As we returned to the mess hall for dinner, I noticed many people wearing worried expressions.
Old Yuan had also disappeared somewhere.
After eating, the three of us returned to our room.
I asked Song Bing for a cigarette and tried to smoke.
I found that although the tobacco was harsh, it helped me focus.
"How can there be so many strange things?" Bai Hanyan asked, "When can I go back?"
I exhaled smoke and looked at her, "What? Are you scared?"
"Scared of what? I just..."
Her voice trailed off, and I didn't hear the last few words.
"Brother Song, do you think ghosts exist in this world?" I asked.
Song Bing chuckled, "We who explore tombs never believe in such things."
"That's true," I laughed. "Then who do you think is behind all this?"
Song Bing replied, "It's hard to say. Too many things don't add up. Where did that Niu Gang go? And what kind of stimulus did Ah Jiang suffer to become like that? We have no idea..."
He paused, "In this situation, Mr. Yang and Captain Xue must be the most stressed... After all, several brothers have died, and the others are all on edge. If we don't find a way to calm them down, we might all end up at the bottom of the sea before any ghosts find us."
I nodded, "Indeed. I just wonder what they'll do..."
Bai Hanyan interjected, "Do you think Ah Jiang might be possessed?"
I shrugged, "Who knows? Let's wait and see. Even if he's possessed, there are ways to deal with it."
In the afternoon, I took a nap on Song Bing's bed. As soon as I woke up, a crew member came to call us to the main cabin.
When we arrived at the main cabin, it was filled with smoke and the smell of incense and candles.
At the far end was an altar, laden with various sacrificial vessels: zhan he, hua dou, tong jue, xing, gui, and so on.
Besides these, there were candle screens lit, and the table was covered with offerings: a pig's head, a sheep's head, whole chickens, whole geese, and a large sea fish.
The object of worship was Mazu.
Judging by the setup, this was likely a "Five Offerings" ceremony, though many items were simplified due to the scarcity of resources on the ship.
A proper "Five Offerings" ceremony typically requires a whole pig and a whole sheep, but what we saw here only had a pig's head and a sheep's head.
In addition to whole meats, "Five Soups" were usually prepared, made from longan, gorgon fruit, lotus seeds, red dates, and dried persimmons.
There were also "Ten Delicacies," ten bowls of dried fruits with patterned designs and characters made from dyed white beans.
Of course, what I described was the authentic "Five Offerings." Clearly, it was impossible to replicate such a complete ceremony on the ship.
"Is everyone present?" Yang Hanxue scanned the crowd, nodding slightly as our eyes met.
We found our seats, and the ceremony began.
Old Yuan approached the altar and began chanting something. As his voice filled the air, I saw everyone clasp their hands together and close their eyes.
Bai Hanyan leaned close to my ear and whispered, "What are they doing? Why are they worshipping gods?"
"Why ask so many questions?" I replied.
Bai Hanyan glared at me, and I ignored her.
Earlier, in the room, Song Bing and I had been discussing how Yang Hanxue would stabilize morale. Now, it seemed, this was his method.
After Old Yuan finished his unintelligible scriptures, Yang Hanxue was the first to approach and offer incense, followed by the captain.
We were the last group, with Song Bing leading, me second, and Bai Hanyan last.
After offering incense, everyone returned to their seats. Yang Hanxue stepped forward, seemingly about to speak.
But before he could utter a word, a chilling gust of wind blew in, causing me to shiver involuntarily.
That wasn't all. The gust of wind directly knocked over the candles on the altar!
As the candle holders fell, the nearby incense burner crashed to the ground.
The sudden change left everyone bewildered.
Logically, the main cabin door was closed. There shouldn't have been any wind coming in...
Where did this wind come from?
Before I could ponder further, a crew member suddenly knelt on the ground, muttering something in a coastal dialect that I didn't quite understand.
I only caught a few keywords, like "Ama" and "Bodhisattva."
However, judging by his demeanor, he was likely praying to Mazu.
Following his lead, others also knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing towards the altar.
A sense of unease crept into me. After all, this was too strange.
Where did the wind come from? And why did it so coincidentally knock over the candle holders?
Yang Hanxue's brows furrowed into the character "川" (chuan), as if everything had exceeded his expectations.
"Old Yuan!" he called out, "Bring Chen San here!"
Old Yuan blinked, his expression peculiar, "Captain, you want to..."
"Since the Goddess Mazu is not appeased, we'll have to ask the Third Prince to find out what's going on!"
"Alright... I'll go now."
Listening to their conversation, I was confused. Who was Chen San? And who was the Third Prince?
With these questions in mind, I could only wait and see.
A few minutes later, Old Yuan returned, leading a man in a greenish-blue work uniform.
This man was bald, his head densely covered with tattoos. Except for his face, his scalp and neck were entirely tattooed.
The man's eyes seemed vacant, and he looked listless. He was also very thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
It seemed this person was Chen San.
This was the first time I had seen him since boarding the ship.
Yang Hanxue walked up to him and whispered something. Chen San nodded slightly.
"Begin the trance! We invite the Third Prince!"
With Yang Hanxue's command, several crew members sprang into action.
Now I understood what they were trying to do!
The so-called "Qi Ji" (起乩) is to invite a deity to possess a person, allowing communication between the human and the divine.
And that Chen San was likely a "Jitong" (乩童), or spirit medium.
Jitong are a type of spirit medium responsible for facilitating communication between humans and gods, or humans and ghosts.
Such individuals are common in coastal cities. Although I don't particularly believe in it, this custom has persisted.
Jitong are divided into "Wen Ji" (文乩) and "Wu Ji" (武乩). Wen Ji typically help people by chanting or speaking.
Wu Ji are primarily for exorcising demons and subduing evil spirits. They usually wield one of the five sacred weapons, such as a seven-star sword, shark fin sword, moon axe, bronze club, or meteor hammer. They strike their own bodies with various implements, causing blood to flow profusely, demonstrating divine power.
Sometimes they even pierce their cheeks with long bronze needles, a practice known as "feng kou" or "suo kou," commonly called "jin kou zhen" (mouth-sealing needles).
The Chen San before us appeared to be a Wu Ji, as I noticed someone had already prepared a seven-star sword for him.
Song Bing and I exchanged glances; it was clear he was also familiar with this ritual.