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Sang Ba’s mother cried sorrowfully, lamenting that she would be unable to bear the consequences if they didn’t help. The previous incident with Ah Xiang wasn’t that their family didn’t want to help them, it was the village’s decision-
“Enough.” Su Le clenched his fists and shouted.
Sang Ba’s mother was frightened and immediately stopped talking about Ah Xiang. She began to cry again, saying that Sang Ba had a hard life and didn’t even leave behind a bloodline.
When the young woman with the numb expression heard this, there was a faint light in her eyes. She said softly, “Mother, there is still Hua Hua…”
“Hua Hua is just a little girl. What kind of bloodline can she carry?” Sang Ba’s mother cried again and complained about the young woman, “I spent a lot of money to beg you back, but you didn’t even leave behind a bloodline for Sang Ba. What’s the use of having you?”
She acted as if she was about to beat the young woman.
“Enough, I’ll go with Su Le.” Su Da, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
Sang Ba’s mother stood up quickly and said happily, “That’s great, that’s great. Remember to come at seven in the evening. Let’s leave quickly! What are you waiting for? Go back and prepare.”
The two women walked far away, but they could still hear Sang Ba’s mother scolding Sang Ba’s young wife.
Chen Caixing listened from the beginning to end with a cold expression. He used to treat this place as a game with merely NPCs, but the people in this village were alive. When the young woman with a numb expression mentioned her daughter, her eyes were filled with a protective desire, but her strength seemed too weak and insignificant.
In such an environment, Chen Caixing wondered if the woman who was bought from outside would be able to adapt to the village.
In the end, she could even become someone like the old woman with small feet.
This kind of thing wasn’t an impossibility.
Such a rotten place needed to be broken for new hope to be brought in.
Chen Caixing roughly knew what to do, but first, he had to find out more about the ‘ancestor’ who skinned young girls to make lanterns.
Which proper ancestor would want to skin their own descendants?
This kind of troublesome ancestor could be solved with a single punch.
“Uncle Jia Di, what’s the matter with borrowing lanterns?” Chen Caixing pretended to be curious and asked the sullen Jia Di. He realized that Su Le and Su Da were very sensitive about the lanterns and wouldn’t necessarily speak about them.
Jia Di was different. He was the guide, and his attitude was usually complicated and conflicted.
Sure enough, Jia Di glanced at him first. Obviously, he didn’t want to say more, but he still replied, “There are lanterns hung on the cross beam of the ancestral hall. If anyone in the village dies, they have to go to the ancestral hall at night to borrow a lantern from the ancestors. The lantern can help the dead find their way to reincarnate. Without the guidance of the lantern, the dead soul will get lost on the road and lose itself.”
“Who said that lanterns can guide souls?” Chen Caixing’s tone was full of disdain. Shrouded in the light of a university student’s wisdom, he spoke resolutely and decisively: “Karma is reincarnation, and retribution is unpleasant. Villains who harmed others in life don’t need any lanterns to guide their souls after death. The Ghost Envoys will just directly capture them and send them to hell.”
Chen Caixing wanted to talk about the concept of scientific development, but firstly, there were ghosts in this world. Secondly, the villagers had grown up brainwashed by feudalism, so it was already deeply ingrained in them. They had not been educated, so it was just better to curb violence with violence rather than talk about science.
You said your ancestor was great, but there are others who are even more amazing. How could ghosts compare to gods?
“You don’t need a lantern?” Su Le suddenly interrupted.
Chen Caixing nodded confidently and said contemptuously: “I’ve never heard of using a lantern to guide souls. When people die, there are special Ghost Envoys that lead the way. When you reach the underworld, the King of Hell will know exactly what you did when you were alive. Good people will be reincarnated, and those who harmed others will be tortured in hell.”
“With Ghost Envoys, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, why would we need a lantern to lead the way?” Chen Caixing’s face was full of arrogance.
(T/N: Ox-Head and Horse Face are two underworld guardians in Chinese mythology – see chapter picture.)
When Su Le and Su Da heard this, they were in disbelief and began to waver. Chen Caixing thought of Ah Xiang and knew why the two brothers were struggling. If the lantern was truly useless, then their sister would have died in vain.
She was killed by the villagers’ and their own ignorance.
“Don’t say anymore.” Jia Di glanced at his two sons and said: “Our village has been making lanterns for hundreds of years. It’s different from outside.”
