To Raise a Soul 32.2

The next day, the couple woke up with their limbs entwined. Yin Yan appeared calm as usual, but Yu Zhen felt an unexpected abundance of happiness.

Is it because of the fragrance pouch?

With that thought in mind, he gave Yin Yan a once over, up and down. When he didn’t see the item, he felt a little disappointed. 

I suppose it’s not suitable to wear things like fragrance pouches. 

“What are you daydreaming about?” Yin Yan moved from the wardrobe to Yu Zhen’s side with two scarves in his hands. Handing one over, he said, “It’s windy today and a bit cold. Remember to wear a scarf when going out.”

Yu Zhen eyed the scarves which were of the same style, but in different colors. He obediently nodded and accepted one. 

The rules of the Yin family dictate that everyone must visit the ancestral graves and present offerings on the first day of the new year. After the offerings were made, the family would not eat meat for a day. Their family rules were slightly different from other families.

The family left their home early, with Yin Hexiang driving and Qiu Feiqian in the front passenger seat. Once the car had left their villa, Qiu Feiqian turned around to speak with Yu Zhen.

“Today we’re visiting our family’s ancestral graves, and we’re also visiting Yin Yan’s paternal grandfather’s comrades-in-arms. So we’ll need to visit two cemeteries and we’ll also visit the martyr’s cemetery. Xiao Zhen, you didn’t have much at breakfast. If you get hungry, let me know. I had Hu Ma prepare some light refreshments and they’re in the trunk. When you get hungry, you can have some.”

Yu Zhen nodded to express his understanding. Meanwhile, his curiosity was piqued about Yin Yan’s long-deceased grandfather. 

In terms of headcount, the Yin family was always small. As grandfather Yin’s generation encountered a war, it led to the man marrying late. As a result, Yin Hexiang was born when the man was quite old, and when he became an adult, Grandpa Yin was very old.  

However, the old man tenaciously lived until Yin Yan was born. He gave Yin Yan his name and then left the world contentedly.

“Dad was quite superstitious. When Xiao Yan was born, he received a Taoist priest’s fortune-telling. The Taoist priest said Xiao Yan lacked fire in his five elements so his name must contain the word ‘fire’*, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to grow up safely.”

*Fire = 火. Yan = 炎.

When Qiu Feiqian recalled those past events, she sighed, “It would have been great if Dad was still here. If he had met you, he would definitely have liked you.”

“Aren’t they meeting today?” Yin Hexiang patted Qiu Feiqian’s leg and spoke in a rarely heard relaxed and gentle tone.

Qiu Feiqian smiled and turned back around. “That’s true. They’re meeting today.”

They arrived at the first cemetery soon after. At the entrance, Yin Hexiang and Qiu Feiqian bought flowers but they didn’t buy joss sticks or money for the deceased. The only things they brought into the cemetery were the flowers. 

“Grandpa Yin said that burning paper is bad for the environment so we shouldn’t do that. He said flowers are beautiful so we should give him flowers.” Qiu Feiqian stepped back to walk with Yu Zhen and she explained the situation as they went. 

Yu Zhen nodded and noted that Grandpa Yin, like his own grandfather, sounded like a very interesting individual.

Grandpa Yin was buried in a joint grave¹ with his wife, and the surrounding graves belonged to other Yin ancestors. The graves were all clustered together, giving off a sense of a reunion. 

Because there was no need to burn money for the deceased, the tomb-sweeping process became very simple. They delivered the flowers, swept the area around the tomb, and said some words to the tombstones. After they took turns to pay their respects, the process was considered complete. 

When paying their respects, both Yu Zhen and Yin Yan were very serious. They did not truly count as Yin family members, but had received their favor, so they expressed deep gratitude to the Yin ancestors.

As they had more stops to make, the family didn’t linger for long. After presenting their offerings, they promptly left for the next cemetery.

By the time they finished paying respects to the comrades-in-arms, it was late afternoon. The family didn’t have a proper meal, only eating the refreshments prepared earlier and simple foods bought from the roadside.

The martyr’s cemetery was their last stop. Many people, mostly families of the soldiers, were also there to visit. There were people of all age groups present, including many white-haired, elderly people who were paying respects to their former comrades-in-arms.

