September 21st is the Hungry Ghost Festival.

Lu Ao got up early to buy ducks, and Song Zhou accompanied him.

There were so many people in the market today, it was almost a rush.

Lu Ao was with Song Zhou, and everyone around them was at least half a meter away from them, whether intentionally or not.

Many people walked past and turned around to look at them again and again.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou went to buy ducks, paper money, incense and candles, etc. They also bought some simple vegetables and went home.

He was not in a good mood today. When Weng Qian called, he said "hello" in a low voice.

"Lu Ao!" Weng Qian didn't feel his loss at all, and asked excitedly as soon as he opened his mouth, "Do you still have the cuttlefish meat? The quality of your cuttlefish meat is very good. If you still have it, I can sell it, let alone six hundred yuan.

, even if it’s eight hundred yuan, it’s no problem, I want all of it.”

"No more. Didn't you buy more than a hundred kilograms and it's not enough?"

"Of course the more of this kind of good stuff, the better. I'll take as much as you have, so how can it be too much?" Weng Qian suggested excitedly, "Next time you want to sell this kind of stuff, there's no need to send it to the group to sell it, right?

I can eat as much as I want."

Lu Ao's voice was a little low, "Okay, if possible next time, I will give you priority."

"Then it's agreed." Weng Qian realized later, "Did something happen to you over there? Why do I feel that you are not so interested?"

"No, today is the Hungry Ghost Festival. I miss my relatives a little bit."

"Oh." Weng Qian was stunned for a moment, "My condolences."

"Thanks."

Lu Ao hung up the phone. Because he didn't want to receive any more calls, he simply turned off the phone.

Seeing him like this, Song Zhou gently rubbed his head and said nothing.

During the Hungry Ghost Festival, we need to stack ingots, make octopus rice, and kill ducks.

In previous years, Lu Ao would do this alone. He was used to doing this, and it wasn't difficult. It's just that this year there was one more person folding the ingots.

Lu Ao folded the ingots and sighed somewhat uncomfortably. He raised his head and asked Song Zhou, "We have the underworld here. Are there any ghosts?"

"There is a soul, but there is no underworld." Song Zhou deftly folded an ingot in his hand and placed it gently on the pile of ingots. "The soul will soon dissipate, transform into soul particles, and then be reincarnated. Your parents'

The soul is gone."

Lu Ao stopped, and after a long time, he softly said "hmm" and said softly: "It's a good thing they're not here."

Song Zhou said: "Maybe most of their soul particles came together and were reincarnated into a newborn. Maybe we will meet one day in the future."

Lu Ao and Yuan Bao's hands began to move again. After a long while, he said softly: "I don't expect this anymore. As long as they live a good life, I will be satisfied."

Song Zhou patted him lightly and said, "I will be with you in the days to come."

The two started stacking ingots again. Every year Lu Ao would stack a lot of ingots, and this year was the same. There was already half a frame in the basket next to it.

After folding the pile of paper in his hand, Lu Ao looked at the ingots in the basket and shook his head with some self-mockery, "Since they have already been reincarnated, what is the use of stacking so many ingots?"

"Our blessings will become part of their luck." Song Zhou placed the latest ingot on the pile of ingots and said, "Even if we can no longer talk to each other, our ingots are still blessings."

Lu Ao was a little confused, "I have never heard of this theory before."

Songzhou's slender fingers slowly turned and moved, and he said, "I'll find out later."

"Um."

Lu Ao still stacked up a lot of ingots this year, one for each of his grandparents, grandpa, mom and dad. In addition to these, there was also paper money bought from outside.

Song Zhou told him that no matter ingots or paper money, they are only carriers of people's thoughts. The numerical values ​​​​in them are useless, only human thoughts are useful.

Lu Ao took out the brush and inkstone that had not been used for a long time, and slowly polished the ink to write the names of his ancestors.

When burning paper during the Hungry Ghost Festival, all paper money, ingots, etc. must be put into a large straw-yellow envelope, with the name of the ancestor written on it and drops of duck blood on it.

They believe that there is a netherworld beyond the underworld, and that only when a human envelope is dripped with duck blood can it float, float to the underworld, and be delivered to the ancestors.

Lu Ao writes this very piously every year. He is not a superstitious person. In addition to having some vague wishes, he writes this more to express his own grief.

Every year when he wrote these letters, he would be in a very low mood. This year, he was in a better mood. With Song Zhou by his side, he was not too sad.

While writing, he introduced his family to Songzhou.

His family is very small, and several generations have been passed down in single copies. However, the genealogy is very clear. One can find genealogies dating back two to three hundred years. Lu Ao never slacked off when writing, and wrote everything that should be written, even if he knew clearly that these elders had already passed away.

Can't receive it anymore.

After writing the letter, dripping duck blood, and in the evening, Lu Ao took out all the envelopes and burned them outside.

