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The Forbidden Night of the Paper Shop
墨書 Inktalez
My name is Mark, and I am a traditional Paper Effigy craftsman.
I inherited my grandfather's Flower Shop, along with his rules.
The Paper Effigy industry has three major taboos.
First, work must cease when the sky darkens.
After dark, we cannot operate or create a Paper Man.
Second, the Red Fragrance must remain constant.
We must offer the Red Fragrance day and night, without interruption for all twelve hours.
Third, we must not dot the eyes.
Once a Paper Man is made, we cannot dot its eyes.
Otherwise, the Paper Man will come to life.
My grandfather was a well-known Paper Effigy master in the area. I studied under him for nearly ten years and always adhered to these three taboos.
Except for that one time.
On my twelfth birthday, while my grandfather was away, I secretly dotted the eyes of a Paper Man.
That night, something happened.
I felt something rubbing against my face, reminiscent of the stuffed cat my grandmother had when I was a child.
My body was paralyzed, and breathing became difficult.
It felt as if something cold was very close to me.
It seemed to draw nearer slowly, as if contemplating something.
I heard a strange, eerie laughter.
"Ke ke ke!"
"Ke ke ke!"
The laughter grew sharper, piercing my eardrums with pain.
I struggled to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt as heavy as lead, refusing to budge.
I could only endure the cold thing pressing against my cheek, rubbing incessantly.
It seemed to be observing me, as if pondering something.
It even felt like it wanted to penetrate my body and drill into me!
A chill ran through me, and sweat poured down like rain.
It felt as if the blood in my veins had frozen, making it hard to breathe.
I don't know how long it lasted, but eventually, that eerie laughter faded away.
The icy touch disappeared as well.
I knew it had come.
I wanted to call for my grandfather, but I found I couldn't make a sound.
The next day, I developed a high fever.
For three consecutive days, I was in a daze, occasionally mumbling nonsensically.
My grandfather called upon many fellow practitioners to perform rituals for me, praying daily to Ling Guan Ye for protection.
Three days later, I finally woke up slowly.
My grandfather said, "You little rascal, will you dare to be disobedient again?"
"If it weren't for my prayers to the Goddess of Mercy, you would have been doomed!"
I shrank my neck in fear and replied, "I won't dare again."
He explained that he had invited a dozen Taoist friends to perform rituals for me that day.
All of them returned empty-handed.
In the end, it was his own prayers to the Goddess of Mercy that saved my life.
I heard that the Goddess of Mercy is compassionate and cannot bear to see children suffer.
My grandfather prayed for three whole days before the Goddess agreed to lend her aid.
His Taoist friends were all at a loss for words.
They said, "Old Wang, your grandson brought this trouble upon himself; he should be taught a good lesson."
"Why did you go and ask the Goddess for help?"
My grandfather replied, "The little rascal doesn't understand; as his grandfather, I must show some understanding."
"Don't blame me, my friends."
"I'll treat everyone to a celebratory feast later!"
Looking at my frail self, my grandfather couldn't help but wipe away his tears.
He said, "You little rascal, you must listen from now on!"
"I don't want to see a white-haired person send off a black-haired one!"
I quickly nodded, "I understand, Grandpa."
From that day on, I never dared to break the taboo again.
That was until May of this year.
On my friend's birthday, he called me.
He is my best buddy, and we used to hang out together all the time.
He said on the phone, "It's my birthday today. Are you coming?"
I replied, "Of course!"
"Just wait for me; I'm coming over right now!"
That day, a group of us went to a KTV to sing.
They poured quite a bit of alcohol into me.
Eventually, feeling dizzy and disoriented, I collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep.
In a daze, I felt my friend nudging me, "Come on!"
"We're heading to a bar to keep drinking!"
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