The Ghost FestivalShi Changxuan did end up checking out Baoyang Temple, but of course, his main consideration wasnât the rent .
Xie Lingya knew that if Shi Changxuan conducted ceremonies, he could earn a lot of money . However, Baoyangâs location was really good, and as a Taoist priest, he wouldnât be reported by the neighbors if he performed any rituals here .
Shi Changxuan did not look like someone who prioritized material comfortsâlast time, he had given his share of the commission from Uncle He to Xie Lingya without batting an eye . And even though he had offered him a rent-free stay, he believed that Shi Changxuan wouldnât really take him up on that offer and would still contribute to the temple finances .
In the end, Shi Changxuan agreed to move to Baoyang Temple, and Xie Lingya couldnât stop smiling to himself .
The person had already entered Baoyang Templeâperhaps, it wouldnât be long before he became a disciple?
Xie Lingya very graciously accompanied Shi Changxuan to retrieve his luggage from Taihe Temple . Shi Changxuanâs new room in Baoyang was right next to Xie Lingyaâs .
âThe room I am staying in used to be my uncleâs, which is why it is slightly larger . But I was quite close to my uncle so I couldnât bear having someone else take this room,â Xie Lingya said apologetically .
He would stay in this room for as long as he could . Of course, in the future, he would pass it to his uncleâs discipleâbut although Shi Changxuan was a candidate in his heart, he was not the sole candidate . After all, Shi Changxuan was a huoju daoshi; the chances of him staying in the temple after graduation were low, since many would move on to start a family and live with them .
A flash of perplexity passed through Shi Changxuanâs eyes . ââŚThat is not necessary . â
âHehe,â Xie Lingya did not even look at himâhe wouldnât understand what Shi Changxuan thought anyway . He planned to build up some good impressions of Wang Yuji to Shi Changxuan so he took the chance to say, âI used to live here with my uncle when I was younger . Sometimes, he exercised here, like practicing swordsmanship or martial arts . He also liked to scare me for fun . Heâd throw me high up in the air, higher than the rooftop, and soften the landing right as he caught me . â
Shi Changxuan let himself imagine this scene from the past for a moment before saying, âYou definitely werenât frightened . â
âAh, yes! I am not afraid of heights, quite the opposite, I had fun . â Xie Lingya thought they were focusing on the wrong topic, so he continued, âMy uncle was always helping people with things like free exorcism . When I was little, I loved to secretly watch him receive those who came to him for help . It felt like he knew everything . No matter what the problem was, he could quickly analyze the cause and effect clearly and not long after, come up with a plan to solve it . I always thought he was very cool . I even secretly played with his magical tools . â
Shi Changxuan stated matter-of-factly, ââŚYou are very talented . â
âMy uncle often said so too, hahahaha,â Xie Linya said fondly . âWhen my father was busy, my uncle used to attend the parent-teacher meetings in his stead . Everyone stared at him in his Taoist robes . He even performed a palm-reading for my math teacher and cautioned her about a small calamity she would have encountered at the end of the month . The teacher listened to him and avoided the calamity . She said my uncle was very accurate, so she gave me extra help in my studies . â
Shi Changxuan inquired softly, âSo you studied finance?â
âThat is unrelated . My math didnât improve much, even after getting the extra help, mainly because I didnât like studying . It was only later in high school after my father remarried that I started working harder on my studies . â Xie Lingya realized they had gotten off-topic again, so he quickly stopped .
Shi Changxuan also stopped speaking . He glanced at Xie Lingya, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated .
Xie Lingya did not notice and went on to do other things .
The day of the Ghost Festival was approaching . Baoyang Temple would also be holding a salvation ceremony for the celebration . Xie Lingya wrote an announcement using red paper to inform the worshippers of the time of the ceremony . Participants would be required to make a monetary contribution but they could freely decide on the amount they wished to donate .
The 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar was commonly known as the Ghost Festival . It was also known as Yulanpen Festival in Buddhism, while Taoists called it Zhongyuan Festival . There were also Shangyuan Festival and Xiayuan Festival; the former was on the 15th of the first month, also known as Yuanxiao Festival; the latter was on the 15th of the 10th month . Â
Sanyuan was the alternate name of the Three Great Emperor-Officials; the Heavenly Official, the Earthly Official and the Water Official . The Sanyuan Festivals were the birthdays of the Emperor-Officials . The Heavenly Official offered blessings, the Earthly Official pardoned sins, the Water Official prevented eliminated misfortunes, therefore the Zhongyuan Earthly Officialâs Festival was the time to pardon sins and wrongdoings .
