Chapter 96: Eek!!! Saying “kill his entire family” on New Year’s Day!!!
“Tsk~”
“You city bumpkin really have no manners~”
The old man took a swig of wine at the side and said leisurely.
Lu Yuan, who had just come to his senses, hurriedly added:
“That’s right, Senior Uncle!”
“There are lots of rats in the countryside, just keeping a kitten at home, what are you doing about it?”
Celestial Master He Xun’s calf spasmed. He glanced at his junior brother, then at his junior nephew.
Finally, he looked at the stunned crowd from Tianlong Temple.
A few seconds later, He Xun took several deep breaths, forcing his deathly pale face to look a little better.
“That…”
“Um…”
“That cat… stepped on the dough… um…”
He Xun, who had been scared out of his wits, swallowed and then looked at the dumbfounded Song Yan and the others. His voice trembled:
“Which…”
“Song Yan, lead everyone to pay tea to the Three Purities and the Patriarch first.”
“Then help the people from Zhenlong Temple get settled…”
Song Yan blinked, then immediately bowed and cupped his hands:
“Yes, Master…”
After Song Yan led the group away,
He Xun lunged at the old man, grabbed his collar with both hands, and hissed through his teeth:
“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
“How dare you put that thing in someone’s house?!”
“How terrifying must that thing be?!”
“That thing just looked back at me, and my Three Souls stirred!!!”
The old man didn’t change expression. He burped lightly, the strong smell of wine making He Xun frown.
“It’s not going to beat you up, what are you afraid of?”
Then the old man casually loosened He Xun’s grip.
The next second, with He Xun stunned, the old man grabbed the collar of He Xun’s ornate robe with the other hand and dragged him into the room.
“Come on, didn’t you want to make dumplings?”
“Get in here, make as many as you want.”
He Xun: “????”
“I’m not making them anymore!!”
Old man: “Hic~”
“Too late.”
He Xun: “????”
Lu Yuan obediently opened the side hall door and made a polite “please” gesture.
He Xun was thus dragged inside by his own master, step by step.
By now the expression on He Xun’s face had shifted from shock to utter terror.
“Holy shit!!!”
“I’m not going!! Hey!! No!!! Don’t you dare pull me!!!”
“I’m not making dumplings!!!”
“Ahhhhh!!! Fuck!!!”
“What are you guys trying to do to me?!”
In the end, He Xun was forcibly hauled into the room.
“Song Yan!!! Quickly save your master…………”
Bang!!
He Xun’s plea cut off. Lu Yuan followed them into the hall and slammed the door shut behind him.
……
At six-thirty in the evening, the side hall was warm and cozy.
It seemed no different from before, as if nothing had happened.
Lu Yuan was still puffing and rolling dough.
Gu Qingwan was still beside him, quietly folding dumplings.
The old man sat to one side, eating pig’s head meat and sipping wine, occasionally placing the dumplings Gu Qingwan finished onto bamboo trays.
They had already made five large bamboo trays of dumplings.
Will they eat them all?
Impossible to finish.
But that’s how New Year’s dumpling-making goes!
Just make and make and make and make and make!
On New Year’s Day they all come out; if there are leftovers, heat them on the second day, fry them on the third.
And He Xun?
Right now he was lying prostrate in the far corner of the room, butt in the air, holding a cinnabar brush, miserably writing talismans for the old man.
After writing a few, He Xun turned stiffly, looking at that tall, crimson figure who was concentrating on folding dumplings.
Hiss~~
He Xun sucked in a cold breath, his face full of pain and unwillingness to look directly.
Then he covered his eyes with his hand.
Counting silently: one, two, three.
Whoosh!
He eagerly removed his hand and looked again.
Then……
Hiss~~~~~~~
The pain on He Xun’s face deepened.
He didn’t dare open his eyes—
Hope this is a hallucination—
Oh my—this is utterly out of line!!!
For a living Celestial Master to spend New Year’s with a vicious female ghost!!!
“All right, that’s enough dumplings.”
Lu Yuan patted the flour from his hands, carried a large bamboo tray of dumplings out the door.
“I’ll take these out to freeze, then bring in the New Year’s Eve meal.”
