Chapter 38: Shaping
The kitchen door handle turned slightly and then opened without a sound. Yu Sheng stepped out, carrying several large shopping bags, and greeted the wide-eyed Irene not far away.
“I’m back,” he announced.
Irene’s eyes widened even further, clearly struggling to process what just happened. “Weren’t you supposed to be out shopping? How did you come from…”
She abruptly stopped, as if a realization dawned on her.
“No way! You actually used the Door just to get back from a shopping mall!?”
Yu Sheng, looking rather pleased with himself, nodded. “I gave it some thought. Since the Door doesn’t just lead to the Otherworld but also to some distant places in reality, there’s no reason it can’t take me to somewhere closer. Besides, I tested carrying objects and living things through it too. As long as the Door remains stable, they pass through without a problem.”
Irene stared at him, stunned. “Living things? What did you bring through?”
Yu Sheng raised a hand. “I caught a mosquito on the way back…”
“…?” Irene gave him a blank stare.
Doll Lady couldn’t help but reevaluate Yu Sheng’s creativity. Her gaze naturally fell on the shopping bags, especially noting a box of Eight Treasures Porridge.
Yu Sheng unloaded the bags, placing the porridge box aside before showing the rest to Irene. “I bought some lightweight clay. Since I got a bulk deal, the store gave me some tools too. Though most of these are for making small dolls, so they’re pretty useless for your new body. But for that—look, I bought a rolling pin.
“These here are hair and pigments, all good quality. Not the most expensive, but close enough.
“Oh, and I didn’t find any clothes suitable for you. Do you—”
“No need,” Irene cut him off with a wave of her hand, her face alight with excitement. “I can shape the clothes myself. I told you, this body will mainly serve as a medium and a temporary vessel. Wow, you really put some thought into this, didn’t you?”
“Of course,” Yu Sheng replied, though he frowned and shook his head. “To be honest, I’m still missing some stuff. I heard about clay drying boxes, fillers, softening oils, primers, and makeup tools, but most of them are either for tiny dolls or way beyond my current skills. Plus, clay takes time to dry. Without a drying box, large components will take way more than half a day to harden…”
“It’s fine. Just the framework will do. The most crucial part is the ritual. If I didn’t need that, I would’ve just asked you to buy a ready-made doll. No need for all this hassle.”
“Got it,” Yu Sheng sighed in relief and started organizing the pile of supplies. “Let’s head to the attic. There’s a big table there and plenty of space.”
Irene nodded enthusiastically, but her eyes caught sight of another bag. Its contents looked suspiciously familiar.
“…Why did you buy a whole bag of lotus roots?” Doll Lady asked with a puzzled expression.
Yu Sheng froze mid-motion, looked at Irene, then at the bag, and after two seconds of awkward silence, laughed dryly. “Well… in case my crafting skills fail, I thought of using them as a backup plan. They looked pretty perfect shape-wise…”
Irene tilted her head, trying to follow his logic. When it clicked, she jumped up from her plush red armchair. “Absolutely not!”
“Not even as a backup?” Yu Sheng sounded a bit disappointed. “I picked out the best ones, too.”
“Of course not!” Irene’s eyes nearly popped out. “Pre-cooked meals are bad enough, and now you’re trying to use pre-made parts? I have strong feelings about this!”
“Fine, fine,” Yu Sheng sighed and carried the bag of lotus roots back to the kitchen. “Guess I’ll fry them into lotus root patties later.”
For some reason, a foreboding feeling crept over Irene. She couldn’t shake the notion that her long-awaited freedom might not unfold as smoothly as she hoped.
But Yu Sheng, on the other hand, was brimming with confidence. Having sorted the tools and materials, he grabbed the lot, tucked Irene’s painting frame under his arm, and reached for the kitchen door handle.
Irene reacted swiftly this time. “…Are you seriously planning to use the Door just to get to the attic?”
Realizing how excessive that sounded, Yu Sheng gave an awkward laugh, then turned and headed for the stairs instead.
The house’s attic was spacious, located right above the second floor. It wasn’t so much an attic as an extra level made necessary by the building’s excessive ceiling height. It took up about half the area of the second floor, featuring two street-facing windows and a skylight. That’s why the house appeared to have three floors from the outside.