Yu Zhen sighed with a heavy heart as he witnessed the scene.

When they left the martyr’s cemetery, everyone was silent. Absent-mindedly, Yu Zhen almost bumped into an old man, but Yin Yan reacted quickly. He pulled Yu Zhen close to him and nodded in apology to the old man. Then he held Yu Zhen’s hand and led him away.

Yu Zhen’s mind snapped back to reality. Though confused and annoyed at himself for his sudden lack of focus, he turned his head and nodded to the old man in apology. Not wanting to become distracted again, he closely followed Yin Yan. 

“Grandpa, why did you deliberately try to walk into that man? We’re Taoists. We don’t do things like ‘porcelain bumping’* to extort strangers. The Great Founders will strike you with lightning in your dreams tonight.”

*Porcelain bumping. When fraudsters pretend you’ve damaged their items to get your money. (E.g. by saying you’ve bumped into and broken their ‘precious’ porcelain)

A delicate and handsome young man supported the old man who grumbled to himself.

“That’s how you see me, your grandfather? If you’re not careful, I’ll send you packing back home!” The white-haired man exclaimed indignantly and gave the young man the stink eye before having another look at Yu Zhen and Yin Yan. After squinting his eyes and mulling for a moment, he said, “Although…I would like to try touching that porcelain. I don’t know what that kid has done but he has very concentrated amounts of merits on him – he looks like a golden doll. But there’s something off about it… ”

“Golden glow of merits?” The young man’s eyes lit up and excitedly looked over in Yu Zhen’s direction. He stared and asked, “Where? Where’s the golden glow? I don’t see anything?”

The old man grumpily pulled him back by the collar, “What can you see with your eyes?! You’re both roughly the same age but look at his state and look at your own. Alright, that’s enough. Don’t look anymore. Even if you look, it won’t transfer over to you!”

Despite his words, the old man stole another glance at Yu Zhen and Yin Yan. 

It’s not just that golden doll, but the young man beside him has quite a weird aura. They clearly look like ordinary people, so why do they give off the same feelings as the Great Founders’ statues in the temple? It’s like something is obscured by fog.

——–

After a busy day, everyone rested and ate well. Qiu Feiqian prepared gifts for the visit to her family the next day. Meanwhile, Yu Zhen dragged Yin Yan to a corner. “Earlier you said there was something not quite right when I almost bumped into the old man. What wasn’t right? Does he have negative energy on him?”

Yin Yan shook his head. “No, that old man is like your grandfather. He is also a Taoist. He has merits in his body.”

“He’s a Taoist?” Yu Zhen was surprised.

“He can’t be counted as a true Taoist priest. You could, at a stretch, say he’s a participant of the Taoist methods. You don’t need to worry about it much. They can’t do anything to you,” Yin Yan reassured him. Without warning, a red thread appeared in his hand and he tied it around Yu Zhen’s wrist.

“What is this?” Yu Zhen eyed the string suspiciously.

Yin Yan replied calmly, “Dog Leash.”

“???”

Yu Zhen was speechless. He fixed his eyes on Yin Yan and condemned him silently. 

“It’s a spiritual item for tracking. The man who refined it named it “Dog Leash”.” Yin Yan explained. He magically produced another red thread and wrapped it around his own wrist and showed it to Yu Zhen.

Great, now we’re both dogs.

Yu Zhen looked back at the red thread on his wrist. He took a moment to convince himself to accept the name and asked, “Who refined this spiritual item? Why would they give it such a name? Was it you…?”

“No,” Yin Yan replied. He gently poked Yu Zhen’s forehead and continued, “It was…my disciple who refined it. He really liked this name.”

Yu Zhen was stunned. Feeling a sourness in his heart, he asked, “Disciple? You had a disciple?”

Yin Yan didn’t reply. He patted Yu Zhen’s head then walked away. 

Yu Zhen frowned and watched Yin Yan leave. He glanced at the red thread on his wrist, then tugged his sleeve down to cover it. He huffed, “What a lousy disciple! Giving something like this to his master! Suggesting that his master is a dog! How unfilial!”