New Times, New Hell Chapter 126 - God of Fortune Dance

Chapter 126 - God of Fortune Dance

“I needed his eyes.” The Ghost Emperor surprisingly didn’t seem panicked at having his real identity revealed. “Luo Wanxiang was born with enlightened eyes. He can see the void.”
“……He can also see how to bring back the Ghost City of Fengdu.”
“I saw it.”
The Ghost Emperor stared deep into Shang Que’s eyes. “I’ve been hiding in Luo Wanxiang’s body for twenty years, travelling to every location that has a Buddhist temple. I assume that no one aside from you understands my actions.”
The truth of Luofeng Mountain’s submersion was actually no longer important. Even the Heavens and Hell had already disappeared. Wrongs, rights, and grudges had long since disappeared with them.
But for the Great Emperor of Fengdu, who had once been in charge of Luofeng Mountain for four thousand years, the demise of the hundred thousand citizens of the Ghost City of Fengdu was an everlasting obsession. He needed to recover them, no matter the cost.
“A thousand years. The three realms have already forgotten Luofeng Mountain, but I know you haven’t.” The Ghost Emperor’s tone was confident. “You’re the same as me. You’ve never forgotten your own citizens.”
Yu Zhengdu suddenly understood something.
The Ghost Emperor was using Luo Wanxiang’s body, but from beginning to end, he had never tried to hide his own identity. From when he used the excuse of wanting to see《Trip to Songfeng Pavilion》, he had been revealing his true identity to Shang Que.
All of this wasn’t because he had no way of hiding himself. Instead, it was because he needed Shang Que.
From the very start, Shang Que had been included in his plan.
Yu Zhengdu’s gaze instantly darkened. “You planned everything out in advance?”
The Ghost Emperor seemed to not have expected for him to be so perceptive. Upon hearing this question, he glanced at Yu Zhengdu in slight surprise. Then, he chuckled. He didn’t keep this a secret. “Yes, since fifty years ago. Even before the Heavens and Hell disappeared, I’ve been waiting for this day.”
“At the time, some people had already noticed that the borders of the Chaos Realm were close to collapsing. They predicted that the Ghost King of Luofeng Mountain might return to the mortal realm. However, at that time, the three realms already had enough on their plates. Even if they knew this, they could only watch as it happened.”
The magical energy of the Heavens and Hell had already dried up. There was no more faith left in the mortal realm. Even though the borders of the Chaos Realm were loosening up, even if Shang Que returned to the mortal realm, so what?
But the Ghost Emperor had already planned everything at that time. Before the era of no magic, he had sent King Qingguang to the mortal realm to preserve the last of his power. Then, he had sent his own consciousness into the mortal realm when the greats hadn’t been able to come up with a solution.
He originally could’ve directly reincarnated, but he didn’t.
He expended all his energy, finally finding Luo Wanxiang, someone who had been born with enlightened eyes. He had possessed the other’s body, but Luo Wanxiang was only a mortal, after all. Before mortal eyes garnered enough power, they wouldn’t truly awaken.
The Ghost Emperor’s consciousness had also broken into different parts because of the collapse of the Heavens and Hell. While trapped in the body of a mortal, he was even more vulnerable and weak. He could only use Luo Wanxiang’s name to practice in Buddhist temples for twenty years. His goal in visiting all the sacred Buddhist grounds was to save up enough energy to awaken and open up the real Buddha eye.
The Buddha eye could see everything. What he wanted to see was the method to save the Ghost City of Fengdu.
And Shang Que’s return to the mortal realm had been in his plan from the start.
He knew that if there was one person in this world who wanted to bring back the Ghost City of Fengdu more than him, that would definitely be Shang Que.
“That day, I was meditating under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya. King Qingguang and the evil ghosts of Luofeng Mountain sacrificed the last of their power. Buddha finally opened his eyes.” The Ghost Emperor leaned back slightly. “I borrowed Buddha’s eyes and saw the current state of the Ghost City of Fengdu.”
