Chapter 84
Chapter 84
Once Ling Fang returned, Yang Liuqing’s stint as his substitute came to an end.
As for that, Xie Qingling could only say…
On the first day after Yang Liuqing left, she missed her.
On the second day after Yang Liuqing left, she missed her.
On the third day after Yang Liuqing left –
Shen Huaizhou handed Xie Qingling a steaming bag of buns. “Eat them on the way. Come on. Time for patrol.”
Xie Qingling: “…”
On the third day after Yang Liuqing left, she still missed her!
At first, Xie Qingling had loved the buns from the shop on the street beside the office.
Now, they were almost making her sick.
No matter how much she liked buns, she could not endure being fed them every day. Even the rarest delicacies would make someone’s eyes roll back and leave them ready to faint if they ate them every day, at every meal.
Xie Qingling simply could not understand how Shen Huaizhou never got tired of them.
Not only did he never tire of them, he also liked dragging everyone else into eating them with him.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Shen Huaizhou said considerately, “These aren’t pork buns today. They have vegetable filling.”
How thoughtful of you, Shen Huaizhou. You actually remembered.
Except what she had meant and what he was talking about were entirely different things!
“Can I not eat buns?” Xie Qingling asked. “Could you at least give me ten minutes to make some instant noodles?”
A conflicted look appeared on Shen Huaizhou’s face. “But buns are convenient.”
“You can eat them while walking. It saves time.”
Xie Qingling: “…” Ruthless.
She sighed. “I demand an extra ten minutes to eat every day. Otherwise, I’m not teaming up with you anymore. I’ll team up with Sister Anran instead.”
“Then go make your noodles.” Shen Huaizhou reached out and took the buns back.
Xie Qingling walked into the kitchen and began preparing something to eat.
Ever since Future City’s danger rating had risen from Level Two to Level Three, Ling Fang had required them to work in pairs whenever they went out on assignments, so that each person would have someone watching their back.
If a special incident occurred, they would also be able to support one another.
Although no special incidents had occurred lately and they had not encountered any members of the Eleventh Realm, Ling Fang remained vigilant and still made them patrol in pairs.
Ling Fang said headquarters would assign more people to Future City after a while, provided suitable candidates were available. That would ease their staffing shortage somewhat.
Xie Qingling could hardly wait for that day to arrive.
Once she had appeased her stomach, Xie Qingling headed out with Shen Huaizhou.
Their main patrol area that day was City God Street, which had already been approved for demolition and reconstruction.
The other buildings along the street had yet to be completed, but after the construction crew worked through the nights, the City God Temple was nearly finished.
The temple itself had now been rebuilt. Only the divine occupants inside remained to be settled.
All that remained was to choose an auspicious day, construct the divine altar, install the statues, invite the City God to take up residence, and usher the Six Divisions of the City God into the temple. Then it would truly be complete.
Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou had come only to confirm that nothing had gone wrong.
The City God Temple had been rebuilt on its original site, once again enclosing the old locust tree within its grounds.
The construction crew had temporarily cordoned off the site. When Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou arrived, it took a great deal of explaining before they earned the workers’ trust and were allowed inside.
The moment they entered, they saw the elderly woman from the rice noodle shop holding a large bucket and ladling out bowl after bowl of sweet locust-blossom soup. The construction workers stood in line with bowls in hand.
When the old woman saw Xie Qingling, she immediately smiled and beckoned to her. “It’s you! Come over and have a bowl of sweet soup.”
The old woman had already returned the qipao.
Whenever Xie Qingling had time, she would take a detour to eat a bowl of rice noodles before leaving.
“Grandma, I’m here to take a look around. I’ll have some in a little while.” Xie Qingling did not stand on ceremony with her, but she still intended to finish her work first.
Hearing that, the old woman did not insist. She turned her attention back to the construction workers before her.
Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou patrolled the newly completed City God Temple from end to end. Nothing had gone wrong.
