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In the countryside, the Ghost Festival is not only a time to honor ancestors but also to pay respects to the land. Villagers move from the ancestral hall to their own fields, scattering offerings into the soil, burning paper, and then wrapping colorful threads around the crop stalks. It is said that this can prevent hailstorms and ensure a bountiful harvest. The Li Family and the Wen Family do not own any land, but they have planted sweet potatoes in their backyards, so the colorful threads are wrapped around the sweet potato vines. The sweet potato vines are thriving, covering most of their backyard. Li Zhoule and Li Yishu have no idea how many sweet potatoes are buried beneath the soil, but just by looking at the vigorous growth of the vines above, they estimate there must be quite a few. After all, they are "Celestial Seeds."
After dinner, the villagers all head out together towards the river outside the village. They thank the heavens for finally bringing rain after a long drought; the river has risen, and the crops that were on the verge of dying have regained their vitality. By this time, many people have gathered by the riverbank—not just from Aoyama Village but also from neighboring villages and even townsfolk who have arrived with horse-drawn carts. The surface of the river is dotted with many lotus lanterns; some are exquisitely crafted while others are poorly made. The sun represents Yang and water represents Yin; it is said that the river flows towards the dark realm of Sanzu River, where living people release lotus lanterns to send messages to their loved ones in the Underworld. There is also another purpose for releasing lanterns: to guide lost souls and wandering spirits in the water. Regardless of the reason, releasing lanterns has become a custom.
"Sister, we’ve finished releasing the lanterns; let’s go home," Li Yishu eagerly suggests.
Li Zhoule playfully taps Li Yishu on the head with her delicate finger. "You’re just eager to get home for some dough figurines."
Li Yishu chuckles. Dough figurines, also known as flower dough, are made from flour and sugar shaped into various forms such as sheep, tigers, cows, fish, rabbits, as well as fruits like melons and peaches, and even birds and butterflies. They are colored with edible dyes and steamed to life-like perfection. In previous years, these figurines were made from coarse grain flour and dyed with vegetable juices that were neither appealing nor tasty. However, this year’s dough figurines are made from top-quality flour—Elder Brother Li had sent back quite a bit of silver through Genmiao and instructed his younger siblings to eat well and dress nicely. Unbeknownst to him, his siblings already had enough money. They could afford to eat the best food in the village, and both of them had gained quite a bit of weight—thanks to Hanno sending over milk mixed into their food and special dyes he purchased specifically for them. The resulting dough figurines were exquisite and delicious; even Li Zhoule and Li Yishu, who usually didn’t care for them, found themselves craving this year’s treats.
On the morning of the fifteenth day of the festival, Hanno received a batch of dough figurines sent over by Li Siblings. The intricate designs made Hanno feel warm inside; he almost didn’t want to eat them. When he brought them home, Han Dad and Mom Han also hesitated to eat them; they reluctantly shared them with Aunt Han and some friends instead. The response was filled with admiration as they asked where such pastries could be bought. This made Hanno consider whether he should open a shop specializing in traditional pastries.
The modern Ghost Festival does not feature as many activities as it did in ancient times; families still go about their own affairs until evening when they find a safe place to burn paper for their deceased relatives. Starting from July 11th each night along the riverbank outside Hanno's family home, many people gather to burn paper; walking on the bridge at night reveals twinkling lights along both sides of the riverbank that almost connect into a line. Generally, more people burn paper on specific days like July 13th; however, on the fifteenth—the main day—there are fewer participants because it is believed that during this time when the gates of hell are wide open, living people should avoid going out at night unless they are burning paper for wandering souls.
Mom Han has ordered Hanno not to go out at night; he only spent some time in his rented room in the afternoon without receiving anything else sent through Porcelain Jar. After reading for a while, he left, casually sweeping a piece of calligraphy he had written along with two finished pirated books into Porcelain Jar—after all, Ghost Festival is still a festival; he wondered where these three items would be sent.
………………
In the world of The Sword of Blood and Tears
A beggar woman with scars so grotesque that one would hesitate to look twice finished reading her pirated copy of The Sword of Blood and Tears and burst into tears. All her grievances flowed out with her tears; all that remained within her was hatred. Just as she had once loved that person deeply, now she hated him equally.
"Xia Xueyi, you have betrayed me so deeply! You’re dead now, but I will not let you off!" Beggar Woman He Hongyao wiped her tears away angrily.
Ten years later, the Wen Family in Zhejiang was completely consumed by fire, and not a single member escaped. Some claimed to have seen the bodies of the Wen Family, untouched by flames, indicating they had died from poison. In other words, the entire Wen Family had been poisoned before the fire was set. Many martial artists shuddered at the thought—what kind of poison could kill an entire family? What if they were targeted too...
