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Chapter 981: Ritual

When the old chief said these things, his eyes were on the carpenter. He wished his second son would kill him. “Ol One has a close relationship with the people aboveground, and he is the strongest. He won’t be accepted by the ghosts; Ol Three is too young and inexperienced to fool the ghosts. So you are the best candidate.”

After a long silence, the carpenter nodded. “I’ll complete your wishes.”

“Ol Two?! Do you know what you’re talking about?” The middle-aged man raised his hand. He wanted to give his brother a slap, but he held it in. “There should be other salutations!”

“I know you might not be able to accept it, but this is the only way that can save the normal people, weaken the ghosts and save the three of yous.” The old chief passed the black packages to his three children. “When the tombs open at midnight, I’ll go underground with you. Ol Three, you’ll take up the rear. After I am killed by Ol Two, you bring my will and run away. Remember, you have to bring my will out of Grave Village!”

The young man said with trembling fingers. “I don’t want to run. Let me stay with you.”

“You have to leave, or else our sacrifices will be for nothing.” The old chief patted the young man’s shoulders. “When you leave the hole, open my will.”

“Father, have you considered this? If we leave, what about the villagers? Some of them are so mutated that even if they leave the hole, they can’t survive as humans.” The middle-aged man didn’t agree to the plan.

“I’ve discussed this with the people from the coalition. Before they destroy the village, they will fetch all of the villagers. This is one of the conditions I argued for.” The chief looked at the packages in his three children’s hands. “Don’t forget. My little brother is working for the coalition. All the elites in the city are there. They have given me this promise.”

“Even if they didn’t, you should continue with your plan.” The middle-aged man was disappointed. He didn’t think his father did anything wrong. He just felt uncomfortable.

“Return to your own rooms. Come with me to the ritual at 11 pm.” The old chief didn’t deny it. After his three children left, he slumped weakly in his chair. The night darkened. Music started in the village as the ritual began. White lanterns hung on the doors. Every family provided food, alcohol, and candles on the table. Paper money was everywhere. The villagers hoped that the ghosts would be satisfied and leave.

“It’s almost time.”

The old chief left his house. The chief and his three children walked out, pushing a cart of paper materials. Whenever they passed, the villagers lowered their heads. The four came to the village chapel. The elders in the village lit the joss sticks and prayed. The ritual would start after that. The old chief and his three children removed their clothes and put on the ritual clothes. They painted patterns on their faces. When they were done, they lay down on the temporarily made beds. From then on, their feet couldn’t touch the ground anymore. The mirrors inside the room were covered. Everything was singular. It meant that when people left, they would go alone and not bring anyone else with them.

When the chief and his children closed their eyes, the villagers hurried out of the room. They cleared away the altars and any sign of living. They lit the white candles. Then, the villagers covered the four with a white cloth. The pillows were swapped for rocks, and they lit candles at their left feet to light the way to hell. A bowl of rice was placed beside their right feet.

At midnight, four palanquins stopped outside the chapel. All the bearers were mutated. They looked half-human and half-monster. The bearers carried the four into the palanquins. The sacrificial objects were placed at the back.

When everything was ready, three squat male villagers ran ahead and spread the news of death. After the men left, five women with covered faces walked and cried. Behind the women were the bearers. The four palanquins slowly moved out of the village. Paper money flew everywhere. The candlelight flickered.

They passed the dark mountain formed by trash and reached the innermost part of the deep hole. There was an unknown altar built deep inside Grave Village. The palanquins moved past the altar. The crying women stopped here while the bearers continued to carry the palanquins into the hole. The surroundings became quiet, and the ritual was coming to an end. The temperature dropped when they were 100 meters deep. When they saw the second unknown altar, the bearers put down the palanquins and hurried to leave.

The old chief and three children were sent to the tomb as dead people. Only dead people could enter the graves to complete the ritual. Therefore, all the living people had to leave. When the bearers’ footsteps disappeared, the candlelight in the palanquins flickered. The curtain was pulled back, and the old chief was the first to get down.

“Let’s start.”

The chief’s three children carried the candle out of the palanquin. They came to the carts where the sacrificial items were placed. They were prepared for the Big Ghost inside the grave. However, there were some other things mixed in this year.

The chief pulled open the paper house and took out four black packages. “Only by destroying the tomb’s entrance that the villagers’ illnesses can be cured.”

The youngest Ol Three still couldn’t accept this. He unwillingly opened the package before him. A baby around one lie on top of the layer of wires.

“My God! Why is he here?” Ol Three’s hands shook, and he accidentally raised his voice. The other three hurried over.

“Who hid this package?”

“Did he climb into the package on his own?”

“I fed him some milk and coaxed him to bed. I don’t know the rest.”

The baby looked at the four adults innocently. He was curious about everything. In the place where death was thick, the baby brought a sense of life.

“It’s too late to send him out now.” The chief’s wrinkles folded together. “Ol Three, carry the child. No matter what, you have to escape!”

“Okay…” The young man tried his best to control his emotion as he picked up the baby. “I’ll take you away from here. Don’t worry.” The baby didn’t know anything. He looked quite happy.

“It’s good to be a child.” Ol Three sneaked a look at his father and brothers. He sighed and then made a silly face at the baby.

“Let’s prepare to open the tomb.”

The chief was very serious. He and his children picked up the black packages and placed the items before the unknown altar. The altar doors slowly opened. There were so many negative emotions there that the moment the door opened, a chilly presence took over.

The normal ritual steps were to open the tomb, chant the prayers, and send the sacrificial items into the tomb to get the Ghost God’s blessing.

But this time, the old chief reached his hand into the altar and took out the figurine. He swapped it out with his figurine. After that, bloodspots appeared on the chief’s arms. He was the most normal of the villagers before this.

The chief and his three children entered the tunnel.

The tunnel was deep and dark. There appeared to be things moving in the dark. There was a munching sound. Soon, they saw a monster. The monster should be a human once. Its face still looked human, but the same could not be said of its body. The blood froze on its skin. Black hair oozed out of its wounds. Intense hatred surrounded it. The old chief put down a sacrificial item. The monster looked ugly, but it calmed down with it saw the offering.

“Should we make a move?”

“No. Grief, regret, resentment, and hatred, they are not our target.”

The chief and his children moved forward with their heads lowered. They saw many ghosts along the way. Grief was a moving shadow. They wouldn’t hurt anyone. Regret didn’t have a corporeal body. They were part of the tunnel. Resentment was hostile, but they were no match for the chief. The chief would take out the offering when they met Hatred.

The dark appeared to be endless. When they were half an hour into the tunnel, they saw a woman.

The woman was dressed in memory. She had the same blood as the chief. Her life was frozen in childhood.

“Sister…” The chief wanted to say something, but the woman turned and left. The chief wanted to call after her, but the words stuck in his throat. The woman’s name was similar to the chief’s father’s name. “I’m sorry for using you and failing to protect you.”

The words of apology didn’t reach the woman’s ears. The chief continued to move.

Slowly, the ghosts decreased. The chief came across a few abandoned altars.

The chief looked at the altar. The altar bled. The blood coagulated to form strange meat globs.

On the other altar, dream dust fell to form a pair of beautiful butterfly wings.

The ground shook. Hands reached out from under the tombstone. They merged to form a black figurine with thousand hands.

Cruelty, wrath, greed, and all the negative emotions combined into an ugly beast.

“1, 3, 7, 9…”

Every altar changed. These ghosts with altars were far stronger than normal Hatred.

The youngest son shivered. He was scared. The ritual was very different from usual. The Big Ghosts inside the grave appeared to have agreed to appear at the same time!