[After lying dormant for untold years, the City God Temple had finally received a meager supply of incense offerings. The laborers working tirelessly here prayed with devout hearts, begging an unknown deity to keep them safe from harm during construction.]
[Rooster blood used in a sacrificial rite lay buried beneath the old locust tree and the temple’s foundation.]
[With their divine power restored, Generals Golden Shackle and Silver Lock had grown even more imposing. With Lord Shackle and Lord Lock, the two ghost bailiffs, guarding this place, no demon or monster dared trespass.]
So that was it.
Xie Qingling said to Shen Huaizhou, “Let’s go. Mission accomplished. There’s nothing left for us to do.”
Shen Huaizhou nodded and followed behind her.
The two returned to the front of the temple and asked the old woman for a bowl of sweet locust-blossom soup.
The soup had been chilled. In such sweltering weather, one bowl left her feeling as though she had been granted salvation, every part of her soothed and refreshed.
Xie Qingling tried to pay the old woman, but she refused the money.
“I don’t charge anyone for the sweet locust-blossom soup I bring here. The Ghost Festival is almost upon us, and I worry that these temple builders are working so hard to meet their deadline that they don’t even have time for a sip of water. This old woman is here to do a good deed. How could I take your money? Put it away.”
Xie Qingling did not insist and put the money back.
“Grandma, did you ever burn incense at the City God Temple before?” Xie Qingling asked.
“No. By my time, the City God Temple had already collapsed. Where could I have gone to burn incense?”
“My grandmother knew all about those traditions, though. Every year when the Ghost Festival arrived, she would take me out to burn incense and spirit money. She said it was to honor our ancestors.”
As the old woman spoke, her voice grew nostalgic. The smile spreading across her wrinkled face made her look almost like a child of eight or nine again, filled with wonder at some distant memory.
“Even back then, not many people still celebrated the Ghost Festival. But every year without fail, my grandmother would set out an incense altar and burn spirit money. She would lay out delicious food too… though all of it ended up in my belly afterward.”
“My grandmother had a kind heart. She didn’t burn offerings only for our own ancestors. She made them for others too.”
“She said those lonely, wandering ghosts couldn’t find their way home. If no one made offerings to them during the Ghost Festival, they would go hungry for an entire year. Far too pitiful. She couldn’t bear to see anyone hungry, not even a ghost. So on the day of the Ghost Festival, she would perform ‘Feeding the Lonely Spirits’ outside our door.”
“Feeding the Lonely Spirits?” Xie Qingling asked.
Among young people, these ancient traditions had all but died out. Yet among the elderly, certain little-known stories still seemed to survive by word of mouth.
Fewer and fewer people knew them, and written records were becoming increasingly difficult to find, but some people still remembered.
They had heard the stories from their elders, then passed them down to younger relatives or those closest to them.
“‘Feeding the Lonely Spirits’ means setting up an incense altar outside your door and making offerings to lonely ghosts passing by – to those who can’t find their way home. You burn some spirit money and offer incense too, so their lives below won’t be quite so hard.”
The old woman ladled Xie Qingling another bowl of sweet soup. “My grandmother used to say that if only the City God Temple were still standing, there wouldn’t be any lonely, wandering ghosts. Everyone would have somewhere to belong, somewhere to go. They wouldn’t have to drift about alone with nothing to rely on. It’s so pitiful.”
“Could your grandmother see ghosts or something? How did she know all that?” Xie Qingling took a sip of sweet soup and asked the question casually.
“Silly child, there are no ghosts or monsters in this world!” The old woman laughed. “It’s been ages since I met a child as guileless as you.”
“Those things are only fantasies people invented, a way for the living to remember the dead. I didn’t believe in any of it before, and I still don’t. But I do hope the City God Temple is finished soon. For one thing, once this street is bustling with people again, I won’t be lonely. And for another, it gives me something to hope for. If the finished temple truly can take in those wandering souls with no home to return to, the thought alone brings comfort to my heart.”
Xie Qingling smiled and nodded, indicating her agreement.
“They should be able to install the divine statues the day before the Ghost Festival,” Xie Qingling said.