On this day, the Earthly Official opened the gates to the Underworld1Â and judged the deceased souls . While celebrating the Earthly Officialâs birthday, Taoist temples would also hold salvation ceremonies, to reduce the sins of the worshipperâs ancestors and to save the wandering spirits . Big temples had their big ceremonies, while small temples had their own small ceremonies .
In a major temple like Taihe Temple, a salvation ceremony for the Ghost Festival would have dozens of priests performing the ceremony, a few hundred worshippers participating, stages built, and music bands providing music .
A ceremony at a small, destitute temple like Baoyang, which only had one priest, would definitely be less impressive . However, despite the ceremony being small, all the necessary components still had to be preparedâofferings such as fruits, flowers, food, candles, soul banners, and so on .
Due to the donations being voluntary, Xie Lingya was uncertain at first . Fortunately, when everything was added up, there were roughly 40 worshippers who participated, hoping to pray for blessings for their deceased loved ones . Each worshipper had donated at least a hundred, some even more, so the costs were covered .
Xie Lingya prepared the spirit tablets in advance based on the information provided by the worshippers . Among these was one for Wang Yuji . Xie Lingya hoped that when the gates to the Underworld opened, perhaps he would be able to see his uncle once more?
In other matters, Xie Lingya received the town council officers who came to remind him of the fire prevention precautions . Due to the templeâs location in the city area, they should be careful when burning offerings during the ceremony in order to avoid fires . Xie Lingya agreed profusely and noted down the information . After all, Baoyang Temple was a patriotic religious organization under the partyâs leadership; they must not do anything that could harm the public .
Besides getting the approval of the town council officers, he was able to achieve an agreement with the elderly folks, who usually danced in the plaza next to the temple every day, to not use the plaza on the night of the Ghost Festival . It would be too incongruous if there was dance music playing while the prayers were recited .
Of course, the most important thing was that Zhang Daoting would lead the ceremony this time . He needed to rehearse ahead of time . He was also extremely uneasy; although he was already familiar with the program, he was still worried that he would mess up somehow .
Before he came to Baoyang Temple, Zhang Daoting had never performed any ceremony on his own . He had been nervous about the venerable founderâs birthday the last time, but that was just a prayer to the resident god . This time it was for the purification of dead spirits .
The first twenty years of Zhang Daotingâs life were unlucky beyond words . Nothing he had ever done succeeded and he even brought misfortune to the people around him . During the period of time he spent in Baoyang Temple, he was secretly worried, but after he saw that Baoyang was not only still standing but was even getting better and better, he was able to relax slightly .
But now, he tensed up again . He was too afraid of failure .
However, Shi Changxuan was not a disciple of Baoyang Temple yet, so Xie Lingya could not ask for his help to perform the ritual . He could only put the burden on Zhang Daotingâs shoulders .
Zhang Daoting complained, âBoss, I donât think I can do it! Why donât you go instead? Just wear a Taoist robe and pretend to be a priest . â
âI am not ordained . Â Bah, Iâm not even a lay practitioner . What if I get exposed?â Xie Lingya replied . âI can help once or twice but not foreverâI am the proprietor, not the abbot . Man up!â
Zhang Daoting cried, âYouâve given me a lot of encouragement, but I⌠â
âYou need to be more confident in yourself!â Xie Lingya said . âTell you what, go pray to the venerable founder tonight and ask for his blessings for your success in completing this ceremony . This is an important step in the new start for our temple . Our first important ceremony!â
Zhang Daoting asked nervously, âW-will that work?â
âDo you not trust the venerable founderâs abilities?â
âI do, butâŚâ Since Xie Lingya brought this up, Zhang Daoting couldnât help but retort quietly, âBut isnât the venerable founder a protector god?â
If Xie Lingya hadnât mentioned it, he wouldnât have remembered that the venerable founder wasnât in charge of blessings of this nature2 . Although recently, the venerable founder had shown his divinity often in Baoyang and Zhang Daoting had benefited much from it, if the type of service was not correct, could the founder bless him?
âHave you forgotten something? For the Zhongyuan salvation ceremony, our temple will be using the âSzu Iron Bottle Food Offering and Salvation Liturgyâ,â Xie Lingya reminded him . âYou havenât forgotten who Ancestor Sa is, have you?âÂ
Zhang Daoting: ââŚâŚâZhang Daoting had stayed in many temples previously; although his teachers were orthodox, his studies had been diverse . It took him a while to understand .
The different sects of Taoism had their own ways of conducting the Ghost Festival salvation ceremony . There were rituals like âLing Bao Food Offering Liturgyâ, âDou Lao Food Offering Liturgyâ and others . Among these, a commonly used ritual was known as the âSzu Iron Bottle Food Offering and Salvation Liturgyâ .
