Paper Gentleman - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I didn’t dare make a sound.

At a time like this, if I spoke up and said the Paper Figure had moved, the first thing the Gu Family would do wouldn’t be to investigate the truth-it would be to tie me up as an evil spirit.

So, I pretended not to see.

But throughout the entire ritual, my back was drenched in sweat.

The Taoist Priest hired by the Gu Family was at the front chanting scriptures, the ringing of his bells making my head throb. The Paper Bridegroom stood before the altar, motionless. Yet every time I turned my head, I could feel those eyes following me.

At the hour of the Rat, the ritual finally drew to a close.

Madam Gu said the Paper Bridegroom would remain in the mourning hall overnight and be sent for burial the next morning. I refused on the spot. “That is not the custom. A ghost marriage Paper Figure must be guarded by the paper-crafter until dawn, otherwise, no one can take responsibility if something goes wrong.”

Madam Gu looked at me for a long time before finally nodding.

I was kept at the Gu residence.

The Old Steward brought me to a side room to rest, but I didn’t go. Instead, I pulled up a chair and sat directly at the entrance of the mourning hall.

The Paper Bridegroom was to my left, the coffin was in front of me, and the wind whistled through the gaps in the white funeral banners, making the candlelight flicker.

The latter half of the night was the hardest to endure.

When things go quiet, you can hear everything.

First, I heard what sounded like fingernails scratching wood inside the coffin.

After a while, I heard the faint rustle of paper clothes rubbing together.

I forced myself not to move.

But when the hour of the Ox arrived, the sound suddenly stopped.

The entire mourning hall became terrifyingly silent.

Just as I sensed something was wrong, that voice rang out in my ear again: “Ah He.”

It was even closer this time.

So close it felt like someone was speaking right against my neck.

I lunged to my feet, grabbed the scissors by the door, and spun around to stab the Paper Bridegroom.

The Paper Figure didn’t dodge.

The tips of the scissors stopped right in front of his throat.

It wasn’t because I had pulled back.

It was because his hand had reached up and caught my wrist.

That hand was cold.

But it wasn’t the stiff, brittle cold of paper; it was the chill of a living person in winter.

My skin crawled, and I opened my mouth to scream.

But the Paper Bridegroom spoke first. “Don’t make a sound.”

My hand shook, and the scissors nearly fell to the floor.

He looked at me, his gaze very calm. “If you scream, I truly won’t survive.”

I stared at him intently.

That face was Wen Yan’s face, and the voice sounded like Wen Yan’s, but a person couldn’t just grow out of paper. Besides, Wen Yan had been missing for three years.

I gritted my teeth and asked, “Who are you?”

The Paper Bridegroom was silent for a moment before saying, “I would like to know that as well.”

“Stop playing tricks.”

“I’m not.”

He looked down at his red paper wedding robes, then looked back up at me. “I was here the moment I opened my eyes. You crafted me, and so I lived.”

I almost laughed in frustration. “I’ve been crafting Paper Figures for so many years, why is it that you’re the one who came to life today?”

“Because today, the one you drew was me.”

“Are you Wen Yan?”

“I don’t know.”

My chest tightened.

The thing to fear most in this world isn’t a reanimating corpse or seeing a ghost; it’s a person wearing the face of an old friend standing before you, using that friend’s voice to say he doesn’t know who he is.

I stared at him for a long time, then suddenly flicked my wrist and slashed the back of his hand with the scissors.

The Paper Bridegroom looked down.

There was no blood.

Only a thin cut, and beneath the cut, there were no bamboo strips or paste, but a layer of skin so pale it was almost transparent.

My breath hitched.

He looked up at me, his voice still steady. “Are you finished testing me?”

I asked, “Does it hurt?”

He said, “A little.”

My grip on the scissors tightened.

If he were entirely fake, I wouldn’t be afraid. But he had warmth, he could speak, and he could feel pain.

For the first time, I felt that ghosts weren’t actually this difficult to deal with.

Just then, footsteps sounded from outside.

The Paper Bridegroom’s expression changed. He let go of my wrist and whispered, “Don’t let them touch me.”

In the next instant, he stood stiffly back in his original spot, returning to his previous state as a paper construct.

Madam Gu entered with two older maidservants. Seeing me standing in front of the Paper Bridegroom, her expression soured. “Miss Song, has something happened?”

I kept my face neutral. “Nothing. I heard a noise outside and got up to check.”

Madam Gu stared at me, then at the Paper Bridegroom, as if she were guarding against something.

Suddenly, I understood.

She wasn’t afraid the Paper Figure would come to life.

She had known all along that this Paper Figure might actually live.