Chen Caixing knew when to hold back, but his face still showed disapproval with a curl of his lips.
Yuan Jiuwan’s cheeks puffed up as he held back his laughter. Xingxing’s mouth that was full of lies was very cute.
Jia Di said that he didn’t believe, but his eyes flickered slightly. Chen Caixing thought to himself that the ancestors had been brainwashing these families for hundreds of years while he had only refuted it once. If he could make a crack in that belief, it would be good.
It was also because Su Le and Su Da had deep feelings for their sister. Their painful struggle showed that they could still be saved.
“You want to borrow a lantern at night? It just so happens that I want to see the world and take a look at what these special lanterns look like.” Chen Caixing said with a tone of disdainful skepticism.
Su Le was still in a trance. Su Da shook his head and said: “If a lantern needs to be borrowed from the ancestors, you can only find a strong young man to help. Otherwise, something could happen. You’re pregnant, and a woman’s energy is full of yin, so you can’t go.”
Chen Caixing, who relied on his big belly to cheat food and drink, shed tears at this moment.
Why don’t you open your eyes and take a good look at me ah? I am also a strong young man.
“I haven’t hurt anyone, so I’m not afraid of these superstitions.” Chen Caixing didn’t forget to brainwash the two brothers at every opportunity. “We have a saying ‘If you didn’t do anything wrong in your life, you won’t be afraid of ghosts knocking on your door in the middle of the night.’ I’m a kind and good girl. I’ll be protected by my merits.”
“Merits?” Su Le murmured.
Chen Caixing smiled faintly, like a conman pretending to be a saint. “As long as you do good deeds, you’ll be protected by the gods. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go with you tonight and you’ll see.” He still had a safety talisman in his pocket anyway.
If he didn’t enter the tiger’s den, how could he find that ‘ancestor’?
“Sister, I’ll go too.” Yuan Jiuwan puffed out his small chest and said: “I want to protect Sister.”
Chen Caixing agreed without hesitation.
Su Da wanted to persuade them, but thinking about what Yuan Xing said just now, if the lanterns were really useless…
“Then I’ll see you in front of the ancestral hall at eight in the evening.”
It was still early before eight. After the agreement, the two brothers went to do their own things. The afternoon sun was too bright. Chen Caixing was a little sleepy after eating, so he took Xiao Jiu upstairs to rest. The quilt in his room had been taken out to dry, but it wasn’t too cold in the afternoon. Chen Caixing originally wanted to make do, but who knew that Xiao Jiu would say that he wanted to go get a quilt.
‘The baby in Sister’s belly will catch a cold,’ was Xiao Jiu’s reason.
Chen Caixing: Xiao Jiu, did you forget that brother is still older and bigger than you!?
But when he thought of that time in the wax museum and seeing that his belly was getting bigger… Forget it.
After awhile, Yuan Jiuwan came back with a thin embroidered quilt in his arms. It obviously belonged to a girl and was very clean.
It should be Ah Xiang’s.
“Who gave it to you?”
“Brother Su Le.” Yuan Jiuwan put down the quilt and climbed into the bed obediently, saying: “Sister, let’s go to sleep. I’m so sleepy.”
Chen Caixing pinched his little brother’s chubby cheeks and fell asleep after a short while.
When the two woke up, the sun was just about to set. The smell of food wafted over from downstairs. Chen Caixing was hungry, so he rubbed Xiao Jiu’s curly hair and took him downstairs to wash their faces just in time for dinner.
There was a fish soup stewed with milk on the table, and it was particularly delicious.
Chen Caixing drank two bowls, and then he saw that Lu Zhou and Mei Qing didn’t touch the soup and were only picking up the vegetable dishes to eat. When he had been drinking the fish soup, the two of them looked like they wanted to say something but were hesitant. He suddenly remembered that the fish was caught from the river. The river had water ghosts and even Sang Ba’s corpse had been in the river.
…
He finished drinking his bowl of fish soup.
The fish soup was too delicious. Chen Caixing drank another bowl to calm himself down.
Mei Qing looked at Chen Caixing with a sense of confusion. Was this person a hidden boss or just a stupid person?
