The shadows stretched and pulsed in time with her heartbeat, creating an illusion of a much larger crowd watching from the darkness. Every movement she made felt amplified, as if the ritual were projecting her internal energy into the very air of the parlor. She was no longer just the Director of a funeral parlor; she was a performer weaving a story through motion, caught in a trance where the boundaries between reality and the spectral realm seemed to blur.
The atmosphere at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was uncharacteristically heavy, even for a place of rest. Hu Tao, the ever-energetic Director, found herself staring at a peculiar, ancient scroll discovered during a routine clearing of a "difficult" client’s estate.
She began a dance, not the usual rhythmic tapping of her polearm, but a slow, hypnotic movement that mirrored the flickering shadows on the walls. The "Misemono" effect began to take hold: her traditional garb felt tighter, more restrictive, and her skin glowed with a soft, ethereal light.
It wasn't a contract or a burial rite, but a series of cryptic instructions titled "Misemono"—the art of the spectacle.
Driven by her trademark curiosity and a desire to drum up business through "unconventional marketing," Hu Tao decided to perform the scroll’s ritual. She set up a private stage in the back of the parlor, lighting silk-red incense that smelled of Jueyun Chili and old paper.
As she recited the incantations, the air grew thick and humid. The ritual wasn't meant to summon spirits, but to heighten the senses and "unmask the hidden nature of the performer." Hu Tao felt a strange, tingling warmth spreading from her fingertips. Her usual playfully sharp wit softened into something more fluid, more magnetic.