Master Zhang Yunxi specialized in colorful paper crafting, using split bamboo slats as the frame and painting vivid patterns over the paper surface. Besides traditional funerary offerings, she could craft lion heads, dragon heads, seashells, decorative boats, potted flowers, lanterns, and more.
Among the ghost instructors that Song Miaozhu had hired from the underworld, quite a few were skilled in colorful paper crafting. Some were from ancient times, others from the modern era, hailing from all across the country. Their techniques were among the very best.
Song Miaozhu brought out a recent piece she had made under the guidance of her ghost instructors to exchange experiences with Master Zhang.
"You've been learning colorful paper crafting too?" Zhang Yunxi was pleasantly surprised. "Judging by this design, it looks like a spirit beast figure from the old Nuo rituals in the Southwest."
Song Miaozhu looked at her crooked little paper horse and felt a bit embarrassed.
"It's supposed to be a spirit beast, yes. But I've only just started learning. Even this tiny horse turned out lopsided. You're being generous if you can still recognize the technique."
"You just need more practice," Zhang Yunxi said with a laugh. "The bamboo slats are a little unstable, but the exaggerated form and the mysterious patterns capture the essence of the spirit beast style perfectly. With some hands-on work and practice with the material, that little paper horse will come to life soon enough."
She continued, "Who's your teacher? I tried looking for masters of this craft in the Southwest but came up empty."
This particular technique was considered extinct—no living inheritor had been found, and it had long been declared lost.
So, discovering this here was like finding a pearl hidden in the sea.
"The one who taught me this paper horse is called Liao Hongchang. He lived during the late Republic era... and he's in Fengdu now," Song Miaozhu said.
"Republic era? Fengdu?" Zhang Yunxi paused, then it clicked. "Your teacher... is a ghost?"
Song Miaozhu nodded.
She didn't need to explain further. After all, Zhang Yunxi had come to her for help precisely because she could communicate with the underworld.
"That's incredible," Zhang Yunxi sighed with admiration. "Back then, the SEIU only thought about sending ghosts into the underworld to gather intel. No one considered how valuable those ghost masters with lost techniques truly were. Such a pity... But at least you're here. Maybe those lost arts still have a chance to return to the world."
She looked again at the little paper horse and suddenly couldn't hold back.
"You still need work on your bamboo splitting skills. For something this small, the bamboo should be much thinner!"
She picked it up and squeezed it gently. "This bamboo is too old. Where do you get your bamboo around here? Take me to see it. I'll show you how to choose the right kind and how to cut it."
She left her cake and milk tea behind without hesitation, ready to drag Song Miaozhu out to refine her basic techniques. Looking at her, Song Miaozhu couldn't help but think of her ghost instructors. Without realizing it, she closed the shop door and followed her out.
Miaozhu rode her little e-bike, and behind her, the old lady—Zhang Yunxi—zoomed along on her stylish motorcycle, sunglasses on, heading straight for the Xiao Bamboo Mountain.
"Just looking at this place, I know it's where paper crafters live. There's got to be a bamboo grove nearby!" Zhang Yunxi laughed.
After rummaging through Miaozhu's utility shed and picking out a few knives, she led the way into the bamboo grove. She was so familiar with it, Song Miaozhu felt like she knew this bamboo mountain even better than she did. All the while, Zhang Yunxi explained how to pick the right bamboo. Song Miaozhu quickly snapped out of her daze and listened attentively.
This was exactly the kind of training she was missing.
She could only stay in the underworld for three hours a day. Due to the environment, her ghost instructors could only explain bamboo selection and splitting to her in theory. She had to return to the mortal world to practice. But feedback came slowly, and the ghosts no longer had the physical sensitivity they once did, so progress was slow.
With Zhang Yunxi's guidance, everything that had seemed vague before suddenly became crystal clear. Grateful, Miaozhu tried to invite Zhang Yunxi down the mountain for a meal of spiritual food.
But the older woman waved her off. "Eat what? I see a few wisps of spiritual energy floating around your yard and the mountain. Let's just split some bamboo and absorb it—that's practically the same as eating."
Zhang Yunxi wouldn't be in Lingcheng for long, but she couldn't bear to see someone like Miaozhu—who had the chance to learn lost crafts from the underworld—get held back by weak fundamentals.
She was desperate to split her time in half just to give Miaozhu a crash course.
Unable to argue, Miaozhu followed her back to the courtyard with several pieces of bamboo. Then, the lessons began. Spiritual energy had enhanced their physical abilities—speed, agility, even reflexes—but did little for their strength.
Even carrying a few stalks of bamboo back was tiring. But after some splitting and a bit of spiritual energy absorption, the fatigue vanished. Zhang Yunxi supervised her all afternoon, only leaving when she was finally satisfied.
"If there's anything else the ghost instructors teach that you're confused about, just ask me. Don't be shy. We can't let those techniques get lost again."
As the roar of the motorcycle faded into the distance and the vibrant figure of the old lady vanished down the mountain path, Song Miaozhu turned back inside.
That night, during her underworld lessons, she chatted with her ghost instructors via the NetherNet app.
The next day, she spent all morning copying down diagrams and scanned them into digital files, sending them to Master Zhang.
[Miaow Zhu]:Thank you for your guidance yesterday. [File Attachment]
[Heart Like Eighteen]:Colorful ceremonial horses, divine sedan chairs, miniature embroidered spirit dolls... Oh heavens! These are all legendary techniques thought to be extinct! Master Song, this is beyond precious!
[Miaow Zhu]:I already asked the ghost instructors. They're more than happy to see more people learning their skills. I've only learned a few traditional styles so far, but I'll send you more diagrams once I've picked up the others.
Zhang Yunxi's wholehearted teaching had left a deep impression on Miaozhu. Before the revival of spiritual energy, traditional crafts were nearly extinct. For every artisan, preserving and passing down their knowledge was a matter of pride and purpose.
Zhang Yunxi's unwillingness to see lost techniques buried in the past had led her to help Miaozhu refine her fundamentals in bamboo selection and slat carving. And for Miaozhu, who could walk between the living and the dead, and had befriended so many ghost instructors—wasn't it time she gave something back?
The Secret Art of Paper Crafting would remain hidden, of course, but what about the other techniques?
Now was the era of the artisan cultivator. And yet so many traditional crafts had already faded into obscurity. What a shame.
That was why she asked her ghost instructors, got their permission, and shared the diagrams with Zhang Yunxi.
Zhang Yunxi had more experience. She'd likely learn faster and go further than Miaozhu herself.
But Song Miaozhu didn't mind. The diagrams were intricate, but without spiritual enhancement, they held no special power.
Once cultivated with spiritual energy, though—who knew what they might become?
That, she thought, would be up to Master Zhang's own fate.