After dinner, the Su brothers went to clean up. Chen Caixing took Xiao Jiu for a walk in the yard to digest the food. Seeing Mei Qing’s confused gaze in his direction, he smiled gently and said: “The doctor advised that I exercise more so that it’ll be better for when the time comes. Oh, you’re still single, you’ll know in the future.”
Mei Qing: !!!
Was this pregnant woman stupid!?
At seven in the evening, Su Da and Su Le got ready to go to Sang Ba’s house.
Jia Di frowned while smoking heavily. He glanced at his two sons who were about to leave and said: “Be careful, and come back early.”
“I know, Dad.” Su Da replied.
Su Le didn’t say anything.
After the two brothers left, Jia Di went back to his room. Only the players were left in the yard. Chen Caixing sat on a chair and ate fruits. He didn’t recognize the wild fruits in the mountains. They tasted sweet and sour, and there weren’t any seeds each time he took a bite. He couldn’t help but sigh: “If I had known, I would’ve brought some money so that I could bring back some local specialties when I leave. Since I’m already here, I might as well enjoy them.”
When Mei Qing heard the last sentence, she looked at Chen Caixing like he was an idiot.
The sky turned dark early in the mountains. Not long after, there was a long and penetrating sound of trumpets and suonas in the distance, as well as the high-pitched cries of an old woman visiting a grave.
It was a lonely funeral in the village.
The Sang Ba family wanted to borrow lanterns tonight.
It seemed that the funeral would take awhile. Chen Caixing estimated the time and planned to wait for awhile before going to the ancestral hall. However, Li Xuan and the two other veterans, along with Zhou Zihan, came over. Li Xuan got straight to the point and said: “Are you going to the ancestral hall to borrow a lantern tonight? It’s too dangerous.”
When Chen Caixing was talking to the Su brothers in the afternoon, Lu Zhou and Mei Qing were in the yard. He didn’t need to guess to know that the two of them had passed the message on. The three veterans seemed more reliable than him, a pregnant woman with a big belly.
“If I’m not going, are you planning to go?” Chen Caixing asked.
Li Xuan hesitated and told the truth. “That place is very strange. I know that time is tight, but we can ask around for more information before going there. Or we can go during the day, so you don’t have to take the risk alone.”
Chen Caixing had been there during the day. Other than it being a bit gloomy, there was nothing special.
He didn’t mention the clue about the human skin lantern, but in the morning, he had said that after the death of the Holy Maiden, there would be an extra lantern on the cross beam of the ancestral hall. Everyone could guess the obvious.
“I’m going. It has nothing to do with you.” Chen Caixing didn’t want to waste his breath if these people weren’t going to go.
Zhou Zihan’s face had been lost in the morning, so now she rushed to say: “Brother Xuan has good intentions. You don’t know how to appreciate good intentions. Be careful that you don’t die, becoming a corpse with two lives lost.”
“You’re cursing me?” Chen Caixing’s tone was unkind.
Zhou Zihan spoke with a stern expression. “S-So what?”
“It’s nothing.” Chen Caixing smiled again and said gently: “I just want to tell you that there’s a bloody, skinless female ghost lying on your shoulder, dripping with blood. She’s blowing into your ear and asking you, ‘Can you give me your skin?‘…”
Zhou Zihan had bumped into a skinless female ghost, so when the imagery came up, her hair stood on end as she screamed and ran out with a pale face. She shouted: “Don’t follow me, don’t follow me! Find Lili to change your skin!”
“Tsk, you really can’t take a scare.” Chen Caixing wiped away the fruit juice on his hands and spoke with a smile. “I was just telling a story.” He held Xiao Jiu’s hand and said: “It’s time to go borrow the lantern.”
One pregnant woman and one child left. This time, no one stopped them.
Everyone’s eyes were complicated, especially Mei Qing. Was this Yuan Xing really great or was she just a paper tiger? This was the first time they had seen such a reckless pregnant woman!
Secret message T-T please read at inuekohouse.wordpress.com
For your reference:
Here’s a suona:
Here’s what the Chinese funeral would sound like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw3yeKt_UPk&ab_channel=WestChinaTeaCompany
According to the video, ‘This crazy death music is called “suo na dui” 阳朔唢呐队, named after the horns “suo na” and the onomatopoeia of the drums, “dui.” It’s intended to scare demons away from the body until the soul can reach the afterlife.’
(*ˊᗜˋ*)/ᵗᑋᵃᐢᵏ ᵞᵒᵘ*
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