Chapter 96: One Long, Four Short, Five Incense Sticks

After putting down my luggage, I pestered my cousin to learn how to search souls.
"You should take a rest first. You won't be able to learn if you are too tired. Go lie down for a while and I will teach you tomorrow. I have to go out for a while now, so don't bother me."
After returning from Gaoshan Temple, my cousin no longer had as much patience.
I could tell he was in a bad mood, so I stopped pestering him to learn soul searching.
After my cousin went out, Dongjing and I were the only ones left in the house.
I lay on the sofa and couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning.
My cousin didn't come back until late at night.
Dong Jing seemed unable to sleep either. She tiptoed to the kitchen alone. I guess she thought I was asleep so she didn't dare to speak loudly.
"Are you making something delicious?" I yelled from the couch.
Dong Jing in the kitchen paused and looked back at me: "I want to make some noodles, do you want to eat?"
"eat."
I started packing my things as soon as I entered the house, then took a shower and did clothes. I hadn't eaten all day.
Even though I had something on my mind, I couldn't eat.
But no matter how important your health is, you should eat and drink enough first.
At first, we were quite quiet while eating, and I always felt that Dong Jing had something to say to me.
"Is there something wrong with you?" I asked first.
Although I haven't known her for a long time, we should be quite familiar with each other, at least that's what I think.
If we are friends, then we don't need to hide anything we say.
She put down her chopsticks and looked at me.
Seeing that she looked serious, I put down my chopsticks. We looked at each other for a long time and she didn't say anything.
"Wen Jie..."
She called my name softly, and I nodded for her to continue.
"Have you ever wondered how your grandmother died?"
When I heard her say that, my mind suddenly buzzed.
How did my grandma die?
Didn’t he die of old age?
It is normal for me to have this question, because what she said made me feel that my grandmother’s death was not simple.
But my grandmother is old, and I was not by her side to take care of her during the years I was in college.
So when I received a call from my aunt saying that my grandmother had passed away, my established mindset made me think that she died of old age.
"What do you mean by that?"
I carefully analyzed Dong Jing's words, and I really couldn't understand it, so I asked.
She shook her head, picked up her chopsticks and started eating noodles.
I knew she didn't want to tell me, but she was thinking about the wording.
So I didn't bother her.
"How long have you been away from your hometown?" Dong Jing suddenly asked.
I calculated the time: "Almost a year."
" Come back home when you have time."
She spoke without any context, so I naturally didn't take what she said seriously.
There have been so many things happening recently that I have no intention of going back to my hometown.
Besides, other people return to their hometowns in glory, but I am nothing now. If I go back, I will just be criticized.
Besides, people in the village like to gossip. By then, who knows which old lady will tell which sister-in-law that Wen Jie is not doing well outside and has no place to live when he returns.
To be honest, I am a person who cares a lot about my reputation, so I still feel unwilling to go back like this.
"Wait until you're free. Aren't you busy lately?"
I smiled and said something perfunctorily.
Dong Jing didn't say anything else, just ate noodles quietly.
The sky was beginning to turn pale, but my cousin had not returned yet.
"Or you can take a nap for a while. Your uncle also said that you won't be able to learn if you are too tired." Dong Jing cleaned up the dishes on the table and motioned for me to lie down for a while.
I have nothing to do when I'm idle. I'll just be thinking about random things. I might as well just lie down.
I was so tired that I fell asleep while lying down.
I was woken up by the sound of my cousin opening the door, and I quickly sat up and looked at him.
He was holding a lot of things in his hands, among which a red plastic bag was particularly eye-catching.
"Come and help."
My cousin looked at me and I quickly jumped up from the sofa.
He handed me everything in his hand, and moved a useless wooden table to the living room. Then he took out a yellow cloth from a black plastic bag and spread it on the wooden table.
"This is a simple altar. We will perform a ritual here later. But this small wooden table has never been used for a ritual before, so I have to consecrate it first."
It turns out that this wooden table is made of willow wood. It's very weird.
I had never seen this small table before today. I don’t know if I didn’t notice it or it existed before.
"Where did the table come from?" I looked at my cousin in confusion.
"I moved it back when you were cleaning your room yesterday. This is a willow wood table, quite evil in nature, perfect for soul searching." My cousin disagreed.
Of course, my attention was not entirely on the table. I needed my cousin to teach me how to search souls.
"We are going to start the process now, and you have to watch me do it."
My cousin's expression became serious. I reached out and patted my face. This action made me persevere.
Since this table does not belong to our family and it has never been used as a spirit altar, my cousin has to do some rituals for it first. This is also one of the things I need to learn.
Because in the future, when I need to perform a ritual, I may not necessarily do it on the spiritual platform that I often use.
I saw my cousin holding a bowl of water and placing it on the altar.
He then took out a small golden tripod from his treasure bag, with five incense sticks on it.
Why five incense sticks?
I looked at him a little confused, but he was performing the ritual and I couldn't say anything.
He lit the incense and inserted it into the golden tripod, then began to mutter something.
Strangely enough, the fire in this box is usually extinguished only after it has burned out.
However, the five incense sticks went out halfway through burning.
This is a big taboo for us.
If you burn incense to your ancestors and suddenly half of the flame goes out, it means that the person burning the incense must have offended the ancestors during his lifetime.
If the same situation occurs during normal worship and burning incense, it means that the evil spirits think that the person burning the incense is disrespectful.
My cousin stood in front of the small golden tripod and carefully observed the five incense sticks. Not long after, he actually curled the corners of his lips.
Is this a good thing?
I'm a little confused.
"Wen Jie, come and take a look. The lengths of the four or five incense sticks when they are burned are one long and four short. That means this table can be used by us for rituals."
I frowned, expressing my confusion.
My cousin explained, "Willow is different from other trees. It has its own ideas. We must ask for its consent before we can do anything with it. Otherwise, it will easily cause unnecessary trouble, such as attracting evil spirits."
He reached out and patted my back: "Come on, kid, get ready!"
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