The three bags of gold ingots weren't heavy; rather, they were as tall as Shen Qingqing, making them too heavy for her to lift.

Seeing everyone so busy, Shen Yangyang was so anxious that she kept stamping her feet at home.

Li Xunli found it amusing to see the little girl running around in circles, so she gave her a bunch of chive blossoms, which immediately cheered her up.

The ritual was primarily conducted by the women of Chaocheng, with only a few men occasionally interspersed among them.

After all the offerings in each household had been arranged, the women of the house looked at the sky and said that they could begin.

In her previous life, Shen Qingqing was very interested in the sacrificial activities on this day, and she always made sure to watch them on this day.

The women each held a stick of incense, lit it with a lighter, and immediately the grayish-white smoke rose up, filling the entire sacrificial site with a large amount of smoke.

The women knelt facing the pile of gold ingots, chanting incantations, and bowed three times devoutly. Then they rose and knelt behind them, bowing three more times.

Afterwards, the incense sticks, either three or one, were inserted into the offerings.

After all the offerings from each household had been lit with incense, they knelt back down and bowed three times. Then, the area reserved for burning paper money was lit.

People went from house to house, carrying their three bags of gold ingots, and poured them into the orange-red bonfire, causing the gray-black smoke to suddenly rise high.

Shen Qingqing raised her hand to cover her mouth and nose, and silently took a few steps back to reduce the heat wave hitting her face. The flickering fire was reflected in her bright black eyes.

The folded ingots unfolded and melted under the licking firelight, carrying the wishes and prayers stored within them across the yin and yang realms through the fiery waves that spanned the sky and covered the earth.