“We’ll eat right here. Qingwan will eat New Year’s Eve dinner with us.”
He Xun on the floor trembled.
For a moment he wanted to gouge his own ears out!
Eat together with her???!
Soon, eight bamboo trays of dumplings were taken out by Lu Yuan and put outside to freeze.
Lu Yuan then ran to the dining hall and brought back the New Year’s Eve meal prepared for them.
Suddenly, the side hall that housed Gu Qingwan’s big coffin presented a grotesque scene fit for Taoist history’s black book.
A Celestial Master of the present day, dining at the same table with an extra vicious female ghost.
“Want a drink?”
The old man shook the gourd of wine in his hand and asked casually.
This question actually left He Xun a little stunned.
He Xun blinked at the old man and even flashed a smile:
“All right!”
“Pour one for your senior brother~”
It was clear that being invited by the old man to drink had cheered He Xun up quite a bit.
Meanwhile Lu Yuan was carefully setting out small bowls and plates for Gu Qingwan.
When a ghost and humans share food, the dishes must be separated beforehand.
Otherwise if someone eats with a chopstick Gu Qingwan used, the taste would be like accidentally chewing an entire star anise in a pot of soup—hard to describe.
Gu Qingwan behaved obediently, sitting quietly beside Lu Yuan.
When Lu Yuan pointed at a dish she wanted, she nodded; if she didn’t, she shook her head.
Lu Yuan and Gu Qingwan had their own cozy little table, very heartwarming.
The atmosphere between the old man and He Xun, the master-brother pair, was awkward.
Both wanted to say something, but swallowed it.
The old man lifted his cup, lips moving, then drank in silence.
He Xun was about to speak, but seeing his junior brother’s sullen face, he lowered his head and just gulped his wine.
Occasionally one of them would comment and the other would reply with a noncommittal “hmm” or “oh.”
Finally He Xun, seeming unable to bear the heaviness, looked toward Lu Yuan—who was cheerfully serving Gu Qingwan—and asked:
“What’s going on with those two?”
At this, the old man finally opened up.
He told the story about Gu Qingwan in full.
When He Xun heard that Zhenlong Temple had secretly taken the faith power meant for the Three Purities and given it to Gu Qingwan, he sucked in a cold breath.
For a moment…
He Xun felt Song Yan wasn’t so bad…
Though the kid was less impressive than Lu Yuan…
He sure was reliable!!! Didn’t cause trouble!!
But looking at Lu Yuan—good, talented, a one-in-a-million prodigy…
This kid occasionally brought home a super ominous thing!
And he even stole the temple’s incense and offerings to give to a female ghost…
If Lu Yuan’s master weren’t his own junior brother…
Most people would never agree to this…
For a moment He Xun wasn’t so envious of the old man anymore.
His junior brother deserved it!
This peculiar New Year’s meal continued until ten-thirty at night.
The two old men and Lu Yuan stood up and left.
They would bathe, change clothes, burn incense and cleanse hands, preparing for the midnight rites to honor the Three Purities and venerate the Patriarch.
……
At the end of the eleventh hour, around eleven p.m.,
Zhenlong Temple shed its daytime laziness and sank into an ancient solemn quiet.
Lu Yuan and the old man had bathed and changed.
They put on those ornate ritual robes worn only once a year.
The old man wore cloud-patterned inner garments under a dark-green eight-trigram crane cloak, gold thread catching candlelight.
He wore the Five Mountains crown and held a purple sandalwood whisk, the smell of wine gone, his expression solemn.
Lu Yuan wore a blue dao robe with cloud-thunder patterns, a formal head wrap, and the Zhenlong Temple badge at his waist marking his identity.
Even He Xun had changed into his purple, imposing Celestial Master robes, holding the Celestial Master Sword, looking solemn.
Only when his gaze drifted toward the side hall would it twitch uncontrollably.
“We’re going to venerate the Three Purities and the Patriarch. You go into the coffin now, don’t come out.”
“When we finish, we’ll come back and eat dumplings.”
Lu Yuan went into the side hall and covered the coffin with a clean green cloth.
Gu Qingwan lay hidden in the coffin, her breath stilled to the utmost calm, showing respect to the Three Purities, to Zhenlong Temple’s rites, and to its Patriarch.