“I hope so.”
After finishing the sweet locust-blossom soup and saying goodbye to the old woman, Xie Qingling climbed onto the motorcycle with Shen Huaizhou and began the journey back to the city.
On the way, Shen Huaizhou said, “We’ll have to perform Feeding the Lonely Spirits during the Ghost Festival too.”
“What?” Xie Qingling froze for a moment.
“The Upper Yuan bestows blessings, the Middle Yuan pardons sins, and the Lower Yuan relieves misfortune. The Middle Yuan Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival, is the day the gates of the underworld open. Once a year, ghosts are allowed to return home and visit their families,” Shen Huaizhou explained. “A great many ghosts and monsters will appear in the mortal world then. We’ll be very busy.”
“Will we need to capture them?” Xie Qingling asked.
Shen Huaizhou shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. The ghosts and monsters that appear during the Ghost Festival are souls returning home to visit family. Once day breaks and the gates of the underworld close, they have to leave. If they don’t, sunlight will scatter their souls completely. They’ll cause us a few minor inconveniences, but they won’t hurt anyone. If one does hurt someone, we kill it on the spot. For the sake of staying alive – no, for the sake of coming back to see their families again next year – they won’t attack anyone. They all know the rules and behave themselves.”
Some ghosts even tried to offer Department members gifts and cultivate connections in exchange for a little leniency, hoping to remain in the mortal world a while longer. Shen Huaizhou did not mention that part.
Xie Qingling imagined what they might encounter during the Ghost Festival. “It doesn’t sound all that difficult.”
“Besides Feeding the Lonely Spirits and honoring the dead, we also worship deities. We have Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and other folk beliefs, with all kinds of deities, each following different rules. On the Ghost Festival, we don’t worship only Daoist deities. We also have to worship Buddhist buddhas and bodhisattvas. That same day is the Buddhist Ullambana Festival.”
“Ah – my head is starting to hurt already,” Xie Qingling cried.
Shen Huaizhou could not help laughing. “It really isn’t that difficult. You’ll understand when the time comes.”
“All right.”
Only a few days remained until the Ghost Festival.
Xie Qingling had already formed a basic understanding of what the Ghost Festival meant: overtime.
Not long afterward, the Logistics Department delivered six items.
Two willow leaves soaking in water, two cups of some unidentified liquid, and two avian eyeballs.
“These tools will be used during the Ghost Festival,” Ling Fang said. “They will allow you to see ghosts directly while you’re on patrol.”
“After sunset on the Ghost Festival, the gates of the underworld will open, and countless ghosts will return from the underworld to the world of the living. We’ll be on duty all night. During the day, the Logistics Department will take over patrol while we rest.”
“Director, how do you use the willow leaf?” Xie Qingling asked.
“Just wipe it over your eyes.”
Xie Qingling chose a willow leaf without hesitation.
Ling Fang selected one of the unidentified liquids. “These are tears from a yellow ox raised on grass from burial mounds. Rubbing them over your eyes will also let you see ghosts.”
Shen Huaizhou swiftly chose the other willow leaf, while Ye Anran snatched up the remaining ox tears.
Yu Wei waited until everyone else had chosen before stepping forward and picking up one of the slick crow eyeballs. With practiced ease, he said, “I swallowed an eyeball raw last year too. You just have to make sure it doesn’t rupture.”
Apparently, Yu Wei was used to it.
Dai Xingyu cackled twice, unbearably smug and arrogant. “I’m not like the rest of you. I don’t need cheat tools to see ghosts. The Groom is a professional at seeing ghosts. I don’t need any of this – mmph!”
Before he could finish, the quick-handed Ye Anran stuffed an eyeball into his mouth.
Dai Xingyu tried to spit it out, but Xie Qingling, standing behind him, struck his back with just the right amount of force. Dai Xingyu involuntarily opened his mouth and threw back his head, swallowing the crow’s eye raw.
Ye Anran and Xie Qingling, the culprits responsible, exchanged a glance and both began to laugh.