Chapter 29: The Painted Skin

The malignancy of the Skin Painting tattoo lies in the fact that it must be removed after fifteen days. Otherwise, something terrible could happen, though my grandfather never specified what. He just instructed me to follow this rule strictly.

The Skin Painting tattoo comes from a story in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio." It tells of a scholar named Wang Sheng from Taiyuan during the Ming dynasty, who encounters a homeless young girl on the road. She is youthful and beautiful, and Wang Sheng, struck by desire, brings her back to his home and hides her in a secret chamber for his pleasure.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl is actually a malevolent ghost that feasts on human hearts. The ghost has a green face and teeth like jagged saws. She often lays out a human skin on her bed and paints upon it. After she's finished, she picks up the skin, shakes it out like a piece of clothing, and in the blink of an eye, transforms into a stunning woman.

This story is extremely eerie and horrifying, and the Skin Painting ghost tattoo is derived from it. As for the effects of the tattoo, perhaps they are similar to those described in the story, but just as sinister and spine-chilling.

After telling them about it, Su Qing seemed to get goosebumps and said she couldn't imagine anyone daring to get such a tattoo—it was frightening to even think about.

However, Cui Meixi was resolute. "I will get it! As long as there's a sliver of hope to become beautiful, I won't pass it up. I'm not afraid of death, only of ugliness!"

I reassured her that death was unlikely, as long as she came back to the store after fifteen days to have the tattoo removed, nothing bad would happen.

Since she had decided to go through with it, I had to discuss the price. The effects of this tattoo were exceptional; it would cost at least 300,000 yuan. Moreover, the tattoo wasn't permanent and needed to be removed after fifteen days. As for the extent of the beauty transformation, that would depend on Cui Meixi's destiny, as this was the first time I would be doing this underworld tattoo.

Cui Meixi hesitated for a while, as 300,000 yuan for a temporary tattoo was no small sum, and there was no guarantee of the outcome.

After much consideration, Cui Meixi agreed, stating she would rather be cheated than miss any opportunity to become beautiful. For her, trying every possible option was worth it.

I reassured her that the effects of an underworld tattoo were powerful; it was impossible for there to be no effect at all—it was only the degree of beauty that was uncertain. Since she was referred by an acquaintance, she should trust my skills.

Hearing this, Cui Meixi finally relaxed a bit, and I provided her with an account to which she transferred the 300,000 yuan online.

Today, I earned another 320,000 yuan, and together with the previous 230,000, I had a savings of 550,000 yuan. Later, I still needed to buy a ghost from Hong Wu, leaving me with 540,000 yuan.

While there was still a long way to go to reach one hundred million, I needed to set a smaller goal for myself—earning one million yuan first!

After receiving the money, I gave Hong Wu a call. Knowing that business was coming his way, the old man chuckled on the phone and asked what kind of tattoo I wanted this time.

I told him I needed a Skin Painting tattoo and asked him to send a ghost over quickly.

Hong Wu commented that the tattoos I chose were becoming more and more fierce, but he admired my approach, saying I was better at doing business than my grandfather.

He mentioned he had a "product" that had been in storage for quite a while, a woman who had died by accident during plastic surgery at a clinic. Her life had been truly tragic—failing to become beautiful in life and doomed to remain ugly even in death. Hong Wu almost felt pity and thought about releasing her.

I told him to stop pretending to be a compassionate wolf in sheep's clothing. Does a fisherman release the fish he catches? Does a hunter free prey out of pity? Enough talk and bring the "product"; the client is waiting.

After being exposed, Hong Wu felt a bit embarrassed but simply replied, "Alright, I'm on my way."

It wasn't long before Hong Wu arrived with his large truck, and this time I noticed that there were several bodies in the back, all female corpses, all dolled up and exuding a fragrance.

As my grandfather used to say, after a while, bodies start to emit the stench of decay, similar to rotten eggs. So why did Hong Wu's female corpses smell sweet? What was he planning to do with them?

It's said that each line of business is its own world, so I didn't ask, and Hong Wu didn't tell. There was only an increase in my curiosity.

Hong Wu passed me the bamboo tube and hurried off, mentioning he had more things to take care of. Obviously, he was in a rush to deliver the other bodies somewhere else, but where and for what purpose, that remained unknown to me.

The bamboo tube made thumping sounds, as if something was knocking from inside. By this point, I'd grown accustomed to the strangeness of these matters and dumped the contents into the ink without hesitation.

With the ink ready, it was time to start the tattoo. I took Cui Meixi into the tattoo room and began the procedure.

The Skin Painting didn't require any specific body part; anywhere would suffice. I asked Cui Meixi for her preference, and after some thought, she opted for her back.

With the back being chosen as the location, I started tattooing there. To be truthful, aside from her face, Cui Meixi was quite a catch: her figure was good, with each feature well-proportioned, both voluptuous and sensual. It was the type that would cause one to fall heads over heels when viewed from behind, only to be turned away at a glimpse of her face.

I jokingly questioned her boyfriend's wisdom, suggesting that it would be like being with a beautiful woman in the dark, so why would he need to pleasure himself with videos?

During the tattoo session, Cui Meixi shared that she had always been focused on fitness due to her unattractive appearance, hoping to compensate for her appearance with a good physique. However, her extreme ugliness was such that despite having a perfect figure, she couldn't make up for her facial shortcomings. Living in a society preoccupied with looks, she also shared her bitter history with me. I listened but didn't pay too much attention; stories of miserable lives are all too common, and empathy can only stretch so far.

The Skin Painting took about four hours to complete. It was a humanoid design and wasn't too difficult to tattoo.

After I finished, I brought over a mirror so Cui Meixi could see the design on her back.

The image on her back was of a green-faced ghost with long fangs, holding a beautiful human skin in her left hand and colored pencils in her right, with a sinister smile on her face.

Cui Meixi shivered involuntarily at the sight, saying the tattoo looked terrifying.

I reassured her not to worry since the tattoo was going to be removed after fifteen days and since it was on her back, she wouldn't be able to see it often.

Right at that moment, I suddenly saw the ghost's pencil move in the mirror. I froze and asked Cui Meixi if she had seen anything unusual... in the mirror?

Cui Meixi shook her head, saying she hadn't, and then asked me what was wrong.

I brushed it off, saying it was probably an illusion.

After Cui Meixi's tattoo session was done she left, not before taking my phone number and saying she would be in touch. If the results weren't satisfactory after having paid 300,000 yuan, she intimated she might confront me about my ancestors or even vandalize my store. Of course, if the tattoo did have the desired effect, she promised to praise my service widely and come back to thank me personally.

Once Cui Meixi left, Aizixing woke up and started gnawing on the beef ribs I had ordered for him, remarking on how such food was good for replenishing vitality.

Mid-chew, he suddenly blurted out, "Oh no, I think I might have bungled something."