No one knew who the murderer was. Due to the use of poison, some suspected the Wudujiao from the southwest, but Wudujiao had no grievances with the Wen Family; why would they come all the way to Zhejiang to commit murder? Moreover, no strange figures were spotted nearby.
He Hongyao held two-year-old Wen Qingqing in her arms. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to kill this bloodline of Xia Xueyi, but she had personally killed Wen Yi. Before killing Wen Yi, He Hongyao had marred her beauty. She had ruined her appearance; how could Wen Yi still look beautiful? She wanted Wen Yi to face Xia Xueyi with an ugly face, wondering if Xia Xueyi would still love this woman.
Wen Qingqing nestled in He Hongyao's embrace, too afraid to move. The girl was clever; although she didn't know that He Hongyao was her enemy—she had been asleep when He Hongyao committed murder and arson—she sensed the malice from this ugly woman. If she displeased her even slightly, this woman might very well kill her.
He Hongyao would not kill Wen Qingqing, but she also had no intention of raising her enemy's daughter. She sent Wen Qingqing to a farming family and then set off lightly towards Mount Hua. Mount Hua was the territory of Mu Renqing, and He Hongyao dared not disturb this martial arts master; she sneaked into Mount Hua. Following directions from pirated books, she found the cave where Xia Xueyi's body lay. Breaking through the seal at the cave entrance, foul air wafted out. He Hongyao did not wait for it to dissipate; she climbed inside with a self-made barrier-breaking pill.
Inside was a narrow passageway, actually a crack within the mountain. After crawling for over ten zhang, the passage began to rise. After advancing for another zhang or so, she could stand upright and continued forward. The passage turned; after walking two or three zhangs, it opened up into a spacious cave that resembled a stone chamber.
He Hongyao raised her torch and saw a skeleton leaning against the opposite stone wall, its clothing mostly decayed. The skeleton still retained a human shape. Tears streamed down her face as she gritted her teeth and muttered, "Xia Xueyi, you deserve this fate!"
In front of the skeleton lay more than ten Golden Snake Needles scattered haphazardly. On the stone wall were hundreds of crude figures carved with sharp instruments; each figure was different, appearing to practice martial arts. At the end of these images were several lines of text also carved with sharp tools. Leaning closer to read them revealed sixteen characters: "Precious secret techniques given to those fated; enter my door and do not blame misfortune."
He Hongyao scoffed coldly: "Precious secret techniques? They all belong to my Wudujiao; what right do you have to give them to others?"
Next to these sixteen characters was a sword hilt protruding from the stone wall as if a sword had been thrust into it up to the hilt. He Hongyao couldn't pull out the sword but had come prepared with a chisel. She chipped away at the stone around the sword's body until she forcefully pulled out the Golden Snake Sword. He Hongyao carefully wrapped both the Golden Snake Sword and the Golden Snake Needles she had collected earlier before securing them on her back; these two items were treasures of Wudujiao that she must take back.
Now it was time to deal with Xia Xueyi's corpse. He Hongyao had read in pirated books that Xia Xueyi had poisoned his own body as part of a scheme against her, which only deepened her hatred for him but also strengthened her resolve: You said I couldn't touch your corpse? I will do just that.
He Hongyao threw out a large piece of cloth to wrap Xia Xueyi's bones without direct contact and carried them out of the cave. She found a spacious area, piled up dry branches and firewood, tossed in a flame, then ran upwind and hid in a spot.
The original text clearly stated that Xia Xueyi had placed a potent poison on himself; once his bones burned, toxic gas would drift downwind with the smoke. Below, Mu Renqing, head of Mount Hua, was helping his friend teach his rogue junior brother a lesson when smoke wafted down towards them. Both men fell victim to it. Yuzhenzi lacked strong inner power and was immediately poisoned to death. Mu Renqing possessed great inner strength and hurriedly fled to expel the toxins; however, his body was still affected as his Inner Power regressed. To recuperate, Mu Renqing entered seclusion and stopped wandering down the mountain frequently.
As a result, Li Zicheng lost a powerful ally in martial arts; Yuan Chengzhi missed his chance to become Mu Renqing's disciple and learn Musa Daozhang's skills. Gaining Xia Xueyi's legacy left him with martial abilities equivalent to second-rate status in Jianghu—he lacked strength to win over any girls or attain leadership among martial artists across seven provinces—and he could not seek revenge against Chongzhen either, living an ordinary life instead. Without Yuan Chengzhi around, A Jiu would likely find herself happier.
The burning lasted all night. Although Huang Zhen and Gui Xinshu wanted to investigate, they were forced back by the poisonous smoke and could not approach at all. They could only watch helplessly as someone set fire to their Huashan territory. If you want to seek revenge, you can't find anyone. After the fire was extinguished, He Hongyao used his purse to put a handful of Xia Xueyi’s ashes close to his body. Don't let her go, how could she let go, she wants Xia Xueyi to follow her forever.
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