12 Chapter Synopses
55,779 words verified. Strict third-person limited POV alternating between Wei Chang'an and Su Wan.
The Woman at the Gate
Wei Chang'an meets a shivering beauty with no baggage on a wet road outside Qingshi. The stranger wears pale embroidered shoes, and he offers her shelter in the west wing.
A Face Remembered
In the dim light of the chamber, a tarnished bronze mirror reflects a lattice window facing forward while the real window runs away at an angle. The house begins to adjust to the uninvited guest.
The House Learns to Lie
Mei Niang steadies the teapot lid as she pours with an uncanny grace. Across the table, Su Wan watches her hands, noticing the stiff hairline and a smile that never reaches her eyes.
What the Skin Needs
At night through the wooden partition, the faint sound of a wet brush working across parchment disturbs the silence. Four celadon dishes hold pigments: bone powder, cinnabar, and charcoal.
The Husband's Dream
In the third week, Su Wan discovers a half-open drawer holding a pale folded pelt with curled edges. Where light passes through, the material lies double, translucent and cold as pork grease.
A Stranger's Ledger
Beside the loom, Su Wan finds a letter hidden beneath an unfinished plum-blossom sleeve. The handwriting shifts mid-sentence from northern dialect to the practiced hand of a missing seamstress.
The Painted Room
Peeking through the lattice in the afternoon, Wei sees the pelt pegged to a drying line: a woman's painted eye and cheek staring blankly while a faceless, grey organism applies fresh vermilion.
The Price of a Heart
The creature issues a chilling warning: human skin rots in seven to nine days, and biological warmth demands fresh cardiac sustenance. Wei's delusions crumble as domestic horror tightens.
The Night the Skin Came Off
In a harrowing midnight confrontation, the true predatory form emerges without its painted mask. Wei's chest is torn open, and his heart is consumed in a display of terrifying biological efficiency.
The Taoist's Bargain
Su Wan tracks down the wandering exorcist Yun He in the temple market. She pays his humiliating, bitter price with three pieces of silver and a test of endurance to reconstitute her husband's life.
The Empty Skin
Draped over an empty wooden chair, the discarded pelt pools onto the flagstones—a hollow shell whose painted colors remain bright while the human life it mimic'd lies broken in bed.
What Love Is Built On
Weeks later, facing the clouded mirror in the quiet morning, Wei and Su Wan confront the irreversible scars of their home. Under the mask lies no romance, only what remains when beauty is stripped away.