The creator of this ritual was Szu, his birth name was Sa Shou Jian, also known as Yi Yuan Wu Shang Sa Weng Zhen Jun . He also had another identityâhe was the master of the Taoist Protector God, Spirit Official Wang!
Xie Lingya whispered, âYou think I would simply force you to perform a ceremony? Think about it, the venerable founder is Szuâs disciple . He mustâve learned this ritual!â
Zhang Daoting: ââŚâŚâ
What the heck! Boss was saying to go through the back door? But, going through the back door of a god?
He looked at Xie Lingya in awe . âBoss⌠I am utterly floored . This deduction of yours is absolutely flawless! If things donât go well, we could even ask the venerable founder to plead with Szu, couldnât we?â
Xie Lingya stated dryly, ââŚWell, youâre quite good at extrapolating, arenât you?â
Zhang Daoting was embarrassed but he felt only someone like Xie Lingya, who had such a strong connection to the venerable founder, could come up with a plan like this . If one thought about it carefully, it made sense, absolutely logical .
Asking for the blessing of Baoyangâs venerable founder, the disciple of Szu, for the success of the Ghost Festival ceremony was not a problem!
Hence, Zhang Daoting went to the Spirit Officialâs Hall and knelt for a long time asking for the blessing of the venerable founder, so that he would perform well in the ceremony . After he was done, he felt much calmer .
On the day of the Ghost Festival, a small stage was set up in the front yard of Baoyang Temple . During the day, chants and prayers were recited to celebrate the birthday of the Earthly Official .
Worshippers planning to participate stayed and waited for the ceremony to start at 6 p . m .
On the altar were the painting of Taiyi Tianzun,3 the spirit tablet of Szu and various offerings . Zhang Daoting sat on the stage . After exchanging a glance with Xie Lingya, he didnât feel so anxious anymore and began, âTalisman to pass the message, the light to shine on the Nine Springs⌠The oceans of sin, calm your waves⌠Heed my call and come forth to the mortal realm!â
Offstage, there were about 40 registered participants and a few people who were just there to watch the procession . Some were attending this type of ceremony for the very first time and were especially curious .
Xie Lingya saw some familiar faces among these people like He Zun, Uncle He, Chen Mo, Cheng Jie and his wife, Mrs . Sun, etc .
Not long after the ceremony started, Shi Changxuan came out holding some food . Shi Changxuan was not participating in the ceremony as he was from a different Taoist sect . He was going out to the street to give offerings to the wandering spirits .
Xie Lingya asked him hesitantly, âIf you want to feed the ghosts, donât you need to take the subway to the outskirts?â
Shi Changxuan was confused . âHm?â
Xie Lingya continued, âThe law enforcement here is strict . If you leave the food on the street, you might get fined . They wonât care what festival you are celebrating . â
Shi Changxuan: ââŚâŚâ
Xie Lingya thought for a moment . âWhy donât you try going to the back of the temple? It is further from the main street and next to the market . They pay less attention to that area . âââŚâŚâ Shi Changxuan had obviously never experienced having to secretly give offerings to the wandering spirits . Speechless, he headed for the back gate .
After he was done, he was invited by Xie Lingya to watch the ceremony together .
This prayer ceremony for the salvation and purification of dead souls had about five steps . The first was to honor the gods, where the master of the ceremony needed to honor Taiyi Tianzun and Szu .
The next step was to invoke the saints . This was to invite saints and immortals to come forth and enjoy the offerings together with the spirits of the deceased being venerated today .
When Zhang Daoting started summoning the deceased spirits from the Underworld, He Zun felt uneasy .
His fortune had been bad for some time, so when the ceremony reached this stage, he felt some odd sensations . He whispered, âUncle, did you feel somethingâŚ?â
Uncle He was shocked . He stared at He Zun and asked, âW-what did you feel?â
âI donât know for sure . It just felt like there is something here that wasnât here before,â He Zun murmured .
The worshippers present had all donated for a spiritual tablet . Those standing next to them looked over in shock after hearing their exchange .
Initially the ceremony was rather boring . Moreover, Baoyang had a busy and noisy street outside, unlike other temples . Due to this, it was hard to concentrate .
But after He Zunâs words, the people around them felt a chill .
Soon they discovered that it was not just He Zun, as two others who were also more susceptible to these things also felt off . There was obviously nothing around them, but they seemed to feel something .
Fortunately, there were only a few dozen people here and they were mostly worshippers, so it did not cause a scene . Soon, everyone quieted down .
The extraordinary reaction of the few worshippers made everyone forget about other environmental factors and instead focus their concentration on the priest . They half hoped they would feel something too, but were also half afraid that they would feel something .