“So I’ve come back to find you.”
Yu Zhengdu couldn’t help asking, “The Ghost City of Fengdu has already been submerged for so many years. Can it still be brought back?”
“Why not try?” The Ghost Emperor lowered his eyes and laughed softly. “Back then, when Luofeng Mountain sank into the earth, Daoist priest Zhang Fang of Longhu Mountain singlehandedly helped the citizens in the Ghost City cross over, saving one hun and one po from each of them. The one hun and one po were enough to allow them to survive these long thousand years.”
Yu Zhengdu was struck with realization. He remembered that long ago, when they had been at Qinglian Temple, Shang Que had once mentioned this story to Daoist priest Mu and little Daoist priest Yuan Qing. Daoist priest Zhang Fang of Longhu Mountain had once saved the souls of a hundred million ghosts alone. His merits had astonished the Heavens, and he had instantly become a god.
So it turned out that the souls he had helped cross had been the hundred thousand citizens of the Ghost City of Fengdu.
“Times have already changed.” Shang Que’s gaze was slightly dark, but his posture remained indifferent. “There has long since been no place left for the Ghost City of Fengdu in the mortal realm.”
His gaze landed on the area outside the glass wall. Tall towers and buildings, vehicles passing to and fro, people quickly walking past: this was a peaceful and extravagant era, but it had long since stopped being their era.
His apathy and composure caused the Ghost Emperor to feel a bit surprised.
How could Yu Zhengdu not feel surprised too? Back then, at Si Mountain Ridge, the feelings of nostalgia and guilt Shang Que had revealed regarding the Ghost City of Fengdu definitely hadn’t been a one time thing. Yu Zhengdu even thought that perhaps in the past thousand years, Shang Que had never given up on the idea of bringing the Ghost City back.
Even earlier, after the end of the Ghost Festival Garden Party, Shang Que had once shown him the Luofeng Mountain of the past.
Those magnificent mountain ridges, twisted silhouettes, drifting soul lanterns, and the enormous Ghost City illuminated by those lanterns. All of them had been as clear as if the memories were fresh in his mind.
Shang Que had never forgotten the place that had birthed him.
Shang Que gazed at the Ghost Emperor. “Recalling the Ghost City of Fengdu just to create ten, or even a hundred, more Si Mountain Ridges?”
Back then, Luofeng Mountain had sprawled out across the entire Underworld. But right now, they were in the mortal realm. Where was there enough space for such a city of ghosts?
The Ghost Emperor’s eyes instantly darkened. “They sank into the ground for you.”
Shang Que scoffed, “Really?”
The Ghost Emperor was momentarily speechless.
Luofeng Mountain had shifted to save Shang Que. But if one actually laid the blame, everything was actually because the three realms had tried to kill Shang Que.
Nobody said another word. The atmosphere became impossibly tense, almost to the point that it felt suffocating.
A long time later, the glass door of the coffee shop opened once again. The person who walked in glanced in this direction, then walked over. With a smile, he greeted Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que. “Boss Shang, Boss Yu, we meet again.”
It was Captain Ming Peiran from the nation’s special department.
After greeting them, Ming Peiran turned to look at the Ghost Emperor. “Second Mr. Luo, it’s about time to head out.”
Only now did Yu Zhengdu remember that Luo Wanxiang’s blessing ceremony at Ledu’s Impasse Mountain was already quite close. Ming Peiran was specially escorting him to Impasse Mountain.
Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que were thinking of the same thing. Shang Que lifted his head to look at the Ghost Emperor. With great implication, he asked, “Blessing ceremony?”
The Ghost Emperor didn’t deny anything. Instead, his gaze became even more resolute. “I’m determined in my actions.”
Ming Peiran thought that they were only talking about the blessing ceremony. He chuckled. “Oh right. Boss Shang and Boss Yu, you still haven’t told me if you guys are going to be attending the blessing ceremony?”
