The handle of the kitchen door turned slightly, and then quietly opened.
Yu Sheng came out carrying several large bags, greeting the stunned Aileen not far away: "I’m back."
Aileen's eyes widened in surprise, clearly taken aback: "Weren't you out shopping? How come you're…"
She suddenly stopped, as if realizing something.
"No way! Did you really have to 'open the door' just to come back from the mall?"
"I thought about it, since this door leads not only to distant lands but also to some 'faraway' places in reality, there’s no reason it can’t go to closer places," Yu Sheng said proudly to Aileen.
"By the way, I also tested if it’s possible to carry items and living beings through this door. It seems as long as the door remains stable, they can all pass through safely..."
Aileen listened, surprised, and upon hearing "living beings," she became curious: "Living beings?! Where did you get living beings? Where are they?"
Yu Sheng stretched out his hand: "I caught a mosquito before I came back..."
Aileen: "…?"
Miss Doll had a new appreciation for Yu Sheng's creativity, and her attention was soon drawn back to the several large shopping bags he had brought back.
At first glance, she spotted a box of Eight Treasure Congee among them.
Yu Sheng began to rummage through the shopping bags, first setting aside the box of Eight Treasure Congee, then showing Aileen the rest of the items: "I got some lightweight clay. Since I bought a large amount, the store threw in some tools, but those tools shouldn’t be necessary. They’re meant for making small dolls. To make your body, we’ll need this— I bought a rolling pin..."
"Here are some hair and pigments— they’re decent, not the most expensive, but they’re enough."
"By the way, I couldn’t find any suitable clothes for you. What do you think…"
"No need," Aileen waved her hand.
She looked at Yu Sheng as he continued to take things out, her face now filled with anticipation and excitement, "I can 'shape' the clothes myself. I told you, this body is mainly just a medium and a temporary container… Wow, you really brought a lot back, Yu Sheng!"
"Of course! This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If we’re doing it, we better do it right," Yu Sheng said, but then frowned and shook his head.
"But honestly, this stuff is still not complete. I heard there are clay drying boxes and various fillers, softening oils, primers, makeup tools, and more, but when I took a look, they were either only for small dolls or things I won’t learn how to use in a short time. Plus, I have another issue— the clay needs time to dry. Without a drying box, the larger parts might not dry and harden in half a day..."
"That’s fine, it’s not important. As long as we can make a framework, that's enough," Aileen seemed to be in a great mood, her tone gentler than usual when she spoke to Yu Sheng.
"What matters is the ritual part— right, the ritual part! Otherwise, I could have just asked you to buy a ready-made doll. There’s no need to make this so complicated."
"Then let’s do it," Yu Sheng sighed in relief and began to categorize the pile of items.
"Let’s go to the attic. It’s spacious up there, and there’s a big table."
Aileen nodded eagerly, but suddenly noticed there was another bag next to the others that looked somewhat familiar.
"... What’s this bag of lotus roots for?" she asked, puzzled.
Yu Sheng paused his movements, looked up at Aileen, then glanced down at the bag of lotus roots.
After two seconds, he chuckled awkwardly: "Well, this is just a backup plan in case my skills aren't up to par. That’s how I see it…"
Aileen tilted her head as she tried to catch up with Yu Sheng’s thoughts.
Suddenly, she jumped up from her red plush chair: "No way!"
"Not good?" Yu Sheng appeared disappointed.
"But I thought the shape of the lotus root was perfect; I spent a long time picking them out."
"Of course not!" Aileen's eyes almost bulged out.
"Let me tell you, ready-made meals are bad enough; I have a huge issue with ready-made parts…"
"Alright, alright," Yu Sheng sighed and took the bag of lotus roots to the kitchen.
"I guess we’ll just fry up some lotus root fritters later."
Aileen suddenly had a bad feeling and thought that her escape from her current situation might not go as smoothly as she had imagined…
However, Yu Sheng felt confident at this moment.
He sorted out the tools and materials needed to shape the doll's body, then picked up the items in one hand, clamped Aileen’s frame under his arm, and reached for the kitchen door handle.
This time, Aileen reacted quickly: "…Do you really have to 'open a door' just to go to the attic!?"
Yu Sheng thought it over and realized it did seem a bit lazy, so he smiled awkwardly and turned with the materials and Aileen toward the stairs leading up.
This house had a large attic located just above the second floor.
It was called an attic because it had been set aside when they built the house, leaving a high ceiling that needed to be divided.
