Shape

The kitchen doorknob turned, and the door pushed open silently. Yu Sheng emerged, carrying several large bags, and greeted Eileen, who was staring blankly nearby, "I'm back."

Eileen's eyes were wide, clearly not understanding what was happening. "Didn't you go out to buy things? How did you come from..."

She suddenly stopped, as if she had realized something.

"No way! You went to a mall and still need to 'open a door' to get home!?"

"I thought about it. Since this door doesn't just lead to the Otherworld, but can also lead to some 'distant place' in reality, there's no reason it shouldn't be able to go somewhere closer," Yu Sheng said smugly to Eileen. "By the way, I also tested carrying items and living things through this door. It seems as long as the door is kept stable, they can all pass through smoothly..."

Eileen was stunned. She became curious when she heard the word "living things." "Living things?! Where did you get living things? Where are they?"

Yu Sheng held out his hand. "Before I came back, I caught a mosquito..."

Eileen: "……?"

The doll lady gained a new understanding of Yu Sheng's creativity. Her attention then naturally fell on the several large shopping bags he had brought back.

The first thing she saw was a box of Eight Treasures Congee.

Yu Sheng started taking things out of the shopping bags. He first put down the box of Eight Treasures Congee, then showed Eileen the rest of the items. "I bought some lightweight clay. Because I bought a large quantity, the store gave me some tools as a gift, but I probably won't need these tools. They're all for making small dolls. To make your body, you'll need this—I bought a rolling pin...

"Here are the hair and paints. I bought good quality ones. They're not the most expensive, but they're close.

"Oh, right, I couldn't find any suitable clothes for you. Do you want..."

"No need," Eileen waved her hand. She watched Yu Sheng unpack the items, her face filled with anticipation and excitement. "I can 'shape' my own clothes. As I said, this body is mainly for use as a medium and a temporary container... Wow, that's a lot of stuff, Yu Sheng. You really put in the effort?"

"Of course. If I'm going to do it, I'll do it well," Yu Sheng said, but then he frowned and shook his head. "But honestly, this probably isn't everything. I heard there are also clay drying boxes, various putties, softening oils, primers, makeup tools, and so on. But I took a look, and either they're only for small dolls, or I can't learn them in a short time. And I have another problem: clay needs time to dry. Without a drying box, large components won't dry and harden in half a day..."

"It's okay, none of that matters. As long as we can create the framework, it's fine," Eileen seemed to be in a very good mood, and her tone when speaking to Yu Sheng was exceptionally gentle. "The important part is the ritual. Yes, the ritual—otherwise, I would have just asked you to buy a ready-made doll, and there would be no need for all this trouble."

"Then it's settled," Yu Sheng sighed and began to sort the pile of items. "Let's go to the attic. It's spacious up there and has a big table."

Eileen nodded enthusiastically. However, she suddenly noticed another bag of items nearby that looked a bit familiar.

"...What's this bag of lotus roots for?" the doll lady asked, completely bewildered.

Yu Sheng's hands paused. He looked up at Eileen, then down at the bag of lotus roots. After two seconds, he chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, this is a backup plan in case my craftsmanship is too poor. That's how I understand it..."

Eileen tilted her head, thinking for a long time, and finally caught up with Yu Sheng's train of thought. She immediately jumped up from her red velvet chair. "No!"

"No?" Yu Sheng sounded a bit disappointed. "I thought these lotus roots were quite perfectly shaped; I spent a long time picking them."

"Of course not!" Eileen's eyes were almost bulging. "Let me tell you, pre-made meals are already pushing it. If you're going to give me pre-made parts, I'll have a big problem with that..."

"Alright, alright," Yu Sheng sighed and carried the bag of lotus roots back to the kitchen. "Then I'll make fried lotus root pockets with them later."

Eileen suddenly had a bad premonition. She felt that her escape journey today might not go as smoothly as she had imagined...

But Yu Sheng, on the other hand, was full of confidence. He organized the tools and materials needed to shape the doll's body, picked up the items with one hand, tucked Eileen's picture frame under his arm, and reached for the kitchen doorknob.

