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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 35: The Grinning Paper Figure
In making this Paper Figurine, the White Boss showcased his exceptional skills, creating a piece that was as exquisite as it could be. To describe it, if you placed this Paper Figurine next to the White Boss himself, you would think there were two White Bosses when viewed from twenty paces away.
Once the Paper Figurine was completed, the White Boss walked around it again and again, increasingly feeling that this Paper Figurine had a certain charm.
How could a Paper Figurine have charm? The White Boss found this absurd thought amusing.
Thus, the White Boss placed the Paper Figurine at the entrance of the Paper Craft Shop, effectively turning it into a living advertisement. Anyone who entered the shop couldn't help but stop and admire this Paper Figurine that looked just like the White Boss, marveling at his exquisite craftsmanship. They would exclaim that this wasn't just a Paper Figurine; it looked like a twin brother of the White Boss!
However, there was one flaw with the Paper Figurine: it didn't have eyes painted on it. A customer then remarked that with such great skill, why not paint eyes on the Paper Figurine? Wouldn't that enhance its effect even more?
Upon hearing this, the White Boss felt it made perfect sense. However, he also knew that his father had passed down a rule: Paper Figurines should not have eyes painted on them. At that moment, the White Boss had long considered these old rules to be nonsense; if he had adhered to them, his Paper Craft Shop wouldn't be thriving as it was.
As the saying goes, only through innovation can one achieve greatness.
That night after closing up shop, the White Boss decided to paint eyes on the Paper Figurine. Once he finished painting its eyes and looked at the Paper Figurine again, he was astonished because it already resembled him so closely. With the eyes painted on, it seemed to share his expression as well. The White Boss felt as if he could converse with it; if he stared at the Paper Figurine for too long, he might even get the impression that it was grinning back at him…
The White Boss shivered at this thought and quickly moved the Paper Figurine back outside before going to bed early.
However, strange things began happening in the shop afterward. That very night, while sleeping in the back room of the shop, he heard various noises coming from the main area—first there were footsteps making "pat pat" sounds, then there were rustling noises as if someone were crafting paper, and sometimes even sighs of regret…
Curious, the White Boss got out of bed to investigate but found nothing in the main area except for his oddly staring Paper Figurine that looked just like him. Looking at his own creation sent chills down his spine; he thought to himself that this Paper Figurine seemed almost possessed by some spirit. He dared not linger and hurried back to his room.
Yet upon returning to his room, those strange noises resumed in the main area, louder than before.
The White Boss no longer dared to go out again since he had already seen nothing before. Fear began to creep in as he wondered if something dirty had entered his shop.
At this moment, he also recalled the various rules passed down from his ancestors, such as the Paper Figurine and Paper Horse from the paper shop, and that the Spirit House Ghost Sedan was made for the dead. Therefore, it was common for ghosts to come asking for Paper Figurine and Paper Horse and other items. For instance, the Paper Figurine from the paper shop was considered to have spiritual significance, so it was absolutely forbidden to draw eyes on a Paper Figurine before burning it. If eyes were drawn before it was burned, then the Paper Figurine would gain a soul and would be unwilling to be burned, potentially causing trouble.
Thinking about these rules from the old generation while listening to the sounds in the shop, White Boss felt a tightening sensation on his scalp, and cold sweat streamed down his face. He spent the entire night in this state of tension and fear, and the noise did not stop until dawn.
The next morning, White Boss hurriedly left his house to seek a talisman from a certain master. However, upon arriving at the master's house, the master looked at him and said, "Wearing a talisman like this is useless; it's all too late. I can't help you."
Upon hearing this, White Boss panicked and asked the master why he said that.
The master pointed at White Boss's feet and said, "Look at yourself; you don't even have a shadow now!"
When White Boss heard this, he quickly looked down at his feet and was so frightened that he nearly lost consciousness. He saw that indeed there was no shadow beneath him, while the master's shadow was very clear.
In fact, it wasn't that he had no shadow; he had simply lost his soul because it had been taken by that Paper Figurine in the shop.
Terrified half to death, White Boss rushed back to the store, thinking he must burn that Paper Figurine immediately; it could not be kept.
However, when he arrived at the store, the door was wide open. At that moment, someone grabbed White Boss, accusing him of playing tricks on people and demanding compensation.
White Boss was completely bewildered and asked how he had tricked them.
The person replied, "I just ordered a Paper Figurine from your shop, but the change you gave me was fake; it was actually Ghost Money. Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"
As they spoke, the person pulled out several pieces of Ghost Money from their pocket and handed them over. White Boss said, "I left my house early today; I haven't done any business yet. How could you have ordered a Paper Figurine from my shop or paid me?"
The person said, "Clearly you were in the shop early this morning, and neighbors can testify to that." At this time, some onlookers chimed in, saying that indeed he had opened for business early in the morning and had been busy making several Paper Figurines. They asked if his business was good since he hadn't even acknowledged them.
Hearing this made White Boss feel chills all over. He quickly took out one hundred yuan to compensate the person and hurriedly dashed back into the store.
Upon entering the store, I was immediately taken aback to see it filled with neatly crafted Paper Figurines and Paper Horses. Looking at these freshly made items, the White Boss couldn't believe his eyes, as he clearly remembered that there weren't nearly this many before he left; he knew exactly how many Paper Figurines and Paper Horses were in his store. But who had made all these?
At that moment, he recalled what those people had said earlier and wondered if there was truly another version of himself crafting Paper Figurines in the store. Thinking of this, he focused on a Paper Figurine that looked just like him and saw that it stood still by the entrance, showing no signs of movement.
Although this Paper Figurine remained just a figurine, the White Boss had already sensed something sinister about it. He hurried over to the Paper Figurine, intending to grab it and throw it outside to burn it. But then something strange happened...
As soon as the White Boss's hand touched the Paper Figurine, it suddenly came to life, grinning widely and speaking in a strange tone: "Do you want me to burn?"
This terrified the White Boss so much that he fell backward onto the ground, unable to utter a word as he stared at the talking Paper Figurine in shock.
Seeing the White Boss so frightened, the Paper Figurine wore a ghastly smile on its pale face, appearing quite pleased.
The White Boss thought he must be seeing things and quickly rubbed his eyes. When he looked again, he was astonished to see the Paper Figurine moving around the room. Supported by a bamboo frame inside, it walked in a bizarre manner, reminiscent of a robot. The most terrifying part was that its flat face had black eyes that seemed to move; its painted smile looked exceptionally eerie!
Eventually, when someone noticed the commotion and called for neighbors to come over, they found the White Boss lying motionless on the ground.
His body was dressed in a paper-made outfit, holding a paper lantern. A bamboo frame pierced through his abdomen from below and came out of his mouth, his eyes wide open in terror, creating an extremely horrifying sight—he looked just like a Paper Craft Paper Figurine!
At this point, the old man sighed and said that this was all retribution. The White Boss had crafted so many living Paper Figurines during his life, yet now he had become one himself—how tragic! As the saying goes, you reap what you sow; karma is inevitable.
Hearing this story sent chills down my spine; I was deeply shocked. However, I wondered if the Paper Figurine was still in the store now that the White Boss was dead. So I asked the old man, "What about that Paper Figurine? Is it still in the store?"
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