The space was roughly half the size of the second floor, with two windows facing the street and a skylight—this was also why the house appeared to have three floors from the outside.
Aside from cleaning, Yu Sheng rarely went to the attic.
There was hardly anything there except a large table that seemed to be placed there due to a lack of space, and two old chairs that creaked whenever someone sat down.
On dark or cloudy days, the emptiness of the attic always felt eerily frightening.
But now, it was just suitable for acting as Aileen's "workshop" for shaping her body.
Yu Sheng made two trips and found some potentially useful tools and an old lamp from the cluttered storage room on the second floor.
He also gathered various strange items that Aileen had requested for the "ritual" and brought everything to the large table in the attic.
Aileen’s frame was propped up in one corner of the table against a stack of old books serving as a temporary stand.
She quietly watched Yu Sheng run around, appearing quieter than usual, lost in her thoughts.
Yu Sheng sat down at the large table, the old chair creaking under him.
He clumsily handled the clay and spatula, trying to get familiar with their "properties."
Aileen suddenly broke the silence: "Yu Sheng."
"Yeah?"
"I really am going to come out of this painting."
"Right, if everything goes well."
"... I didn’t expect this day would actually come," Aileen murmured quietly, "Actually, I stopped hoping for it many years ago…"
"Now you're suddenly feeling sentimental about this?" Yu Sheng lifted his head and glanced at the doll in the painting, who seemed unexpectedly melancholic.
Aileen sat on the chair, swaying slowly while holding a teddy bear: "It’s nothing; I just want to thank you."
"Let’s save the thanks for after we succeed," Yu Sheng exhaled gently, trying to ease the tension within him.
"Now tell me, what’s the first step?"
"Candles. Place them in the four corners of the table. Then light one and put it next to my frame— the basic body must be completed before the candle burns out."
Aileen’s expression became serious as she began directing Yu Sheng on how to use everyday materials to shape the "living doll."
This was her first time passing knowledge from "Alice's hut" to a… "human."
"Draw three concentric circles on the table. Their areas will define your working space. Then extend a line from each corner's candle, intersecting at the center of the concentric circles… Try to make it round… Never mind, just don’t draw it as a square…"
Write my name at the center— Aileen, in the old world's common language… ah, you wouldn’t know! First, find a piece of paper.
I'll tell you how to write it.
Be very careful not to misspell it.
"You'll also need your blood— a little bit is fine. Mix it into the clay, then combine it with pre-prepared tea powder and rose oil, but don’t use too much, as it will affect the shaping. The prepared chunk of clay should be placed in front of me, and I’ll guide the first 'spirit infusion.'"
Aileen gave instructions step by step while Yu Sheng carried them out meticulously.
A peaceful, focused atmosphere began to envelop the attic.
The usual banter between them faded, replaced by an increasing understanding.
...
Though, it wasn’t really an understanding.
Aileen was mostly relying on calmness, while Yu Sheng depended on confidence.
The whole process turned out to be more exhausting than Yu Sheng originally thought.
It wasn’t just physical fatigue but also a mental drain.
He could feel that the "ritual" Aileen mentioned was gradually taking effect, and those arrangements he couldn’t quite comprehend were starting to work through some patterns and forces he couldn’t understand.
As an ordinary person executing this kind of "ritual" for the first time, even though most of the spirit infusion process was conducted by Aileen, Yu Sheng sensed a kind of spiritual "draining" from him.
However, Aileen had already warned him about this scenario before the ritual began, so Yu Sheng didn’t panic.
Instead, he remained as composed as possible, trying to follow each of Aileen's requests as accurately as he could.
Little by little, the body of the doll began to take shape in his hands.
It was rough, simple, crooked, and even the legs weren’t the same length— one of the arms had broken in the middle and was reattached with iron wire and water.
Yu Sheng felt he might not have any talent for this.
But in any case, everything was finally nearing completion.
"We can extinguish the last candle now," Aileen in the frame calmly gazed at the body on the table, her expression unusually serious and somber.
"Then place me directly in front of the body, where the head should go."
"Okay," Yu Sheng stood up to carry out this task while casually asking, "Then what?"
"Then I need a minute to calm myself and strengthen my resolve..."
Yu Sheng: "…Why?"
Aileen looked as if she might cry: "It’s just too damn ugly… Even if I get reshaped, it still looks too damn ugly right now."
(End of Chapter)