Chapter 6 Life Goes On, Starting with Making Paper Dolls
Ji Mingran felt his body swaying constantly, as if he were floating on the surface of water.
After struggling for a while, she shook off her heavy sleepiness and opened her eyes.
It started raining again, pouring down. The roof leaked, soaking the floor and everything inside, and extinguishing the last embers of warmth that had been kept burning.
Such a familiar scene.
She turned her head and saw that Yu Tianxing beside her no longer looked like a corpse, but his brows were furrowed, his body was curled up, and he was twitching incessantly, as if he was fiercely fighting against the intense cold in his body, causing the old bed board to shake slightly.
Ji Mingran resignedly got up, wrapped himself in the blanket, and hugged Yu Tianxing to shield him from the chill of the falling rain, pressing him down firmly to stop him from shivering any longer.
Yu Tianxing's health seemed to have improved. Some time ago, when she held him, it felt like holding a block of ice, so cold that she could hardly close her eyes.
His body temperature is currently low, but he is no longer emitting severe cold.
Then let's sleep like this.
Ji Mingran simply closed his eyes, half-hugging and half-lying down, and fell asleep.
"Wake up."
Something was shouting in her ear and patting her face.
Ji Mingran struggled to open her heavy eyelids, the warm orange firelight illuminating the room. She didn't know when, but she was already sprawled out on the bed, while the person she had been holding last night stood before her, quietly watching her.
Seeing that she looked half-awake and sleepy, Yu Tianxing reached out his fingertip and poked her face.
"If we don't get up now, it will be dawn."
Oh right, she has to go to work at the shop at dawn. Although Boss Jiang didn't specify the exact time, since she said "dawn," it's better to understand it literally.
She was afraid of oversleeping, so before going to sleep she asked Yu Tianxing to wake her up.
"Wash your face and rinse your mouth, then come and eat some porridge."
Ji Mingran walked to the small table, on which was placed a small basin of water and steaming porridge. He put his five fingers into the basin and probed it.
It is warm.
I don't know what method Yu Tianxing used to relight the damp kang (heated brick bed), dry the room, and even boil water to cook thin porridge.
Despite wearing clothes of the finest fabric and exuding an air of aloofness and nobility, she worked with such skill.
The theory of escape seems somewhat credible.
Ji Mingran stole a glance at Yu Tianxing's profile, then looked at her own dark fingers soaking in the basin of water. After a moment's thought, she lowered her head above the water and looked down.
His skin was sallow and dark, his face was thin and sunken, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He was so malnourished that he looked wilted. At eight years old, he only had the body of a five or six-year-old.
They practically had the words "poor and destitute" etched on their faces.
She really does resemble her from a previous life when she was the same age as me and fled during the apocalypse.
How come other people can be so detached from worldly affairs when they're down on their luck, while I'm so down and out?
Lost in thought, Ji Mingran quickly finished washing up and then began to worry as he looked at his messy hair reflected in the water.
Boss Jiang is a germaphobe. Last night, she looked at her hair several times, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. She was clearly disgusted. Although her hair had become clean due to the magic, it was still dry and severely tangled, like a bird's nest.
In her previous life, Ji Mingran was also struggling to survive, busy fighting monsters every day to stay alive. Therefore, she always kept her hair short and neat. Managing long hair was a challenge for her.
Seeing Ji Mingran pulling his hair more and more tangled, Yu Tianxing pondered, "I thought it was because you didn't have time to take care of it, but it seems you did it on purpose."
"...No, that's not it."
“In that case,” Yu Tian walked to the door and took down the black sword: “Why not cut it off?”
"Yes, yes." Ji Mingran nodded his head vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice.
Before he could see Yu Tianxing's movements clearly, a strand of hair fell from his forehead. Ji Mingran, his still messy shoulder-length hair sticking up from the water basin, said, "How about shorter?"
Yu Tianxing glanced at her, his expression unreadable, and simply replied, "No need." He put down his sword, walked behind her, and quickly gathered her hair into a ball. He then casually broke off a branch from a piece of firewood and used it to secure the hair. "How is it?" he asked.
The hair clumps up because it's dry and tangled, making it difficult to comb. If it were as black and smooth as Yu Tianxing's hair, it would be in a ponytail shape.
Even so, Ji Mingran was quite satisfied. This way, at least he looked presentable and probably met the requirements for work attire.
Everything Yu Tianxing was doing was exactly as she had anticipated, so while drinking her porridge, she decided to check on the person in front of her: "How were you sleeping?"
"You were sleeping on top of me and suffocated me." Yu Tianxing frowned slightly, as if recalling an unpleasant memory.
"..." I've truly failed as a good person.
"Don't dawdle, you need to get out of here quickly."
The sky outside was just beginning to lighten, and in the distance, a white light appeared on the edge of the darkness.
