Nine Dragons Pulling The Coffin

Chapter Five: The Yellow River Goddess

Since Huixiang went mad, her family's house had been abandoned. In recent years, the rural population had grown rapidly, and the village's residential land was insufficient, so some people coveted the old house. However, because Huixiang was still alive, openly seizing it would be tantamount to bullying a lonely orphan. After Huixiang's death, the old house was reclaimed by the village market, and Chen the Butcher from Shili Ferry was the first to buy it. Chen the Butcher had spent his life killing, and he was unconcerned about ghosts and gods. After buying Huixiang's old house, he immediately began looking for people to rebuild it. An elderly man in the village advised him that Huixiang hadn't passed away yet and shouldn't be buried in the earth. But Chen the Butcher wouldn't listen to that. He had three sons and was worried about not having land to build new houses. Huixiang's old house had a good location, facing south, and Chen the Butcher was wealthy, so he spent a fortune on the reconstruction, building a three-story villa. After the house was built, the family happily moved in. There's a saying in the countryside that ghosts live where humans do, so new houses usually need to be warded off evil spirits, which is why the whole family moved in. Besides, the construction of this three-story house had gone smoothly from the beginning; digging the foundation and raising the beams hadn't caused any trouble, so the Chen family naturally had no worries. This day was the last night of Huixiang's seven-day mourning period. Apart from a few elderly people in Shili Ferry who remembered to burn some paper money for her, everyone else had long forgotten about it. That evening, after dinner, the Chen family ate, some watched TV, some played on their phones, and rested as usual. However, the next morning, the villagers noticed something was wrong. Chen the butcher, who usually got up early to sell his wares at the market, didn't show up. Just then, some people from a nearby village were holding a banquet and urgently needed to buy supplies, so they went to Chen's house. No one answered the door, and they couldn't get through on the phone. The villagers of Shili Ferry, like everyone else, felt something was amiss. Finally, they found the village chief, who led a group of people to break down the door. Upon entering, the scene was incredibly gruesome; several people vomited immediately. The Chen family, consisting of seven people, had all been disemboweled except for Butcher Chen, and were hung on iron hooks used for slaughtering pigs. Butcher Chen himself was completely naked, holding a butcher's knife, standing stiffly in the center of the courtyard. "I'm guilty, I deserve to die. I pushed Huixiang into the river to drown," Butcher Chen said in a hoarse voice as someone entered. After speaking, he slashed his own neck... When Liu Hechou told me this story, I had almost recovered from the poisoning and was doing rehabilitation exercises in the courtyard. After hearing it, I was completely stunned. Although vengeful ghosts are not subject to the laws of heaven, this was still the annihilation of an entire family. Huixiang was just an ordinary person; wasn't he afraid of being condemned to the deepest hell forever? "Uncle Liu, Huixiang killed the entire Chen family. Does that mean the karma is finally settled?" I asked, still shaken. "You're overthinking it. It's definitely not that simple," Liu Hechou said after a long silence. That night, Liu Hechou took me down to the Yellow River. He had previously said he would wait until I recovered before handling that important matter, but now he had to move it forward. Huixiang had wiped out seven members of the Chen family, and her ferocity had surged. He couldn't protect me now. That night, the moon was bright and the stars were few, with only the sound of rushing water. Liu Hechou and I rowed our rickety boat upstream. Liu Hechou still wouldn't tell me what we were going to do, but I saw he had prepared incense and candles, so I guessed it was related to a ritual. "Uncle Liu, where are we going?" After about an hour, I couldn't help but ask him again. "Xiaba Village, the Ancient Altar of the Yellow River." The Ancient Altar of the Yellow River is where, in feudal society, sacrifices were offered to the Yellow River King and the Yellow River Goddess. Our ancient altar is in Xiaba Village. We don't know when it was built, but despite no maintenance, it has withstood wind, rain, and floods. Now, the Yellow River is high, and only a corner of the ancient altar is above the water. Liu Hechou wanted me to carry the incense burner and candles up, while he himself sat at the bow of the boat. "Uncle Liu, now you should tell me what to do, right?" "Worship the Yellow River Goddess." "Worship what?" "The person you saw that day was the Yellow River Goddess, and only she can save your