Yu Sheng rarely visited the attic except for cleaning. The space was mostly empty, with nothing but a large, unused table and two creaky old chairs. On cloudy or nighttime visits, the attic felt eerily desolate.
Now, though, it was perfect as a ‘workshop’ for shaping Irene’s new body.
After a few trips up and down, Yu Sheng brought more potentially useful tools from the second-floor storeroom, along with an old lamp and the various ritual components Irene had requested. Everything was placed on the large table.
Irene’s painting frame rested in one corner, propped against a stack of old books serving as a makeshift stand. She quietly watched Yu Sheng bustle around, unusually calm, as if lost in thought.
Yu Sheng sat down at the table, the old chair groaning under his weight. He fiddled with the clay and the sculpting tools, familiarizing himself with their textures.
Suddenly, Irene spoke, breaking the silence. “Yu Sheng.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really going to come out of this painting, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, if everything goes smoothly.”
“…I never thought this day would actually come,” Irene murmured softly, clutching her teddy bear and swaying gently. “Honestly, I gave up hope years ago…”
“You’re suddenly feeling sentimental now?” Yu Sheng lifted his head, casting a glance at the painting where the Doll seemed unexpectedly melancholic.
Sitting on the chair, Irene hugged her teddy bear tighter, slowly rocking back and forth. “Nothing much… I just wanted to thank you.”
“Save your gratitude for after we succeed,” Yu Sheng exhaled lightly, seemingly trying to ease the tension in his heart. “Now, tell me—what’s the first step?”
“Candles—place them at the four corners of the table. Then light one more and set it by my picture frame. The most basic structure of the torso must be completed before the candles burn out.”
Irene’s expression grew serious as she began instructing Yu Sheng on how to use common household materials to craft a vessel for the ‘Living Doll.’
This was the first time she had ever passed down knowledge from ‘Alice’s Little House’ to a… Human.
“Draw three concentric circles on the table. These will form your operating space. Then, extend a line from each of the four corner candles to the center of the circles. Try to make it round… well, at least don’t make it square.”
“Write my name at the center—A-I-R-E-N-E—in Old World Common Tongue. Ah, you don’t know it? Fine, grab some paper. I’ll teach you how to write it. Make sure you don’t misspell it.
“Also, I need a drop of your blood—just a little. Mix it into the clay along with the prepared tea powder and rose oil. Don’t use too much, or it will affect the molding—place the prepared clay in front of me. I’ll guide the first ‘Spirit Infusion.’”
Irene gave the instructions one by one, and Yu Sheng followed them meticulously. A tranquil and focused atmosphere gradually settled in the attic. The usual banter between them faded, replaced by a growing sense of harmony.
…Though calling it harmony might be a stretch—Irene mostly relied on her laid-back attitude, while Yu Sheng counted on his confidence.
The process was more exhausting than Yu Sheng had initially imagined. It wasn’t just physically tiring but mentally draining as well.
He could feel the ritual starting to take effect—the setup, incomprehensible to his ordinary eyes, began to operate under some elusive ‘rules’ and ‘forces.’ As a mere Human performing this ritual for the first time, even though Irene handled most of the Spirit Infusion, Yu Sheng could sense his own spirit being gradually drained.
But Irene had already warned him about this before the ritual, so he remained calm and did his best to stay focused, executing each of her instructions as accurately as possible.
Bit by bit, the Doll’s body began to take shape in his hands.
It was rough, crude, crooked—even the legs were uneven in length. One of the arms had snapped in the middle and had to be patched together with wire and water.
Yu Sheng couldn’t help but think he had no talent for this sort of craft.
Regardless, the end was finally in sight.
“Now extinguish the last candle,” Irene said calmly, her gaze fixed on the makeshift body on the table. Her expression was more solemn and grave than ever before. “Then place me directly in front of it—at the head position.”
“Got it,” Yu Sheng replied while moving to complete the task. “And then?”
“I… I need a minute to comfort myself and solidify my resolve…”
Yu Sheng paused. “…Why?”
Irene looked as if she was on the verge of tears. “Because… it’s so damn ugly. Even if I can reshape it later, looking at it now is just unbearable!”