Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The emcee gripped the microphone, his gaze sweeping greedily over the few of us. With a grin, he said, “This bridesmaid seems awfully eager to leave. Could she have a date with some lover?”

The groomsmen burst into laughter. Raspy Voice, that short guy with the duck-like croak, screeched even louder.

“It’s not even dark yet, and you’re already that impatient?”

The emcee said, “Don’t be in such a hurry to go, bridesmaid. We still need you onstage for a few little games.”

Raspy Voice said, “Of course, I know what you girls are like. We won’t make you play for nothing!”

As he spoke, he pulled a thick stack of red envelopes from his pocket and snapped them hard through the air, making a crisp pap-pap sound.

Raspy Voice raised an eyebrow. “Well? Tempted? This pap-pap-pap game is way more fun than the pap-pap-pap you’ll be having tonight, right?”

The groomsmen dissolved into another round of suggestive laughter.

I went numb all over. I didn’t even have to think about it. Those red envelopes were still stuffed with hell money.

The wedding tent had been set up on the open ground behind the village entrance. Red silk hung overhead, but around the sides there were only a few simple support poles and no enclosing tarp, so the scenery outside was clearly visible.

Almost the moment that groomsman took out the stack of red envelopes, a sinister wind rose from nowhere inside the tent.

The once bright-blue sky darkened in an instant. In the distance, black clouds piled up like mountains, slowly rolling toward us and gradually swallowing the entire blue sky.

My heart chilled.

There was no need to wait until night. Once noon passed, the stronger malicious ghosts would be the first to appear.

Both the bride’s and groom’s relatives and friends were gathered here so neatly, and the tent wouldn’t even need to be taken down. In a few days, it would be perfect for holding the funeral feast right where it stood.

The groomsmen had not noticed the change in the weather at all. Their eyes were fixed hungrily on the bridesmaids.

Best Man No. 2 said, “What a coincidence. The game I prepared is also called pap-pap-pap.”

The groomsmen moved several chairs onto the stage, then brought out a pile of colorful balloons and tied them behind the bridesmaids.

The emcee said, “The bridesmaids, please hold onto the chairs with your hands and face your backs toward everyone. The groomsmen will thrust their hips forward to squeeze the balloons until they burst with a ‘pap.’ Who wants to demonstrate first?”

Raspy Voice stared lecherously at me, his eyes shining. He even licked his lips without realizing it.

“Qiao Moyu, since you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you go first?”

“Sure. I have a pap-pap-pap game I want to play with you too.”

I rotated my wrist and strode toward him. Raspy Voice excitedly rubbed his hands together and grabbed a balloon from the side.

“You first-”

“Pap!”

Before he could finish, a heavy slap landed across his face.

I swung my arm and smacked Raspy Voice so hard he spun in place.

“Pap! Pap! Pap!”

A few more slaps followed, turning him into a human spinning top.

As I hit him, I cursed, “Is this fun? Since you love playing so much, I’ll have your ancestors come out later and play with you all you want!”

Everyone was stunned.

Best Man No. 2 was the first to react. With a roar, he lunged at me.

“You filthy bitch! How dare you hit someone!”

I kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying three meters away. Then I walked up to the emcee, who was gaping in shock, and snatched the microphone from his hand.

“Everyone, listen to me. These idiots have drawn in a whole horde of evil ghosts.”

“All of you, go home immediately. Smear soot from the bottom of your cooking pots on your faces, then prepare a bowl of uncooked rice. Hold the rice in your hands and hide under your bed. No matter what happens outside, absolutely do not come out.”

In traditional Chinese medicine, soot from the bottom of a pot is also called “Baicao Shuang.” It can stop bleeding, neutralize toxins, and has many other uses. But its most important effect is that it can prevent yang energy from leaking outward.

Some ethnic minorities in the Northeast have a custom of “blacking” their faces during special festivals, using it to ward off evil and keep themselves safe.

Add a bowl of rice on top of that. Rice is one of the grains, and it also symbolizes the Eight Hundred Earth. In astrology, Eight Hundred is an auspicious star that drives away evil and suppresses baleful energy.

With these two things, unless someone’s birth chart is especially unlucky, hiding under the bed for one night should be enough to get through this calamity safely.