written on the skeleton. In ancient legends, powerful body tattoos can temporarily turn decay into magic. For example, if you fold a bird, draw a body tattoo, and put your own power into it, the bird will be able to fly for a while. There are many other requirements, anyway, it’s troublesome.” Old Jiang explained to me patiently.

While explaining, he already picked up a pen and started drawing on the rough sketch that had already been pasted with paper. It looked like he was going to draw a person’s face.

Old Master Jiang is really good at drawing. In just a short while, he had already drawn the eyebrows and eyes of the person according to the photo. Compared to the photo of Yu Xiaohong, it was surprisingly 70 to 80 percent similar. Sometimes I really think, I can’t think of anything that my cheap master can’t do?

After a while, I was sleepy and kept yawning, sometimes lying on the old man Jiang, sometimes lying on the stone table.

“Sanwa, go to sleep for a while. It will take me another hour to finish. After I finish, I’ll take you to do something,” said the old man, probably impatient with me for yawning around him like a little monkey.

I went in as he said. Tomorrow is Sunday, and although I can officially skip school, I was too tired from today’s tiring day.

I fell asleep on the bed without even taking off my clothes. In my daze, I only remember my mother coming to take off my clothes and cover me with a quilt.

I was woken up by my father. After waking me up, he whispered, “Sanwa, hurry up. Your master is already waiting for you outside.”

He also wiped my face with cold water. I was completely awake after the cold water, and I couldn’t help but mutter, being a Taoist priest is also very hard work. Not only do you have to run around during the day, but you also have to do things at night.

I got dressed and went out into the courtyard, where I saw that the old man Jiang was already waiting for me.

“Master, how long have I been asleep? What time is it?” I asked, stretching.

“Not long, two hours. I finished making the paper doll, went up the mountain to get things, and then called your mother to tell her to call you. Now it’s only 10 minutes to 11 o’clock.” While he was talking, the old man looked at his wrist, and I saw a big shiny steel watch.

“Master, you’re really rich.” Big steel watches are rare, and they are definitely a symbol of wealth. My master’s watch was different, but I didn’t look closely.

“Haha, you want one too?”

“Yes, I do.” I’m just an honest kid.

“No!” The old man proudly looked up and walked away.

I was so angry. Didn’t my cheap master think it was a bit silly to tease a 7-year-old kid like that?

I was walking with the old man on the way to the market. He was holding me by the hand and also holding a paper doll in the other hand. The paper doll was wearing a pink opera costume and a little opera hat. It looked very lifelike and pretty. The face looked exactly like the portrait of Yu Xiaohong.

“Master, will Li Fengxian come looking for my sister tonight?” I was very worried about this.

“No, the three talismans have already taken away half of her evil spirits. It will be at least two or three days before she can come looking for your sister again. It’s like if a person stays up late to do something and is very serious in the process, they will inevitably need to rest for a long time the next day. Otherwise, they will not be in good spirits, which is a sign of having hurt their spirit and they need to recuperate. It’s the same for ghosts.”

“Oh, what about two or three days later?”

A slap on the head answered me. I looked up innocently at the owner of the slap, my cheap master Jiang, and couldn’t understand why I was being beaten. But I only saw him glaring and yelling, “Do I look like a person who is so incompetent? Don’t say two or three days, I can get things done tonight.”

So, that night, I and Old Master Jiang hurried to the cemetery in the village. Perhaps he thought I was going too slowly, so he simply picked me up on his back and walked forward.

I was lying on his back, and I couldn’t feel how fast he was walking, but I felt that the long way he had to go in the past would be a long way in a short time.

“Master, you walk pretty fast,” I said, half asleep on his back, and I couldn’t help but mutter.

“This is fast? You haven’t seen a real capable sorcerer, they can fly thousands of miles.” Old man Jiang snorted in disdain.

“You’re preaching feudal superstition again, Master! Have you ever seen it?” I said disdainfully.

“No, but if there really were such people, they could travel thousands of miles with their spirit, and at a certain level, they could even control their bodies. But those people are powerful, and I’m afraid they have become immortal, and the world cannot see them.” Old man Jiang thought for a while and answered me quite seriously.

“Humph…” Even if I believe in ghosts, I definitely don’t believe in gods. I expressed my disdain for what the old man said with a hum, but in the end, I was severely pinched on my buttocks by the old man, and I dared not say a word.

It was really fast. Usually it takes me an hour and a half to walk, but when I was on the old man’s back, it felt like I was there in no time. The old man looked at his big watch with a smug smile and said, “I’ve practiced my lightness well. It took less than an hour. Hehehe…”

I pouted and thought to myself that it wasn’t like I had found food stamps, but I didn’t dare say it.