After consulting with Zhangli, Song Miaozhu gradually crafted four new Lingxi paper dolls.
Each one was shaped with clear intent, each infused with a unique personality and purpose. While none were as singularly composed as Zhangli, they brought color, movement, and vitality to Xiaozhu Mountain in ways she had not even known were missing.
The first was Yue Lin.
She emerged as a gentle, spirited young woman, her features soft and approachable, her eyes bright with curiosity. Miaozhu distributed her spirit infusions more evenly this time—balancing Insight, Enlightenment, Body Formation, Knowledge Transfer, and Spirit Invocation. While her base intelligence was a little lower than Zhangli's, she possessed a keener instinct for Miaozhu's moods and habits.
Her physical structure had been improved too. Stronger arms, quicker feet, a limber frame that moved like flowing water. Though her cultivation only started at the first tier of Azure stage, it was stable and full of promise.
During the Spirit Invocation phase, Miaozhu added two guiding traits: lively and attentive, with patience and care.
Yue Lin quickly took over Zhangli's more domestic tasks—organizing daily life, ensuring Miaozhu ate well, slept on time, and didn't forget to stretch after long crafting sessions.
Compared to Zhangli's calm, reserved presence, Yue Lin was a small whirlwind of warmth. She brought laughter into the studio, light chatter over morning tea, and knew how to pull Miaozhu out of low moods without ever pushing too hard. Her cheerful gossip and habit of singing under her breath turned every hallway into a livelier space.
Since Yue Lin arrived, Xiaozhu Mountain had grown undeniably more vibrant.
The second paper doll was Guan Hong.
She was brave, spirited, and carried the weight of her role like armor.
Her design emphasized Enlightenment and Body Formation. Though her intelligence fell between Zhangli and Yue Lin, and her knowledge base was limited to common sense and practical survival skills, her body was built for combat. Powerful enough to toss a row of paper soldiers into the bamboo grove with one hand. Swift enough to dodge between arrow arrays in the training field.
Her cultivation level was modest—fifth tier of Red Stage—but it was a solid foundation to grow from.
To guide her temperament, Miaozhu etched in: hardworking and eager to learn, alongside valiant in battle.
Guan Hong served as a personal guard and sparring partner. She trained alongside Miaozhu during morning drills, and when not shadowing her mistress, she could often be found deep in the underworld's martial halls, learning from ghost instructors or refining her technique through solo crafting experiments.
The third doll was Yi Heng.
Quiet, introspective, and soft-spoken, she was the most withdrawn of the group—so still and composed that even Zhangli sometimes paused to study her.
Unlike the others, her configuration was skewed heavily toward intelligence. She received little physical enhancement, appearing as ordinary as a mortal woman one might pass in a quiet alley. But her mind was a forge of brilliance.
Miaozhu had filled her with knowledge of languages, writing systems, and Xiaozhu Mountain's geography. Her cultivation had already reached the ninth tier of Azure—second only to Zhangli.
Her only personality trait was a single word: scholarly.
Yi Heng's role was clear. She was the house's intellectual engine, responsible for reading and interpreting spiritual memory shards, decoding lost imprint techniques, and turning fragmented ideas into usable designs. She rarely spoke, rarely moved unless necessary, and preferred the quiet corners of the mountain's inner library, where sunlight slanted through old lattice windows and dust motes floated like stars.
When she did speak, her voice was low and melodic, and her words precise.
The fourth and final doll was Yan Feng.
Crafted with precision and intent, she was charming, personable, and as smooth as river stone polished by years of current.
Her intelligence was on par with Zhangli's, but unlike her reserved elder sister, Yan Feng was made for negotiation. Miaozhu had front-loaded her with many of the social, mercantile, and logistical skills Zhangli had painstakingly acquired through experience.
Though her physical strength was average, her cultivation began at the first tier of Blue Stage—strong enough to operate almost every spiritual tool on the mountain with ease.
In the spirit invocation phase, Miaozhu had taken extra care. She inscribed a full array of traits: calculating, socially astute, money-minded, and quick-witted.
And Yan Feng proved worth every scrap of spiritual energy.
From the moment she stepped into her role, she handled the estate's finances and business dealings with the ease of a seasoned merchant. Every time she descended the mountain to negotiate, she returned with better terms, new contacts, and expressions of silent frustration from the SEIU representatives.
She didn't just maintain their revenue streams. She expanded them—investing in overlooked craftspeople, arranging contracts for exclusive spiritual resources, and securing long-term partnerships. Her initiatives filled the vault with high-grade hell coins at a pace that startled even Miaozhu.
With the four sisters managing their respective domains, Zhangli was free to act as the Head Steward in truth.
She no longer had to do everything herself. Instead, she coordinated their efforts, encouraged their growth, and created learning paths tailored to each doll's strengths.
It wasn't just logistics—Zhangli checked in with each of them, offering advice, sharing books, and even crafting study schedules based on the fluctuations in spiritual qi. She grew into her leadership role with quiet authority.
Fortunately, none of the new dolls had been made with reduced intelligence. Miaozhu had learned from experience—sacrificing intellect made later growth difficult. These four were brilliant in their own ways, and they all shared one quality: a deep, instinctive drive to improve.
As a result, Song Miaozhu's life became almost unrecognizable from what it had once been.
She didn't worry anymore. She didn't juggle a dozen minor tasks before cultivation. Her time now belonged to her alone. And if she chose to spend it teasing her clever and beautiful dolls or taking them for strolls down the lantern-lit streets of Fengdu City, well, who could blame her?
She loved showing them off.
The ghost cultivators of the underworld practically drooled with envy.
Even when Miaozhu stayed silent, her Ghost Circle feed overflowed with messages.
And when she did visit the city, she was swarmed. Her dolls, dressed to perfection, drew attention like flowers in spring—each with her own charm, her own grace.
Lingxi dolls weren't common. Their creation was notoriously difficult. Even with Miaozhu now at the Black Stage, every doll pushed her to the limit. But each one also taught her something new.
She began accepting a few commissions—custom orders from close ghost friends. No deadlines. Astronomical prices.
And still, the demand only grew.
Wealthy ghosts lived for centuries. Who wouldn't want a lifelong companion, personalized down to the finest detail, capable of conversation, cultivation, and companionship?
Meanwhile, in the realm of the living, the SEIU teetered on the edge of collapse.
Suddenly, there were five unfamiliar women on Xiaozhu Mountain—each beautiful, competent, and entirely untraceable.
Their surveillance systems never detected their arrival. The national ID database held nothing. Every background check returned blank.
And yet, these women negotiated contracts, signed deals, attended meetings. They existed. But how?
"I don't think they're human," one investigator finally said, rubbing her face with both hands. "They've got to be ghosts."
"Right! Master Song has all those underworld connections. Maybe she summoned them."
"But ghosts can't just walk around in daylight! That breaks half the spiritual realm laws!"
"What if they're bound to spiritual items? Maybe she found a way to animate tools into people?"
"Didn't Captain Zhao shake hands with Yan Feng last week? Said her hand was warm!"
Yan Feng, who always warmed her hands with spirit-heated water before business meetings, commented later: "(︶)y"