Chapter 41: The Freed Doll
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Yu Sheng stood there, completely speechless, as if someone had whisked the words right out of his mouth. He’d watched Irene—only a moment before so full of life—suddenly slump over, as though the little doll body she inhabited had simply shut down. For a terrifying instant, he thought she might have died because the new body’s workmanship wasn’t good enough. But before that awful thought could fully settle in his mind, he heard a sound behind him that made him spin around.
He was still holding Irene’s tiny doll form in his arms, stiff and unmoving as a wooden puppet. Slowly, carefully, Yu Sheng looked back toward the large worktable where he’d shaped that clay doll. Just leaning against the edge of the table was the ornate, gilt-framed oil painting—the very painting from which Irene had first appeared. Within that painted world, Irene had returned. She was trapped inside its surface once more, her eyes wide, her face looking anxious and completely lost.
“I… I’m not sure what’s happened!” she exclaimed, waving her hands frantically, as if she could shoo away her confusion. Now that Yu Sheng was watching, Irene tried to explain herself: “I was running forward, and then I blinked, and suddenly I’m back here again! What’s going on?”
From the painting’s depths came a low, scratchy laugh. It sounded mocking, but somehow not without a hint of sympathy, like a mean old grandmother watching a child’s foolish game. This time, Yu Sheng saw clearly that the laugh came from the plump stuffed teddy bear painted into the scene. The bear’s mouth was open wide, emitting that strange, teasing chuckle.
This was too much for Irene. Furious, she hopped down inside the painting and lunged over to the red velvet chair where the teddy bear was perched. She seized it roughly by the neck, giving it a fierce shake. “You think this is funny?” she snarled. “Was this your doing? I ended up back here because of you, didn’t I?”
Of course, the teddy bear couldn’t answer. It only continued that odd giggle, as though stuck on a loop. Its laughter poured out no matter how hard Irene shook it, leaving her face hot with anger and frustration.
Seeing Irene’s outburst, Yu Sheng quickly hurried closer to the painting and tried to calm her down. “Wait, hold on!” he called gently. “Don’t get so worked up. Let’s just think this through—”
He hadn’t even finished his sentence before Irene vanished from the painting without warning. Almost at that same moment, Yu Sheng felt the doll’s body in his hands jerk to life. Before he could even blink, that tiny figure leapt up onto his arm and began trying one martial move after another: a headlock, a shoulder throw, then an arm lock. Irene might have been small, but she was surprisingly strong, and Yu Sheng found his arm starting to ache from the pressure of her grip.
“Ow, hey!” Yu Sheng protested softly. He had no choice but to pry Irene loose, lifting her so that they were eye-to-eye. He gave her a gentle shake to stop the struggle. “Wake up, wake up,” he murmured. “It’s me, Yu Sheng. You’re out of the painting again.”
At first, Irene dangled there, dazed and disoriented. Gradually, understanding dawned in her tiny painted eyes. She looked around, still confused, and then her gaze settled on Yu Sheng’s face. “…Huh?” she muttered.
In that moment, both Yu Sheng and Irene turned their heads toward the framed painting behind them. They stared at it, each just as puzzled as the other. The realization was taking shape in both their minds.
After a short pause, Yu Sheng silently carried Irene’s doll body back to the exact spot where she’d first collapsed. The moment he took the final step back into that place, Irene’s doll form went instantly limp, as if all its energy had been switched off. At the same time, her image sprang back into the painting, showing Irene looking startled and perplexed yet again.
“I’m back,” she said from inside the painting, glancing around at her painted surroundings. She then raised her head and looked at Yu Sheng. “So… this really is about distance, isn’t it?”
Yu Sheng carefully lifted the doll once again and moved it closer to the painting. At once, life surged back into Irene’s doll body, and her voice continued as though no interruption had occurred: “…a distance issue?”
“Looks like it,” said Yu Sheng, frowning thoughtfully. To test his theory, he gently drew the doll a bit farther away. Exactly as before, Irene’s presence vanished from the doll, and she reappeared in the painting. When he moved her closer, she “woke” again inside the doll.
Irene grew impatient with this experiment. “Could you please stop doing that?” she snapped, her tiny arms flailing in annoyance as Yu Sheng held her by the collar. “I can’t even finish one single sentence with you disconnecting me!”
Looking a bit sheepish, Yu Sheng brought her close enough so she could remain in the doll’s body. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see how far away you can go before you disappear again.”
“Whether it’s five meters or six, what difference does it make?” Irene grumbled. “It’s only a few steps!” Suddenly, she realized how he was holding her. She glared up at him, irritated. “Put me down! Why are you still holding me up like a kitten?”
Yu Sheng quickly set her down, feeling somewhat foolish. He found himself staring at her, eyes wide with wonder and confusion. Irene noticed too that she had to tilt her head way back to see his face. The height difference was rather ridiculous.
The little doll’s pride wouldn’t allow Yu Sheng to crouch down just so she could feel taller. Even if he did, she’d still have to look up. She thought hard for a second, then spoke sharply: “Stay right there.”
Yu Sheng blinked. “What are you doing?”
Irene didn’t answer. Instead, she grabbed onto his leg and began to climb up. She moved like a small, determined monkey clambering up a tree trunk, her tiny fingers and toes finding invisible holds. Within moments, she was perched on his shoulder.
Yu Sheng stiffened, uncertain whether to move or stay perfectly still. He was terrified she might topple off if he so much as twitched. “I… I never said you could do that,” he said weakly.
Irene just snorted. “Oh? Did you ask my permission before waving me around to test this ‘signal distance’ earlier?”
