Chapter 8: What Good Is a Pretty Face? The Heart Is Surely Dark

“Child?”

Lin Jingyu also noticed the issue with the humanoid’s belly, but soon frowned. “When Yingying died, the child was less than two months old. How could it be this big?”

Indeed!

A child under two months old had somehow been nurtured by Yingying to grow so large—clearly, she desperately wanted the child to grow and be born.

This was quite a predicament.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Chen spoke up, “Yingying, even if you’ve been nurturing the child’s spirit with ghostly energy, once you died, the child’s development stopped. Now, even if it appears larger, its limbs aren’t fully formed, much less its facial features. Even if born, it would be a monster.”

The humanoid form suddenly dissolved and began struggling violently, clearly displeased with Su Chen’s words.

But Su Chen quickly changed his tone. “I have a solution.”

The humanoid gradually reformed, its ghostly voice faintly asking, “What?”

“I have a spirit-nurturing method at the Celestial Master’s Mansion. I can transfer your child’s soul into a humanoid wooden puppet, gradually dispelling the ghostly energy. Once the spirit matures, your child will grow with the increasing spiritual energy. However, if you choose this path, the child must stay with me from now on.”

The humanoid dissolved and reformed again, hesitating.

“Really? Is that possible?”

Su Chen nodded. “I don’t have a wooden puppet on hand right now, but I can first make a paper doll and transfer your child’s soul into it.”

“Thank you, thank you~”

Su Chen turned to Lin Jingyu, who immediately understood and rushed home to fetch a pair of scissors. With a swift motion, Su Chen cut out a palm-sized paper doll.

He tossed the paper doll into the air, performing hand seals while chanting softly. Suddenly, he shouted sharply, “Rise!”

The paper doll, which had been suspended in the air, trembled violently. Its limbs began to move, and faint facial features started to appear on its featureless face.

“My child, my child~” Yingying’s ghostly voice was filled with both joy and relief. As her voice echoed, the humanoid slowly dissolved and vanished without a trace.

Grandma was startled and anxiously turned around. “Young man, my Yingying...”

Su Chen raised his hand and caught the paper doll, which was waving its limbs, and smiled at her. “Grandma, Yingying is fine. The spirit-binding formation traps resentful spirits. Now that Yingying’s resentment has completely dissipated, she can’t be trapped.”

Grandma sighed in relief. “That’s good, that’s really good...”

Her gaze then fell on the paper doll in Su Chen’s palm, and her eyes lit up again. “Is this my grandson?”

Lin Jingyu answered on Su Chen’s behalf, “Grandma, it definitely is.”

Su Chen watched curiously as the paper doll waved its tiny hands in his palm. But as it waved, its movements gradually slowed until it lay flat again, just a piece of paper.

“Is the child alright?” Grandma asked anxiously.

“He’s fine. The child’s resentment isn’t strong. He got tired from all the struggling and is now resting.”

Grandma smiled and nodded. “Oh, well that’s good, that’s really good.”

***

Su Chen instructed Lin Jingyu to find a piece of locust wood as soon as possible, then turned to the three stunned people. “What are you standing there for? Hurry and bring the master back so we can continue the ritual!”

He wouldn’t be handling the funeral rites himself.

Zhang Qiang, who was beating the drums, suddenly snapped out of his daze and nodded repeatedly. He pulled out a pager, but just as he pressed a button, he hesitated.

Then, Liu Tao, the gong player and junior disciple, knelt before Su Chen with a loud thud.

“Master, please accept me as your disciple!”

Liu Tao, you traitor!

Before Zhang Qiang could scold him, another thud sounded.

Senior Brother Yu Dingqiang also knelt, dropping his cymbals and grabbing Su Chen’s leg. “Master, please take me as your disciple!”

Zhang Qiang was speechless.

If the senior brothers are kneeling, shouldn’t I kneel too?

Su Chen looked at the three kneeling men and raised a leg, the expression on his face darkening.

Fortunately, he had encountered scenes like this before in his past life.

He decisively raised a hand, fingers moving as if performing a false divination, then raised an eyebrow. “It’s not that I don’t want to accept you, but fate is hard to defy. If I disobey destiny, it might bring bad luck to your wealth, or worse, shorten your lifespan.”

Hearing this, the three exchanged glances and quickly stood up.

“Master, in that case, we won’t become your disciples. But if we encounter trouble in the future, can we still seek your help?”

“Yes, yes, we often perform rituals for people. On dark nights, it’s inevitable to run into... ahem.”

Su Chen smiled and nodded. “That’s fine.”

The three immediately grinned.

Lin Jingyu quietly pulled Su Chen aside and handed him two hundred yuan.

Su Chen accepted without refusal.

He carefully placed the paper doll into his pocket and smiled at Lin Jingyu. “Big brother, where did you buy this yellow paper and cinnabar?”

Su Chen quickly grew disappointed.

The incense and candle shop where Lin Jingyu had brought him only sold cinnabar, yellow paper, and candles. There was no trace of spiritual artifacts like ox-eye tears.

Old Zhong, the incense shop owner, sighed. “There used to be some years ago, but after the Cultural Revolution’s destruction of the old ways, many masters fell into hardship. The sources for these things dried up.”

Hearing about Yingying’s story, Old Zhong looked Su Chen over carefully and couldn’t help but smile. “Well, well, young man, you actually have this kind of skill. Really—what’s the phrase? Something about surpassing the teacher?”

Lin Jingyu chimed in, “Surpassing the master.”

“Right, right, that’s why I said you’re impressive, Ah Yu. You’re well-read and know how to talk.”

In the end, Su Chen only bought some yellow paper and cinnabar. By the time they reached the street, it was becoming lively.

Shoe and clothing vendors had set up stalls, shops along the street were open, and there were all kinds of pastries and red lanterns.

***

Su Chen noticed an old man writing Spring Festival couplets on the spot.

Hearing the commotion, he turned to see Lin Jingyu pushing a small cart out. Su Chen stepped forward to help unload boxes from the cart. They spread out an oilcloth and arranged various comic books neatly.

“Buddy, are you still doing fortune-telling today?”

Su Chen nodded.

“Then wait here, I’ll get you a chair and a small table.”

Lin Jingyu not only fetched a chair and table but also asked the old couplet writer for a character to paste on a wooden board, which they then placed in front of the table. He clapped his hands with satisfaction. “That’s more like it. Doing business means looking the part. Before, you wrote on newspaper—it was hard to even tell you were fortune-telling. This is much more eye-catching.”

As he spoke, a crowd began to gather.

“Fortune-telling? Isn’t this a scam?”

Lin Jingyu’s anger flared immediately.

Hey, must people be so malicious to each other?

Just as he was about to retort, Old Liao from the steamed bun stall rolled his eyes.

“Hey, what nonsense is this girl spouting? With Ah Yu here, can there be any scam on Chunming Street?”

Exactly!

Lin Jingyu stood tall, hands on hips, then turned his gaze and froze.

The skeptic was a young woman, looking about twenty, with long flowing hair, fair skin, large eyes, and red lips.

A beauty!

Sun Feiyan glanced at the man in the leather jacket before her, noting his stubbled chin and curling her lip in disdain.

Greasy, disgusting.

Her eyes rested on Su Chen, and they lit up briefly.

But soon, she scoffed softly.

In the prime of youth, fully able-bodied, and yet out here trying to swindle money?

What use is a pretty face? Her heart must be black as night.

Just wait—I’ll expose you!