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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One (Every Night a Haunted House Ghostly Affairs) Paper Figurine
PS: The poem at the end of the last volume is actually an acrostic, with the first character of each line.
First, the story to be told is naturally a ghost story related to paper crafting. When it comes to Paper Craft, most people will suddenly feel a chill. They might recall passing by a funeral home and seeing those paper cows, Paper Figurine, Wreath, etc., displayed inside, which can be quite terrifying. Paper-made objects are fine; they look ordinary, but paper figurines always feel eerie, especially those with painted eyes. Most people dare not stare at them, fearing they might suddenly "come to life." Today, I will share some stories about Paper Craft.
The types of Paper Craft can be categorized into four main types: first, deities, such as large paper items burned in front of tombs during funerals; second, human figures, including Yin Yang, opera characters, attendants, etc.; third, buildings, such as spirit houses, gate towers, and sedan chairs; fourth, offerings, including food vessels, sacrificial items, auspicious goods, and mythical beasts. Various Paper Craft works are cleverly sourced and exquisitely crafted.
Speaking of this, let me tell you a true horror story about Paper Craft that happened in Hong Kong.
The protagonist of the story is a Reporter from Hong Kong. One time he went to a Funeral Home to cover news. When he was heading home, it was already near Dusk, and he felt a bit anxious and wanted to hurry home.
In those areas, there are usually Paper Craft Shops. He passed by one shop where two Paper Craft figures were placed at the entrance. They seemed to be ordered by clients for burning. Perhaps out of fear, he accidentally stepped on one of the Paper Craft figures.
An elderly woman heard the noise and immediately ran out from inside. "Young Man, how could you be so careless? This is something the client ordered for burning."
The Reporter quickly replied, "I'm sorry; I'll compensate you."
The old woman said, "Then pay up."
Coincidentally, that day the Reporter didn't have much money on him and still needed to take transport home. So he said, "I don't have enough money today; I'll bring it over another day."
The old woman warned him, "Young Man, you must keep your word; otherwise, it won't end well."
After returning home, the Reporter got busy with other matters and gradually forgot about the broken Paper Craft figure. A few nights later, after finishing work and heading home, he pressed the button for the Elevator. As he entered the Elevator, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a girl behind him in his peripheral vision. When he turned around to look, there was no one there. With his rich experience as a Reporter, he knew he had encountered something unusual.
He didn't care much anymore, pressed the button for the first floor, and as soon as the door opened, he rushed out. Unexpectedly, at the corner of the stairs, he ran into the old lady who said, “Young Man, do you want to return my money?” The Reporter was so scared at that moment that he couldn't speak.
“It’s not me; it’s her who wants it,” the old lady said, pointing behind him.
The Reporter turned around and saw the girl from the Elevator walking towards him. She was dressed strangely, with a Bun Head, a Blue Dress, and White Socks. Her face was pale, with red lips, and she looked somewhat familiar. Suddenly, he noticed that the girl was limping on one leg. He felt dizzy and fainted.
When he woke up again, he was already in the Hospital, with no sign of the girl or the old lady. The Building Manager had found him.
After being discharged, he immediately went to the Paper Craft Shop to repay the old lady. However, it turned out there was no old lady at all; the shop owner was a woman in her thirties. There was a photo of an old lady named Zhang Lao hanging in the shop, who had reportedly passed away several years ago. The Paper Craft items were meant to be burned for her use…
This story has been widely circulated among people; it's hard to tell if it's true or not. Regardless of whether ghosts really exist in this world, as they say, it’s better to believe than not to believe. Moreover, one must fulfill promises made to others; otherwise, retribution is only a matter of time.
There are indeed many strange occurrences in the paper crafting business. Next, I will tell another story about Paper Figure.
Once upon a time, outside the willow tree area by the Mist-Shrouded Riverbank, there was a cowherd named Wang Xiaoer. He was all alone; his parents had died early, leaving him with no support except for an uncle. Wang Er was diligent and clever; he had a decent reputation for herding cows. In his twenties and poor, he had no one to marry and sought a companion for himself. Every day while herding cows past the Mist-Shrouded Riverbank, he would see a girl named Flower Sister who often came to wash clothes by the river. They would chat occasionally and developed mutual feelings for each other but were both too shy to express them directly.
One day, while Flower Sister was washing clothes by the river, she accidentally slipped and fell into the water. Wang Xiaoer happened to be there; without even taking off his clothes, he jumped into the river and saved her. Grateful for his life-saving act, they both expressed their affection for each other and decided to commit to each other.