That shut Yu Sheng right up. With no better response, he let her sit there on his shoulder and together they returned their attention to the painting and the table.
“I did manage to come out of it,” Irene said after a moment, frowning thoughtfully at the painting. “I could really feel my soul inside this doll body. But…”
“But it looks like that painting is still your anchor,” Yu Sheng said calmly, sorting through the facts in his mind. “It’s as if your new body is controlled remotely. Move too far away, and you get pulled back into that frame.”
Irene lowered her head. Her tiny shoulders slumped as she digested this bit of unfortunate truth. Still, this time she didn’t cry. Perhaps all these difficulties had toughened her spirit. Perhaps disappointment had lost some of its sting.
In fact, Yu Sheng began to worry when he saw her staying so calm. He tried to cheer her up at once. “Don’t give up. This was only our first try. I can practice more and make a better body for you next time—”
Irene cut him off with a quiet question. Her voice had a curious, distant quality, as if she were asking herself more than Yu Sheng. “If I have to run around carrying my own prison, does that mean I’ve really escaped at all?”
Yu Sheng was caught off guard. He considered her question carefully. “I read a story once about someone who carried their prison wherever they went and ended up in terrible shape,” he admitted. “But that person was still locked inside. At least you’re outside the painting, aren’t you?”
Irene scrunched her nose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she muttered, still sounding distracted. She hopped down from Yu Sheng’s shoulder onto the table and approached the painting. Her eyes flicked over every detail of its frame, her former prison. Finally, she reached out and tried to lift it. She managed to raise one side, then let it drop back down. After a moment, she tried again to heft the whole thing.
It was a large painting. Yu Sheng could easily carry it with one hand, but Irene’s new form was hardly bigger than a toy doll. She was tiny compared to the ornate frame. After a bit of struggling, Irene turned her head and looked up at Yu Sheng.
“Do you have any rope?” she asked.
“I do!” Yu Sheng replied, nodding eagerly. “Wait right here. I’ll go get it.”
A few minutes later, Yu Sheng returned with some rope. He tied careful knots around the painting’s frame, making loops and straps that could be worn like a backpack. Irene observed every motion, nodding with satisfaction once he was done.
“Give it a try,” Yu Sheng suggested. He set the painting upright and helped Irene slip her arms through the makeshift straps.
Irene took a few steps, adjusting the ropes around her shoulders. “It feels good!” she said brightly, her voice more cheerful than it had been all day.
“Is it too heavy?” Yu Sheng asked with concern.
“Not at all! I’m surprisingly strong!” Irene replied, and to prove it, she bounced lightly on her feet. The large frame shifted slightly, but she carried it without much trouble. Encouraged, she began running around the edge of the table, the huge painting strapped to her back. It was quite a sight—this tiny doll, no taller than a few centimeters, cheerfully racing around with something that was nearly as tall as herself.
Yu Sheng couldn’t help but smile as he watched her. And Irene was smiling too, which was an even better sign. She was braver and more optimistic than he had imagined, adapting to her bizarre circumstances with remarkable spirit.
“It’s actually not bad at all!” Irene beamed. She stopped at the table’s edge, looking up at Yu Sheng as if triumphant. “Now I don’t have to worry about being pulled back into the painting. Wherever I go, my ‘anchor’ comes along! How clever is that?”
Yu Sheng chuckled at her enthusiasm. “That’s certainly one way to handle it,” he said. “I’m impressed. I thought you’d be miserable for a while, but here you are, smiling already.”
Irene placed her hands on her hips (or where her hips would be if the doll’s shape allowed it) and said proudly, “You’ve got to keep looking forward, even if you’re a doll, right? Compared to before, at least I can move around. Carrying a painting isn’t too terrible. Besides, it feels like the painting itself doesn’t want to let me go too far. This way, I’ve outsmarted it.” She hopped onto Yu Sheng’s arm and, more carefully this time because of the frame, climbed her way back to his shoulder. “Let’s go downstairs. You haven’t had dinner yet, have you? And I want to watch some television!”
Yu Sheng hesitated for a moment, turning slightly as if to question the doll perched on his shoulder. But her eyes were shining with excitement, and he realized she was looking ahead with genuine optimism. This unexpected bravery made him feel better, too.
“All right,” he said at last, making sure she was secure before standing up. “We’ll have dinner. And tonight, we’ll start working on how to get back to the valley.”
“Great!” Irene said, nodding eagerly. She pointed straight ahead, as if leading them on a grand adventure. “Onward!”
Yu Sheng shot her a playful warning glance. “If you keep shouting orders, I might just toss you off,” he teased, though he would never do such a thing.
“Don’t, please don’t!” Irene yelped, shrinking back in mock fear. “I was just getting into the role!”
Shaking his head, Yu Sheng couldn’t help smiling. He steadied Irene on his shoulder, ensuring she wouldn’t fall, and walked toward the stairs.
Outside, night had fallen completely. The old city’s streetlamps were glowing warmly, their light seeping through the windows and painting soft amber patches on the floor inside. It all felt strangely peaceful.
“Yu Sheng, it’s really dark out there,” Irene remarked, as if noticing the quiet for the first time.
“Yep,” he said simply.
“Heh, somehow I feel kind of excited…” she admitted with a little laugh.
“Excited about what? The darkness?” Yu Sheng asked, puzzled.
“No, just… excited in general,” Irene said in a teasing tone. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the dark~”
“I don’t really get it,” Yu Sheng answered, shaking his head.
“Hmph,” was all Irene said in reply.