Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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When Xie Lingya came back from the ancestral hall, he saw that something seemed wrong in the atmosphere. Xiao Dian and Zhang Daoting did not say anything, with slightly nervous and embarrassed expressions on their faces. Shi Changxuan on the side looked about the same as usual at first glance, but after careful inspection, he seemed even colder.
“…What’s going on?” Xie Lingya originally wanted to greet them to set off, but now he couldn’t help but ask.
Zhang Daoting was also confused. He had just mentioned Xie Lingya and kept talking about why senior brother Xie hadn’t come back yet. Suddenly he found that Daochang Shi had stopped talking and looked terribly cold.
Zhang Daoting felt that the matter had something to do with senior brother Xie, so he kept looking at Xie Lingya.
Xie Lingya was looked at for a few more times, and then he said with a smile: “Do you blame me for coming back late? Shi Changxuan has made an appointment with others, hey, I didn’t know the queue was so long. I apologize, it’s my fault.”
But Shi Changxuan still didn’t say anything. Now Zhang Daoting and Xiao Dian were even more embarrassed. Zhang Daoting still felt that something was wrong, but he couldn’t explain it for the moment. Xie Lingya was also a little uneasy.
After a long while, Shi Changxuan said in a daze: “…it’s not your fault, I made a mistake.”
Shi Changxuan didn’t know if they heard it, but his own voice was very tight and he couldn’t speak the second half of the sentence. It took a lot of effort.
Yes, how could this be Xie Lingya’s fault? It was obviously his mistake.
“What’s wrong? Is the time wrong? So why don’t we set off now?” Xie Lingya asked. He found that Shi Changxuan seemed to be staring at him, and it was a very subtle look.
“…Let’s go.” Shi Changxuan lowered his eyes and said two words lightly. He has no position to blame others and could not even reveal his own feelings.
“Okay, I’ll get my backpack.” Xie Lingya said and entered his and Shi Changxuan’s room.
After making a mistake, could they still put things right?
Phytolacca God: “You are really…”
Shi Changxuan: “Shut up.”
Phytolacca God did not dare to speak anymore.
….
Xie Lingya felt that Shi Changxuan was not in a good mood. He didn’t talk much at first, but now he was more serious. They took a bus, and Shi Changxuan sat alone after getting on the bus.
Xie Lingya originally thought that he might be taking care of Xiao Dian by letting them sit together, but then he tried to talk to Shi Changxuan, and Shi Changxuan also looked calm. Not long ago, Xie Lingya told Shi Changxuan that he was smiling more now, but he suddenly returned to his original form.
So suddenly, was there something wrong at home? Seeing that he was concentrating with his eyes closed and unwilling to say more, Xie Lingya had no choice but to let him be alone.
Shi Changxuan really didn’t want to say more, and he didn’t want to look at Xie Lingya too much. He was afraid that he would reveal his emotions.
The bus drove for more than three hours before arriving at the neighboring city, and then they had to take a shuttle bus to the county seat, which was Pleia County.
The custom of “worshiping ancestors in the family hall” was very strong in Pleia County. The family hall was the room where the ancestors’ shrines were placed, and it could also refer to the ancestors’ shrines. Therefore, many people said that “worshiping the family hall” actually meant worshiping the ancestors.
Many villages in Pleia County where families lived in groups also had main family halls, which were the ancestral halls of the entire village.
Shi Changxuan was visiting Fengping Village, a very old village. Most of the people in the village had the surname Pang. It could be traced back to the Ming Dynasty. There were many old buildings in the village, and the ancestral hall still maintained the style of a hundred years ago.
Shi Changxuan contacted the village head while in the car. After getting off the car, a middle-aged man in his forties was waiting for them at the stop. He came up and shook hands with Shi Changxuan, “Hello, classmate Shi.”
“Director Pang.” Shi Changxuan also said hello. Listening to their titles, Director Pang seemed not to know that Shi Changxuan was still a Taoist priest.
“These two are your classmates.” Director Pang heard Shi Changxuan say that there were two more people coming with him temporarily. He thought they were his classmates and said, “Let’s go home. By the way, because of ancestor worship, many people in the village have returned, and the accommodation is tight. The three of you may have to squeeze into one room.”
“Sorry for your trouble.” There was no hotel next to Fengping Village, so this was the only way to stay. Fortunately, none of the three of them were picky people.
Director Pang took them to his home. His house was also very old. There were four mottled words on the lintel: prosperity without destruction.
Xiao Dian raised his head and said, “Xie Lingya… Brother Xie, what kind of saying is this?”
He didn’t dare to call him teacher, lest Director Pang misunderstood him later. He just walked along the way and saw some words on the lintels of some old houses, but they were all about “farming and studying,” and “peaceful and far-reaching”.
Xie Lingya glanced at it and said, “This is an idiom. It’s very old and difficult, but with your academic qualifications, you should be able to understand it.”
