1 Tattoo
My name is Tang Hao, and my grandfather is Tang Yun. Since childhood, we have relied on each other as my parents left home when I was very young and never returned, as though they disappeared.
My grandfather has a skill—that is tattooing. He opened a tattoo shop in our village.
Normally, in rural areas, there are fewer people who get tattoos, so grandpa's work shouldn't have earned much money. Surprisingly, his tattoo shop is always bustling, attracting many from outside the village seeking his services. In our village, he is highly respected with a countless number of people coming to him for tattoos. Entering grandpa's shop were all kinds of beautiful women, which I envied because tattooing is a skillful job as well as a rewarding one.
The reason why grandpa's tattoos are so popular is that his works are incredibly magical, or rather, eerily supernatural. I vividly remember when he tattooed the village chief's beautiful wife, which I always found quite bizarre.
Speaking of the village chief, he is arguably the richest in the village and has a beautiful wife with finely arched eyebrows and an attractive figure, with fair skin that is tempting. But the problematic thing is, even at forty, the village chief had no children.
Later, the village chief's wife came to my grandfather and I, out of curiosity, overheard their conversation about wanting a child. Then she followed my grandpa into the tattoo room and stayed there for several days, coming at noon.
About a month later, the village chief's wife was amazingly pregnant. At the time, being young, I was convinced that grandpa had cuckolded the village chief. I hated him, thinking of him as a sleaze, to bring a 'little uncle' into my life at his age.
Of course, now that I am older, I understand. The village chief worked hard for years without children; surely my grandfather at his age would be even less likely to be involved. The mystery must have something to do with the tattoo. But how could a tattoo result in pregnancy?
Later, the village chief's wife died in childbirth, though the child, a beautiful girl like her mother, survived.
The village chief truly loved his wife and was so grief-stricken that he almost starved himself to death. Thankfully, grandpa spent hours convincing him to eat, and he managed to carry on.
Afterward, grandpa and I went to pay respects to the village chief's wife. He sighed and showed much guilt, muttering that the human body is impure and that a bodhisattva should not be tattooed upon it because there would be consequences. He regretted tattooing the 'Child-Giving Guanyin' on her, lamenting that her love for the chief was so great she lost her life for the sake of bearing him a child.
At the time, I didn't understand, but now I realize grandpa tattooed a 'Child-Giving Guanyin' on her, which led to the pregnancy. However, one must not tattoo a bodhisattva onto human skin, or there will be karmic repercussions—hence, her death.
Eerie, isn't it? How could a tattoo have such an effect? Cause pregnancy and yet lead to death?
Apart from that, there was another creepy incident also related to tattooing.
Previously, the village had a good-for-nothing troublemaker, Rotten Qiang, who after spending some years outside became a gang leader. He returned to the village and demanded my grandpa tattoo a 'Guan Gong' on him.
People say having Guan Gong tattooed marks one as a person of society, emanating power and presence. Guan Gong symbolizes loyalty and bravery, fitting for someone like him involved in the underworld.
Grandpa outright refused him, no matter how he pleaded, insisting Rotten Qiang's fate was too weak to bear Guan Gong's spirit, and bad luck would follow.
But Rotten Qiang, with his character, wouldn't give up so easily. He threatened to burn down the tattoo shop and desecrate our ancestral grave, even to kidnap me. He stopped at nothing.
Considering my safety, grandpa finally agreed, but with a clear warning that if anything happened, he wouldn't be responsible.
Upon agreeing, Rotten Qiang didn't bother with the details. Gramps tattooed Guan Gong on him.
As expected, within a week, Rotten Qiang met with an accident.
He was bitten by a snake—a non-venomous grass snake common in the countryside—while with a girl in the cornfield. Oddly, from that bite, he foamed at the mouth, convulsed, and was gone before reaching the hospital. Some said they noticed Guan Gong's eyes on Rotten Qiang's back open, which was incredibly creepy.
In the past, I thought Rotten Qiang died by the snake, but now, it seems it was more about the cursed tattoo, not the snake, but the open-eyed Guan Gong!
Having seen grandpa's capabilities piqued even more of my curiosity, and he finally agreed to teach me tattooing when I was fifteen.
Five years later, I learned all of grandpa's tattoo skills. It was then I understood his tattoos were no ordinary tattoos.
There's a sinister type of tattoo called 'Ghost Tattoo,' with intriguing effects.
When it comes to Ghost Tattoos, we must look back at the history of tattooing.
Tattooing, known as 'Ci Qing' in ancient times, or 'Nie' in classical Chinese, is a practice of inserting ink-laden needles into the skin's sublayer to create patterns or symbols. Tattooing has a two-thousand-year history in my country, associated with good fortune and worship.
These tattoos, combined with dark arts, are believed to ward off evil, change fortune, generate wealth, entice romance, and ensure safety, and are colloquially known as Ghost Tattoos.
Grandpa is the eighteenth successor of Ghost Tattoos, and I am the twentieth as my father was in between.
Grandpa once said that there are very few people left who know Ghost Tattoos—possibly only us now.
Unfortunately, after learning Ghost Tattooing, I wasn't allowed by my grandfather to use it—only to perform regular tattoos.
Grandpa mentioned that Ghost Tattoos are a dark art with an evident level of malevolence. We create paintings with human skin, depicting ghosts and summoning the yin and the yang. Yet my skills are not yet adept enough; touching this now would be fatal.
However, the day before this year's Ghost Festival, grandpa suddenly left home. He told me that on Ghost Festival, people and ghosts would come asking for tattoos. If humans come asking, I should tattoo them—it would save my life once. As for ghosts, I must not tattoo them, or there would be dire consequences.
He reminded me firmly that I could only perform Yang Tattoos, never to touch Yin Tattoos!
Ghost Tattoos are divided into Yin and Yang. Yang Tattoos are orthodox, while Yin Tattoos are remarkably sinister but with better effects.
Both types share a similar technique, but the subjects they depict and the pigments they use are vastly different. Despite sounding a bit terrifying, Yang Tattoos are very orthodox, with little risk, often depicting positive entities like gods, immortals, dragons, and tigers.
Yin Tattoos are different; their pigment is made from wicked spirits and ghosts! Their designs are utterly sinister, but the effects are a hundred times more potent than Yang Tattoos. On my first day, grandpa warned me never to perform Yin Tattoos!
Even after mastering the art, I've yet to perform any tattoos, neither Yang nor Yin. I am also clueless about how ghosts are used as tattoo pigment.
I've never seen a ghost, nor am I sure if they exist. When grandpa said ghosts would come for tattoos, I was almost dumbfounded, thinking was already spinning ghost stories when the Ghost Festival hadn't arrived. But grandpa was serious, so I pressed for details—what was this all about and where was he going?
But grandpa didn't explain much, just mentioned he had to settle decades-old debts and told me to follow his instructions. After leaving, his exact destination and purpose were unclear, but he appeared anxious and his hands were trembling—this was my first time seeing him like that.
Worried, I called him the next morning to ask about his well-being and when he would return, but his phone was switched off.
Then, a pregnant woman entered the tattoo shop.
The pregnant woman, Chen Cuilian, was from the same village, and we both knew each other. It was odd—what was she doing here? A pregnant woman wanting a tattoo?
