You are listening to the third story for the month of December, 2024, issue 219.

Welcome to another Clarksworld podcast brought to you by your support.

I'm your host and narrator Kate Baker and I am very thankful for every bit of support that you have lent our magazine, whether that is a subscription,

patreon.com forward slash Clarksworld, or Clark's World citizens, we simply cannot do this without you.

So thank you.

Our third story is titled The Painted Skin and the Final Stroke.

It is by Zhu Yicheng.

Jiu Yicheng is a Chinese author that resides in China and writes in both Chinese and English.

She has a half a million words in Chinese and has been recognized with several awards.

She has stories in English and Clark's World and in Nature futures.

So my dear listener, I hope you can sit back,

relax, and let me tell you a story.

Frost month, the 11th month of the lunar calendar. The sun sets again over Chung'an. The remaining light of dusk shines through

thick clouds like melted gold, flowing down over the glazed tiles of the palace roofs. The first drumbeat

of the evening rings out from the Cheng Tiang gate, followed by a series of drums from the bell towers

along the north-south streets echoing through the

entire city. Night deepens and the drumbeats fade as curfew approaches. One by one, doors closed tightly

and in the desolate corner smoky figures begin to materialize. There is no longer the hour for humans,

but rather the domain of evil spirits and demons.

I, however, leave my door and window slightly ajar, allowing guests to come and go. Before long,

I hear a soft click, and a red tongue slides open the window. It's color dull like faded rouge.

Then, Gang-Tang, lightly slips through the window. She resembles a faded painting with pale skin, shallow black eyes, dark red lips, and a long tongue hanging outside. Seven days ago, she said it was cold and wanted to use her tongue as a scarf, so I drew her skin of a long-tongued ghost.

...