Shen Bai had promised his junior sister that once he got paid, he would take her home.
She had even saved the cloth for hanging over the window.
But the troupe leader brought him a Mid-Autumn sacrificial order and told him to make a frame to his junior sister's measurements, one that could not bend at the knees.
When this performance ended, his junior sister would become a shadow puppet on the stage.
Everyone in the troupe said it was a blessing.
She could not speak. She only wrote on paper: I won't go.
Shen Bai offered money to buy her freedom, but no one would take it. He tried to flee with her, but his work token was confiscated.
Then a bolt of lightning set a fire that split the bone mask on his face.
Only then did he see the strings attached to the joints of everyone in the troupe. At the first clang of the gong, even the troupe leader was pulled to his knees.
Only Shen Bai did not move.
Mid-Autumn was drawing near, and the Shadow Stage was still waiting to collect its offering.
Building frames, carving faces, and binding puppets were how Shen Bai made his living.
This time, he would deliver a fake offering to the gods.
