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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 140: The Paper Craftsman
In the following time, the Bear Clan Steward recounted events that took place in the county office. It turned out that Xiong Li had one wife and one concubine. Although he didn't have three wives and four concubines, Xiong Li lived quite well. He was talented and handsome, and as the head of the county, many matchmakers came knocking at his door. However, Xiong Li had high standards and looked down on these ordinary women.
In the tofu shop on the east side of the ancient city, there was a daughter named Liu Wan'er. She was exceptionally beautiful, often regarded as the most beautiful woman in the city. Although she was the daughter of a lower-class family and hadn't studied classical texts, she excelled at needlework, producing Shu embroidery that surpassed many who had dedicated their lives to it.
Naturally, such a family would not have any connection with County Magistrate Xiong. However, when fate intervenes, no one can stop it. One day, Liu's father fell ill and asked Liu Wan'er to deliver tofu to the government office. Coincidentally, that day County Magistrate Xiong was reading in the back courtyard. This chance encounter led to an instant attraction between them.
If things had ended there, it could only be described as a match made in heaven: County Magistrate Xiong taking a concubine, and Liu Wan'er climbing up the social ladder—everyone would be happy. Unfortunately, Liu Wan'er was already betrothed to Yin Chunlai, the son of a paper craftsman from the south of the city; it was an engagement arranged since childhood.
It turned out that when Liu's father was younger, he made a living selling tofu. One day, a family outside the city needed tofu for a wedding banquet in a hurry. Liu's father prepared tofu the day before and set off early to deliver it. However, that family was very hospitable and invited him to stay for drinks. Liu's father indulged and drank too much; by the time he left for home, it was already dark. Although they wanted him to stay overnight, he had to return to prepare beans for his business.
As he walked back under the dim moonlight, he couldn't see clearly and decided to take a shortcut through a graveyard. Halfway through his journey, his torch extinguished due to burning too long. Not concerned about it, he continued walking in the dark but unexpectedly encountered an old man also on his way.
Curious about why the old man was out at night, Liu's father asked him about it.
The old man replied, "Oh dear, it's embarrassing to say. My granddaughter is getting married soon; we are poor farmers who can't afford meat for her wedding feast. We need to buy some tofu from a man named Liu in town because I've heard his tofu is genuine and not watered down."
Upon hearing this, Liu's father realized he was being sought after for business. Excited by this opportunity, he thought that drinking wouldn't hinder his work. So he said, "I am Liu from the east side of town. Just tell me how much tofu you need; I will deliver it tomorrow. You don't need to rush."
The old man didn't believe him at first until Liu's father showed him his order list for tofu. After confirming it, the old man gave him two coins as a deposit and instructed him to deliver the tofu to a thatched cottage east of the graveyard.
Delighted with this unexpected business opportunity, Liu's father thought that since they were poor, he would make an extra two pounds of tofu as a gift. The next afternoon, he set off with the tofu towards the location described by the old man. Upon arrival at the site, he saw a dirt mound covered in weeds and was startled—he realized he had encountered a ghost!
Tofu Liu carried the tofu home, but something unexpected happened. That night, Tofu Liu dreamed that an old man came to his house, accusing him of taking a deposit and asking why he hadn't delivered the tofu. Following that was a barrage of curses. For several days, Tofu Liu had the same dream every night. One night, the old man came again to scold him, and Tofu Liu retorted in the dream, "You gave me two worthless stones as silver. I was going to give you a few more pounds of tofu, but you, old man, are being unreasonable." After cursing back, Tofu Liu ended up fighting with the old man in the dream. The next day, Tofu Liu couldn't even get out of bed; he lost over ten pounds overnight and was left with nothing but skin and bones.