"Ouch!" Ji Mingran gulped down the thin porridge, grabbed his crutch, and jumped out.
The tapping sound continued, and Yu Tian walked to the window, leaned against the wooden frame, and stared at the source of the sound.
The child's back was thin, his hands tightly gripping a wooden cane, as he limped out of the courtyard gate.
Yu Tianxing lowered his eyes, his right hand lightly touching his left chest, remaining motionless for a long time.
......
"Have you heard? Boss Jiang finally managed to take care of that demon."
"Oh! I'm relieved. After that incident, I haven't dared to go out at night for the past few days. I rush home as the sun is about to set."
"That demon was powerful! I heard that it took Boss Jiang a lot of effort to deal with it."
“Our remote and impoverished area wasn’t affected by any major unrest recently, so how did we attract this evil thing? The poor people on the mountain are really unlucky; not a single one survived. The corpses weren’t even properly recovered. The families in town are crying pitifully!”
"Hey, watch your mouth! The officials said you're not allowed to mention this. Don't you want your head?"
"Yes, yes. I got too excited."
"Speaking of which, those families were crying so pitifully that even Boss Jiang couldn't bear it and gave them the best coffins at a discounted price."
"Boss Jiang is kind-hearted and has excellent kung fu skills. I wish I could learn his kung fu."
"Oh, don't say that." The taller man suddenly lowered his voice, "I heard that Boss Jiang is a third-rate crooked and unorthodox person, and even upright people look down on him."
"No way, who told you that?"
“You know Hongqi Sect, right? The number one cultivator sect in the Great Yu Dynasty. Several cultivators who crossed Qiwang Mountain and Tianmen Pass came from there. My brother recently passed the trial and became a disciple of the sect. He told me that.” The tall man’s words were tinged with pride.
"Aren't you an only child? Where did you get your brothers from?" The short man didn't believe him.
“My distant cousin next door, his family has been related to my family for three generations, so naturally he is also my brother.”
"A distant cousin, separated by three generations, can that be called a relative?"
......
The two drifted further and further apart, with Ji Mingran following behind, listening only half-heartedly.
The corpses and demons in the mountains are talking about this.
The townspeople seemed unaware that anyone had survived the ghouls' attacks.
"Hey, isn't that the little jinx from the back alley? What's wrong with him looking like that?" The short man was chatting enthusiastically when he caught sight of Ji Mingran out of the corner of his eye as he shook his head.
"Black eyes, swollen face, and limping leg, oh dear, she's definitely having another stroke of bad luck. Let's stay away, let's not invite bad luck. I heard she banged on Aunt Wang's door like crazy last night, scaring Aunt Wang so much that she couldn't open her stall this morning. She's really like a woman born without a mother, knowing she's cursed, she doesn't even know how to avoid trouble."
The tall man spoke louder and louder, and even turned his head to glance at her, clearly intending to make her hear what he was saying.
“Wang Mao.” She recognized him. He was a wealthy and idle vagrant in town who would always find time to make sarcastic remarks about the original owner of this body.
Because the voice sounded different from usual, he didn't recognize him at first and blurted out in surprise, "What's wrong with your hoarse voice?"
"I'm injured." Ji Mingran spoke very softly to protect her voice, but luckily Boss Jiang and Yu Tianxing had sharp ears and eyes and could hear her clearly. Today the street was noisy, so she had to raise her voice, but since Wang Mao noticed her, she immediately became softer again.
No, this sounds like he's concerned about her. Wang Mao wrinkled his nose, then shouted with a look of disgust, "I don't care about you! I told you to get out of the way, are you deaf?"
“I’m quite interested in what you just said about the sect,” Ji Mingran said politely, seemingly oblivious to Wang Mao’s disdain. “But I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to listen to your boasting. Please make way.”
Wang Mao's eyes widened. This jinx was behaving strangely today; not only did he not avoid him, but he even dared to look him in the eye and mock him. The thought alone made him feel unlucky. "Who do you think you are? Get lost!"
Ji Mingran shrugged. "Okay. I'll roll ahead then." He then leaped forward with all his might.
Wang Mao didn't expect this person to suddenly pounce on him. In a panic, he instinctively dodged to the side, falling to the ground in a disheveled state. "Ouch, ouch, she didn't touch me, did she?"
"No, no, no, your pounce-on-your-prey-position was just enough to avoid it." The person next to him then realized what was happening and calmly helped Wang Mao up.
Confirming he hadn't run into a jinx, Wang Mao breathed a sigh of relief, but then flew into a rage, looking up and yelling, "You're lame, deaf, and blind, aren't you? I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
But the person who had been staggering and lunging at her was now standing steadily three zhang away, turning back against the light. She raised an eyebrow, her face helpless: "I did roll ahead as you said." This person didn't even dare to touch the hem of her clothes, let alone actually make a move.
