Since we were in the mourning hall, Long Shaohui went forward to burn incense and pay his respects as usual. Shen Bing and I stood behind and bowed, looking up at the two portraits hanging on the wall. On the left was a middle-aged man with a big smile on his face. His expression was very similar to Yaxue's. Needless to say, he was Yaxue's bastard father Ling Peiqiang.
Seeing the photo of Yaxue on the right, smiling slightly, my heart ached. Although I knew she was still alive, she was not a human being, but a living corpse! I revealed the truth today not only to avenge her, but also for the innocent babies who died, and to prevent such a heinous tragedy from happening again in the future!
A middle-aged woman stood in front of the coffin, with a white flower pinned to her chest, a sad face, and red and swollen eyes. Without a second glance, you can immediately tell that she is Yaxue's mother. The two look so much alike, a woman in her late 50s, still so beautiful.
A group of men and women in mourning knelt before the coffin. After we finished worshipping the deceased, they returned the greeting and cried bitterly. They must have been hired professional "wake-up callers", because the Ling family only had Yaxue as a daughter, and if they didn't invite someone to cry with them, it would be a dull occasion.
The two bodies were placed in two temperature-controlled coffins, with wreaths placed on them and clusters of flowers piled up in front of the coffins. An oil lamp was lit on the coffin table, which was the eternal lamp.
The constant temperature coffin is transparent. Standing in my position, I can basically see the appearance of the deceased inside. He is wearing shrouds and his face is covered with white cloth. It should be that his death is too horrible for people to see.
Then I looked up at the four corners of the roof of the mourning hall. There was a white paper lantern hanging on each of them. Candles were lit inside, emitting a soft red light. I sneered, thinking that although the mourning hall seemed to be empty, there were many mysteries in these four lanterns. If I guessed correctly, the lamp holders under the candles were the statues of the four spirits.
What are the Four Spirits? They are Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird and Black Tortoise, also known as the Four Symbols!
The Four Spirits are the four guardian gods of Taoism. With them guarding the four corners of the mourning hall, not only evil spirits, but even the judges dare not enter without permission. Although this evil-repelling arrangement is simple, it cannot be done by people without profound Taoist skills. Because the weak Tianshi cannot invite the four guardian gods at all.
The Four Symbols are very powerful in exorcising evil spirits, but the counterattack is to break it. In the four directions of the Eight Diagrams, a piece of black cloth is buried in each of them. This is used for blindfolding. It is that simple. The eyes of the four spirits are blindfolded. Now when the ghost comes in, none of the four old men can see it.
"The incense is on, it's time for you to leave." Yaxue's mother Yan Ning asked them to leave.
Long Shaohui nodded, said a few words of comfort, and waved his hand for us to go out together.
I stood still, feeling lucky because I had been with Yaxue for such a long time, and today was the first time I met her mother, and in such a special environment as a funeral hall. I needed some courage to face her.
Seeing that I didn't move, Shen Bing shook her head at me, meaning that the team leader asked me to leave. I winked at her, which was the secret signal we had discussed earlier, asking her to cooperate with me and pretend to continue the double act. Since Long Shaohui and the others came, neither of us spoke, including Tan Qing who kept apologizing to me, and I just nodded. Maybe he thought I was Shen Bing.
Shen Bing frowned and looked embarrassed, but finally walked behind me and covered her mouth.