Some worshippers had taken part in Zhongyuan Festivals elsewhere but they had never encountered such a situation .
When the ceremony reached the third stage, âbreak out of Hellâ, wandering spirits all around were invited to attend the ceremony . All wandering spirits, including travelers who died away from their homeland, mothers who died during childbirth and those who killed themselves or were killed by wild animals, could come . Â
The following fourth stage was to invite these lone spirits to join the venerated spirits in receiving offerings for the day .
Those who were sensitive like Xie Lingya and Shi Changxuan felt the air around them suddenly cool .
On the other side, He Zun paled in fear . He dared not open his eyes for fear of seeing something heâd rather not see .
Xie Lingya, however, was ridiculously daring . Moreover, he wanted to see his uncle . He drew the Spirit Officialâs Divine Eye on his forehead and looked aroundâ
The scene could not be described in words!
Ghostly figures filled the small yard to the brim . Many of the spirits had wandered in the wild for a long time and looked horrendous . There were all kinds of ghosts, some were dragging intestines, some were drenched and bloated, some were holding ghost babies⌠. They were all staring hungrily at the unwary Zhang Daoting on the stage filled with offerings .
Of course, there were also ancestral spirits of the worshippers, who were easily recognizable because they had already received offerings earlier . Their appearance was much better than those wild ghosts .
Using a willow branch, Zhang Daoting sprinkled holy water at the crowd . Â
One became ten, ten became a hundred . Â
The spirits clambered to grab the precious water and wiped the dirt off their bodies; the spirits in the back rows who couldnât reach the water climbed on top of the humans in front of them to catch the droplets .
After wiping off the dirt, the wild ghosts looked better and their clothes were tidied up . At this time, Zhang Daoting started chanting a spell on the food offerings . The willow branch again flicked out in a sprinkling motion .
Xie Lingya could see everything clearly . The spirits were obeying the rules of the ceremony and did not fight, but once they caught the food, they stuffed it in their mouths eagerly . After all, these wandering spirits who had no one to pay them tribute rarely got the chance to eat . The whole front yard of Baoyang was full of ghosts hungrily stuffing themselvesâŚ
ââŚâŚâ Xie Lingya wiped off the cinnabar on his forehead with shaky hands . He thought he was mentally prepared, but the scene of hundreds of ghosts feasting and grabbing the food with their hands was still too thrilling for him .
Shi Changxuan next to him threw him a knowing glance .
Xie Lingya smiled awkwardly . Yet, he was slightly disappointed on the inside . He had written a spirit tablet for his uncle but searching among the ghostly crowd, he did not see Wang Yuji . Â
Thinking on the bright side, Wang Yuji had done so many good deeds in his life, he probably had no suffering that needed absolving . Maybe he had already reincarnatedâŚ
Xie Lingyaâs mind wandered for a while .  âIâll burn more joss paper later,â he thought to himself . It was no large-scale ceremony; although they aimed to provide salvation to all lone spirits, their capabilities were limited, so they could only do their best . There were so many dead souls in the world; hopefully, more temples and charitable people all over the world would provide oblation and salvation to these spirits on this day .
As Zhang Daoting rang the sacred bells, Xie Lingya joined the worshippers and cast paper offerings into a fire that was prepared earlier .
At the end, Zhan Daoting recited the âJiu Zhen Commandmentsâ4Â for the dead spirits after they were done enjoying the offerings, to redeem themselves from their sins and to attain salvation .
âTo come or to go, this is not the place for souls to stay⌠Itâs a good night to receive merits and virtues . Rely on the Dao, recite sincerely and head to heavenâŚâ
Xie Lingya quietly activated the Divine Eye again . With Zhang Daotingâs recitation, the ghostly spirits were purified and absolved of their sufferings . Their appearance was calm as their bodies rose into the night sky .
In the eyes of normal people, as the litany came to an end, there was a sudden gust of wind that blew the ashes of the paper offerings and spirit tablets up in the air . The ashes danced around the night sky, like snow or butterflies, as if wanting to stay in the mortal realm, before disappearing up in the clouds .
Thinking back to the unusual reaction of several worshippers, the scene was as if those spirits of loved ones were leaving reluctantly after enjoying the offerings . Everyone felt emotional and touched but they no longer felt any fear .
Zhang Daoting stared at the flying ashes and felt a sense of relief and accomplishment . Â He had succeeded! His bad luck was suppressed by the venerable founder and Boss!
Xie Lingya was the only one who felt a sense of disappointmentâŚ
Not only did he not see his uncle, but he also failed to interview the spirits that were purified . It seemed like his investigation regarding the feeling of being purified could not be carried out and he did not know if he would have another chance in the future .