[Folk beliefs and the supernatural + traditional strange tales + yin-yang taboos + modern history]
People often say that after the founding of the nation, animals were forbidden from becoming spirits, and all things supernatural vanished overnight.
But nobody knows that some of that peace was bought with lives.
The day Fang Xiang was born was the birthday of the “Sage of Dongshan” and the death anniversary of the “Master of the Altar.” His birth and a death sacrifice fell on the same day, and his fate was so heavy it couldn't be suppressed.
Seeing that the boy wouldn't survive, the troupe leader's grandfather set up an altar in the dead of night. In his panic, he mistakenly summoned the most fearsome god of the underworld, “Jidu.”
There was no turning back.
Grandfather kowtowed to Jidu three times and cried out hoarsely, “This boy is my debt to you, my lord. Take him as your stage attendant!”
Years passed in peace, until Grandfather died.
On the seventh night after his death, dense fog engulfed the city. Paper figures carried an empty bridal sedan, while the suona played Night Wedding, a tune that had been lost for a hundred years.
Fang Xiang was forced to put on a mask that looked both tearful and smiling, and dress in a scarlet opera costume. As paper money filled the sky, he spoke in a low voice:
“The old play is not yet over. A new actor takes the stage...”