At the initial hour of midnight, eleven fifteen p.m., the purification altar ceremony began.
In front of Zhenlong Temple’s main hall, disciples from Zhenlong and Tianlong Temple gathered.
Inside the hall stood the statues of the Three Purities: Jade Purity Primordial Celestial Master, Supreme Purity Numinous Treasure Celestial Master, and Grand Purity Virtue Celestial Master.
In the side hall, the Patriarch shrine displayed the ancestral tablets of Zhenlong Temple; centered was:
[The Position of Zhang Jiuting, True Man of Nine Heavens Responding to Primordial Principles and Upholding Laws, Thunder-Wielding Celestial Master, Dispelling Illusions Golden Thunder]
……
The Three Purities’ statues looked down upon mortals.
The old man held a willow branch dipped in the “golden well jade liquid” made of morning dew, cinnabar, and talisman ash, and chanted the Purifying Heaven and Earth Divine Incantation:
“Heaven and earth naturally, foul qi disperses…”
As the incantation flew, the liquid was sprinkled, reaching every corner of the hall.
The drops fell silently yet seemed to wash an invisible area clean.
Lu Yuan followed, tracing a hollow “well” character in the air with his peach wood sword at the main door and window lattices, sealing the flow of qi to prevent outside impurities from interfering.
The main ritual altar sat before the Three Purities’ statues.
In the center was an aged bronze censer filled with holy ash.
To the right a gold lamp, to the left a silver lamp, symbolizing sun and moon light.
The five offerings were laid out: incense, flowers, lamp, water, and fruit.
The fruits were chosen for auspicious meanings: apples for safety, tangerines for good fortune, persimmons for wishes fulfilled.
Besides the usual vegetarian offerings there was a whole cooked chicken for luck, a complete carp for surplus, and a slab of pork belly for abundance—together called the “three offerings.”
Ritual implements—imperial bell (the Three Purities bell), morning tablet, ritual ruler, the “Five Thunders Decree” token, a dew bowl—were all present.
As masters of the ceremony, this was Zhenlong Temple: the old man and Lu Yuan stood before the altar, He Xun stood in the second row.
The old man struck the bell three times and the jade chimes three times.
The bell’s clear notes pierced the night.
Lu Yuan loudly sang the opening litany:
“The Dao is profound and empty, thoughts resonate with all…”
“Refining substance into immortal truth, thus forming a vajra body…”
“……”
The old man then presented the morning tablet, bowed three times toward the Three Purities and the Patriarch shrine, and proclaimed:
“Unworthy disciple of Zhenlong Temple, Li Xiuye, Taoist name He Yin,
with disciple-grandson Lu Yuan, respectfully invite the Three Purities, our lineage Patriarchs, all holy and true beings of the void to descend upon this altar and witness our binding oath!”
“In this Gengzi year’s New Year, we present these simple rites to repay holy grace above and ensure peace below!”
At midnight on the dot, fireworks from the town of Qixia suddenly rose, their brilliant glow filtering through the windows and painting the solemn faces inside.
Lu Yuan raised a memorial titled “Gengzi Year New Year Memorial” written in cinnabar block script on yellow silk.
It reported the temple’s annual affairs, prayed for the people and the nation, for disciples and devotees, and confessed past faults.
The old man kindled a faint innate qi flame at his fingertip and set the memorial alight above the censer.
Thin azure smoke rose straight to the beams, then slowly spread like an umbrella.
An auspicious heavenly canopy!
This signals the heavens have heard—great luck!
First offering of incense.
The old man and Lu Yuan each held three sticks of genuine incense. They lit them from the flame, then gently flicked out the flame without blowing, lifted the incense to eyebrow level, and performed three bows and nine kowtows to the Three Purities and the Patriarch, then placed the incense into the censer.
The smoke condensed and did not disperse, forming three slender columns.
Then they offered flowers and water.
Lu Yuan offered a plum branch from the temple’s old plum tree—blooming in the cold—symbolizing a steadfast Daoist heart.
He also offered winter-solstice snow water blessed by incantation as sweet dew.
The old man took it, raised it high, and presented it at the altar.