Xiao Dian said with a guilty conscience: “I don’t know much about ancient Chinese.” It’s just that he had no education, he just went to high school, and now reading ancient classics was quite taxing, He always had to look them up.
Xie Lingya: “Idiot, nothing is the propertyless, and capital is the capital!”
Xiao Dian: “…”
Director Pang burst out laughing, “You didn’t realize it for a moment, this saying came from decades ago. My Grandpa scraped the original characters and changed them.”
Xiao Dian scratched his head and said sheepishly: “Yes…”
Xie Lingya took a peek and saw that Shi Changxuan still didn’t laugh. Little did he know that Shi Changxuan was in such a state that he couldn’t even laugh at the joke.
Director Pang’s family had a son and a daughter. He got married early and his two children were in college. This time, he also called him back to participate in the corpse ceremony. But when they arrived at Director Pang’s house, his children had all gone out to play.
At Director Pang’s house, he sat down and explained to Shi Changxuan and the others the origin of the corpse ceremony in the Pleia County area. “This custom was suppressed in the past, as you all know. But this custom is still deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so it was quickly revived, and let’s not talk about superstition now, this, this has also been applied for intangible cultural heritage.”
“In the entire Pleia County, there are more than a dozen master classes that preside over Nuo ghost heads. They not only worship ancestors, but also worship gods. They also come for activities such as praying.”
Shi Changxuan stood by and took notes. He also brought a camera to take pictures.
The standing corpse sacrifice was an ancient name. The rituals that had been passed down could be called the standing corpse sacrifice, depending on its meaning. The local form in Pleia County was called Nuo ghost. The core of the head was to use the witch as a “corpse” for future generations to sacrifice.
“I have an uncle who can also make ghost faces, so I have been exposed to these things since I was a child, and I know the rules inside.” Director Pang lit up a cigarette and recalled, “Our memorial day requires divination in advance to determine the time and scale of the event. Moreover, the master I know is very traditional and uses tortoise shells for divination. Then three days before ancestor worship, these masters will fast and meditate at home.
“When I was young, there was a master who lived in the village. People often asked him to do work. Every time we passed by his house, we didn’t dare to disturb him loudly. The master was really mysterious. He once asked the neighboring county to do some work for him and invited the ancestors of his family to enjoy the sacrifice. When the great-grandfather of the master’s family was invited, the master’s team said that he didn’t know why, but the old man could not come. Was there something wrong with your legs? He was not able to come because he has poor legs and feet, so he can’t come unless he is invited in a carriage. Sure enough, the great-grandfather of the main family once broke his leg and was left disabled. He had even died young. Even the main family head had only heard about it from his grandfather when he was a child. Then they changed the spell and sent a carriage to invite the old man.”
To be fair, Director Pang’s eloquence was very good. He had told this story countless times, vividly. When the answer was revealed, the tone was particularly suspenseful.
Unfortunately, the response was not very satisfactory. Shi Changxuan took notes indifferently. Xie Lingya and Xiao Dian were expressionless at first, but after a while they came to their senses and said in praise: “This teacher is indeed a man of real ability. He is indeed a teacher!”
Director Pang was a little depressed, but he quickly figured it out, “Hey, you guys are just studying this, you must have heard more mysterious things.”
Everyone laughed and said nothing.
“By the way, do you want to watch the fasting?” Director Pang said, “My teacher and I have already said hello. Today you can go to the class teacher’s house to take pictures. His home is in the next village. It’s a ten-minute drive away.”
Director Pang drove, took them to the home of the teacher’s class teacher in the next village.
The class leader’s wife received them and said, “He is reading. Come to the door and have a look.”
Several people walked to the door of the study. The house was also an old-fashioned building with a high roof and high windows. The room was not very bright. It was much better after installing electric lights.
This place was more of a study than a place where the master specialized in “cultivation”. There were seven or eight wooden masks hanging on the wall. The master was sitting at the table, reading a yellowed book. When he heard someone coming, he raised his head and glanced. Because Director Pang had greeted him in advance, he was not surprised. He just nodded and continued to read his book.
Shi Changxuan also only nodded, and then quietly took a few photos. Director Pang had already explained to them the precautions during fasting in the car just now, so there was no need to ask the master himself.
Xie Lingya’s eyes lingered on those wooden masks. These wooden ghost heads were painted with facial features, skin and hair, and the corners of their mouths were slightly raised, symbolizing the kind and kind ancestors.
There were also some with more majestic expressions, probably ghost heads representing gods.
Probably because of the aesthetic style, no matter which one it was, the blush on the cheeks was particularly heavy, and a layer of varnish was applied to it, making it look like the face was shiny.
After Shi Changxuan finished taking the photos, they left the room and said in a small voice: “If I look at the mask alone, I think it looks like an opera singer, but when it is placed in that house, it feels very mysterious.”
“Psychological effect.” Xie Lingya said, Master can summon gods, but the mask does not always have a soul attached to it.
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