When the neighbors came to buy tofu, they learned about Tofu Liu's situation and brought in a young paper craftsman named Yin Cheng, who was also Yin Chunlai's father. Yin Cheng took a look and told Tofu Liu that the ghost meant no harm; he just wanted some tofu. If Tofu Liu had left the tofu at the grave and walked away, nothing would have happened. However, since he took the tofu away, the old man was poor down below and had lost his offerings, which is why he came to confront Tofu Liu. According to Yin Cheng, if Tofu Liu burned some paper money for the old man, it would be fine. But instead, he fought with him, causing the old man to take half of his yang energy.
Tofu Liu then realized what had happened and begged Yin Cheng to save his life. Yin Cheng said it was simple; since the old man was poor down there, Tofu Liu should burn more paper figurines and paper horses for him. The old man would return his yang energy, and everything would be fine.
That day, Tofu Liu had Yin Cheng help him burn many paper figurines and paper horses along with several paper maidservants and a lot of paper money. He went to the old man's grave, knelt down, and bowed his head, saying he was confused at the time and hoped the elder would forgive him and spare his life.
That night after burning the offerings, the old man appeared in Tofu Liu's dream again and offered him a peach to eat. The next day when Tofu Liu woke up, he felt light all over; his strength had returned. He then went to Yin Cheng's shop to buy more paper money to burn for the old man. Upon returning home, he invited Yin Cheng for a meal and drinks. As they drank happily together, they became sworn brothers.
Later on, both men got married and agreed that if they had sons together they would become sworn brothers, and if they had daughters they would become sworn sisters; thus one son and one daughter would become husband and wife.
On one side was his lifesaver and sworn brother; on the other side was the county magistrate. Looking at the bride price before him made Tofu Liu worry gray-haired. He asked his daughter for her opinion, but she insisted she wouldn't marry anyone other than Magistrate Xiong. With no other choice, Tofu Liu sought help from Yin Cheng. Fortunately, Yin Cheng was kind-hearted; given what happened with Tofu Liu and the ghost, he understood that common people shouldn't fight against officials. Yin Cheng agreed for Wan'er to marry Magistrate Xiong.
Magistrate Xiong was considered a good official. Both Tofu Liu and Yin Cheng were kind-hearted people as well; things should have been simple. However, problems arose when they encountered Yin Chunlai. Not only did Yin Chunlai not inherit his father's kindness but he also became stubborn. It was understandable that if someone stole his wife he wouldn't be able to swallow that anger; however, since both parties were in love and Magistrate Xiong was involved, he could only let it go. Yet Yin Chunlai couldn't understand this at all. When he went out and heard those gossiping women mocking him, he lost his temper. Knowing he couldn't win a fight against them led him to hang himself in despair.
By this point, things had already become tumultuous. Prefect Xiong sent ten taels of silver as consolation; however, halfway there another troublemaker appeared named He Er—Yin Chunlai's childhood friend—who sought revenge for his brother's tragic death by hanging himself. That night He Er grabbed a butcher's knife and sneaked into the county office intending to avenge his brother. But it wasn't easy getting into the county office; he was caught by the guards who beat him up before sending him to prison for attempted murder of an official—a serious crime punishable by death.
The kind-hearted Yin Cheng was furious at home; first losing one son to misfortune now another neighbor's son was imprisoned as well. After much thought, Yin Cheng could only plead with Magistrate Xiong in hopes of sparing the neighbor's son’s life. However, Magistrate Xiong wasn't foolish; when someone came at him with a knife wanting revenge how could he spare their life? He flatly refused Yin Cheng’s request.
Looking at the neighbor's son's corpse made Yin Cheng lock himself inside his house all day long contemplating revenge against those who wronged him. Old sayings rang true: Yin Cheng transformed into a different person; he hated his sworn brother who saved his life years ago but now had caused his son's death even more so than those gossiping women who drove his son to suicide—and most of all hated Prefect Xiong whose actions tore apart several families due to taking concubines.
On the day Prefect Xiong took a concubine there were celebrations throughout the entire government office; all influential figures in town gathered to congratulate him amidst great fanfare. In the evening when guests departed, Prefect Xiong sat happily in the back hall drinking wine while thinking about spending a wonderful night ahead—he couldn't help but drink cup after cup.
