Chapter 1 A Strange Banquet

The Huang Gou (Yellow Dog) Village had been visited by a group of people several days ago. They busily set up stages and burned incense.

Next to the stage, they even prepared a feast and various wedding items, creating a scene that was both festive and strange.

The person in charge was the old servant of the Huai An Wei family. He had people buy sets of brand-new tables and chairs from the city. They were placed along the small path between the two rows of houses in the village, making it seem quite lavish.

Red lanterns had been hung up several days ago. They were filled with oil every day, illuminating the village every night, making it even redder than a red light district, a ghastly, eerie red.

The villagers didn't know what they were doing, but they were very respectful of these unfamiliar faces. Little did they know, even the old Wei family servant in charge didn't know what was going on.

After a trip to the Wu Sha (Five Fiends) Lord's temple, he was ordered to come back and prepare these things. He was waiting for the Wu Sha Lord to descend on the seventh day to save his master's life. Naturally, he prepared everything meticulously, but the more he prepared, the more frightened he felt.

It looked like a wedding banquet, but he was also asked to prepare a lot of incense, paper money, and buy five types of livestock. However, he wasn't allowed to hire a cook or set up a stove. Instead, he had to cut everything into pieces, arrange them on cold plates, and wait in the back to serve them on the tables.

The tables that had been set up weren't allowed to have tea or snacks. Each table had an incense burner, with incense burning inside. Row after row, the smoke swirled around, as if one had entered a ancestral hall.

The best musicians from the surrounding villages were hired to play music all night long, only stopping when dawn broke. Guards had to watch them to make sure they didn't slack off.

Now that five or six days had passed, the unease in his heart had reached its peak. He didn't know what use this strange banquet would be in saving his son-in-law, but he could only do as he was told meticulously.

Since he was inviting the spirits, he had to follow the rules. A single mistake could bring disaster upon himself!

Finding a chance, he went to the entrance of his son-in-law's ancestral home and listened for a while. His face grew even more somber, and he sighed softly.

Seven days ago, he had brought his son-in-law back from the Wu Sha temple and placed him in his ancestral home. But now, after so many days, his son-in-law still hadn't recovered.

Every day, he just hugged a spirit tablet, muttering to himself in the house, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying.

Sometimes he spoke in a soft voice, and then suddenly his voice would become rough and violent, as if two people were arguing.

"Whether he can be cured or not depends on this one time..."

The old servant looked at the sky and sighed with worry. He returned to the front and continued to look at the empty tables and chairs, with only incense burning. The uneasy feeling in his heart grew stronger, and he didn't know what would happen.

For the past few days, they had been empty like this, but now it was the last day. Could it be that he just had to set up this empty banquet and get through tonight?

"Hoo..."

But at that moment, outside the village, a gust of yin wind (ghostly wind), vast and unrestrained, blew in from afar.

He instinctively covered his face, but suddenly heard that as the yin wind blew in, the noisy music suddenly disappeared. Everything around was eerily quiet.

He quickly opened his eyes and was about to scold the musicians. Once night fell, the music couldn't stop. But before he could speak, he was suddenly stunned, feeling a chill all over his body, almost freezing him.

"Gue... guests are here?"

"..."

Returning this time, he felt inexplicably shocked.

Night had already fallen, and the lanterns on both sides had been lit, but even though it was extremely festive, the banquet always seemed dim and unclear.

It was as if even the light of the lanterns couldn't shine down, and gusts of wind kept blowing in from outside the village, causing the lanterns on both sides to sway, making the shadows of the living people under the lanterns flicker uncertainly.

And in the dim lantern light, several people were sitting next to the row of Eight Immortals tables.

Or rather, just a few shadows.

There was an old man wearing a black robe and a small round hat, sitting upright at the table, his back far away from the back of the chair. His face was covered with a layer of yellow paper, and he couldn't feel any breath. His hands were hanging by his sides, tucked into his long sleeves.

There was a woman wearing mourning clothes, all white, sitting opposite the yellow paper old man, with her head lowered and her long hair falling down.

"Whoosh, whoosh..."

Gusts of yin wind blew in from inside and outside the village from time to time. In the hazy, the shadows that appeared at the tables were constantly appearing, each one extremely strange.

Some were wearing silk and satin, but a pair of chicken feet were exposed under their robes.

Some had vague figures, sometimes looking like a person, and sometimes looking like there was only a spirit tablet placed on the seat.

Some were drenched, and a pool of water would soon seep out from the edge of the table. Others had robes that kept billowing, and after a while, a rat would crawl out, squeak, and run away.

The empty banquet had suddenly become full of people, but there was no festive atmosphere at all. Instead, it felt like a gust of yin wind, and there were occasional sobs, making people feel a chill in their hearts.

