Chapter 1 — Painted Skin

April 19, 2026

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Footnotes

[1]画皮 [huà pí] — literally «painted skin». A reference to a famous tale by Pu Songling from «Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio». In Chinese culture, this idiom refers to a beautiful facade or mask that conceals a demonic, evil, or ugly true nature.
[2]William Shakespeare's Sonnet 12.
[3]核桃 [hé tao] — literally translates to «Walnut». In China, there is a tradition of giving children nicknames related to food or humble things to trick evil spirits and help the child grow up strong and healthy.
[4]初一掉魂... [chū yī diào hún...] — This lyric from the opera refers to the traditional Chinese folk practice of "soul-calling" (招魂). It is believed that when a person dies, their soul leaves the body, and rituals must be performed on specific days (like the seventh day after death, known as 头七) to guide the soul back.
[5]狗眼 [gǒu yǎn], a humorous and slightly derogatory internet slang term. It is often used playfully among gamers to mock someone's (or their own) eyesight, judgment, or inability to handle something visually shocking.
[6]Night-Wandering God (Yeyoushen 夜游神): A deity in Chinese folk religion who patrols the night to observe human deeds.
[7]Aunt Lu (Lugu 禄姑): Likely a reference to a local folk goddess of wealth and prosperity.
[8]Impermanence (Wuchang 无常): Refers to the Heibai Wuchang, the "Black and White" guards of the underworld in Chinese mythology.