Chapter 38: Shaping

The kitchen door handle turned, then swung open silently. Yu Sheng emerged carrying several large bags and greeted Irene, who was standing nearby, stunned: "I'm back."

Irene’s eyes widened, clearly unable to process what was happening: "Didn’t you go out to buy things? How did you...?"

She stopped abruptly, as if it had just dawned on her.

"No way! You 'opened a door' just to go to the mall and come back!?"

"I thought about it. Since this door doesn't just lead to strange realms but can also lead to 'distant' places in reality, there's no reason it shouldn't be able to go to nearby places too," Yu Sheng said to Irene with a smug expression. "By the way, I also tested carrying objects and living things through the door. It seems that as long as the door remains stable, they can pass through safely..."

Irene listened, bewildered. When she heard the words "living things," she became curious: "Living things?! Where did you get a living thing? Where is it?"

Yu Sheng held out his hand: "I caught a mosquito before I came back..."

Irene: "...?"

The doll had a newfound appreciation for Yu Sheng's creativity, and her attention soon shifted to the several large shopping bags he had brought back.

Her eyes immediately landed on a box of eight-treasure porridge.

Yu Sheng started unpacking the bags, placing the box of porridge aside before showing the rest to Irene: "I bought lightweight clay. Since I bought such a large amount, the shopkeeper gave me some tools, but these probably won't be useful—they’re for making small dolls. To make a body for you, I had to use this—I bought a rolling pin...

"Over here is the hair and paint. I bought high-quality stuff. They aren't the most expensive, but they’re close.

"Oh, and I couldn't find any suitable clothes for you. Do you think..."

"No need," Irene waved her hand. As she watched Yu Sheng unpack, her face was filled with anticipation and excitement. "I can 'shape' clothes myself. I told you, this body is mainly a medium and a temporary vessel... Wow, there really is a lot of stuff. Yu Sheng, you really put your heart into this, didn't you?"

"Of course. Since we're doing it, we might as well do it as well as we can," Yu Sheng said, though he frowned and shook his head. "To be honest, I don't think this is complete. I heard there are clay drying boxes, various putties, softening oils, primers, makeup tools, and so on. But I checked, and they were either only for small dolls or things I couldn't learn in such a short time. Plus, I have another question: clay needs time to dry. Without a drying box, a large structure won't dry and harden in just half a day..."

"It’s fine, none of that matters as long as we can build the frame," Irene looked to be in a fantastic mood, her tone even softer than usual when speaking to Yu Sheng. "The important part is the ritual. Yes, the ritual part—otherwise, I would have just asked you to buy a ready-made doll. Why go through all this trouble?"

"That's fine then," Yu Sheng exhaled and began organizing the pile of supplies. "Let’s go to the attic. It’s spacious up there and there’s a big table."

Irene nodded eagerly, but suddenly, she noticed another bag of things to the side that looked somewhat familiar.

"...What is this bag of lotus roots for?" the doll asked, full of question marks.

Yu Sheng’s hands paused. He looked up at Irene, then down at the bag of lotus roots. After two seconds, he let out a dry, awkward chuckle: "Well, you see, this is a backup plan in case my craftsmanship is too terrible. That’s how I saw it..."

Irene tilted her head, thinking for a long time before she finally followed Yu Sheng's train of thought. She jumped right off her red velvet chair: "Absolutely not!"

"Is it not okay?" Yu Sheng asked, sounding a bit disappointed. "I thought these lotus roots had a perfect shape. I spent a long time picking them out."

"Of course it's not okay!" Irene’s eyes were practically bulging. "Let me tell you, pre-made meals are already pushing it, but if you try to give me a pre-made part, I’m going to have a serious problem with that..."

"Fine, fine," Yu Sheng sighed and carried the bag of lotus roots to the kitchen. "I'll use them to make fried lotus root boxes later."

Irene suddenly had a bad premonition. She felt that her journey to freedom today might not unfold as smoothly as she had imagined...

But Yu Sheng was full of confidence now. He gathered the tools and materials needed to shape the doll’s body, tucked Irene's picture frame under his arm, and reached for the kitchen door handle.

Irene reacted quickly this time: "...Are you going to 'open a door' just to go to the attic!?"