"Ol... Old Sun, this..."

The guards next to him were already trembling with fear as they watched this scene. They had all practiced martial arts since they were young, and they were brave, but at this moment, they were all so scared that they took two steps back, their voices trembling as they looked at the old servant.

"Do... don't panic..."

The old servant was also afraid, and he realized that none of these guests were people he knew. But he forced himself to stay calm and said in a low voice, "Prepare, se... serve the dishes!"

As he instructed, he added, "Choose a few brave ones to serve, and don't be rude."

The guards hurriedly went to give the orders, as if they were rushing to go.

After a while, the sound of drawing swords came from the kitchen. Several villagers who had been temporarily pulled over were forced to walk out trembling, carrying baskets, with knives held to their necks.

They all closed their eyes, not daring to look at the guests at the table, and tremblingly placed the prepared "dishes" on the table.

But the so-called tea and snacks were paper ingots, raw meat, raw fish, cold rice, candles, and so on.

And when they tremblingly placed the things on the table, these "guests," who had originally been motionless and at most making crying sounds, now actually had a reaction, and they all stretched out their wooden hands and threw things into the baskets.

Looking at them, they were golden rings covered in wet mud, dirty pearls, an embroidered shoe soaked in sewage, and even two silver teeth, looking as if they had just been knocked out.

Moreover, as these things were put into the baskets, the faint crying sounds became even louder, as if they were heartbroken.

"What the hell is this? Can this really save my son-in-law?"

The old servant's heart was already extremely tormented. He felt cold sweat coming out layer after layer. He felt that this banquet was like a ghost domain. Suddenly, a burst of suona music sounded from outside the village.

In a gust of yin wind, an old woman sitting in a paper sedan chair floated over.

She was holding a smoking pipe in her hand, with a smug smile on her face. Next to her was a young man in a cloth shirt and trousers, pulling a straw rope, which was tied to a staggering figure.

"Aiya, a banquet is being held..."

The old woman in the paper sedan chair got closer and glanced at everyone present with a smile, saying, "It's just that the host is being unreasonable. Our Seventh Grandma is well-known in this area. When you host a banquet, why didn't you think of informing us?"

"They're ignorant. Seventh Grandma is generous and won't hold it against them."

The young man next to her looked around and saw the strange shadows sitting next to the tables and the things in the baskets.

He smiled and said, "The host is considerate and has invited all the neighbors around. He has also collected gifts from everyone."

"Seventh Grandma is here to eat the banquet and won't lack face."

"Consider this as a gift, just make do with it!"

"..."

As he spoke, he pulled the rope in his hand forward, pushing the staggering person who had been following him to the front, and then stood next to Seventh Grandma, smiling as he looked at everyone.

And upon seeing this gift, the entire place was instantly silent.

Especially the old servant, whose heart was about to jump out of his chest. He had seen this altar envoy before.

He had been so imposing in front of the Wu Sha Lord's temple, scaring people unconscious with just a glance. Now, he was being led here like livestock?

As for the reluctant, blurry figures sitting at the tables, they were even more frightened and alarmed. They stole a glance at Seventh Grandma and then quickly lowered their heads, afraid of offending this small underworld official.

Earlier, it was this small underworld official who had spoken out, causing no one in the entire Ming Prefecture to dare to save the Wei family's son-in-law. Now, as soon as this banquet started, this mysterious small underworld official had come over again, and had caught Wu Sha Lord's incense burner as a gift...

Was this really going to be a head-on confrontation?

What action could be more provocative than this? In their eyes, this old woman was going to make the heavens panic.

But after pushing the "gift" forward, the old woman didn't say anything. She just walked forward with a smile and went straight to the upper three tables where incense was burning.

When she got to the front, she glanced around, but suddenly hesitated a bit. When entertaining guests at the Eight Immortals table, the left is the most honorable, the right is the next; the top is the most honorable, the bottom is the next; the center is the most honorable, the side is the next. Since Seventh Grandma was here, she should of course sit at the top.

But that spot had already been taken by the strange old man with the yellow paper on his face.

Seventh Grandma actually had a good temper. Although Hu Ma had said that she wanted to sit in the top seat, since someone had already taken it, it would be fine for her to change places.

But when Hu Ma heard this, his eyes suddenly turned cold. He slammed the table, scaring the old man with the yellow paper on his face so much that he shivered. He suddenly stood up straight and floated to the next table.

Following him, the other figures suddenly floated up as well and went to the next table. The top table was now completely empty.

Hu Ma didn't care. He helped Seventh Grandma to sit at the table and said with a smile, "That's more like it."

"Come, let me light a bag of tobacco for you..."

(End of Chapter)