A Ghost Appeared in the Mist
The Cold Clothes Festival is named as such because of an important custom on this day—sending cold clothes. At this time, the living world is bountiful, and after people have had their fill of food and warmth, they naturally think of their deceased ancestors. As the weather gradually gets colder, the underworld becomes even more frigid. How could it be without warm clothes? So, people use colorful paper to symbolize fine silk and satin, cut into clothing and hats, and make colorful cold clothes to burn as offerings to their ancestors. This act shows both filial piety from descendants and reverence for ghosts and gods.
This afternoon, after the ghost gates opened, those with new graves went to perform rituals at the new graves. At night, lonely ghosts without anyone to worship them wandered around, seeking food and warmth. If people didn’t leave cold clothes for these wandering ghosts at the road outside their homes, the ghosts would have nowhere to go, no home to depend on, and they would intrude into homes, disturbing the living and the spirits of ancestors.
These are naturally just the unshakeable ghost stories believed by people at the time. However, for Yu Jinnian, they were merely superstitions. The reason he was keen to go out and send cold clothes was more out of curiosity and the desire to join in the fun. Every household was sending cold clothes, and only their noodle shop did not. Wouldn’t that make them seem very different? Essentially, it was the “newborn calves are not afraid of tigers” spirit of not fearing death that the elderly spoke of.
Ji Hong pulled him down from his back, holding him in front, seeing the young man’s enthusiastic expression. He was standing without proper posture, so Ji Hong worriedly said, “Today, the ghostly things are everywhere. Be careful not to offend the spirits.”
“Okay.” Yu Jinnian immediately stood properly at Ji Hong’s words, keeping his hands obediently at his sides, watching Ji Hong leisurely dress. Although his actions were elegant and pleasing to the eye, it was tedious to watch him dress and undress for a whole evening.
In his previous life, he had been overly urbanized and had rarely seen such ancient and mysterious customs. Therefore, he was very interested and feared missing something by going out late. Seeing Ji Hong taking his time, he couldn’t help but tiptoe impatiently, urging, “Are you done yet?”
Ji Hong came out and draped a cloak over the young man’s shoulders, saying, “I’ve never seen anyone as impatient as you.”
Yu Jinnian, seeing him wear a plain blue robe with such grace, couldn’t help but smile brightly, “Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ji Hong helplessly followed him out the door.
The two stepped out of the noodle shop one after the other and saw that many households were already out sending cold clothes. Most of them were men full of yang energy, while a few households without men or sons had worried-faced women and old ladies coming out alone with baskets to burn offerings. Ji Hong glanced at the bright-eyed young man beside him and thought, in Xinan County, there probably wasn’t a second person so happy to see ghosts.
Yu Jinnian didn’t know Ji Hong was looking at him because he was watching others. Although it was late, there were still many people out burning cold clothes. However, on the wide and straight long street, there were still only a few scattered people, who hurried home after finishing their offerings, not wanting to stay longer.
They didn’t walk far and stopped at a street corner close to the noodle shop. There was already a stooped old woman offering cold clothes there. Next to her was a large bamboo basket. Seeing Yu Jinnian approach, she looked up and smiled kindly at them.
The old woman seemed to be in her sixties or seventies, with graying hair. She looked particularly small squatting on the ground. She grabbed a handful of ash, drew a circle on the ground, and lit incense. She started taking things out of the bamboo basket—a water gourd and a bowl of steaming red bean rice. She poured the clear water from the gourd into an empty bowl, chanting as if mourning someone.
The customs around red bean rice varied. Some said it was related to the death of Gonggong’s son, who turned into a plague ghost. Others said it was related to Zhuanxu’s three sons, who turned into river demons, water spirits, and little ghosts that harassed children. However, in any story, these powerful ghosts feared one thing—red beans.
Therefore, people steamed red beans and glutinous rice into red bean rice, which symbolized warding off plague ghosts and preventing disasters. The red bean rice was crimson, soft, and sticky, and had the effect of nourishing the spleen and blood. It could also strengthen the body. However, at this time, the significance of red bean rice was more about its auspicious symbolism than its taste.
Yu Jinnian, seeing the old woman’s meticulous actions, did not dare to disturb her. He walked to the other end of the street and squatted down, taking out the colorful clothes he had bought at the mourning paper shop. Since no one at the noodle shop was in mourning, burning cold clothes was simply a ritual to ward off misfortune in the coming year, intended to bribe passing resentful and lonely ghosts so they wouldn’t disturb the living in the house.
Perhaps because it was the Ghost Festival, the streets tonight seemed especially deep and quiet. Although Ji Hong’s fear of the dark had eased considerably, he was still apprehensive about the atmosphere, so he lowered his head slightly and moved closer to the young man.
As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Although he did not firmly believe in ghosts and gods, Yu Jinnian was respectful while burning the cold clothes, not daring to make any frivolous jokes. He squatted earnestly, burning the clothes and muttering softly, “Dear ghosts, I’m from the noodle shop. If you pass by and want to eat noodles, you can, but please don’t scare the women in our shop!”
Ji Hong, who had never felt comfortable at home and had been affected by the incident with his second brother sixteen years ago, rarely participated in family rituals unless necessary. When he learned about the cold clothes ritual, he secretly ordered a servant to buy some colorful clothes and burned them in a brazier alone.
Due to the limited money in the estate, the servant could only buy ordinary colorful paper clothes, which seemed too humble for the Ji family. When his stepmother saw this, she kicked over his brazier in anger, saying Ji Yan didn’t need such pitiful offerings. He felt aggrieved and stubborn for a few days, but looking back now, it seemed quite amusing, as no one really cared.