life." "What, the Yellow River Goddess?" Liu Hechou's words were astonishing; I was speechless with shock. No wonder that person didn't seem like an ordinary person; she was the Yellow River Goddess. "You are destined to meet her, and only she can save you. Don't just stand there, light the incense," Liu Hechou said. There are rules for burning incense: three for gods, four for ghosts. The Yellow River Goddess is a ghost, so four incense sticks are needed. In Chinese culture, the left is considered superior; the three on the left represent Heaven, Earth, and Man, respectively, while the fourth represents ghosts. I lit the four incense sticks and placed them in the incense burner, striking them down four times, and began reading the eulogy Liu Hechou had written for me. "The Book of Changes establishes Heaven and Earth, and husband and wife are the beginning of human relations. Poetry and literature mark Zhou and Zhao, and marriage is the source of royal governance." "Therefore, with resounding clangs, we divine prosperity for five generations. The peaches of heaven are bright, and we sing of a harmonious union for a hundred years. Now there is a gentleman, Xie Lan, whose family's legacy is far-reaching, whose talent and reputation are renowned..." I couldn't continue reading this far. Although I'm not a top student in Chinese literature, I could still understand that this wasn't a eulogy, but an ancient marriage contract. I thought to myself, what kind of scheme is Liu Hechou plotting? Does he want me to propose to the Yellow River Goddess? "Xie Lan, what are you standing there for? Keep reading!" Seeing me stop, Liu Hechou urged me from the bow of the boat. "Uncle Liu, you're not really going to make me propose to the Yellow River Goddess, are you?" "Nonsense, only she can save your life, but you two are complete strangers. Why should she help you?" "But, a living person marrying a ghost wife usually shortens their lifespan." "Then let me ask you, do you want to be killed by Huixiang, or do you want to marry a ghost wife? If you're not afraid of Huixiang, let's go now." Thinking of Xie Guangcai hanging himself, and then thinking of the disemboweled bodies of Chen the Butcher's entire family, I immediately felt that marrying the Yellow River Goddess would actually be a very good thing. So I stopped hesitating and read the thousand-word marriage certificate in one go. After I finished reading, a strange thing happened. A gust of wind blew in for no reason, sweeping past the incense burner, and the fourth ghost incense stick went out. There are two major taboos when burning incense: uneven in length and it going out halfway through. The former is an ominous sign, the latter represents a lack of sincerity, which the spirits will not accept. "Uncle Liu, what's going on?" I asked. "This shouldn't be happening. The Yellow River Goddess should have seen you before, so she shouldn't have any objections. It must be that you're not sincere. Light the incense and read the marriage certificate again." Okay, I read it again, but the ghost incense still went out. Liu Hechou frowned and pondered for a while, then asked if I still had someone else in my heart, if there was anything unresolved. Sigh, some things I usually keep buried in my heart; I don't easily reveal them. I had a girlfriend in college, beautiful and with an exceptional temperament, she was the most beautiful girl in our department. I was deeply infatuated with her, so much so that after we broke up, I lost interest in life, which is why I'm living a miserable life in Guangzhou. But even the most unforgettable memories can't withstand the erosion of time. After returning home this time, I've decided to turn over a new leaf and almost completely forget about it. I can't give you the life you want. Just like you said when we broke up, being with me was fun, but marrying me would be heartbreaking. Now, Liu Hechou asks if there's anything left unsaid. I thought for a moment, then tore off the pendant from my neck and threw it far away into the Yellow River. This pendant was a birthday gift for me; things have changed, so keeping it is useless. After throwing the pendant away, I read the marriage certificate again. This time it went smoothly; the ghost incense didn't go out even after it burned out. "Let's go," Liu Hechou called me back after the incense finished burning. "Uncle Liu, is that all?" "Yes, the Yellow River Goddess has accepted your marriage certificate. Now it's time to prepare for your wedding." Marrying the Yellow River Goddess is also a form of arranged marriage, but it's different from the kind my relatives' family has, because I'm a living person and a ghost; we're considered a match. I don't need to find any bones, just a memorial tablet. The only problem is that I still don't know my name, and I don't know what to write on the tablet. Liu Hechou said there's no rush, he'll have my name engraved when we have our wedding.