Wu Yinyu was dizzy and sick, so she raised a hand to feel her forehead. The temperature felt a bit higher than usual.
Her mind was foggy, but not completely stalled. She went upstairs and said, “I’ll trouble Boss Yu to take a look for me.”
Yu Zezhi followed her into the study. Only when Wu Yinyu opened the computer did she understand this “look” meant checking the surveillance footage.
In the recording, Wu Yinyu was walking out on her own. She moved slowly, but her limbs swung without any stiffness.
Wu Yinyu naturally had a thorough understanding of herself. Although she had sleepwalked multiple times, she was by no means possessed by an evil entity.
After pausing the video, she pointed at her own image on the screen and asked, “Was I afflicted with a Puppet Art?”
She was practically naming names. In all of Wise City, when it came to skill in Puppet Arts, the Yu family of the Five Gates would never dare to claim second place if they claimed first.
“You suspect me.” Yu Zezhi spoke with barely a hint of hesitation, her voice so calm it was utterly flat.
Who suspects whom, Wu Yinyu thought to herself.
She had assumed this person would feign civility, but she hadn’t expected such directness. So she simply shook her head and said, “The Yu family aren’t the only ones who know Puppet Arts. I wouldn’t dare make accusations, I just wanted to ask you to take a look.”
Yu Zezhi stood right behind Wu Yinyu’s chair. She only had to lower her head slightly to meet the other woman’s raised gaze.
She had to admit, when Wu Yinyu’s eyes held a smile, they truly seemed full of boundless affection, enticing one to follow her wishes.
“It’s not Puppet Art.” Yu Zezhi averted her eyes.
She reached past Wu Yinyu’s shoulder, took hold of the mouse, and clicked play again. “There are many types of puppets. Paper effigy puppets, corpse puppets, wraith puppets, and the String Puppet Art used to control the living. If it were used on you, it could only be the String Puppet Art.”
Wu Yinyu nodded, jutted her chin out slightly, and motioned for Yu Zezhi to continue.
Yu Zezhi had no choice but to say, “The String Puppet Art has too many flaws. After all, the body still contains a living soul. Once that living soul struggles, this Puppet Art will inevitably be exposed.”
“Then how could one avoid leaving flaws?” Wu Yinyu stared intently at the screen.
“That becomes complicated. First, the puppet must be willing. Second, their mind and will must be disturbed, their thoughts and consciousness destroyed.” Yu Zezhi leaned forward, half her body pressing against the chair back as she asked, “Have you lost any memories?”
“No.” Wu Yinyu pried the mouse from Yu Zezhi’s hand, dragged the progress bar to the moment she walked out of the bedroom, and started watching from the beginning.
“If this is Puppet Art,” Yu Zezhi withdrew her hand, “it would be something even the Yu family can only aspire to, but never reach.”
Wu Yinyu leaned back, her heart unsettled. She casually pulled her unbound hair, which she hadn’t pinned up since morning, over her shoulder. “That powerful, huh.”
“Do you still think it’s caused by Puppet Art?” Yu Zezhi asked.
“Just a suspicion.” Wu Yinyu leaned towards the table, bending an elbow to prop up her chin. She chose her words carefully: “I had another dream last night.”
“What did you dream of?” Yu Zezhi asked naturally.
Wu Yinyu turned her head to look at the person behind her and spoke lightly, “The Devil Buddha. She didn’t have three heads and six arms like in my painting, but she admitted that she cultivates the evil path. Do you think she might actually exist in this world? That she’s the one controlling me, making me sleepwalk at night?”
Her collar buttons weren’t properly fastened. Alternating between chills and fever made her whole body uncomfortable. She lifted a hand to toy with the button, her fingers brushing past her neck. Then she added, “She also spoke of some Small World called the White Jade Capital. I couldn’t understand it at all. Is she trying to take over my body?”
Yu Zezhi pressed her lips together. After a long moment, she pushed aside Wu Yinyu’s hand on the button and fastened it for her. She also pulled the blanket draped over the chair and wrapped it around her, her tone even as she asked, “Do you remember what she looked like?”
“I couldn’t see clearly. She was standing too far away.” This sentence from Wu Yinyu was the truth.
With these daily dreams, it would be difficult for her not to piece things together. In fact, she didn’t believe at all that she was being controlled by an evil devil. The reason for her sleepwalking and painting of the Devil Buddha was likely that the ink qi was protecting her, aiding her, guiding her to remember certain things.
It was just that, in that place called the White Jade Capital, she seemed to have truly slaughtered all the Buddhas. That there was a Devil Buddha among them was true. Regardless of whether the Five Gates suffered disaster this time or not, the Devil Buddha would certainly not let matters rest.
So she needed to find a way to let the deceived red-robed person in her dreams know that there truly was a Devil Buddha committing evil deeds.
The great, blinding fog deep in her heart seemed to have been vaguely lifted at a corner. This… seemed to be the very reason she had come here.
Yu Zezhi gripped the thin blanket tightly, deep in thought, so tight that the collar around Wu Yinyu’s neck felt a bit choked.
“Boss Yu?” Wu Yinyu coughed twice dryly. A blush spread across her face as she coughed, her amorous eyes becoming moist and glistening.
Yu Zezhi bent down, closing in. Staring into Wu Yinyu’s eyes, she asked, “Do you want to go tidy up the Shrine Hall? We upset the Spirit Tablets last night; we should go put them back in order.”