Yu Zhengdu looked at Shang Que. Shang Que lowered his gaze. “We’re not going.”
Ming Peiran paused for a moment. He had assumed that he had already convinced Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que to attend previously. Unexpectedly, they were rejecting him again when the event was right around the corner. Upon additionally observing the slightly awkward atmosphere between them and Luo Wanxiang, he couldn’t help muttering to himself could it be that they got into an argument with Luo Wanxiang?
But Luo Wanxiang didn’t act like anything of the sort had happened at all. He stood up and gently rubbed the prayer beads around his wrist, then imperceptibly lowered his head to say to Shang Que, “I’ll be waiting for you at Impasse Mountain.”
Ming Peiran led Luo Wanxiang out of the coffee shop in bewilderment.
Yu Zhengdu turned to look at Shang Que. “He wants to use the blessing ceremony as a chance to resurrect the Ghost City of Fengdu?”
Shang Que nodded. “Yes.”
Nobody knew what Luo Wanxiang’s eyes had ultimately seen. However, at the very least, they could confirm that the true purpose of this blessing ceremony absolutely wasn’t to ask for blessings.
If everything the Ghost Emperor had said today was true, then what he probably wanted to do was summon the Ghost City of Fengdu again. Only, he alone wasn’t enough. Thus, he needed to borrow the magic of the cultivators in the mortal realm.
Yu Zhengdu slightly furrowed his brows. “Shouldn’t we tell Captain Ming the truth?”
“No need.” Shang Que shook his head. “Without me, he can’t succeed.”
Yu Zhengdu’s mood slightly recovered. He wanted to say something else, but when he looked at Shang Que, he realized that the other’s eyes were empty. The expression on his face was also one that Yu Zhengdu had never seen before.
Yu Zhengdu’s heart suddenly twisted. He could faintly sense that rather than it being because the Ghost Emperor wasn’t powerful enough alone, Shang Que wasn’t stopping him because……perhaps he himself still wasn’t able to let things go.
If the Ghost Emperor really had the power to recall the Ghost City of Fengdu……would Shang Que stop him?
“Let’s go.” Shang Que stood up and held onto Yu Zhengdu’s hand. After brief thought, he also tightened his grip.
The two of them exited out of the big glass doors. As of now, it was already the end of spring. Summer was approaching. Bright but not burning sunlight landed on the concrete sidewalk. Dazzling sunlight reflected off of the streets.
Neither of the two of them spoke. They only clung onto each other’s hands in tacit understanding. Following the sidewalk, they slowly walked in the direction of the neighborhood Shang Que lived in.
The sound of a crowd and the snaps of firecrackers could be heard from the intersection up front. At the same time, the paper scraps from the ceremonial firecrackers floated over too. In a moment of inattention, they could land in the hair and on the clothes of passersby.
Only now did Yu Zhengdu remember that today was the grand opening of a nearby mall.
That location had originally been a wholesale market. But, following the development of this area, the rent had increased greatly. This gradually became unsuitable for the target customers of a wholesale market. A few years ago, they had announced that they would be disbanding the market. It got taken over by a famous chain mall. After rebranding, planning, and reconstruction, it had finally officially opened this year.
The mall had a youthful and fashionable style. It also had a pretty good reputation. Upon noticing that Shang Que’s mood seemed a bit low, Yu Zhengdu suggested, “How about we walk around the new mall?”
“Okay, we can also get some food.” Shang Que glanced at the time. It was mealtime now too.
Yu Zhengdu felt a bit touched in his heart. Naturally, Shang Que didn’t need to eat. He usually only ate to accompany Yu Zhengdu. Only, he hadn’t expected that under such circumstances, the other could still remember such a trivial matter.
The two of them headed in the direction of the mall. Only to see that there was a sea of people in front of the mall’s main doors. Occasionally, cheering could be heard. When they got closer, they could also hear the sounds of drums and other instruments. It seemed like there was some sort of performance. This wasn’t weird either. It was normal for new stores to invite performers as a form of entertainment during grand openings.
