Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Everyone accepted that explanation. I sighed, then opened all the red envelopes and pulled out the joss paper inside.
“Red envelopes filled with joss paper invite a hundred ghosts to feast.”
“Remember this, all of you. This is one mistake you absolutely cannot make. Inviting a hundred ghosts to a wedding banquet is how people end up dead!”
“There’s still time. I’ll recite an incantation and return the joss paper the way it came, and everything will be fine. But you really have to be careful from now on. This isn’t the kind of joke you can make casually.”
I laid the seven sheets of joss paper out on the floor and took a yellow talisman from my bag. With a flick of both hands, the talisman burst into flame without any wind.
“One-Word Soul-Returning Incantation, open a path through the three realms. Return the qi bestowed by Heaven to the gates of the Nine Netherworlds.”
The yellow talisman burned to ash. I dipped my fingertip into the ashes and wrote the character for “return” on each sheet of joss paper, then folded them back into the red envelopes exactly as they had been.
The bridesmaids looked astonished, staring at me with strange expressions as I went through the motions.
“What is she doing? That’s hilarious.”
“Right? What’s with all this ghost stuff?”
Jiang Ping hurriedly got down from the wedding bed as well, her face full of displeasure as she tried to stop me.
“Qiao Moyu, what nonsense are you talking about? Ghosts and souls? Isn’t that even more unlucky?”
Jiang Yan immediately grabbed her arm.
“Sis, listen to Qiao Moyu. She’s an Earth Master. She’s really amazing!”
Lou Qianqian rolled her eyes at the other two bridesmaids too.
“Exactly. What do you know? When Qiao Moyu was catching ghosts, who knows where you two even were!”
The girls from our dorm had seen the world with me before and knew how serious these things were. Since we had the advantage in numbers, the others might not have believed it in their hearts, but they couldn’t say anything more.
Jiang Yan slipped the red envelopes back through the crack under the door and kindly reminded them, “Brother-in-law, take a good look. Did you make a mistake with these red envelopes?”
Soon, a few scoffs came from outside the door.
“I told you. A bunch of gold diggers!”
“What’s wrong, ladies? Think it’s too little? Did you come here to make a fortune?”
When Jiang Ping heard the groomsman say that, her temper immediately flared.
“It’s not that the amount is too small. It’s that the things inside are wrong. Jiang Qingsong, can you be a little more careful when you do things? You’re always so careless. Look for yourself and see what you put in there!”
Jiang Qingsong said, “The things inside are wrong? What, was I supposed to put gold bracelets in them?”
“Jiang Ping, there must be something wrong with your head too. Giving them this money is just throwing it away. You’re the one marrying me and building a life with me. Are you treating me like some sucker so you can show off in front of them? Stop putting on airs!”
The two of them started arguing through the door. Jiang Ping was both embarrassed and furious, and her eyes turned red.
Hua Yuling couldn’t listen anymore. She rapped impatiently on the door.
“Red envelopes passed through the door usually have one or two hundred at most. My plane ticket here alone cost three thousand. Who would be after your little bit of money?”
“Look carefully. The envelopes are filled with hell money. If we accept this stuff, something bad will happen. Take it back.”
Outside the door, it went quiet for a few seconds. Then Raspy Voice spoke up.
“Sure enough, gold diggers. One or two hundred isn’t good enough for you? When other families do door-blocking red envelopes, which ones aren’t ten or twenty yuan? Fucking one or two hundred? Are you worth that much for an hour? Bro, I wasn’t wrong, was I? One little test and we found them out.”
Jiang Qingsong held back his anger.
“Jiang Ping, where did you find these bridesmaids? One after another, they’re dressed all wrong. Got used to milking men in the big city, have they?”
“Open the door. I’ll let what happened today slide for now.”
Jiang Yan was so angry she kicked the door hard.
“Jiang Qingsong, watch your mouth! They’re all my classmates! They’re proper college students. What’s wrong with wearing a camisole?”
“The way you were looking at Lou Qianqian just now was already off. Your eyes were practically glued to her body. What, are you going to start spreading filthy rumors about her right in front of me?”