Chapter 97: Returning Home: Jack

Occult Art: Substitute Death Doll Art

Witchcraft: Yan Sheng—Pinning the Doll

Both of these arts are intriguing; one is the Substitute Death Doll Art, a form of ancient witchcraft later absorbed by Taoism and refined into one of its orthodox techniques, highly useful as an additional life-saving method.

The other is the famed Pinning the Doll, also an ancient witchcraft, commonly practiced among commoners and the imperial court, even causing widespread panic among high-ranking officials during certain periods; most importantly, it is a remote curse technique.

But why are both tied to dolls? Shouldn’t the outcome have been something linked to defeating Mary Shao?

This thought vanished in an instant.

He immediately examined the two arts in detail.

The Substitute Death Doll Art, as the name suggests, requires a birth chart, blood, hair, and other mediums, then constructs a doll from straw, paper, cloth, or wood—the more lifelike the doll, the better its effect.

“Doll quality,” Louis mused.

That works perfectly; he had yet to begin studying Mary Shao’s notes, and with the notes of this master dollmaker, his progress in learning the Substitute Death Doll Art would not be slow.

As for the Pinning the Doll art, it operates on a similar principle, and Mary Shao’s notes would be equally useful.

Indeed, all accumulation holds meaning—even if unused now, it will be useful later.

As Louis thought this, he became more determined to collect strange artifacts, and a thought arose in his mind.

Should he try to investigate whether this world contains the horror films from his memories?

Besides gathering intelligence, just in case.

He could also obtain those peculiar artifacts.

Horror films contain no shortage of bizarre objects.

“It’s certainly necessary, but such endeavors require considerable power…”

He currently lacks the foundation to establish his own power; he can only rely on his family’s influence, which is strong only in Miami and cannot dominate even the entire state of Florida, making it limited.

Added to that, it’s the 1990s—internet is underdeveloped, so gathering intelligence will likely be difficult.

“Forget it. I’ll proceed gradually after returning home.”

Yet after returning, he still has much to do: find a new base, study the notes, research Jason, craft corpse charms, collect blood pearls…

Hiss!

Should I start training an assistant?

…

Miami.

Louis had returned here again.

In fact, over the past few years, he returned every holiday to spend time with his grandfather, the old butler Fu, the Anderson brothers, Uncle Max, and others.

Humans are creatures of memory; even the strongest bonds fade with prolonged separation.

Added to that, his grandfather is aging—each meeting is one less, so Louis always returned for every holiday and never traveled elsewhere.

This trip was the only one in years—and as for what happened, no need to mention it.

He had just stopped.

A black sedan pulled up, and Fu stepped out, “Young Master.”

“Hello, Grandpa Fu.”

Fu smiled, his gaze toward Louis consistently gentle.

Louis got into the private car.

The vehicle quickly brought them to the villa.

He walked in with familiarity, heading straight to his grandfather’s room.

But as soon as he opened the door, Louis sensed something was wrong.

The spacious room was filled with many people—all elite family members, eyes sharp, muscles taut—but at the center stood only five: the family treasurer, Uncle Max, a stranger, the medium Ilyss, and Mimi beside her.

Grandfather Karl sat behind his desk, conversing with the stranger, and on the desk lay an old-fashioned cubic music box.

Hearing the door open, all turned their gazes toward him; under so many stares, Louis remained expressionless and closed the door.

“Grandfather.”

“Little Louis, you’re finally back.”

“Yes, I’ve just finished handling matters.”

Karl smiled, “Your trip didn’t go smoothly?”

Louis’s lip twitched, “Correct—it wasn’t smooth at all. It was fun, but I encountered some things… unpleasant to normal people. I’ll tell you later, Grandfather.”

“Hahaha, good. We’ll chat later, you and me.”

“But for now, come here, Little Louis—help Grandfather examine this music box.”

Louis nodded and stepped closer.

Ilyss and Mimi beside her opened their mouths but held back.

Only then did Louis see the box in full.

Square and solid, its surface bore faint patterns, especially four dial-like locks on top, each marked with a letter.

JACK.

Jack—due to the playing card J, this name is unconsciously associated with clowns.

Louis studied the box closely, then dripped bull’s tears onto it, blinked—and his vision shifted.

Inside Louis’s eyes, the box changed: faintly visible within was a white clown face, wailing, screaming, roaring, weeping…

Louis narrowed his eyes, trying to see clearly—then in the next instant.

As if his gaze had been detected, the clown’s shadow inside suddenly sharpened, locking its eyes onto Louis; its black-and-white eyes turned pitch-black, and within that total darkness, greed was unmistakable.

Ding-ding-ding.

The crank on the box’s side began turning automatically; the clown inside shrieked in protest, its eyes returning to black-and-white.

The music faded, and the clown inside fell silent.

Louis’s eyes returned to normal. “Grandfather, this thing is no ordinary object.”

“Of course—it’s something I specifically collected. Little Louis, what did you see?” Karl asked.

“A strange… clown spirit.”

At this, Karl raised an eyebrow.

The stranger immediately spoke, “Sir, now you’re certain—I didn’t deceive you. This is truly the legendary Jack’s Demon Box.”

Karl ignored him and turned to Ilyss. “Ilyss, it seems you didn’t lie to me.”

Ilyss sighed. “Mr. Karl, I must warn you once more—this box is inauspicious. It seals a demon.”

The stranger grew agitated. “A demon? One that honestly grants wishes without traps?”

“This is the genuine article—the very box that gave that priest his own child.”

“I’d rather believe it was the priest’s devotion that moved God to grant a blessing, like the Holy Grail.”

Louis, who understood part of this, rolled his eyes—this salesman was stretching it thin to sell the thing, even linking it to the Holy Grail.

Why don’t you use it yourself?

Wait—right, why doesn’t he use it himself?

(End of Chapter)