Fang Lili murmured, lost in thought, on Ghost Festival.
The stall owner continued her recommendation, "I think this young woman's head would suit you, miss. It's already made up, you can use it right away."
"Would you like to try it?"
"No, thank you!"
Fang Lili felt a wave of nausea as she looked at the rows of foul-smelling human heads.
She quickly waved her hand and left the stall.
Even if she were to go to the human world, she would go back to see
her only living relative.
She walked a bit further.
She saw stalls selling all sorts of clothes, and also arms and legs.
Many ghosts eagerly flocked into these shops.
When they emerged, they were either wearing brand new white robes or terrifying blood-red attire.
Some even had their missing arms reattached and empty eye sockets fitted with eyeballs as they left the shops.
It was much like the New Year celebrations in the human world.
"Miss, would you like a makeover?"
The ladies from the Yichun Tower stood at the threshold, beckoning.
A faint, pleasant aroma wafted from them.
Fang Lili paused, touching her own face.
Would she frighten her family if she returned like this?
Not long after Fang Lili left, a new customer arrived at the stall selling heads.
This customer, clad in white, stopped before the stall owner's display.
It had complete hands, feet, and a torso, but
it was missing a head.
Above its neck, it was empty.
"Oh, a customer! Looking for a head?" the stall owner greeted with a smile after a brief moment of surprise.
Estimating that this customer couldn't see, she sized up its build.
Then, she picked out a young man's head and handed it to the outstretched hand.
"Customer, why don't you try this one?"
It was a young face with a stylish hairstyle.
All its features were present, and it looked very lifelike.
The headless ghost took the head and slowly placed it on its neck.
With eyes, it could now see the world.
With ears, it could hear sounds.
With a mouth, it could speak.
It looked down at itself.
Its gaze fell upon its own heels.
The human world, Lincheng.
On a not-so-bustling street.
Jiang Xian sat by the roadside on a small stool, with a bowl for spare change in front of him.
A flag pole was stuck in the ground beside him.
It read "Fortune Telling."
Passersby would glance at it briefly before moving on without further attention.
Some took a picture with their phones and posted it on their social media.
The caption read: "Still people doing fortune-telling these days, how rare."
But apart from that, no one stepped forward to inquire.
It seemed everyone had already assumed it was fake.
Perhaps a few years ago, some might have believed it, but in this era...
With no customers, Jiang Xian wasn't anxious; he had grown accustomed to it these days.
He sat quietly on the small stool, watching the pedestrians.
Recently, he had learned some physiognomy from his Ancestor.
Without casting lots, he could glean basic information just by observing a person's face.
That's right, he was the one who, during the Ancestor craze,
had been disdained by his Ancestor but ultimately persisted and persuaded the Ancestor to teach him divination.
Even now, many still sought their Ancestors, but even more had given up.
After all, not everyone was so fortunate.
Some people's Ancestors had long since reincarnated, and no amount of summoning would yield a response.
As for Jiang Xian, he had been learning from his Ancestor for some time now.
Periodically, his Ancestor would assign him small trials.
However, for some reason lately,
his Ancestor had not only stopped assigning tasks but had also appeared less frequently.
But it was clear that his Ancestor had been in a pretty good mood recently.
The frequency of being called stupid had decreased.
Suddenly, a portion of the light in front of Jiang Xian was blocked.
He withdrew his thoughts.
He saw a young boy with a yellow backpack standing in front of him, looking at him curiously.
He appeared to be about eight or nine years old, likely just released from primary school.
"Can you really tell fortunes? Can you know the past and the future?" the boy asked.
Jiang Xian nodded, "You could understand it that way."
"Then, how much does it cost to have one done?"
"Starting from five yuan, depending on what you want to know."
The boy in front of him frowned and began to hesitate.
Jiang Xian found it amusing. He didn't accept money for free.
What he was doing now was also a form of cultivation.
Taking money was just a formality.
Upon hearing this, the boy in front of him seemed to have made up his mind.
With a determined expression, he started rummaging in his pockets.
He then took out a ten-yuan bill and placed it in the bowl in front of Jiang Xian, taking back five yuan in change.
"I want to ask,"
he announced, taking a deep breath, looking a bit nervous.
"Ask away."
Jiang Xian guessed the boy would ask about his final exam scores, or if he could go out to play during the summer vacation.
After all, the final exams were fast approaching.
Taking another deep breath, the boy finally spoke.
His expression was earnest and serious.
"Uncle, can you tell me if I can become light in the future?"
"?"
"This..."
This question stumped Jiang Xian.
"Can I become light in the future?"
He had asked himself this question before.
Seeing Jiang Xian's silence, the boy sighed, "As expected, you don't know either."
He conceded, "Then, Uncle, can you measure something else for me?"
"Alright."
Jiang Xian took out his copper coins, preparing himself.
The boy looked around, then leaned in closer and whispered,
"Uncle, can you tell me what questions will be on the third-grade math final exam?"
Jiang Xian instinctively scattered the copper coins.
It was only after the coins landed that he realized what the boy had asked.
His mouth twitched.
If it were someone else, they might have thought this child was sent by a rival to cause trouble.
Jiang Xian looked at the coins on the ground, then at the child before him.
He was speechless.
"Even if I could figure it out, I wouldn't be able to tell you."
Helplessly, Jiang Xian asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"
Upon hearing this.
The boy shook his head, with an expression that suggested he had seen through the ways of the world.
"Forget it, even if you could tell, you wouldn't be able to figure it out."
He picked up the five yuan from the bowl and left, carrying his Ultraman backpack.
Jiang Xian:
"This is not a good start to the day."
But for those in this line of work, not much goes smoothly, and he was used to it.
The passersby hurried along, with few stopping.
Jiang Xian, bored, suddenly felt inspired.
"Why not try to divine what my Ancestor has been up to lately?"
No sooner said than done!
*Clatter*
The copper coins scattered on the ground, revealing a hexagram.
Jiang Xian looked at it, then threw the coins again.
"Why does this hexagram only show two words?"
"Ghost Festival?"
He suddenly thought of something and took out his phone to check.
It was almost July.
And mid-July was the Ghost Festival, also known as Zhongyuan Festival.
It was said that on this day, the gates of the underworld opened.
Ghosts from the underworld could visit the human world.
Either to visit relatives or to revisit their old haunts.
"So that's why, my Ancestor must be very busy lately."
But...
He hadn't expected that ghosts also needed to prepare for their outings.
Humans prepared phones, data cables, food, and changes of clothes.
He wondered what ghosts would prepare.
Jiang Xian began to feel a sense of anticipation.
If his Ancestor were to visit the human world, would they come to see him?
After all, he was considered his Ancestor's direct disciple.
Perhaps he should prepare some fruit wine and pastries for his Ancestor in advance.
He would start preparing after returning today!