This wasn’t a good commission, but Tan Yin knew that Han Nü would still accept it. Even knowing that something unexpected might happen after completing the embroidery, she would throw herself into it without hesitation.
Just as Tan Yin was consumed with her passion for craftsmanship, Han Nü shared the same obsession for embroidery. The challenge of creating something she had never done before, refining a new skill—this temptation was irresistible for both of them.
Years ago, people from a distant land had offered a large sum to the Ji family to craft a wooden curse doll for settling a vendetta. Tan Yin's ancestors knew it wasn’t a good thing, yet they spent months of effort creating it. Such was the nature of craftsmen filled with sincerity and dedication. In their hearts, there was no set line between good and evil; all their soul and passion were devoted to their craft.
The ghost embroidery was bold in its use of colors and fierce in style. For Han Nü, this was an entirely new challenge. Her basket no longer contained the usual silk threads and beads but instead was filled with strands of dyed human hair prepared by the shop owner. The needles were not regular embroidery needles but rather bone needles crafted from human bones.
For three whole days, Han Nü did not eat, drink, or sleep, fully immersed in the embroidery. Her expression was devout and focused. Though what she was creating was an extremely malicious tool for a curse, her face reflected the joy of completing what she felt was her most outstanding work to date. If someone could see the soul within her, they would see it burning with fervor.
Surprisingly, during those three days, A-Chu did not disturb her. She was off playing somewhere and only returned to sleep at night, running off again at dawn. Han Nü was too busy to pay attention to her.
On the final day, just before dawn, the ghost embroidery was finally complete. Han Nü snapped the last thread and held the embroidery up to inspect it closely. The ghost, stitched from human hair and painstakingly crafted with bone needles, seemed almost alive. If one looked closely, they could even feel a chilling aura emanating from it. The interplay of light and shadow made the ghost seem as though it was ready to stretch its limbs and leap out of the embroidery.
“Don’t come out,” Han Nü murmured softly, whether to herself or the vividly lifelike ghost in the embroidery. But the ghost, unlike the koi fish from before, remained obedient, staying within the embroidery. Its eyes gleamed as if imbued with intelligence.
Han Nü sighed in relief, then switched back to a normal embroidery needle and silk threads. She began to overlay the ghost embroidery with images of various flowers, trees, and plants. Soon, the once terrifying and sinister embroidery was transformed into a peaceful scene of springtime, with a garden in full bloom. The ghost was now hidden among distant, hazy mountains, completely invisible.
After finishing everything, Han Nü was exhausted but deeply satisfied. She gently stroked the embroidery with her hand, carefully folded it, and placed it in her basket. Today, she could deliver the finished piece, and with the reward of three gold ingots, she could have a proper house built, with new furniture. A-Chu would no longer have to wear her old, tattered clothes, and she could eat all the dumplings and meat rice dumplings she wanted from town.
Just as Han Nü was about to leave with the basket, she heard faint footsteps in the living room outside. Lifting the curtain with a smile, she called out, “A-Chu, you're up early today. Let’s go to town…”
Her words trailed off when she saw A-Chu in a disheveled state, her face covered in bruises, with a split lip that hadn’t yet stopped bleeding. It looked like she had been beaten. As soon as A-Chu saw Han Nü, she turned to run, but Han Nü rushed after her, grabbing her by her tattered clothes. “What happened? Who hit you?”
A-Chu’s expression was stubborn, and she said nothing. Her swollen eye suggested someone had hit her hard. Han Nü took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her lip, but at the touch, A-Chu winced in pain and pushed her away forcefully, yelling, “Leave me alone! All you ever do is embroider! When have you ever cared about me? Just leave me alone!”
In the struggle, a money pouch fell from A-Chu’s clothes. It was the pouch that Han Nü had received from the shop owner as a deposit. Now, it was empty, not a single coin left inside. Shocked and furious, Han Nü yelled, “You stole the money?!”
“I didn’t steal it!” A-Chu shouted even louder.
After much arguing, A-Chu finally explained what had happened, though stammering.
The sisters had only been living in this village for about two years. Before their parents passed away, they had lived elsewhere. Han Nü, having loved embroidery since childhood, was already impressing adults with her skills by the time she was six or seven. Their mother had hoped to nurture her into a skilled embroiderer and often asked her to do embroidery for the neighbors. Everything had been fine until one day, the pair of mandarin ducks Han Nü had embroidered on a pillow for a neighbor had come to life in the night, flying out of the embroidery. The neighbor had been frightened half to death, and from that day on, rumors began to spread. Unable to bear the gossip, their parents moved the family to this village.
At first, everything was peaceful, but word of Han Nü’s strange abilities eventually reached the villagers. Even though no one knew for sure if the rumors were true, the label “witch” had stuck, never leaving her.
Their parents had passed away, worn down by the constant rumors, leaving the sisters to fend for themselves. Han Nü rarely left the house, and the village children mostly stayed away from her, afraid of the “witch.” But A-Chu, being young, playful, and stubborn, never said a word about being bullied when she returned home.
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