Yu Zhengdu was tall. Slightly tiptoeing, he took a glance above the crowd. Only to see that there was a lion dance going on right now on the red carpet outside the mall’s main doors. Two bright yellow lions weaved and jumped around each other, energetic as could be. Between the lions was an actor in red who was wearing a mask. He was taking fake drunken steps in time to the music. Yu Zhengdu realized that this was a god of fortune dance performance.
The god of fortune dance was a custom that had been passed down for many years in Huaxia culture. It was a style of Zhong Kui dance, belonging to the overall umbrella of Nuo dancing. It was also called the good fortune dance and promotion dance; it carried the implication of getting a promotion and raise in salary. It was mostly used in varying blessing ceremonies.
In historical times, when new opera houses opened or old opera houses got new owners and reopened, they would always add a《god of fortune dance》or《god of wealth dance》in the middle of their first evening performance. This was a way to celebrate. In modern times, the god of fortune dance was still a blessing performance that many newly opened stores needed.
The god of fortune performer would wear either a red robe or a green and yellow robe. With a relevant mask on, they would sway with drunken steps to the music. In their hands, they would hold placards or scrolls. The scrolls usually had writing such as “blessings from heavenly officials”, “become an official, become an aristocrat”, “have a wealthy and long life”, etc. on them.
When Yu Zhengdu looked over, the god of fortune performer had coincidentally just turned around. One of his hands was high up and the other was down low. In between them, a scroll had been diagonally opened. There were four big words in calligraphy on it: Blessings From Heavenly Officials.
At the same time, the two lions froze in place too. They each spat out a scroll from their mouths. On one side, the scroll read “good luck and fortune”; on the other side, the scroll read “may you acquire wealth.” They suited the needs of a newly opened store quite well.
The god of fortune dance performance ended here. The crowd gathered around them scattered and started vigorously squeezing their way into the mall.
Unfortunately, Yu Zhengdu and Shang Que happened to get caught up in this crowd. By the time they reacted and tried to move away, it was already too late. In the blink of an eye, they had been swept into the middle of this aggressive sea of people, almost getting separated.
“Please be careful, everyone. Pay attention to your safety,” the mall instantly reminded over their speaker system.
Yu Zhengdu kept a tight hold on Shang Que too. While being pushed and shoved around, they were forced through the main entrance of the mall. After finally passing through the doors with great difficulty, the crowd dissipated. Only now did they finally have time to recover.
“How popular,” Yu Zhengdu said with a smile.
“Un.” Shang Que nodded and pondered, “Our neighborhood’s prices are probably going to go up again.”
Yu Zhengdu fell silent for a moment. He also joked, “That proves that it’s truly important to buy houses in good locations.”
The two of them made eye contact and laughed. Just as they were about to keep walking forward, Yu Zhengdu suddenly paused in place. Only to see that the god of fortune mask was lying on the ground right in front of them. That god of fortune performer probably hadn’t been able to escape from the frightening swarm of people either. His mask had even been squeezed off.
“Let’s bring it over to a worker.” Good citizen Yu Zhengdu bent down and picked it up. This was a rather intricately made mask. Only, the appearance was a bit twisted. Given Yu Zhengdu’s limited knowledge of folk customs, he couldn’t immediately recognize which godly official was carved onto this mask.
Instead, it was Shang Que who took a glance and said, “Zhong Kui.”
Yu Zhengdu was struck by realization. He nodded and praised, “Very impressive.”
He was still a bit childish. As such, he casually put the Zhong Kui mask on his own face. “Take a picture for me?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the scene in front of his eyes suddenly changed.
Through the eye holes of the Zhong Kui mask, he saw a completely different world.
The author has something to say:
Daoist priest Zhang Fang of Longhu Mountain first appeared in chapter 61. He’s not related to Zhengdu and is just an impressive Daoist priest.
The scene where Xiao Kui takes Zhengdu to reminisce about Luofeng Mountain is in chapter 57.