Born in 1758 to a family of Chinese puppeteers, Jin Bai eventually traveled to Prague with his brother Yin to study alchemy. Their aim was to craft more lifelike puppets. In Prague, he encountered a girl named Francine and instantly fell in love with her. However, when she reciprocated the feelings towards Yin instead, Jin felt betrayed by both and abducted her shortly after their wedding.
They settled down in a mansion near a small village in France. Francine did not try to escape but never returned Jin's affection. When she fell ill, the villagers confined her to a small hut where she remained for several years. By the time Yin found them, Jin had lost his sanity. He completed his work on the Soft Stone soon after Yin arrived, but upon reaching the hut, he discovered it engulfed in flames. Francine, reunited with Yin, had chosen death over an extended life through Aqua Vitae. Jin blamed the villagers and swore revenge.
Before leaving the village, Yin gave Jin some of Francine's hair she had cut before her demise. Jin used it along with Aqua Vitae to create Doll Francine, believing in his madness that he was merely reviving Francine. Twenty years later, he obliterated Krohg Village along with Les Quatre Pionniers. Yet, Doll Francine still couldn't laugh or smile. Realizing she was just a doll, Jin rejected her and left her lying in a field after strangling her.
He wandered for many years and eventually returned to his hometown in China. There, he planned to create a spring of Aqua Vitae and end his life by jumping into it. Before doing so, he wrote a book detailing the story of his brother, Francine, and himself, which later came into the possession of a descendant of his family, Liáng Jiànfēng.
Moments before plunging into the spring, Bai Jin realized his mistake in creating Doll Francine and believed there was still a chance to bring back the real Francine. His new plan was set in motion...