Wang Xiaoer asked someone to propose on his behalf to Flower Sister's family. Initially, they disagreed but eventually relented when they learned that he had saved her life. However, they demanded a bride price of one hundred taels of silver before allowing any wedding arrangements. With no choice left, he went to borrow money from his uncle. His uncle said, “I’ll lend you this money for your Daughter-in-law, but I’m worried you might spend it frivolously. I’ll give you half now—fifty taels—and I’ll give you the other fifty when I see your Daughter-in-law.”
Wang Xiaoer sent fifty taels ahead with a Matchmaker, saying he would pay the remaining fifty during the wedding ceremony. On the wedding day, when the Flower Palanquin arrived at the bride's house, Flower Sister's mother insisted on seeing that fifty taels first; without it, she refused to let her daughter get on the palanquin.
With Wang Xiaoer's uncle refusing to give money without seeing his future Daughter-in-law, and on this side not allowing any wedding without money, Wang Xiaoer became anxious. A flower gardener suggested that Wang Xiaoer carry a Paper Craft version of his Daughter-in-law back home as a temporary solution. With no other options available, Wang Xiaoer decided to go along with this plan.
When they arrived home with the Paper Craft Daughter-in-law, he placed her face down on the bed as if she were his new wife. When his uncle arrived, Wang Xiaoer deliberately called out: “Flower Sister, come down and greet our uncle!”
Strangely enough, the new Daughter-in-law turned around and got off the bed, saying: “Hello, Uncle!” with a bright smile while bowing and pretending to offer cigarettes.
Uncle was very pleased to see this well-behaved girl and took out fifty taels of silver, also giving her some money for cigarettes. As night fell and everyone had left, the waiter stood outside the door, afraid to enter.
The new Daughter-in-law called out, "Waiter, you've been busy all day, come in and rest!" The waiter, trembling with fear, hesitantly entered the bridal chamber. Three days later, when he returned to his father-in-law's house, both the Father-in-law and Mother-in-law were puzzled and said, "Son-in-law, on your wedding day, we didn't let Flower Sister get into the sedan chair. She was so angry that she fainted, and now she is still unconscious on the kang. Where did you find such a person pretending to be our Daughter?"
Unexpectedly, just as they finished speaking, the Paper Craft Daughter-in-law sat down on the Ground and realized she was just a Paper Figurine. Flower Sister, who had been lying on the kang, suddenly got up and said, "Waiter, why are you still dazed? Hurry up and bow to our dad and mom!"
The waiter quickly knelt down and called them dad and mom. During dinner, everyone asked Flower Sister what had happened in the past few days. Flower Sister replied, "That day, my dad hit me once. I got so anxious that I ran out of the Main Entrance and got into the Flower Palanquin. I ended up in the body of a Paper Figurine and came here with the waiter for three days."
From then on, the story of how the waiter married a paper Daughter-in-law who turned into a real Daughter-in-law spread throughout ten or eight villages.
Stories are always just stories; no one knows if they are true or false; they can only serve as topics for conversation over tea. Whether there are ghosts in this world or not, most people would say they are half-believing. Although people believe in ghosts and gods every day, no one has actually seen them.
If someone were to ask me the same question, I would tell them that I have seen one before—once when I was a child. I still vividly remember my first encounter with a ghost.
That night, a Hut Family from Neighboring Village was holding a Funeral and ordered Paper Figurines and Paper Horses from our shop. Since it was late when I delivered the prepared paper items to the Hut Family in Neighboring Village, it was nearly midnight when I returned home.
I remember it was a dark and windy night. When I reached the entrance of our village, I vaguely heard two people talking by the creek below. I was curious about who would be talking at such an hour and went over to take a look. However, no matter how hard I tried to approach them, it seemed like whenever I moved forward, they moved away. I followed their voices along the creek until I reached the Deep Pool at River Mouth. Just then, their voices suddenly stopped, followed by two splashes in the water. I instantly woke up and looked at the rushing river water; cold sweat broke out all over me as I hurried home.
When I got home and told my grandfather what happened, he believed that I had encountered ghosts. Fortunately, those two ghosts were friendly; otherwise, that night I might have been lured underwater by water ghosts to drown. Of course, although I returned home safely that night, I still developed a high fever that lasted for three days before improving.
After that experience, my encounters with ghosts became more frequent because later on I took over my grandfather's Paper Shop and often saw these unclean things. For instance, on the nights before villagers died, I would frequently see their souls coming to my Paper Craft Shop rummaging through coffins with loud noises; sure enough, there would be numerous handprints on the coffin by morning. When burning paper money or Paper Figurines for deceased individuals, it was common to see some living people's souls picking up gold ingots meant for the dead. Of course, those who came to collect these paper items usually wouldn’t live long after that. Such occurrences became quite common later on; for now, I'll leave it at that and continue tomorrow.
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