Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 249 Paper Puppets and Guardian Spirits

To save time, Zhang Chengdao didn't learn about houses or lanterns, but instead went straight to learning how to make paper figures and various common animals.

When it came to actually trying it out, contrary to what Zhang Chengdao had imagined, the main material of the paper effigy was neither paper nor white.

Its main raw materials are actually bamboo strips, reeds, sorghum stalks, etc., but it is covered with paper, which allows for detailed drawing and also makes it easy to burn.

Besides those mainly used for burning, some were used directly for burial in the tomb. These were made of copper or wood. These were not called paper figures, but copper or wooden figures. They were all things used in the underworld. The reason why Qiao'er Zhao was honored as "Qiao'er Zhao" instead of "Zhao Zhacai" was because he made these little things used in the underworld very well. He was extremely skillful.

However, whether made of bamboo, copper, or wood, the colors of paper figurines are very rich and vibrant, so vibrant that they are almost...eye-searing.

Just as sweetness was valued in times of sugar scarcity, in ancient times when dyeing and color-fixing techniques were underdeveloped, vibrant and colorful colors were actually highly valued.

Therefore, although Qiao'er Zhao's paper effigies were incredibly lifelike, the color matching was...

It's a bit complicated to explain.

The extremely bright red paired with the lush green of grass, and further embellished with vibrant magenta flowers and lapis lazuli-colored patterns, is simply an eyesore...

But this color scheme is precisely the one that receives the most praise.

Paper effigy is the most complex craft among them. First, a frame is made by binding bamboo strips or solid bamboo poles, then reeds and sorghum stalks are filled in, then paper is placed on top, and finally, it is painted. The eyebrows, eyes, and clothing patterns are all carefully depicted. The paper effigy made by Qiao'er Zhao can be called a work of art.

"This kind is for burning; although it takes the most effort, it's the most profitable."

Qiao'er Zhao revealed the bitterness of craftspeople in an era of material scarcity: time was worthless, and so was their craft.

“Copper or wooden bases are easier to make. Some can be painted directly, but the paint color is too plain and not suitable for burial sites. So it’s better to cover them with paper and then paint them with color. This way, they look more comfortable.”

"However, copper and wooden figures are too expensive for ordinary people to afford. They are used by wealthy people. Ordinary people like us don't have that much money, so we use bamboo paper figures for the burial sites. They are cheap and exquisite."

"For those of even higher status, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital used pottery. The colors were beautiful. I was fortunate enough to see one once; the clay figures even had their fingers separated one by one. It was remarkable..."

Zhang Chengdao did consider taking a shortcut and simply using the copper and wooden frames that Qiao'er Zhao had prepared to make puppets. However, he secretly discovered that the puppets made by this cunning method were not only very stiff in their movements, but could only hop around, just like zombies, which was quite creepy.

Because the arms and limbs of these bronze and wooden figures are roughly carved, they are not much better than those made of pottery.

The raw puppets used in genuine wooden and iron puppetry require each joint to be able to move freely, demanding a very high level of skill.

On the contrary, the excellent paper figures made by Qiao'er Zhao were so exquisite that even the fingers were separated, which was more in line with the requirements of paper blanks in paper puppetry.

Making these paper figures isn't actually difficult if you have enough patience; it's just that the finished product...

A bit ugly.

Qiao'er Zhao was too embarrassed to speak too bluntly. She just glanced at the paper figure that Zhang Chengdao had painstakingly made, sighed, shook her head, and finally remained silent.

Zhang Chengdao was also a little embarrassed.

Although he strictly followed the process taught by Qiao'er Zhao, and even received hands-on instruction from Qiao'er Zhao, the paper figure he made was completely different from the one Qiao'er Zhao made.

Having already been delayed for several days in Daming Prefecture, Zhang Chengdao finally came up with a solution.

He had Qiao'er Zhao complete each step first, then disassemble it. He then repeated the process himself, following the traces Qiao'er Zhao had made, while simultaneously activating the "Enter Self-Creation Mode" in his cheat code to record the process.

To make it easier for him to directly "load" the skill bar later, he used spiritual materials that he specially made based on the records of puppetry.

For example, the bamboo strips and bamboo poles are all made from spirit-infused bamboo produced by the Golden Finger, which is dried and processed. The paste is made from spirit glutinous rice, and the dye is a high-priced dye sold in the mall. Even the paper wrapped on the outside is paper synthesized by the Golden Finger. It can be said that they have spared no expense.

After all, theoretically speaking, if the maker's skills are not up to par, the better the materials used to make the paper figure, the more lifelike the final product will be, which is equivalent to making up for it in terms of raw materials.

