Chapter 038

Chapter 38: Molding

The kitchen handle turned, The Door swung open without a sound, and Yu Sheng stepped out with several big shopping bags as he waved to the stunned Irene: “I’m back.”

Irene stared with her eyes wide, unable to process what she was seeing: “Didn’t you go out to buy things, so how did you come from…”

She cut herself off, as if she suddenly understood.

She threw up her hands: “No way! You went to the mall and still needed ‘Door Opening’ to get home?!”

Yu Sheng looked proud as he lifted the bags: “I thought about it. Since The Door doesn’t only lead to the Otherworld but can also reach a far spot in our world, there’s no reason it can’t go to nearby places too. I also tested carrying objects and living creatures through it. As long as I keep The Door stable, they can pass through just fine.”

Irene blinked at the words living creatures, then leaned forward in curiosity: “Living creatures? Where did you get a living creature? Where is it?”

Yu Sheng held out his hand with a straight face: “I caught a mosquito before I came back.”

Irene stared at him: “…?”

Miss Doll gained a whole new respect for Yu Sheng’s creativity, then her eyes slid to the bags. The first thing she spotted was a whole case of eight-treasure congee.

Yu Sheng started unpacking, set the case of congee aside, then showed her the rest: “I bought lightweight clay. Because I bought so much, the shop gave me some tools, but those are for small doll work. For your body we need this instead: I bought a rolling pin.

He pointed to other items and continued, cheerful: “Here’s hair and paint. Good quality. Maybe not the most expensive, but close enough. I couldn’t find clothes that fit you, so do you want me to…”

Irene waved him off, her face bright with excitement as she watched him lay things out: “No need. I can shape clothes myself. I told you, this body is mainly a medium and a temporary container. Wow, you got a lot. Yu Sheng, you really put your heart into this?”

Yu Sheng snorted: “Of course. If I’m doing it even once, I either don’t do it at all or I try to do it right.” He frowned a little and shook his head: “Honestly it’s still not complete. I heard there are clay-drying cabinets, different putties, softening oil, primer, makeup tools, and so on. Either they’re only for small dolls, or I can’t learn them fast. And I’ve got another problem. Clay needs time to dry. Without a drying cabinet, big parts won’t harden in half a day.”

Irene smiled, relaxed and certain: “No problem. We only need a frame. The ritual part is what matters. Otherwise I would have told you to just buy a finished doll. No need to make this so complicated.”

Yu Sheng let out a breath and began sorting everything into neat groups: “Then we’ll work in the attic. It’s roomy up there, and there’s a big table.”

Irene nodded hard, but then noticed another bag she thought looked familiar. She squinted: “What is this bag of lotus roots for?”

Yu Sheng froze, glanced at her, then at the bag, and after two seconds gave a dry laugh: “Well, it’s a backup plan in case my craft is too terrible. I figured…”

Irene tilted her head, puzzled for a long moment, then finally caught up to his train of thought. She sprang up from her red velvet blanket chair and shouted: “No!”

Yu Sheng looked disappointed: “No? I picked the lotus roots very carefully. The shape is kind of perfect.”

“Of course no!” Irene glared so hard her eyes almost popped: “Ready-made dishes are bad enough. If you give me prefab parts, I will have many complaints.”

“Fine, fine,” Yu Sheng sighed as he carried the lotus roots to the kitchen: “We’ll use them to make fried lotus root fritters later.”

Irene suddenly felt a bad premonition rise in her chest. [Maybe getting out today won’t go as smoothly as I imagined.]

Yu Sheng, however, was full of confidence. He gathered the tools and materials for shaping the doll body, tucked Irene’s frame under his arm, and reached for the kitchen handle on The Door.

Irene reacted fast this time, blurting out with disbelief: “You’re only going to the attic, and you still want to open The Door?”

Yu Sheng paused, realized that might be way too lazy, gave an awkward smile, and carried everything toward the stairs instead.