Yu Sheng thought about it and realized that might be a bit too lazy, so he smiled awkwardly, took the materials and Irene, and turned to head toward the stairs.

The house had a large attic above the second floor. It was more like an extra floor added because the ceiling height had been left too high during construction. It was about half the size of the second floor and had two windows facing the street and one skylight—which was why the house looked like it had three stories from the outside.

Except for cleaning, Yu Sheng rarely went to the attic.

It was almost empty, save for a large table that had been placed there because there was nowhere else for it, and two squeaky old chairs. Whenever it was night or a cloudy day with poor lighting, the overly spacious attic always felt eerie and a bit frightening.

But now, it was the perfect "workshop" for crafting Irene’s body.

Yu Sheng made two trips, finding some potentially useful tools and an old desk lamp from the second-floor storage room, along with all the strange items Irene required for the "ritual." He moved everything to the large table in the attic.

Irene's picture frame was placed in a corner of the table, leaning against a stack of old books that served as a makeshift stand. She watched silently as Yu Sheng bustled about, quieter than ever, lost in her own thoughts.

Yu Sheng sat down at the table, the old chair creaking under him. He awkwardly fiddled with the clay and the palette knife, trying to get a feel for their "properties."

Irene suddenly broke 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 there would actually be a day like this," Irene muttered. "I had given up hope many years ago..."

"Suddenly getting sentimental?" Yu Sheng looked up at the doll in the painting, who seemed uncharacteristically emotional.

Irene sat in her chair, hugging her teddy bear and swaying slowly: "Nothing. I just wanted to say thank you."

"Let's save the thanks for after we succeed," Yu Sheng exhaled softly, trying to ease the tension in his heart. "Now tell me, what’s the first step?"

"Candles. Place one in each of the four corners of the table, and light another one to place next to my frame—the basic torso must be finished before the candles burn out."

Irene’s expression turned serious as she began guiding Yu Sheng on how to use everyday materials to complete the vessel for a "living doll."

This was the first time she had taught this knowledge, belonging to "Alice’s Cottage," to a... "human."

"Draw three concentric circles on the table; that area is your workspace. Then, extend a line from each of the four candles to intersect at the center of the circles... Try to draw them round... Forget it, just don't make them square...

"Write my name at the center: I-r-e-n-e, using the common language of the Old World... Oh, you don't know it? Then find a piece of paper, and I’ll tell you how to write it. Make sure you don't spell it wrong.

"Also, I need your blood, just a little bit. Mix it into the clay, then mix in the tea powder and rose oil I prepared. Don't add too much of either, or it will affect the molding—put the prepared clay ball in front of me, and I will guide the first 'spirit infusion'."

Irene gave instructions one by one, and Yu Sheng followed them meticulously. A quiet, focused atmosphere began to envelop the attic. The usual bickering between the two vanished, replaced by a growing sense of tacit cooperation.

...Well, not entirely tacit; Irene relied on her broad-mindedness, and Yu Sheng relied on his self-confidence.

The process was more exhausting than Yu Sheng had initially imagined, not just physically, but mentally.

He could feel that the "ritual" Irene mentioned was gradually taking effect. The arrangements he didn't understand were beginning to operate according to some "law" and "power" beyond his comprehension. As an ordinary person performing this kind of ritual for the first time, even though most of the spirit infusion was handled by Irene, Yu Sheng felt a "drain of power" on a mental level.

But Irene had warned him about this before the ritual began, so Yu Sheng didn't panic. Instead, he kept his state of mind as steady as possible, completing every step Irene requested with the utmost precision.

A doll’s body slowly took shape in his hands.

It was rough, crude, crooked, and even the two legs were of different lengths—the arm had even broken in the middle once, and he had to reconnect it with wire and water.

Yu Sheng felt he might not have a talent for this.

But regardless, everything was finally nearing the end.

"Now you can blow out the last candle," Irene said, gazing calmly at the body on the table, her expression more solemn and serious than ever. "Then put me directly in front of the body, where the head should be."

"Alright," Yu Sheng said, rising to complete the step. "And then?"

"Then I need a minute to comfort myself and strengthen my resolve..."

Yu Sheng: "...Why?"

Irene looked like she was about to cry: "It’s too damn ugly... Even if I can reshape it later, it’s just too damn ugly right now."