Three offerings of lights and food followed.
The old man personally lit the gold and silver lamps, keeping them burning.
Lu Yuan placed the three offerings and the dumplings and New Year’s cakes at the front of the altar with both hands.
They knelt on meditation cushions; the old man led and Lu Yuan followed.
Together they recited the Supreme Profound Numinous Treasure Sutra of Three Origins of Infinite Longevity and the Zhenlong Temple Patriarch’s Sacred Decree.
Their voices were clear and solemn in the silent mountain hall.
He Xun and his disciples bowed their heads and silently chanted the temple scriptures in response.
After the sutra, the old man took out a stack of red envelopes containing “suppressing money” coins—special copper coins engraved with the Thunder Decree talisman.
He gave the coins three rounds around the censer to bless them.
These coins would be distributed to village children who helped at the temple or given to followers as charity, symbolizing warding off evil and ensuring safety.
At three quarters past midnight, zero forty-five,
the ceremony’s focus shifted to the Patriarch shrine in the side hall.
It was more solemn here, ancestral tablets of generations forming a daunting array, Zhang Jiuting’s tablet in the center faintly shining.
The old man and Lu Yuan again burned incense, bowed, and offered special tea and fine wine—because the Patriarch liked tea and wine.
They then paid respects to each generation of Patriarchs with incense and bows.
At the first hour of the night’s final watch, one a.m., the rite concluded and the holy were sent off.
The old man and Lu Yuan performed three bows to the Three Purities and the Patriarch and recited the Sending-Off Rites, thanking the holy beings for their descent.
Lu Yuan struck the chime, the old man shook the imperial bell, and the clear ritual sounds signaled the ceremony’s end.
The remaining offerings, aside from the wine and tea, were called “blessings.”
The old man cut up the three offerings and packed the dumplings and cake.
Some would stay for the temple’s next-day meals—touched by divine grace and auspicious.
Some would be packed to give to the poor and elderly followers down the mountain.
Though the ritual had ended, the festival’s energy was still shifting.
The old man, Lu Yuan, and He Xun did not leave right away; they sat cross-legged in the Patriarch hall, keeping watch through the waning candlelight and lingering incense.
They sat wordless, breathing and calming their minds, sensing the subtle changes of the world’s qi at the New Year’s turning and letting their spirits settle after the grand ritual.
Outside, the mountain wind brushed snow from the eaves with a soft sound.
From the valley below came muffled New Year’s chatter and the occasional firecracker.
Within Zhenlong Temple, the solemn rite had become invisible protection and prayer, merging into the new-old night.
On the first day of the new year, at two a.m., the New Year’s main rite completed.
……
“You two go change and wait.”
“I’ll bring the dumplings back as soon as I finish!”
They stepped out of the main hall. Lu Yuan rubbed his hands and spoke loudly as they walked back.
Lu Yuan needed to change out of the ritual robes—those were precious and not washable; you couldn’t wear them while eating.
After he changed he grabbed a bamboo tray and headed straight for the dining hall.
The dining hall buzzed: disciples from Zhenlong and Tianlong were all there.
Everyone was waiting for dumplings!
Usually they had to eat quickly so they could open the mountain gate and welcome worshippers from the town below.
But this year was different.
The Luotian Grand Offering starts at this season and it’s in Fengtian City.
After setting off fireworks and eating dumplings at midnight, people would head straight to Fengtian City.
Lu Yuan saw that fewer people had come from the town.
That meant it wouldn’t be as busy as usual; everyone could eat at leisure.
Lu Yuan borrowed a steaming big pot and dropped two bamboo trays’ worth of dumplings in.
When they cooked he scooped them out and put in two more trays.
After arranging someone to mind the pot, Lu Yuan hurried back to the side hall with the fresh dumplings.
Inside the side hall nothing seemed different.
Only that the old man and He Xun had begun to talk more.
Gu Qingwan remained quietly seated.
He Xun appeared to have grown accustomed to her presence and was less constrained.
“You two eat first, don’t wait for me.”
Lu Yuan set down two large plates of dumplings and walked out. As said, New Year’s Day dumplings all had to come out.
The old man snorted and replied:
“Hah!”