The house had a large attic above the second floor. Calling it an attic wasn’t quite right. The ceiling had been built too high, so an extra level had been carved out. It was about half the size of the second floor and had two street-facing windows and a skylight. That’s why from the outside the house looked like it had three floors.

Except for cleaning, Yu Sheng rarely went up there.

There was almost nothing inside. Besides a big table that had nowhere else to go, there were only two old chairs that squeaked. On nights or dark, cloudy days, the emptiness made the place feel eerie.

Today, it was perfect for a workshop to mold a body for Irene.

Yu Sheng made two trips, found some extra tools in the second-floor storage room along with an old desk lamp, and hauled up all the odd ritual items Irene had asked for. He piled everything on the big table.

Irene’s frame leaned at the corner of the table, propped by a stack of old books. She sat quietly and watched Yu Sheng hurry back and forth, more silent than usual, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Yu Sheng sat, the old chair creaking under him. He clumsily tested the clay and the scraper, trying to get a feel for them.

Irene broke the silence first, speaking softly: “Yu Sheng.”

He looked up: “Mm?”

She said in a low voice: “I’m really going to come out of this painting.”

He nodded: “Yeah, if all goes well.”

She murmured like she was talking to herself: “I never thought this day would ever come. Years ago, I stopped hoping.”

Yu Sheng glanced at the Portrait Doll and raised a brow: “Feeling sentimental all of a sudden?”

Irene sat hugging a plush bear, rocking a little as she said: “Nothing much. I just want to thank you.”

Yu Sheng exhaled lightly, as if easing a knot of nerves: “Save the thanks for after we succeed. Tell me the first step.”

Irene’s face grew serious as she took on the role of guide: “Place candles at the four corners of the table, then light one more and set it by my frame. The basic torso must be finished before the candles burn out.”

She began instructing Yu Sheng on how to use ordinary materials to make a container for a Living Doll. This was the first time she had taught knowledge from Alice’s Little House to a human.

She pointed at the tabletop and said: “Draw three concentric circles. That space is your workspace. From each corner candle, extend a line to the circles’ center. Try to make the circles rounder… forget it, just don’t make them into squares.

She tapped the center and continued: “Write my name at the center, Ai-Lin, in the Old World common tongue. You don’t know it? Grab paper. I’ll teach you. Do not misspell it.”

Her gaze cut to the clay as she added: “We also need a drop of your blood. Just a little. Mix it into the clay, then add tea powder and rose oil. Not too much of anything or it will mess with the shaping. Put the prepared clay ball in front of me. I’ll guide the first Spirit-Infusion.”

Irene gave the steps one by one, and Yu Sheng carried them out exactly. A calm, focused mood settled over the attic. Their usual bickering faded, and their movements grew more in sync.

[Well, not truly in sync. Irene relied on a big heart. Yu Sheng relied on pure confidence.]

The work was harder than Yu Sheng had expected. It wasn’t just physical. It drained his mind too. He could feel the ritual starting to run. The things he didn’t understand were moving by rules and forces he couldn’t see. Even though Irene handled most of the Spirit-Infusion, as a first-time human conducting such a ritual, he still felt something mental flowing out of him.

Irene had warned him about this before they began, so he didn’t panic. He held his focus and did each step as precisely as he could.

A doll body slowly took shape in his hands. It was rough, simple, and crooked. The legs weren’t even the same length, and one arm had broken mid-build and was wired and wetted back into place.

Yu Sheng decided he probably didn’t have much talent for this. Still, they were finally close to the end.

Irene’s voice came from the frame, solemn in a way he had never heard: “Now you can put out the last candle. Then set me in front of the body, where the head will be.”

Yu Sheng obeyed, then asked as he moved: “What next?”

Irene took a breath and said very quietly: “Give me a minute to comfort myself and strengthen my resolve.”

Yu Sheng blinked: “Why?”

Irene stared at the lumpy figure and looked like she might cry: “Because it is so dang ugly. Even if I can reshape it later, right now it is so dang ugly.”