CH 32

The people who could afford to hire performers to sing for ghosts were not ordinary families. The Hu Family in Wuli Hillock was considered a prominent clan, with about one-third of the entire village bearing the surname Hu.

Li Huowang had learned from Lv Zhuangyuan that the person who paid Lv Family Troupe to sing was the wealthiest landlord in Wuli Hillock and also the most prestigious figure – Hu Qinghe.

At this moment, Li Huowang was accompanying Lv Zhuangyuan and his party as they headed towards the ancestral hall of the Hu Family.

“Lord Hu said there was nothing to worry about; he had hired other theatrical troupes to sing for ghosts in previous years, and nothing ever happened.”

Li Huowang glanced at him, not sure whom Lv Zhuangyuan was trying to comfort. He pressed his copper bell hanging on his waist with his hand, feeling a bit relieved. Even if something went wrong, he could summon Master Wander now.

Of course, it would be best if nothing went wrong. After all, summoning Master Wander would cost him three months of his life each time.

Walking along the village road, they soon arrived at the ancestral hall of the Hu Family, which was decorated with many red lanterns hanging from above.

The ancestral hall was crowded with people, and Li Huowang and his party found it difficult to squeeze inside. 

Peering through the doorway, he saw many individuals kowtowing before black memorial tablets and burning incenses.

“That must be Lord Hu. He also said that after the performance, we shouldn’t leave and should join him for a meal,” Lv Zhuangyuan pointed to the elderly man in silk clothes at the forefront of the group of kowtowing people.

As Lv Zhuangyuan spoke, the worshippers finished kowtowing and respectfully took down the black memorial tablets of the Hu Family’s ancestors, placing them on Eight Immortals Tables that had been prepared beforehand. The tablets were numerous, and the tables were abundant, filling the spacious ancestral hall.

In front of each table was an array of delicious dishes of various kinds.

（”The Eight Immortals Table” is a traditional Chinese wedding banquet table setting, usually made of redwood or other fine materials with exquisite carvings. According to legend, the name “Eight Immortals Table” comes from Taoism, as the table usually has eight seats, each representing one of the Eight Immortals.）

Red candles, incenses, gold ingots, and yellow paper are neatly arranged in plates for the ancestors to enjoy. 

Along the walls of the ancestral hall stand more than ten paper figures serving tea and pouring water, soon to be placed next to the tables.

“Wow, Lord Hu is so generous to personally pay for a theatrical troupe to perform for ancestors.”

“Yeah, no wonder Lord Hu’s family has been blessed without any misfortunes or illnesses. It’s all thanks to ancestors’ blessings.”

“Oh, I don’t even know if I’ll get such treatment after I die.”

“Unless your descendants can earn as much money as Lord Hu does, it costs a lot of money to hire theatrical troupes to sing for ghosts.”

Listening to the words of these Hu Family Members and seeing the solemn scene before him, Li Huowang felt reassured, thought there would not be any problems.

He leaned towards Lv Zhuangyuan, who was standing beside him, and asked, “Troupe Master Lv, you have been wandering outside for so many years,do you encountered more ghosts or more Petitioning things?”

“Wait, what? They’re not the same thing?!” Lv Zhuangyuan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“How could they be? One is a person who has died and become something else, while the other is…” Li Huowang struggled to explain.

However, he was certain that neither Great Granny nor Master Wander, nor even the small feet woman from that night were ghosts, at least not ghosts as he understood them.

Just then, the memorial tablets of the Hu Family had been set up, and Hu Qinghe walked towards Lv Zhuangyuan with his family members.

“Troupe Master Lv, thank you for your hard work. Jiaoliang, you bring some men over and help Troupe Master Lv to set up the platform.”

“Oh my, this is too kind of you, Lord Hu.”

“Troupe Master Lv, you know the rules of singing opera for the ghosts. After our ancestors come out to watch the show, we descendants will leave and stay at home. So I’ll leave this place in your hands,” Hu Qinghe kindly instructed.

“This is what we Lv Family Troupe should do. Lord Hu, please rest assured that with me here, nothing will go wrong inside the ancestral hall,” replied Lv Zhuangyuan confidently while patting his chest.

Although no one was watching, Lü Zhuangyuan dared not make any mistakes. If something went wrong in the ancestral hall, the Hu family would definitely not spare them.

“Also, when the opera begins, the living should not talk to the performers, otherwise the ancestors will be uncomfortable. 

“As for the type of opera, choose some joyful ones. The ancestors have requested it in our dreams, saying that the underworld is too lonely and they want to watch some happy operas.

“You don’t have to sing all night. After the hour of the Tiger has passed, my son will come and take our ancestors’ memorial tablets homing. Then you can rest.”

（Tiger-hour,one of the 12 two-hour periods into which the day was traditionally divided, each being given the name of one of the 12 Earthly Branches,This is the ancient Chinese method of time measurement）

Lv Zhuangyuan nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, “Yes, yes, Lord Hu, don’t worry, we will definitely follow the rules.” 

With the help of the Hu Family Members, the platform was quickly set up in the ancestral hall. Only five person came to sing tonight, as Luo Juanhua did not come, because women were not allowed to enter the ancestral hall.

Immediately following Hu Qinghe’s calls, the crowd that had just been watching dispersed and went home.

“Clang, clang~ Clang, clang lift!” 

When the Lv Family Troupe began to perform on the platform, Li Huowang stayed backstage waiting.

As time passed slowly, the whole Wuli Hillock became quiet. The large village was plunged into darkness, with only some lights shining in the ancestral hall.

It was the first time for Li Huowang to witness living people singing to the dead. He pulled back the backstage curtain and looked out.

It has to be said that this scene was quite chilling. The stage was lively, but off the stage was very silent. There was no applause, only rows of black memorial tablets engraved with names.And red candles, yellow paper between them.

Having spent so much time in Qingfeng Temple, Li Huowang was not frightened by these scenes. However, the Lv Family Troupe had never seen such a scene before. After a while, Lv Juren forgot several times lyrics,made Lv Zhuangyuan, who was playing the gong, feel very anxious.

But as time went on, they began to get into the rhythm and the singing became smoother.

In the silent night, the sound of singing spread far away, and Li Huowang sat backstage with his sword by his side, closing his eyes and resting while listening to the opera.

As he listened, Li Huowang, who was feeling a bit bored, even began to sense a certain charm in the singing. His head swayed along with the melody.

Unconsciously, the hour of the Pig had passed in this environment, and the time arrived at the hour of the Rat.

By this time, Li Huowang had already figured out that the hour of the Rat was from 11 pm to 1 am, and the hour of the Ox was from 1 am to 3 am, and the hour of the Tiger was from 3 am to 5 am. Generally, after five o’clock, the roosters in the village would start crowing.

He opened his mouth and let out a yawn. For some reason, he always felt more prone to drowsiness in this world than others.

As he was on a paying job, he couldn’t afford to actually fall asleep. So, he holding the Celestial Book in his hands, studying it to keep himself awake and alleviating his sleepiness.

Recently, he had also taken to studying the Celestial Book during his nighttime watch. However, besides gaining a stronger confirmation that it was an scripture that exhorted people to do good deeds, he didn’t really gain anything from it.

As he continued reading, the hour of the Pig passed, and they entered the hour of the Ox. The ancestral hall remained calm and normal with nothing unusual happening whatsoever.

Just as Li Huowang thought that the night would pass by like this, something unexpected happened. 

Suddenly, without any warning, the sound of singing from outside stopped abruptly.