Just as Prefect Xiong reveled in joy outside came a procession led by a paper figurine holding a two-meter-high spirit banner followed by four paper horses clearing the way while behind them were groups of paper figurines wailing mournfully as they walked along with twenty-seven other paper figurines carrying eight black coffins heading straight for the government office.
The people on the street saw this scene and were so frightened that they closed their doors tightly, not daring to inquire further. The team arrived at the Yamen, where Yin Cheng was holding a hammer, continuously striking the Crying for Justice Drum, shouting loudly, "Heaven's way is unjust, turning black and white upside down! I have come today to seek vengeance!"
Bear Steward hurried to call Xiong Prefect, informing him that Yin Cheng had come with a pair of Paper Figurines and a Paper Horse to seek vengeance, and was currently beating the Crying for Justice Drum! Upon hearing this, Xiong Prefect laughed, saying that such an incompetent person could only find a few Paper Figurines to scare him. He then instructed Bear Steward to gather some constables to directly capture and beat them half to death before throwing them into prison.
Bear Steward quietly left through the back door to summon the constables. It should be noted that the constables were all locals, merely working at the Youdou County Office. Hearing that Yin Cheng was going to confront the prefect desperately, no one moved. Bear Steward went outside the city to call for help; each government office was equipped with a Deputy General stationed with hundreds of soldiers solely for maintaining local peace and obeying the county magistrate's orders.
The Paper Figurine holding a soul-calling banner kicked open the Main Entrance of the government office. A team of Paper Figurines carried a coffin inside, and all that could be heard were the footsteps of the Paper Figurines, the sound of the Paper Horse's hooves hitting the ground, and the weeping of the Paper Figurines, echoing throughout the government office.
Xiong Prefect and his family were so frightened that they dared not move, only able to huddle together in tears. Seeing how things had turned out, Xiong Prefect had no choice but to brace himself and step outside. He saw the hall filled with Paper Figurines and Paper Horses, along with Yin Cheng who appeared calm, and said, "This matter is solely my fault; if you wish to take my life, then do so."
Yin Cheng replied calmly, "I have dedicated my life to good deeds, yet unexpectedly my son met with an untimely death. In a moment of impulse, his siblings had their skulls severed by you. Now you are left alone; you must bear your own consequences. When I pleaded desperately before, did you not give us commoners a glimmer of hope? Now that you seek death, I refuse to grant it. I want not only your life but also that of your entire family—seven lives in total—so that they cannot live nor die."
I gasped in shock; having heard this part of the story, I couldn't say who was wrong. I never expected my predecessor Yin Cheng would act so ruthlessly. The seven coffins in front of me must belong to Xiong's family, while one coffin likely contained Yin Chunlai's body. Looking at Xiong Prefect, although he was responsible for this incident, he could hardly be called an evil person; his only mistake seemed to be killing Yin Chunlai's brother. Tofu Liu was even more helpless; in ancient times, feudal thoughts were quite severe. It was rare for commoners to sue officials; it has always been said that commoners do not fight against officials. Liu Wan'er was a victim of feudal ideology; ultimately, women found it hard to escape from emotional entanglements. Yin Chunlai was indeed a tragic figure.
Sighing deeply, I asked Bear Steward, "It is clear that this entire family of seven was harmed by this Paper Effigy Maker; how can I help your master?"
Bear Steward clasped his hands together and said, "The heads of our family have all been sealed in coffins by that Yin Yang Master; they cannot enter or exit. I cannot even touch those coffins. I hope that Yin Yang Master can open the coffins and rescue their souls."
After discussing with Cao Qilong, we decided that since this incident had occurred, even if Xiong County deserved punishment, the other six people were innocent and should be saved.
However, we soon discovered that these seven coffins were extraordinarily strange; when Cao Qilong and I attempted to open them, we nearly lost our lives right in front of them.
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