CH 32

People who can afford to hire ghosts to sing opera are not ordinary people. The Hu family in Wuligang is considered a big family, and about one-third of the people in the village have the surname Hu.

Li Huowang has learned from Lv Zhuangyuan that the one who paid for the opera is the richest landlord and the highest-ranked person in Wuligang, Hu Qinghe.

At this moment, he is accompanying Lv Zhuangyuan and his group on their way to the Hu family ancestral hall.

"Master Hu said it's nothing major. He has hired other opera troupes to sing ghost operas in the past. There's nothing to worry about," Lv Zhuangyuan said.

Li Huowang glanced at him, unsure who he was trying to comfort.

He pressed the bell hanging from his waist with his hand, feeling slightly relieved. Even if something did happen, he had this to protect him.

Of course, it would be best if nothing happened. After all, hiring a Daoist priest like Yu Dao Ye would cost three months of life.

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Walking on the village path, they soon arrived at the Hu family ancestral hall, which was decorated with many red lanterns.

It was crowded, and Li Huowang and the others couldn't even squeeze in. Over the heads of the people, he saw many people bowing and worshipping the black memorial tablet.

"That's Master Hu. He also said that after the play, we shouldn't leave and should have a meal," Lv Zhuangyuan pointed to the old man in silk clothes at the front of the worshippers.

As he spoke, those who were worshipping stood up and respectfully took down the black memorial tablet of their ancestors, placing it on the half-immortal table that had already been prepared.

There were many memorial tablets and many tables, filling the spacious three-door ancestral hall.

The tables in front of the memorial tablets were not empty, and there were many delicious dishes of various kinds.

Red candles, incense, gold ingots, yellow paper, were neatly arranged in the serving dishes for the ancestors to enjoy.

As if afraid of neglecting anything, there were also more than a dozen paper people standing beside the wall of the ancestral hall, ready to serve tea and water by the table.

"Hey, Master Huang is really generous, personally spending money to hire an opera troupe to sing for our ancestors."

"Yes, no wonder the Hu family has no sickness or disaster in their several houses. It's all thanks to the blessings of their ancestors."

"Ah, I don't know if I can have such wealth after I die."

"Then your descendants can make big money like Master Hu and hire people to sing for ghosts, but it costs a lot of money."

Listening to the words of the Hu family, and looking at the solemn scene before him, Li Huowang felt slightly relieved. This didn't seem like a situation where something would go wrong.

He leaned slightly towards Lv Zhuangyuan, who was standing beside him. "Master Lv, you've traveled around and encountered ghosts or those who seek protection more?"

"Hmm? What's wrong? Aren't they the same thing?" Lv Zhuangyuan widened his eyes in surprise.

"How can they be the same? One is a person who has become a ghost after death, and the other is..." Li Huowang didn't know how to explain.

But Li Huowang was sure that no matter whether it was the Big Granny who Dan Yang Zi used to refine pills, or the Hu family's ancestor tablets, or even the little foot woman he saw that night, they were definitely not ghosts, at least not the kind he knew.

Just then, the Hu family's memorial tablets were all set up, and Hu Qinghe led a large group of Hu family members towards Lv Zhuangyuan.

"Master Lv, please work hard. Oh, and Brother Jia Liang, you can help Master Lv build the stage."

"Oh, this is really embarrassing. Master Hu is really too polite."

"Master Lv, you know the rules of the opera. After the ancestors come out to watch the show, the descendants who hired the opera troupe should leave and stay at home. Please take care of the ancestral hall," Hu Qinghe kindly reminded.

"Of course, of course. Master Hu, rest assured, with me here, the ancestral hall will be safe," Lv Zhuangyuan patted his chest and said confidently.Although no one was watching, Lv Zhuangyuan dare not make any mistakes. If anything happened to the ancestral hall, the Hu family could bury the entire Lv troupe alive.

"Also, when the play starts, the living cannot talk to the actors, so as not to make the ancestors uncomfortable."

"As for the play, just choose something joyful. The ancestors dreamt that the underworld was too lonely and wanted to see something festive."

"You don't need to sing all night. After five o'clock, my son will come to take the ancestral tablet home, and you can rest."

Lv Zhuangyuan nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Yes, yes, yes, Master Hu, rest assured, we will not break the rules."

With the help of the Hu family, the stage was quickly set up in the ancestral hall. Only five people were performing tonight, and Luo Juanshua did not come because women were not allowed into the ancestral hall.

Following Hu Qinghe's shout, the crowd that had just been watching the excitement dispersed and went home.

"Clang, clang, clang, lift!" When the Lv troupe began to perform on stage, Li Huowang waited backstage.

As time passed, the entire Wuligang became quiet, and the large village plunged into darkness, with only the ancestral hall lit up.

For Li Huowang, it was his first time watching the living sing to the dead. He opened the curtain and looked outside.

It was quite creepy. The stage was lively, but below was dead silent. There was no applause, only rows of black tablets with names carved on them, as well as yellow paper and candles between them.

After walking through the Qingfeng Temple, these scenes could not scare him, but the Lv troupe was different. In just a moment, Lv Juren forgot his lines several times, and Lv Zhuangyuan, who was hitting the gong, was anxious.

But as time passed, they began to get into the performance and became smoother.

In the quiet night, the sound of the play echoed far away. Li Huowang, with his sword on his back, sat backstage and closed his eyes to rest.

As he listened, he could even hear a hint of charm. Li Huowang, who was a little bored, nodded his head and hummed along to the melody.

In this environment, the second watch passed unconsciously and it was now the third watch.

By now, Li Huowang had figured out that the third watch was from eleven o'clock at night to one o'clock in the morning, the fourth watch was from one o'clock to three o'clock, and the fifth watch was from three o'clock to five o'clock. Generally, when the roosters in the village crowed, it was after five o'clock.

He yawned. He didn't know why, but he always felt more tired than others when he came here.

He couldn't really fall asleep while on duty, so Li Huowang took out the Tian Shu and pondered over it to relieve his drowsiness.

Recently, when he was on night watch, he would study it, but besides confirming that it was a text that encouraged people to do good, he had gained nothing else.

As he watched, the second watch passed, and it was now the third watch. Everything was normal in the ancestral hall.

Li Huowang looked up at Lv Zhuangyuan, who was changing his makeup in front of the copper mirror, and thought to himself, "Master Lv is probably bleeding inside. He lost six taels of silver for no reason."

It shouldn't be a big deal, as this was the Hu family ancestral hall. The younger generation invited the older generation to watch the play, and the older generation could not possibly ruin the event.

Just as Li Huowang thought that tonight would pass uneventfully, something unexpected happened. Without warning, the sound of the play outside suddenly stopped.