Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The Bai family were not superstitious. Since her grandfather’s time, they had all taught at the university, and she herself had also been a teacher; her husband was a civil servant. Therefore, Bai Juan’s relatives and friends found it strange that she would think of hiring someone to perform rituals for her father’s funeral.
When someone asked Bai Juan herself, she said quietly, “After my father passed away, I dreamt that he told me he hoped I would find a Taoist priest to chant scriptures for him. This was his last wish, and of course I had to fulfill it.”
Everyone understood and simply expressed their condolences. This must be a case of what one thought about during the day manifesting in a dream at night. When a loved one dies, the living could only hope for a happy afterlife, finding solace in the thought.
Because her community didn’t allow setting up a mourning hall, Bai Juan rented a ceremonial hall at the funeral home to perform the rituals and keep vigil.
The task of hiring a Taoist priest was given to her husband. The most miraculous part of this was that Bai Juan clearly heard her father specify in her dream that it had to be a Taoist priest from Baoyang Temple, not Taihe Temple.
When Bai Juan’s husband brought the people over, she was shocked to discover that she had seen one of them in her father’s hospital room.
Xie Lingya explained, “I work part-time at Baoyang Temple. I knew Professor Bai was going to have a ceremony, so I came along.”
Bai Juan had assumed they were interns and was a little speechless. Why would a young person be doing an internship at a Taoist temple? However, since they had hired three or four Taoist priests and paid the advance, she didn’t say anything. That evening, immediate family members kept vigil at the funeral home. Bai Juan had a young daughter who couldn’t stay there that night, so she entrusted her to relatives.
The Taoist priests performed the ceremony until 10 p.m. and then rested. Vigil conditions were certainly not good, and every hour on the hour, they had to burn paper money for the deceased, so they basically couldn’t sleep all night.
Professor Bai’s body had been made up. Xie Lingya glanced at it and noticed that it looked somewhat unnatural compared to when he was alive. In his eyes, his ruddy face was filled with death, creating a contradictory and eerie feeling.
The Taoist priest was even more tired than the family members, having just finished the ritual. Xie Lingya, wrapped in his coat, leaned casually against the wall, dozing off, when suddenly he was jolted awake by the cold.
He looked around; it was only two or three in the morning. Those who had stayed up all night were exhausted, and it wasn’t even the exact time yet. Bai Juan was already dozing off, propping her head up with her hand. Just then, another gust of cold wind blew in. Xie Lingya, lost in thought, stuck a talisman on his body and saw Professor Bai being led in by underworld officials— her soul had returned.
Xie Lingya was mentally prepared, so he wasn’t frightened. He even had a moment to calculate in his mind that this was indeed the time for the soul to return.
Looking at Professor Bai, he saw that he and the underworld officials were arm in arm as if they were friends. —If someone had committed sins, they would be tied with rope or chains when returning to the underworld, depending on the circumstances. But Professor Bai, even after death, was a civil servant in the underworld, and he hadn’t done anything wrong, so they were only arm in arm.
The underworld official bowed slightly to Xie Lingya in greeting, and Professor Bai nodded back. “We meet again.”
“You’re back,” Xie Lingya said casually, standing up to show respect and explaining the funeral arrangements.
Professor Bai said happily, “Very well done, thank you for your help.” The scene of the deceased thanking the living for the well-organized funeral was slightly eerie.
“It’s nothing, it’s what I should do. Please look after the children,” Xie Lingya added.
Professor Bai had just come from his home, visited his old residence, and was now looking after his family. Even in the underworld, though it was a good place, it still separated the living from the dead, and he knew he would never see his loved ones again. Professor Bai lingered, taking one last look around.
When it was almost time to leave, Professor Bai reluctantly departed, bidding farewell to Xie Lingya before leaving.
….
Bai Juan was extremely sleepy and began to doze off without realizing it. Gradually, she felt very cold.
Funeral homes were always very cold; otherwise, how could they store corpses? Even in winter, they were colder inside than outside. Despite wearing a coat, Bai Juan felt a chill that seeped into her bones. In her dazed state, she instinctively hugged herself tighter. She desperately wanted to wake up, but her eyelids felt glued shut.
Through her hazy vision, she heard the wind and faint footsteps echoing in the empty funeral hall.
A feeling of both fear and anticipation rose within her. Although someone had told her that encountering a dead person and their spirit returning was an ominous sign, she felt that seeing her father again would be a good thing.
However, seeing a spirit return was not so easy. Bai Juan couldn’t wake up, but she did hear a voice, like Xiao Xie’s. She couldn’t make out the words, it sounded like casual conversation, with occasional interjections. Then his voice seemed to draw closer, approaching with a gust of wind that brushed against Bai Juan’s face.
The slow pace gradually calmed Bai Juan’s wildly beating heart.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before she slowly woke up and saw Xie Lingya dismantling paper money, calling out to her, “Sister Bai, just in time, it’s exactly time.”
Bai Juan touched her face and realized she had shed a few tears in her dream. She dazedly went forward to burn the paper money, glancing at Xie Lingya, but he seemed unaffected.
Bai Juan swallowed the words she wanted to say.
After the funeral, besides the agreed-upon payment, Bai Juan gave Xie Lingya a separate bag.