When he learned how to properly burn cold clothes and had sufficient funds to even burn real silk, he was old enough not to intentionally upset his stepmother. Accompanying the young man to burn cold clothes today brought back memories of his younger years. He also took a few sheets of colorful paper clothes from the basket and started burning them.
Seeing Yu Jinnian glance at him, Ji Hong reached out and tucked the young man’s wind-blown hair behind his ear, saying gently, “Since we’re burning cold clothes, let’s also burn some for my second brother. Although he passed away many years ago, he might have already been reincarnated.” He looked at Yu Jinnian’s fair face and suddenly smiled, as if thinking of something pleasant: “If my second brother were reincarnated, he might be your age now.”
The statement felt strange, like Ji Hong was a loving father patting his head. Yu Jinnian felt awkward and silently burned a few more colorful clothes for the second brother, saying, “Maybe your second brother is so talented that the King of the Underworld kept him as an official. When he gets promoted and visits the human world annually, he might come to see you.”
Ji Hong, amused by this, almost let the burning paper touch his hand.
Yu Jinnian quickly told him to throw the paper on the ground, blowing on his hand to cool it. He thought Ji Hong was distracted by the mention of his second brother and regretted bringing it up.
Ji Hong laughed, saying, “If it were as you said, I should prepare a jar of good wine each year and introduce you to him.”
As the colorful paper burned out, Yu Jinnian lit more sheets, grumbling, “What’s so interesting about me?”
Ji Hong leisurely burned paper clothes and said, “My second brother often said that our siblings don’t resemble the Ji family. Our ancestors were all imposing and courageous, even if reckless, they were interesting. From the emperor to commoners, they feared no one. But our generation is scholarly and boring. If my second brother saw you, lively and spirited, he’d be delighted and drag you off for a drink.”
Considering his second brother once poured wine into four-year-old Ji Hong’s porridge bowl, it seemed plausible. But what did he mean by lively and spirited?
“But,” Ji Hong smirked, “with your temperament, you might not be easily tricked by him. Who knows who would end up confused.”
Although Yu Jinnian had never met the second brother, he became increasingly curious about him. When the second brother died, Ji Hong was as young as Yu Jinnian was when he lost his parents. Yu Jinnian’s memories of his parents were already vague, yet Ji Hong remembered his second brother so clearly and rarely mentioned other family members, as if all his happiness came from those few years with his brother.
Reflecting on this, Yu Jinnian couldn’t help but sympathize with Ji Hong. The more interested he became in Ji Hong’s past, the more he wanted to broach sensitive topics, despite knowing it might be inappropriate. Lost in thought, he didn’t realize the burning paper was about to scorch his hand.
“Focus.” Ji Hong slapped the back of his hand, shaking off the flame. Like a mind reader, he admonished him, “If you want to know something, I’ll tell you later. For now, be careful with the fire in your hand.”
“Oh!” Yu Jinnian, brought back to reality by the slap, looked down to see only half a piece of paper left. It was said that once colorful clothes were burned, they had to be completely burned; otherwise, the ghost brothers would come and cause trouble for receiving only half of a garment. He quickly lit the remaining half of the cold clothes in his hand. Suddenly, a crisp ringing sound came from the depths of the long street.
The red lanterns usually hung along the street had all been taken down for the Cold Clothes Festival, leaving the street dark and silent. The street extended into the distance like an empty, gaping mouth, swallowing all living beings. The only light came from clusters of yellow flames, flickering and dancing like ghostly fires held by people.
Amid this silence, the only sound was the ringing of a bell, accompanied by steady footsteps, coming closer and closer. In the thick darkness, it seemed like the eerie bell used by spirits to guide the way, stirring up a gust of ominous wind.
Upon hearing this strange bell sound, the timid ones had already packed up and fled, abandoning their unburned colorful clothes. Some were so frightened their legs gave out, falling to their knees and hiding their faces in the corners, not daring to look toward the sound, hoping that whatever was making the noise, be it human or ghost, wouldn’t notice them.
Only the broad-minded Yu Jinnian, though somewhat uneasy, remained calm. A firm believer in atheism, he squinted and focused intently on the darkness, curious to see what would emerge.
The sound grew closer and closer…
“……”
Suddenly, the air fell silent, the bell sound stopped for no apparent reason, and there was no movement for a long time. Just as people began to think it was a false alarm and were preparing to leave, a thin layer of white mist inexplicably rose on the street, making the night even darker and more mysterious.
“Ding-a-ling!”
The sound suddenly rang out again. Yu Jinnian noticed that the old woman beside him had collapsed to the ground in fear. After struggling for a long time, she managed to kneel, clasping her hands and fervently chanting “Amitabha, Amitabha,” bowing her head to the ground in a grand gesture of worship. Looking around, he saw that other people burning cold clothes were also scared out of their wits.
Yu Jinnian had just turned his gaze back when the bell rang again, one sound after another, not urgent but rather slow and rhythmic. Listening closely, he also heard a steady “zheng, zheng” sound between the bells, slower and more deliberate than the crisp bell sound.
He was puzzled about what kind of creature it could be.
Ding-a-ling! The sound grew closer, and through the thin mist, a white figure emerged from a nearby alley. At first glance, it looked like some ghostly figure floating in the air. But on closer inspection, he realized he was scaring himself.
It was just a white monk’s robe.