Eileen reacted quickly this time. "...You're going to 'open a door' just to go to the attic!?"

Yu Sheng thought for a moment and felt that it was indeed a bit too lazy. He gave an awkward laugh, and with the materials and Eileen, turned towards the stairs leading upstairs.

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

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

Because there was almost nothing there, except for a large table that seemed to have been placed there because there was nowhere else to put it, and two creaky old chairs. Whenever it was night or the sky was overcast and the light was poor, the overly spacious attic always felt eerily frightening.

However, it was now perfectly suited to serve as a "workshop" for shaping Eileen's body.

Yu Sheng made two trips, fetching some potentially useful tools and an old desk lamp from the second-floor storage room, as well as the various strange items required for the "ritual" that Eileen had requested. He transported them all to the large table in the attic.

Eileen's picture frame was placed in a corner of the table, leaning against a stack of old books that served as a temporary support. She quietly watched Yu Sheng busily moving around, appearing more tranquil than ever before. No one knew what she was thinking.

Yu Sheng sat in front of the large table. The old chair creaked as he awkwardly handled the clay and spatulas, beginning to familiarize himself with their "properties."

Eileen suddenly broke the silence. "Yu Sheng."

"Hmm?"

"I'm really going to come out of this painting."

"Yes, if everything goes smoothly."

"...I never thought this day would actually come," Eileen mumbled softly. "I actually stopped hoping for it many years ago..."

"And now you suddenly remember to reminisce about it?" Yu Sheng looked up, glancing at the person in the painting who seemed to have become a bit sentimental.

Eileen sat in her chair, cradling the plush bear and slowly rocking herself. "It's nothing. I just wanted to thank you."

"Then let's save the thanks for after we succeed," Yu Sheng exhaled softly, as if to relieve a bit of tension in his heart. "Now tell me, what's the first step?"

"Place candles at the four corners of the table, and light one more next to my picture frame—the basic torso must be completed before the candles burn out."

Eileen's expression turned serious as she began to instruct Yu Sheng on how to shape the container for a "living puppet" using a pile of everyday materials.

This was the first time she had imparted this knowledge, belonging to "Alice's Cabin," to a... "human."

"Draw three concentric circles on the table. Their boundaries will be your operating space. Then, extend a line from each of the four corner candles, intersecting at the center of the concentric circles... Try to draw them round... Never mind, just don't draw them square...

"Write my name at the center, Ai-Lin, in the common language of the old world... Ah, you don't know how. Then find a piece of paper first, and I'll tell you how to write it. Don't misspell this.

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

Eileen gave instructions one by one, and Yu Sheng carried them out meticulously. A peaceful and focused atmosphere gradually enveloped the attic. The usual bickering between them was gone, replaced by a growing, tacit cooperation.

It wasn't exactly a well-oiled machine, though. Eileen mostly relied on her good nature, and Yu Sheng on his confidence.

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

He could feel the "ritual" Eileen had mentioned gradually taking effect. The arrangements, which he couldn't comprehend, were beginning to operate with a "pattern" and "power" he couldn't understand. Even though Eileen handled most of the spirit infusion process for this first-time execution of such a "ritual," Yu Sheng felt a mental "drain of power."

But Eileen had warned him about this before the ritual began, so Yu Sheng didn't panic. Instead, he maintained his composure as much as possible, completing each step Eileen required as precisely as he could.

A puppet's body was gradually taking shape in his hands.

It was rough, crude, and lopsided, with legs of different lengths. An arm even broke midway and had to be reattached with wire and water.

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

But no matter what, everything was finally nearing its end.

"You can blow out the last candle now," Eileen, from within the painting, calmly gazed at the body on the table, her expression more solemn and serious than ever. "Then place me directly in front of the body, at the head's position."

"Okay," Yu Sheng said casually as he got up to perform the task, "And then?"

"Then I'll need a minute to comfort myself and steel my resolve..."

Yu Sheng: "...Why?"

Eileen looked like she was about to cry. "It's so damn ugly... Even if it can be reshaped, it's still so damn ugly right now."