Chapter 329 - One Family

Chapter 329 - One Family

“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. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

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.

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.