Four reds landed?
I offered a cigarette to Mr. Qian and asked, "Mr. Qian, what exactly does this 'Four Reds Landing' mean? Why is it either extremely auspicious or extremely inauspicious?"
Old Qian stared intently at the funeral procession and slowly spoke.
“My child, everything in this world is about the balance of yin and yang. Red is a color of celebration, but using it on such a large scale in funerals breaks this balance.”
"If there is a great opportunity, perhaps we can use these 'four reds' to turn the tide and turn decay into magic, which would be very auspicious."
"But more often than not, going against the will of Heaven will attract evil spirits and bring disaster, which is a great misfortune."
I took a drag of my cigarette, looked at the funeral procession that had already gone far away, and said, "The bride in that coffin must have died a violent death, right?"
"A violent death?"
When Qian Laoguan heard my words, he sneered. The large black mole on the corner of his mouth twitched with his movements, and the black hair on the mole also trembled slightly, making him look indescribably disgusting.
"It's not just a violent death; she was also carrying an unborn child. That's really dangerous!"
I frowned, more doubts welling up in my mind, and hurriedly asked, "Mr. Qian, what do you mean by that? So what if you're pregnant?"
Old Qian's gaze remained fixed on the funeral procession, his expression growing increasingly solemn as he asked me a question.
"Child, have you ever heard the story of the mother and child ghosts?"
I shook my head instinctively.
Old Qian sighed and slowly spoke.
"Many years ago, not far from our area, there was a very famous wealthy family. Their daughter, Wan Niang, was beautiful, with skin as white as snow, and was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was the envy of everyone in this area, and matchmakers practically wore out her doorstep."
"But later, for some reason, Wan Niang would often wake up in her sleep and say things that others couldn't understand."
"At first, her family thought it was just a nightmare and didn't take it seriously."
"But not long after, Wan Niang's body became thinner and thinner, her originally rosy cheeks turned as pale as paper, and her eyes became more and more empty."
"Even more bizarrely, Wan Niang began to have frequent hallucinations, always saying that she saw dark shadows lingering by her bedside and reaching out to grab her."
"The maids in the house were all terrified, but Wan Niang seemed to have lost her soul and was slow to react to everything around her. Even so, she still forced herself to stay calm and didn't want her parents to worry."
"Until one day, Wan Niang got up to do her makeup in the morning. Looking at herself in the mirror, she suddenly let out a shrill scream."
"Hearing the noise, her family rushed over and saw Wan Niang pointing to her stomach with a look of great fear in her eyes. Only then did they realize that Wan Niang's stomach was slightly swollen, as if she were several months pregnant."
"How could this be? Wan Niang is still unmarried and has always adhered to the precepts of a young lady. She has never overstepped her bounds. This news is like a bolt from the blue, causing an uproar in this wealthy family."
"Wan Niang's parents were shocked and furious, feeling utterly humiliated. Wan Niang, however, cried and said that she didn't know why this was happening. She only remembered one night having an extremely vivid dream in which a man whose face she couldn't see was gently stroking her belly."
“After that, her body began to act strangely, but Wan Niang’s parents refused to believe such a bizarre explanation, thinking she was just talking nonsense to cover up her shameful affair. Wan Niang felt wronged, but she couldn’t defend herself.”
Old Qian sighed and extinguished his cigarette.
I quickly gave him another one.
By this time, the funeral procession had already passed the street corner and disappeared, with only the faint sound of gongs and drums remaining.
Old Qian half-closed his eyes and smoked.
He didn't continue speaking until he had almost finished his cigarette.
He said that in those feudal wealthy families, premarital pregnancy was a great disgrace.
Wan Niang's spirit completely collapsed. She spent her days in tears, lost her appetite, and her health deteriorated rapidly.
Finally, on a dark and windy night, Wan Niang hanged herself in her boudoir.
When her family found her, she was already dead, but her belly was growing increasingly swollen.
Wan Niang's parents were devastated, but since things had come to this, for the sake of the family's reputation and to ensure that Wan Niang could be laid to rest in peace, they hurriedly invited a famous local fortune teller in the hope of averting this disaster.
After the gentleman arrived, he did some calculations and said that the child in the young lady's womb had a peculiar destiny. If the young lady died with the child, she would not be able to be reincarnated and would only wander between the realms of Yin and Yang, becoming a resentful mother-child ghost.
The master said that the only way to resolve this disaster was to use a very special method.
So he ordered his servants to prepare red clothes, red candles, and red paper money, and even made a red sedan chair, intending to use the power of these "four reds" to turn the tide and send the mother and child to be reincarnated.
I was so engrossed in listening that I forgot to smoke. The ash on my fingertips grew longer and longer as I asked nervously.
"And then what?"
Qian Laoguan's voice grew increasingly low and cold.
That night, everything proceeded as planned.
The man was dressed in a Taoist robe, holding a peach wood sword, and chanting incantations.
But who could have imagined that just as the ceremony was reaching its most crucial moment, a sudden gale arose, with sand and stones flying everywhere.
The young lady, who had been lying quietly in the coffin in the red sedan chair, suddenly sat up, her eyes bloodshot, and let out a shrill scream.
Her stomach felt as if it had been ripped apart, and blood was gushing out.
It turns out that the unborn fetus, driven by resentment, was "born" prematurely, but in an extremely terrifying way.
It was covered in blood, looked ferocious, and lunged at the crowd with its claws outstretched.
The scene was instantly thrown into chaos.
Despite the gentleman's best efforts, it was to no avail.
Ultimately, the entire mansion was shrouded in this resentment, and no one could escape this calamity.
The souls of the young woman and the unborn child vanished without a trace, leaving only this terrifying legend.
"Alright, it's just a story!"
Seeing that I was listening intently, Qian Laoguan patted my shoulder.
"Don't worry, didn't you see the bowl of water on the threshold of Yingniang's shop? Don't underestimate half a bowl of water. If anything really happens, those filthy things won't be able to cross this bowl of water!"
Is there?
I looked down at the threshold and there was indeed a bowl of clear water.
However, this bowl of water was placed in the corner of the door, and it was a very small bowl.
Is this bowl of water really that useful?
But I remember the first time I came to help Yingniang look after the shop, a dirty thing stepped in, but it didn't seem to have any effect.
Or is it that I remembered it wrong?
"Alright, I'm going back!"
Old Qian stretched out his arms and yawned: "I'm going back now. Watch the shop carefully, don't fall asleep! And don't sell anything recklessly."
Watching Qian Laoguan's departing figure, I thought to myself, I'm not sleepy, how could I fall asleep?
I just smiled and didn't take it seriously.
Seeing that Qian Lao's coffin had left and the funeral procession had also left, I pulled my head back and prepared to go to the toilet.
However, just as I glanced at the bowl of water placed on the threshold out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a red paper money floating on it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