“Do I need to tell you?!”
“Since when do elders wait for juniors to eat!”
As he spoke, the old man grabbed a steaming dumpling and stuffed it in at once.
He yelped as it burned his mouth:
“Puh~~ delicious~~~”
He Xun rolled up his sleeves and started in too!
Lu Yuan smiled and looked at quiet Gu Qingwan beside him:
“You eat too, don’t wait for me.”
Then he went out to cook more dumplings.
……
“Tsk~”
He Xun spat out a single chestnut-sized filling—the lucky piece often placed in dumplings symbolizing wealth—meant to bring prosperity and good fortune.
He cast a sideways look at the old man.
“You didn’t get any lucky pieces or sweets?”
“That’s not a good omen~”
The old man kept his head down, shoveling dumplings into his bowl and murmured:
“No wonder the old Patriarch used to scold you for that foul mouth!”
“On New Year’s, won’t you say something auspicious!”
He Xun snorted and kept eating.
After finishing that dumpling, the old man put down his chopsticks.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“You’ve only had a few.”
He Xun looked at the empty space before the old man—no lucky coin, no special filling, no sugar, no date.
The old man leaned back lazily and grinned:
“On New Year’s you don’t dip these dumplings in garlic; they’re too greasy otherwise, you can’t eat.”
At that He Xun retorted with a curl of his lips:
“Who dips garlic on New Year’s dumplings?!”
“That’s spicy!”
He picked another dumpling, dipped it in a bowl of sweet syrup, and popped it in.
While chewing he mumbled indistinctly:
“You dip in sugar syrup~”
“That means the whole year will be sweet~”
The old man didn’t answer, his eyes distant as if pondering something.
He Xun ate two dumplings in whirlwind fashion; when he wiped the oil from his beard and looked up, the old man had quietly come to his side.
He Xun was stunned.
The old man slightly bowed and cupped his hands.
“Senior Brother, happy New Year.”
Huh??
Those simple five words landed like a warm current straight into He Xun.
He froze mid-chew, his cheeks packed like a hamster’s.
He Xun blinked.
For a moment, the mischievous twinkle in his old eyes glistened with unexpected moisture.
But he quickly wiped his eyes and swallowed the dumpling forcefully, then rose and burst into deep hearty laughter.
“My goodness~ Oh my!”
“How many years has it been since I heard that~~”
He then solemnly returned the greeting with unprecedented seriousness.
“Junior Brother, happy New Year.”
The mood turned incredibly tender.
Yet the old man kept his slight bow and did not straighten up.
“Senior Brother, Junior Brother needs to trouble you. Could you help me with something?”
The old man’s words froze He Xun’s smile.
He stared at his junior brother anew, as if seeing him for the first time.
The sun had risen in the west.
This stubborn man who never bowed his head had used “please” and “help”?
After a few seconds of silence, He Xun inhaled deeply and slapped the old man’s shoulder, voice full of feeling.
“Junior Brother…”
“You finally understand, you finally do…”
“Many things in this world are simple, not so complicated.”
He Xun’s eyes glowed with feeling:
“Sometimes all it takes is a little bow and saying ‘please’ to solve it.”
“No need to stubbornly refuse until it’s like killing someone’s whole family to finish it.”
“One must learn flexibility in life, don’t go down one road to the bitter end!!”
“Sometimes being a little humble isn’t shameful, not a big deal.”
Having finished his earnest exhortation, He Xun looked at the old man with burning eyes and grandly waved his hand.
“Say it!!”
“I’ll help you with anything, Senior Brother!!”
Only then did the old man slowly straighten and look up.
“Please use your considerable influence at Tianlong Temple to help me find the whereabouts of the Liu Family, the Commanding Ghosts.”
Hearing this, He Xun looked puzzled.
“One of the Ten Families?”
“Why do you want them?”
The old man stood and met He Xun’s gaze, expressionless:
“Kill his entire family!”
He Xun’s face crumpled—the pride, excitement, and bravado evaporated into dust in an instant.
“?????”
“Eek!!!!”
A piercing howl rang through the side hall.
“On New Year’s Day?! What the hell are you saying?!!!”
End of Chapter