Xie Lingya only hesitated for half a second before accepting the bag.
Bai Juan: “Thank you.”
Xie Lingya: “You’re welcome.”
They exchanged a glance, a tacit understanding formed in their silence.
….
The Taoist priests in charge of each ritual received a commission, and they watched helplessly as Xie Lingya took an extra bag.
On the way back, Xie Lingya was asked how to be as likable as him. Everyone was acting together, and Xie Lingya wasn’t even the main cultivator or the oldest— at least ordinary people shouldn’t be able to tell their cultivation levels apart.
Xie Lingya: “It’s useless, it’s because I’m good-looking.”
Everyone: “…”
They wanted to argue; how could a family member be so superficial? But remembering the banner still hanging at Baoyang Temple that Xie Lingya had earned his reputation based on his looks, they remained silent.
Just then, Xie Lingya’s phone rang. Seeing it was an unfamiliar number, he answered, “Hello?”
“Y-hello, is this Master Xie?”
Xie Lingya: “…Yes.”
Admitting that the form of address was a bit embarrassing so Xie Lingya added, “I am Xie Lingya.”
“It’s you, it’s you! My name is Pang Yuan. We met in Fengping Village. I added you on WeChat—and I even like your posts every day!”
Xie Lingya broke out in a sweat. “Oh, oh, what can I do for you?”
He didn’t remember the name, but he recognized Fengping Village and roughly knew who it was. Last time, he accompanied Shi Changxuan to investigate the standing corpse sacrifice in Maoxian County. Some things happened during the ancestral worship ceremony in Fengping Village. After it was resolved, many villagers added him on WeChat. His WeChat ID was also his mobile phone number, so it was not surprising that he called.
“Master, we’d like to ask you to come and see what’s wrong!” Pang Yuan explained. “The ancestral hall in the village has been causing a ruckus these past few days. We think the ancestors have some kind of grudge. We invited a shaman to take a look, but he couldn’t resolve it. Oh, by the way, it’s not Fengping Village, it’s Xiaoba Village.”
Pang Yuan had already married into Xiaoba Village; he only added Xie Lingya as a friend after returning to the village. So the ancestral hall he was referring to was the one in Xiaoba Village, which was also in Mao County, not far from Xie Lingya.
Xie Lingya found it strange. The shaman he had seen that day, while not highly skilled, certainly possessed a certain ability to communicate. If the ancestors were dissatisfied with their descendants, couldn’t they resolve it?
Xie Lingya then asked for details about what exactly was going on.
Pang Yuan said, “The offerings were all overturned, and there were strange noises in the ancestral hall at night, but when we went in to check, there was nothing there! We invited two different troupes of shamans to look at it, but neither of them could fix it. Our village recently considered filling in the feng shui pond, and we suspect that’s why the ancestors are angry. But the shamans have already tried to appease them, but it didn’t work.”
Xie Lingya, who was already missing classes because of the ritual, said, “I have some things to do recently and it’s inconvenient for me to go. How about this, would you mind if I asked a colleague to go?”
Pang Yuan asked, “Is it that Master Shi from last time?”
Xie Lingya chuckled, “No, it’s someone else, and his skill level is also very high.”
He was referring to Fang Zhe. If the matter really was related to the feng shui pond, then Fang Zhe would definitely be able to see it, and performing the ritual wouldn’t be a problem.
Pang Yuan hesitated only for a moment before agreeing.
….
After Xie Lingya returned, he told Fang Zhe about the matter. It should have been settled then, but that night he dreamed of the ancestral master.
The ancestral master was pointing a middle finger at him for a long time.
The next day, Xie Lingya woke up feeling exhausted. He went to ask his ancestor what was wrong, but his guesses were all wrong. He thought back carefully; the recent changes, besides attending Professor Bai’s funeral, were all about the people from Mao County…
Xie Lingya asked with a glimmer of hope, “Shouldn’t we have prevented Fang Zhe from going to Xiaoba Village?”
It was a lucky guess!
Xie Lingya sighed, “So it’s not that Fang Zhe shouldn’t go? Of course, that’s fine, but if he doesn’t go, who will…” Xie Lingya said speechlessly, “It’s not that they want me to go, is it?”
It was a lucky guess; he wanted him to go.
Xie Lingya: “…”
This didn’t sound like a serious matter. It was just a commotion in the middle of the night. Going to Mao County to resolve things and then returning would conservatively take two days.
Xie Lingya was tempted to refuse but seeing how hard the jiao cup had been thrown, if he refused, his ancestor’s hand, wielding the Spirit Official Technique, would probably come crashing down.
“Alright, let’s go then.”
Xie Lingya didn’t know why the ancestral master wanted him to go to Mao County, but he was clever enough to suspect it wasn’t that simple, so he insisted on bringing Shi Changxuan along. With Shi Changxuan, it would be easier to assess the feng shui.
“I originally wanted Fang Zhe to go, but now I have to go with Shi Changxuan.” As Xie Lingya explained this, Hai Guanchao sneered.
Xie Lingya: “…What are you laughing at?”
Hai Guanchao felt he had seen through the truth: Xie Lingya was taking the opportunity to go on a date; he was too stifled to be unrestrained at Baoyang Temple.
Hai Guanchao: “You guys have a good time.”
Xie Lingya: “…”
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