After saying that, he jumped a few times and his nimble figure disappeared in an instant.
"You, you, you, stop right there!" Wang Mao shouted angrily, but his legs wouldn't budge.
"Oh dear, why didn't you chase after him, Brother Wang?" The person beside him asked in surprise, then slapped his forehead. "Could it be that you injured your leg bone? I'll go get your doctor to take a look." Without waiting for Wang Mao's reply, he ran off in a flash.
A handsome young man in a white shirt stood in front of the counter, his elegant and refined face with a smile on it, and his voice was clear and pleasant: "You've come so early."
Ji Mingran asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
The young man laughed even harder: "I'm Xiaoshen." He then cupped his face proudly and said, "My complexion looks much better, doesn't it?"
Ji Mingran answered honestly, "It really is better. Even your speech is much smoother. I almost didn't recognize you." It's not just that your complexion is better; you've practically become a completely different person.
Xiao Can smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh dear, there are fewer customers at night, and Boss Jiang thinks it's pointless to spend so much, so he takes back most of my spiritual power at night, and I feel terrible."
So it turns out they were saving money last night, which is why Xiaocan had such a creepy face.
Ji Mingran looked around and saw that the shop had all kinds of funeral items, such as talismans, ghost money, paper clothes, shoes and socks, lamps and candles, and paper figurines, which were neatly arranged in the shop.
"What should I do today?" Boss Jiang is nowhere to be seen. Should I go inside and look for her like I did last night?
"Oh, Boss Jiang left last night, leaving a message for you to do what you promised. This is for you." Xiao Can handed over a paper ingot.
Ji Mingran opened the gold ingot, inside which was a brief drawing of the paper figure making process.
Below the picture is a short line of text, written in a messy hand, clearly scribbled down by the owner.
However, she couldn't recognize a single word.
Xiao Can curiously peeked over and saw the contents of the gold ingot. He couldn't help but gasp: "Fifteen days, one hundred in total!" He then looked at her with pity and muttered, "It's not easy to find a helper, and she's making things so difficult for me. Is the boss deliberately trying to scare her away so he can work me to death?"
After saying that, he quickly grabbed her hand and led her inside, saying as they walked, "Time is of the essence, you have to hurry. The ingredients are in the yard, let me know when you're done."
The four coffins remained in the same arrangement as the ones that had been disturbed the night before, but the dense paper figures were all gone. Ten large baskets of bamboo strips, various colored papers, rice paste, and other materials were laid out on the ground, which was carved with strange patterns.
He then pointed to the room in the middle of the opposite side, "You can go into any of the other rooms except for Boss Jiang's room. If you're tired, go and rest. Boss Jiang said you need to eat, so there's food in the kitchen. You'll have to cook it yourself, as I'm not good at using fire. I need to go back to the front to greet the guests. If you need anything, just call me."
He rushed back to the shop.
The drawing on the gold ingot was simple and rough, but after some trial and error, and after damaging some materials, Ji Mingran finally figured out the key points by noon.
Building the skeleton, attaching the head, drawing facial features, making clothes, dressing... each step takes a lot of time and effort.
Except for a break to cook noodles in the kitchen, Ji Mingran didn't stop. By the time she finally finished making a paper effigy, the moon was already hanging in the treetops.
"Not bad." Xiaocan circled the paper effigy, nodded to indicate his satisfaction, and then said regretfully, "It's just a little slow."
Ji Mingran said confidently, "Today is the first time, it will get faster and faster." After thinking for a moment, she added, "If I can bring some materials home, I can prepare them in advance and bring them back, which will probably be even faster."
"Okay, take it with you." Little Can couldn't wait for her to finish, and immediately agreed.
"Can I take the extra scraps with me?" I could even use them to cover up the window paper at home.
Xiao Can waved his hand generously and said, "Take it. I usually throw away anything that's superfluous anyway."
Ji Mingran instantly felt that the terrifying, stiff face in front of him was radiating a dazzling light.
Warm and kind.
I packed it up without hesitation.
Ji Mingran, carrying large and small bags, stepped out the door and saw Yu Tianxing standing opposite him.
The frail boy stood quietly under the tree, holding a sword in both hands across his chest, his eyes slightly closed as if he were resting. The cold wind lifted the black veil of his hat, revealing his handsome features.
Ji Mingran thought he was asleep, but the moment his cane tapped on the ground, his eyes snapped open. His gaze paused, then settled on the bundles of various sizes she had brought out, and he raised an eyebrow: "Turning over to thievery?"
"These are from the shop. Go back and get back to work. You can use the leftovers to cover the windows at home." Ji Mingran said as he closed the shop door as Xiaocan had instructed. "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you not to wander around and to stay home?"