Hmm...it suits Zhang Chengdao very well.

The production process was also modified by Zhang Chengdao and Qiao'er Zhao to make the paper figures more suitable as "paper puppets" rather than as funerary objects for the underworld.

In short, in this way, Zhang Chengdao was able to almost completely replicate the paper figures that Qiao'er Zhao had made. Even with some slight deviations, the difference wouldn't be that great, and at least they would still look convincing.

However, the final step of painting the paper effigy proved a bit difficult for him. The brush that Qiao'er Zhao used to paint the eyebrows and eyes of the paper effigy was a fine-tipped brush with only a few hairs on it, which Zhang Chengdao could barely hold, let alone paint the eyebrows and eyes on the face of the paper effigy.

However, if the paper puppets made by the paper puppet technique are not drawn with eyebrows and eyes, and are made to resemble "living things", the effect will be greatly reduced. This step is naturally indispensable.

After much deliberation, Zhang Chengdao had no choice but to record the process of creating paper puppet blanks of various shapes, sizes, genders, and ages. He then used the reading slip to roll out hundreds more paper puppet blanks and entrusted them all to Qiao'er Zhao to help with the design.

This is no easy task; even just painting the faces of hundreds of paper figures would take several days.

For this reason, Qiao'er Zhao even turned down several jobs, either having her apprentices do it for her or simply refusing them, focusing all her attention on helping Zhang Chengdao sort out these paper effigies.

After the eyebrows and eyes of all the blanks were drawn, Zhang Chengdao took out a paper effigy that he had finally colored. He carved runes on the inside of the paper clothes and then imprinted a spirit seal into it. In the blink of an eye, the paper effigy grew bigger in the wind. In just a few breaths, it grew to the same size as a real person!

The originally stiff paper has become soft and smooth skin, and the rough paper clothes, which were even somewhat uneven in color, have been transformed into lustrous silk.

Her jet-black hair was tied up high, and the golden hair crown looked just like a real golden crown. Her beautiful beard also swayed smoothly in front of her, making it impossible to tell that she was a puppet!

Qiao'er Zhao was stunned by Zhang Chengdao's move. Only now did he finally realize what this "puppet technique" was all about! "You are the guardian spirit of this house, so let your name be... Zhao Youfu!"

Zhang Chengdao specifically chose to "activate" this paper puppet because he intended to keep it by Qiao'er Zhao's side as a means to protect her temporarily.

To make it easier for Qiao'er Zhao to practice puppetry, Zhang Chengdao not only taught him the method of guiding qi into the body, but also planted a bamboo from the mall in his courtyard.

In the original game, this type of bamboo was a very cheap material. Aside from being cheaper than other tree species in the shop, it didn't have any special features. However, in reality, it's extremely durable and resilient.

As long as the roots aren't dug up, even if most of it is cut off, it can revive in just six days.

This was specially given to Qiao'er Zhao by Zhang Chengdao. All the materials for the paper puppet technique require at least some spiritual materials. Other materials are hard to come by, but the bamboo strips produced by this bamboo tree are more than enough.

The reason why they wanted to keep another powerful paper puppet as a "guardian spirit" was precisely because of this "spiritual bamboo".

It is worth mentioning that the so-called "household guardian spirit" is not a "deity," but a method of cultivation, which can also be called a "position."

This method is even considered somewhat sinister. It originated from some spirits who wanted to take advantage of the situation, but worried that the cultivation they gained solely through offerings was too weak. Thus, they devised this path that was half incense-based deity worship and half self-cultivation.

There's nothing wrong with this method in itself, but the problem is that it's too reliant on luck.

Once you become the guardian spirit of a household, you can't easily change it. Either the entire household that worships the guardian spirit will die, or there will always be some connection, and both sides will be affected.

If the host family is a family with a virtuous and upright tradition, then it's fine. If this continues, the guardian spirits who follow this path can actually cultivate some skills and even gradually become local earth immortals. It is said that in some worlds, there are even city gods who originally followed this path, slowly cultivated themselves, and attained enlightenment.

However, if the master of the household is wicked, even if he is only greedy for money and lustful, he will drag the guardian spirit of the household down and make it more and more evil, until he falls into demonic ways and can no longer attain the Tao.

Therefore, this path, which relies purely on luck, is either for repaying kindness or for revenge, and few spirits would naturally and willingly choose to take this path.

However, paper puppets like Zhao Youfu are different. Paper puppets do not act entirely out of their own emotions and desires. Of course, it is Zhang Chengdao, the "creator," who "sets" things, and the paper puppets follow the corresponding "settings."

