Mutated Tao

“Dad, this is the lotus seed paste mooncake. I remember that you love lotus seed paste the most,” said Bai Lingmiao as she deliberately took a mooncake with a red seal atop, and tiptoed to place it before one specific ancestral tablet.

“Brother, you like red bean paste, right? We couldn’t find any in the village, so try this sesame one instead. It tastes pretty good too.”

After distributing some of the mooncakes, Bai Lingmiao once again lit three incense sticks. Then, she knelt on the ground and bowed toward the ancestral tablet before placing down the remaining mooncakes.

A faint scent of smoke drifted before the ancestral tablets as the scent of incense once again filled the Bai family’s ancestral hall.

After that Bai Lingmiao looked up at the black wall, seemingly lost in thought. After a long time, a faint smile appeared on her face. “Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Let me accompany you all for tonight.”

Then, she picked up a piece of mooncake from the plate and took two steps forward to sit on the steps of the ancestral hall. She gazed at the bright moon in the sky while nibbling on the mooncake.

As she was eating, a figure appeared beside her. Bai Lingmiao extended her hand, sending a piece of the mooncake inside the Second Deity’s veil. Then, she gently leaned her head to the left, resting on her red silk robe.

Just like that, two women with identical heads silently leaned against each other on the steps outside the Bai family ancestral hall, eating the same mooncake and appreciating the same round moon in the sky.

Suddenly, a fire lit up in the distance. Bai Lingmiao stood up and looked at the makeshift earthen kiln that was built with tiles and stones.

The kiln was very tall, much taller than the other buildings in Cowheart Village. Soon, the flames soared and enveloped the kiln like a giant bonfire.

Puppy was standing on a roof nearby, while making strange noises and taking various old clothes before throwing them into the fire.

Mid-Autumn Festival often meant lighting up the earthen kiln. Bai Lingmiao recalled that every year was the same, and that it was usually only done by the males in the village, and the girls didn’t particularly like it.

As Bai Lingmiao watched the roaring flames in the distance, she was reminded of her troublesome younger brother. As the elder sister, she had been responsible for taking care of him, especially since her parents were always busy. Thus, she had personally watched as the infant in the cradle slowly grew into an active, young boy.

However, one day, everything suddenly came to a halt.

As her longing for her family reached its peak, she trembled and reached toward the drum hanging at her waist, and then began to beat it.

Dong dong dong~

The rhythmic drum beats slowly echoed in the quiet village.

Bai Lingmiao hesitated for a moment, but then, with a trembling voice, started to sing. At the same time, the tears she had been holding back all night finally began to flow.

She used her deeply sorrowful voice to sing a tragic tune from the Bei Family. Even the surroundings seemed to be trembling with her singing.

“Cold wind ah~ smoke and soul~ Wu wu…”

At that moment, as she resonated with the lyrics, she finally realized the profound emotions required for one to sing this tune. Previously, she had just been following along under the coercion of the Immortal families, but now, she suddenly felt a deeper sense of understanding and connection.

Only when enough of one’s family members had died, would one be able understand the feelings needed to sing this song.

As she sang, she found that her emotions had affected the Immortal families. This feeling was rather unique. It could even be said that in regard to this piece of the Bei Family, Bai Lingmiao was even more well versed than Li Zhi from back then.

However, this was a price that she didn’t want to pay.

The drumbeats continued, followed by the rhythmic and desolate chants.

“Smoke and souls~ Three realms above ground for the living, wu wu wu… three cities in the underworld for the smoke and souls ah~”

“They say the heavens cover the treasure, and the earth turns into a pond~ People are like fish in the muddy waters of the three realms~ Wu wu…”

“Muddling through one moment leads to another, muddling through two moments leads to one less…”

This time, the Second Deity just watched Bai Lingmiao from the side. As she sang the tune to summon souls, gusts of cold wind blew past the Bai family’s ancestral hall. It blew past the Second Diety’s red veil, and then finally extinguished the lantern before beginning to revolve around Bai Lingmiao.

As though she had sensed something, Bai Lingmiao almost could not continue on anymore. But she finally gritted her teeth and firmly continued to beat the drum hanging on her waist.

“Hearing the smoke and the souls shed tears of sorrow~ The heart seems to taste the bitter yellow lotus~ Unjust grievances with nowhere to appeal, there’s nowhere to cry out for such justice…”

As the drum beats and the chanting continued, the cold winds slowly grew stronger, and the ancestral tablets inside the hall started to shake vigorously. The roof tiles also started to shake, making it look like the entire ancestral hall had come to life.

As the singing continued, a gust of wind gently blew past the hem of the Second Deity’s skirt and into the blood-red veil.

At that moment, a sudden charred smell started emanating from the Second Deity as she shivered and raised both her hands before sluggishly leaning toward Bai Lingmiao. “Daughter..”

When she heard this voice, Bai Lingmiao’s heart froze. Immediately, she reached out with both her hands and called out, “Mother!”

When she touched the Second Deity, Bai Lingmiao seemed to find her support again as she poured out everything that was accumulated in her heart. She closed her eyes and spoke for a long time, but received no response until she stopped.

When she finally opened her flushed-red eyes and looked toward the Second Deity’s red veil, she only received a disappointing result; she realized that the moment she had stopped singing, her mother was already gone.

“Did my mother say anything before she left?” Bai Lingmiao asked gently.

The Second Deity stared at Bai Lingmiao through the red veil for a long time, and then finally said, “She… is not your mother.”

“No, she is my mother! My father and grandfather also returned! They are all blaming me!” Bai Lingmiao denied loudly.

The Second Deity did not speak any further, and only spread her arms to embrace Bai Lingmiao. She lowered her body and picked Bai Lingmiao up as she gently swayed her.

Bai Lingmiao kept her eyes open as she swayed gently. She silently looked toward the roof of the ancestral hall, seemingly contemplating something.

By this point, the earthen kiln outside had already been extinguished. The two of them just continued silently sitting in the dark ancestral hall.

“If I leave, can you accompany Senior Li? He cannot have nobody around him,” Bai Lingmiao suddenly said.

However, the Second Deity only continued to hold onto her and did not react.

“Sorry, but I really can’t hold on anymore. I can’t do anything, and I can’t even avenge my family!” said Bai Lingmiao, tears streaming down her face. Then, she broke free of the Second Deity’s embrace and took out a rope that she had prepared earlier.

She walked to the center of the ancestral hall, then threw the rope toward the roof beams and started to tie a knot.

Seeing this, the Second Deity stood up as well, walking up to Bai Lingmiao as she held her slender legs to assist her in completing the following steps.

When the Second Deity gently let go and took a step back, the rope tightened with a creaking sound, followed by the uncontrollable sounds of a person wheezing.

However, the Second Deity just ignored those sounds, and silently returned to sit at the steps in front of the ancestral hall as she continued to gaze at the full moon in the sky.

Behind the red veil were Bai Lingmiao’s gently swaying white shoes. And behind those white shoes was a densely packed wall of pitch-black ancestral tablets for the deceased.

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