"I had nothing to do, so I wandered around here." Yu Tianxing walked quickly towards her and stopped in front of her. "Of course I remember the way home."
Ji Mingran's path down the steps was blocked. Yu Tianxing was much taller than her, so she had to look up at him: "Brother, what are you doing blocking my way?"
He turned around and squatted down: "Give me your cane, come up."
Is he going to carry her on his back?
Ji Mingran was stunned. She was used to walking around the town with her two sticks and had never thought of having someone carry her, let alone having the terminally ill Yu Tianxing carry her.
Yu Tianxing was sickly, but she seemed even more energetic.
She asked suspiciously, "Are you strong enough?" After hesitating for a moment, she simply said, "Don't drop us both. I have to come here to work and earn money tomorrow morning."
“That’s enough. You can walk back slowly on your own.” Yu Tianxing said, getting up.
Ji Mingran immediately shoved the cane into Yu Tianxing's hand, clung to his back, and, once she was secure, signaled to set off: "Giddy up!"
"..."
Yu Tianxing carried her on his back and walked steadily home.
The moon was bright and the stars were few; a cool breeze was blowing. There was no one on the street. She was so focused on her work that she didn't notice how late it had gotten.
Yu Tianxing's steps were large and steady, which was indeed much faster than when she went back alone.
"You've been waiting for me outside?" A bundle was tied to each end of the cane, and the person on her back was carrying a heavy bag in her hand. She hadn't mentioned when she would finish work, so if Yu Tianxing hadn't been waiting outside, how could they have happened to bump into each other?
Such strenuous activity may worsen his injuries.
"As I just said, I wasn't waiting for you, it just happened to be a coincidence," Yu Tianxing said calmly. "It's good that you came, otherwise with all those bags, when would you have gotten back?"
Ji Mingran wrapped her arms around his neck and could feel his pulse, faint but steady. It seemed that, as he had said, carrying her back wouldn't be a problem.
It turns out this person isn't so cold-hearted after all.
She immediately pushed her luck, saying, "Since you can manage, why don't you carry me when I go out? It'll make the journey much faster."
"No."
With his initial感动 (feeling of being moved) gone, Ji Mingran's persuasive instinct kicked in instantly: "Alright, alright, walk around more, maybe your injuries will heal faster."
"No."
"The next day?"
"no."
In the late-night streets and alleys, the soft, innocent voices of girls and boys, accompanied by light footsteps, occasionally drifted into the air, dissipating and dissolving.
After arguing all the way home, Ji Mingran was surprised to find a faint aroma of food wafting through the air. He looked up and saw a plate of fresh roasted meat and stir-fried vegetables on the wooden table.
Ji Mingran asked suspiciously, "Did you go to steal? Where would your family afford meat?"
Yu Tianxing placed the cane and bundle inside the house: "I got these on the mountain today."
"Up the mountain?" Ji Mingran asked in surprise.
"Find some timber to repair the roof."
Ji Mingran immediately looked up and saw that the gaps and holes in the roof had been completely sealed, so there was no need to worry about a sudden downpour at night.
Having been in this world for so long, finally having a roof over one's head and meat to eat, Ji Mingran was thrilled: "Yu Tianxing, you're really something! It seems you've recovered quite well."
Yu Tianxing's usually cold face softened slightly, and he nodded reservedly, indicating that he accepted her praise.
After quickly finishing their meal, Ji Mingran began working overtime by the light of the firewood to make paper effigy, while also directing Yu Tianxing to use the leftover materials to paste paper onto the windows.
Now, except for the specially left ventilation gaps, the cold wind and rain no longer seep into the small house.
Yu Tianxing's condition flared up again at night, and covering him up had become a habit. Now that his back was no longer exposed to the wind and rain, Ji Mingran slept better, even though he went to bed late.
The person in my arms was shaking violently.
It would be even better if Yu Tianxing could get rid of the remaining poison as soon as possible.
I'll be able to sleep more soundly from now on.
Ji Mingran freed one hand and patted his back lightly, while using the other hand to hug Yu Tianxing tightly, trying his best to transfer more warmth to him.
As Ji Mingran waited for Yu Tianxing's poison reaction to subside, he yawned and his thoughts began to wander.
I couldn't help but recall what I'd seen on the street today. The terms "cultivator" and "sect" they mentioned were new to me; I wondered if they were related to the miraculous magic Boss Jiang had demonstrated.
I'll have to ask about it tomorrow.
On another note, Wang Mao and the others didn't even think much of Boss Jiang, only marveling at the so-called righteous Hongqi Sect.
She didn't know anything about Hong Qizong, but she had personally witnessed Boss Jiang's abilities.
Boss Jiang can subdue corpses, possesses magical cleansing spells, and even conjure up living people. The so-called righteous sects look down on her, but she looks up to them.
Ji Mingran was envious.
I want to learn this skill.
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