As is well known, during periods of spiritual revival, wherever spiritual energy is abundant, spirits and monsters will gather and even be born. Most of these spirits and monsters are uneducated and act recklessly, often harming others out of their instinct to seize resources.

Zhang Chengdao specifically left Qiao'er Zhao a paper puppet that could use a few minor spells. At least in the early stages of the spiritual energy revival, it would be enough to deal with ordinary spirits and monsters, and it was also a means of protection.

While Qiao'er Zhao was still in a daze, Zhang Chengdao casually placed a few more spirit seals on Zhao Youfu and continued, "Zhao Youfu, this Zhao Da in front of you is the person you must protect. He lives in this house, which is also the place you must protect. The spirit bamboo in the courtyard needs your careful care..."

Most puppets have no "emotions". To be honest, the "puppets" in the immortal path are somewhat like modern "artificial intelligence robots", except that they do not need such complicated programming. They only need a few spiritual seals to make them act like normal people.

Naturally, his actions were not driven by emotions, but by the logic that "humans would do this."

If the person who makes the puppet fills in the spirit seal with more precision, it will become the logic of "the human I should imitate does this, so I should do it too".

As for what Zhang Chengdao is nagging Zhao Youfu about now, combined with the spiritual seal that has just been implanted into his body, it is a kind of immortal version of "programming settings," that is, letting Zhao Youfu know his main "job."

"I am giving you this spirit bamboo, which can help you practice puppetry, but it may also attract some spirits and monsters,"

After "setting" Zhao Youfu's "program", Zhang Chengdao carefully explained to Qiao'er Zhao: "That's why I left you this puppet. Besides being able to do some chores, it can also guard the house."

"Zhao Youfu is incredibly strong and skilled in two techniques: lightning summoning and thunder roaring. These are most effective against ghosts or spirits of the Yin element."

"But it is made of paper after all. Although it is not afraid of ordinary fire or water, its magical power will be weakened if it is burned or soaked in water, and its spiritual power will be exhausted, turning it back into a paper figure. At that time, if you place it under the spirit bamboo, burn incense and guard it for a few days, it will slowly recover."

Qiao'er Zhao was deeply moved and hurriedly asked respectfully, "May I ask, Immortal Master, since Zhao Youfu has become my family's 'guardian spirit,' should we also offer him some incense, candles, and food?"

Qiao'er Zhao's unintentional question served as a reminder to Zhang Chengdao.

Although Zhao Youfu was merely a paper puppet, such paper puppets could indeed utilize incense offerings as a means of magical cultivation.

According to records, many deities who followed the path of incense offerings often created puppets to serve as their "auxiliary gods" or "auxiliary immortals," sharing a portion of the incense offerings to support them. Over hundreds or thousands of years, even without any concept of "emotion," these puppets were more useful than any magical artifacts, and were very handy when sent out to do miscellaneous tasks.

Of course, with Zhang Chengdao's current cultivation level and understanding of puppetry, he cannot create such powerful paper puppets as those highly skilled incense gods.

Just take Zhao Youfu, for example. He has already done the best he can with his current abilities by imprinting two low-level spells on the paper puppet. If he imprints one more spell mark, the paper puppet will fall apart!

However, if Zhao Youfu could truly benefit from the Zhao family's offerings for a long time, he would actually grow better and better thanks to them, which would be a win-win situation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengdao nodded and said frankly, "There is no need for food, but the incense offered will indeed be of some use to it. Over time, its magical power will become more and more profound, and its nurtured body may even mutate into some special supernatural power."

Qiao'er Zhao hurriedly replied, "Then this old man understands. From now on, I will prepare a special room for this Zhao Immortal to live in!"

Seeing Qiao'er Zhao's seriousness, Zhang Chengdao felt somewhat embarrassed—if his original good intentions were turned into a burden for her, then he would be putting the cart before the horse!
So he emphasized again and again: "Although it can be considered a 'guardian spirit,' it is ultimately just a paper puppet and has no human emotions, so there's no need to care so much about it..."

Qiao'er Zhao had long been taught the complete set of knowledge and tricks of paper puppetry by Zhang Chengdao, and knew that puppets did not have human "emotions".

But knowing it was one thing, but actually seeing Zhao Youfu in front of him, who was exactly like the real person and had such lively eyes, still made him waver a little: "But, isn't this a bit too real..."

He couldn't help but touch the ornately patterned silk sleeve of Zhao Youfu's robe, murmuring, "A puppet... is it really just a puppet...?"

……

(End of this chapter)