NOVEL NEXT 015 - A Legacy of Time
“Last night, the villagers who had been staying inside all finally came out to check the almanac. Does that mean the Snake God is no longer causing any issues?” Feng Yushu asked curiously, listening to the noisy footsteps beneath the roof.
“Maybe,” Ning Zhe replied without offering much further commentary.
Perhaps due to today’s taboo against ‘sacrifices,’ the villagers who came to the ancestral hall, after checking the almanac, didn’t offer incense to the Snake God or, as usual, present offerings like fruits, vegetables, and meals on the lotus platform.
But strangely, the crowds of people who gathered at the ancestral hall, having checked the almanac, didn’t leave, despite not making offerings.
They simply stood there silently, motionless.
“What’s going on?” Feng Yushu carefully took out her phone and checked the lock screen.
The time was 5:51 AM; the sun had just risen above the horizon, and the surroundings were still dim and gloomy.
Ning Zhe’s gaze swept over the area. The streets and alleys surrounding the ancestral hall were filled with people, both those coming and going, all crowding the roads. Under the shadowy sky, countless figures stood on the roads, draped in dull gray.
On either side of the streets, behind every open door, there were figures with yellow paper covering their faces, stumbling out one by one.
Their bodies were real yet indistinct, and their steps were as synchronized as if they were mechanical.
He Shunsheng, He Youlin, He… The names written on the yellow paper on their faces were different, clearly identifying different people, yet they all stepped onto the wet stone roads at the same moment.
This strange and creepy scene made Feng Yushu extremely anxious. Her hands instinctively clutched the red cloth over her legs, her face turning pale.
But when she turned to look, Ning Zhe’s expression remained as calm as usual.
His demeanor was so eerily calm, with hollow eyes that seemed like still waters, as if a bored person was lazily watching a group of busy ants from above.
Seeing Ning Zhe’s indifferent expression, Feng Yushu’s panicked heart gradually calmed down.
“Ning… Ning Zhe, what are they doing?” Feng Yushu asked in a soft voice.
Ning Zhe shrugged. “I guess it’s a ritual, maybe something to do with a wedding or a death.”
“A ritual?” Feng Yushu froze. “But today is a day to avoid rituals, isn’t it?”
“That’s why I said I’m just guessing.”
Ning Zhe spoke softly, “In a village like this, there aren’t many occasions that can bring everyone together. It’s either a holiday or festival, a collective worship of the gods, or a wedding or funeral.”
And now, they were gathered at the ancestral hall, so the possibility of a collective ritual was high.
But if it were a ritual, things would be a bit strange.
“Why are these people defying the taboo against rituals today to worship the Snake God?” This question lingered in Ning Zhe’s mind.
As he pondered, two children, holding hands, suddenly appeared from a corner of the street and clumsily joined the crowd.
Ning Zhe’s sharp eyes tracked their movements. The children, a boy and a girl, like the other villagers, also had yellow paper stuck to their faces with different names written on them.
The boy’s paper read: He Jingyan.
The girl’s paper read: He Yiyi.
Their arrival seemed to trigger something, and as He Jingyan and He Yiyi disappeared into the crowd, the silent villagers around the ancestral hall all suddenly knelt down.
One by one, they collapsed to the ground, as if blown over by a typhoon, their foreheads heavily touching the floor of the ancestral hall and the muddy streets. The yellow paper on their faces became soaked in the dirt.
They knelt towards the hall, and the lower parts of their faces, previously obscured by the yellow paper, were now visible due to the act of kneeling. If one leaned in closely, they could see their mouths opening and closing in succession, and faint murmurs began to emerge from the crowd:
【Liangshan looks to the earth, no breaking, no moving.】
【Old person, new coffin, not buried, not moved.】
【White jade without blemish, the moon is full but is flawed.】
The sticky, fine murmurs echoed continuously, imbued with an indescribable religious tone, making it feel somewhat hazy.
The voices of the villagers reciting the ritual words were soft, almost to the point that only the person speaking could hear themselves, some even unclear.
Ning Zhe focused his attention, trying to decipher the specific content of these ritual words. The fragmented phrases slowly became clearer in his ears:
【Faintly swaying, silently missing…】
【Glimmering like water, bright like the sun…】
【… Clear, the blue flowers shine fiercely, the light trembles in the sky…】
【… Vast, the smoke and clouds roam like swimming dragons…】
Ning Zhe’s brow slowly relaxed, and the confusion and wariness that had once lingered within him seemed to dissipate.
These obscure yet clear words felt like they were not heard through his ears, but rather resonated directly in his mind, creating an indescribable, strange sensation.
Vast, expansive, profound, immense, tiny… Ning Zhe thought of many words to describe the sensations that echoed through his soul and mind, but none could fully encapsulate it.
It was as if once these obscure words were spoken by the villagers, they were no longer just phrases, but a response from a transcendent existence to their prayers.
Time flowed slowly like sticky mud with each chant of the ritual words, and at 6:30 AM, something changed.
Ning Zhe saw that the villagers, who had been kneeling and chanting, finally moved. Dozens of people who had been kneeling at the entrance of the hall stood up, clearing an area in front of them.
Two strong young men emerged from the hall and together lifted a long wooden table, placing it at the cleared space at the entrance. If it weren’t for the stiff, puppet-like movements, the scene could almost be described as solemn and sacred, like a religious ceremony.
“This is…” Feng Yushu instinctively wrapped the red cloth tightly around her, realizing that the table the villagers were bringing out was the same one Ning Zhe had used to hide Lin Zhiyuan’s body.
The cloth was wrapped around her, and now the table was being carried out by the villagers. Does this mean Lin Zhiyuan’s body has been found?
“Don’t panic. Just watch quietly,” Ning Zhe said, placing a finger gently on Feng Yushu’s lips, which had parted in alarm.
Beneath the roof, several villagers stepped forward and placed three pieces of white paper—two long, one short—on the table at the entrance of the ancestral hall.
Then, a bald, elderly man with graying hair approached the table. The others immediately provided him with a brush and ink.
The old man took the brush and wrote in blood-red characters on the pale paper:
Upper couplet: 【On the Ba She altar, pearls and jade together testify to the ancestors.】
Lower couplet: 【Before Lotus Hall, descendants together add fragrance.】
Horizontal inscription: 【A Legacy of Time】
(tl: the upper and lower lines and the horizontal inscription refers to how chinese couplets are written
Also Ba She could mean the Serpent God but it has different wording than She Shen(Serpent God))