“That sounds like Boss Yu is the real member of the Wu family.” Wu Yinyu couldn’t stop coughing, making her laughter sound fragmented and frail.
“Towards those who have passed on,” Yu Zezhi straightened up, “one should show some respect.”
Wu Yinyu pulled off the blanket wrapped around her, looking so listless she could barely muster any energy. She said, “Then I’ll trouble Boss Yu to wait a bit longer. I’ll go change clothes. Wearing a nightgown to wipe the Spirit Tablets would be a great disrespect.” As she spoke, she slowly walked out, heading straight back to her bedroom.
Once inside the room, Wu Yinyu immediately suppressed the smile at the corner of her lips. She stood by the door, staring intently at the gap in the doorway for quite a while. After a moment, she exhaled a hot breath and walked limply to the bedside.
She pulled open the bedside drawer, opened the wardrobe, and even moved the full-length mirror aside to check the safe placed behind it.
It was obvious that these items had been touched. The Lotus Pattern Red Jade inside the drawer had shifted half a centimeter to the side. In the wardrobe, a corner of a skirt’s fabric was caught in the door. The safe seemed untouched, but the mirror’s angle had slightly changed.
Perhaps it was just last night that Yu Zezhi had secretly searched her bedroom.
As far as she knew, Yu Zezhi shouldn’t have such a habit, nor should she be that type of person. It was less like curiosity and more like Yu Zezhi was looking for something.
But what was it?
It wasn’t that Yu Zezhi was careless, but that Wu Yinyu was excessively careful.
Though usually carefree and easygoing, Wu Yinyu was accustomed to being mindful of everything around her, whether objects or people. She always maintained an interest in her surroundings, as if possessing an inexhaustible reservoir of enthusiasm.
What a piece of work, this Yu Zezhi. Delivering her to the Wu family wasn’t enough; she had to keep a close watch too. Was she afraid Wu Yinyu would go murder some Buddha in Little Enlightenment Ruins again?
Wu Yinyu lifted the bed mat. Just as expected, in the crevice between the bed boards, she found a Paper Effigy.
The Paper Effigy was cut from gold foil paper. Its brows and eyes were drawn with ink and blood, and rouge was dabbed on its cheeks. Compared to the roughly torn one from last time, this one was far too lively, at least possessing a nose, eyes, and a mouth.
Fortunately, this Paper Effigy hadn’t been imbued with any “thing” yet. It couldn’t move for now. Wu Yinyu pretended not to know and put it back.
She straightened the bed mat and sat on the edge of the bed, panting. Her lips were frighteningly white, yet her eyes and nose were red-rimmed, a vulnerable and pitiable look entirely surfacing.
Knowing Yu Zezhi was still waiting outside, Wu Yinyu still unhurriedly changed her clothes. She chose a long-sleeved Qipao, but its semi-transparent sleeves were practically useless. It had a single round button and a black-and-white landscape pattern.
In matters of dress, her tastes were always quite singular.
Yu Zezhi was still sitting in the study. Only when she heard the door close over there did she stand up.
Wu Yinyu hadn’t put up her hair. Her head felt heavy; pinning up her hair felt like hanging a thousand-pound stone, so she simply let it hang loose.
“Sorry for the wait, Boss Yu.” Holding the banister, she walked as if floating.
Yu Zezhi took her hand and was slightly startled by the burning heat upon contact. She asked, surprised, “Burning up badly?”
“A bit.” Wu Yinyu’s tone was flat, unconcerned.
“Where is the medicine?” Yu Zezhi turned her head, searching.
“I’ll have Aunt Dong bring it over in a moment.” Wu Yinyu pulled her hand away.
Yu Zezhi glanced at her a couple more times. Soon, the back of her hand was enveloped by a wave of scorching heat.
It was Wu Yinyu’s palm.
Running a fever, Wu Yinyu’s palm was also terribly hot. Her slender fingers rested lightly on the back of Yu Zezhi’s hand, her five fingers lying between the other’s knuckles, as if wanting to interlock but not quite.
Yu Zezhi paused and asked calmly, “Shall I go get medicine for you?”
“No need. Boss Yu’s hand is so cool. Just let me borrow it for a bit.” Wu Yinyu wrapped her fingers around Yu Zezhi’s, but didn’t feel any paper scraps on them.
Before long, she withdrew her hand, her interest waning. She knew such an intricate Paper Effigy couldn’t have been torn out on the spot, and the scissors in her room hadn’t been touched.
Last time, when they were outside, Yu Zezhi hadn’t been carrying any little Paper Effigies on her. This time, it was clearly premeditated.
“You’re too hot. My hand can’t serve as this medicine.” Yu Zezhi rubbed her fingers, as if feeling the lingering warmth.
“Who cares, it’s comfortable right now, that’s all that matters.” Wu Yinyu said.
“Forcing yourself to endure discomfort—how comfortable can that be?” Yu Zezhi said flatly.
Wu Yinyu walked slowly outside and opened the door to the Shrine Hall.
As far back as she could remember, the Shrine Hall had never been this messy. The Spirit Tablets were placed haphazardly, and even the fruits and vegetables on the Spirit Table had rolled everywhere. If the ancestors hadn’t left, they would surely be cursing by now.
She tucked her skirt hem and climbed onto the table, arranging the Spirit Tablets one by one in order. When placing each tablet, she took a careful look at the engravings.
The Gourd Pagoda pattern was still there, completely unchanged. The engravings on all the Spirit Tablets were truly identical.