Not only was their family burning envelopes for the Ghost Festival, but the neighbors nearby were also burning them. Everyone burned them on the roadside and used a small wooden stick to ensure that the envelopes were fully burned.

In the dusk, fires were everywhere, and the orange-yellow flames trembled in the wind, reflecting the slightly sad faces.

Lu Ao was no longer a pure human being. He could see many shadows beside some fires, carrying the wind and spinning on the fires.

It was a soul that had not yet been reincarnated. It sensed that the family was burning paper and came back to take a look.

After Lu Ao and Song Zhou finished burning the Lu family's pile, Lu Ao looked at the ashes melancholy for a while, and after making sure that nothing happened, he followed Song Zhou back.

On this day, he had no appetite and didn't eat much of the three meals. Song Zhou looked at the remaining rice in the pot and didn't say anything. He just sent the leftovers to the refrigerator to freeze, and then came over and patted him on the back.

"Let's take a shower and go to bed early."

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower."

Lu Ao came back from the bath and leaned in Song Zhou's arms. He was lazy today and didn't want to move. He just wanted to be in a daze.

Song Zhou wiped his hair and patted his back gently to comfort him.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ao felt sleepy and said, "Go to sleep."

Song Zhou shook off the quilt, wrapped him in it, and then hugged him into his arms through the quilt. Lu Ao smelled the good smell on his body, and his mind gradually calmed down.

Lu Ao didn't fall asleep and stayed in a daze for almost an hour, still staring at the ceiling with his eyes open. He didn't know if Song Zhou was asleep, and he couldn't muster the energy to ask.

A full hour later, Song Zhou suddenly patted his back gently and asked, "Can't you sleep?"

"Yeah." Lu Ao sighed silently, "My mind is too messy and I don't know what to think. All kinds of thoughts keep spinning in my mind. I feel like I can't sleep."

"I have something on my mind today and haven't done much activities. It's normal if I can't sleep." Song Zhou patted him, put his chin on his head, and asked softly: "If I can't sleep, do I need to take you somewhere?"

Lu Ao was confused, "Where?"

"Let me take you to other people's dreams." Songzhou's slender fingers gently covered his eyes, blocking all the light, and said in his ear: "Go to sleep, fall asleep, and let's go to other people's dreams."

Take a stroll.”

Lu Ao had never heard that he could go into other people's dreams. He was doubtful, but before he had a chance to ask, Song Zhou grabbed his wrist. Then his head became dizzy, and when he woke up, he was no longer in the real world.

He clearly realized that he was in a dream, and the feeling in the dream was very strange. He turned his head and looked around, and the surrounding environment was pitch black.

"Whose dream is this?"

"A certain prisoner's dream." Song Zhou said, "I wonder if you are afraid of these dreams?"

"Probably not, it's just a little strange. What are these dreams?"

"Some bloody and violent dreams?" Song Zhou chuckled, "I don't know the specific dreams. It just gives some people a hint. As for what they will dream about, it depends on them."

Lu Ao was confused. Before he could ask further, a high-pitched scream suddenly broke the tranquility of the area. Lu Ao turned around and looked back, only to see a tall man running towards him.

Lu Ao felt that his perspective was a little strange, as if he was floating in mid-air. The man didn't notice their existence, but just ran forward with blood on his face.

The man has a buzz cut, tattoos, and a big gold chain, and he looks very social at first sight.

Different from the idle people in society, this man looked terrible, with dark circles under his eyes, white lips, dull eyes, weak legs, and his whole body was as thin as a skeleton.

If it weren't for the way he was dressed that made him look like a social guy, it wouldn't be surprising if he looked like a disaster victim who didn't have enough to eat.

Lu Ao was still confused, but the man was already being caught up by a large number of people behind him.

"You run, keep running!" Those people pressed his arms and made him kneel on the ground. One of them, who looked like a big brother, held a toothpick in his mouth and patted his cheek with his hand, making it crackle.

Xiang said, "Ranmao, you are so capable that you can even cheat your brother Hu!"

"Brother, brother! I didn't mean it. I didn't intend to lie to you. I just wanted to lie to another kid. I know that the news was passed around and sent to the wrong person. Please forgive me. I won't dare to do it anymore. Wow -

—”

"You kid is so soft-spoken. Who said last time that he would never dare to do it again? I think you kid will have to learn a lesson before you know how many eyes your Lord Ma has! Xiao Li, bring me the knife! Cut off two of his eyes."

A finger!"

"Brother, dear brother! No, I still have to rely on my craftsmanship to make a living. I have an old man above me and a young man below me. I...ah——!"

As a scream came out, the scene behind became extremely bloody, and Lu Ao felt a little pity when he looked at it.

Seeing this, he had already recognized that this person was the gangster who chased him into the river.

At that time, this gangster was also yelling a lot of things, but now his identity has changed, and it is this gangster who is being chased.

The gangster soon had his fingers chopped off and beaten again. The scene was too horrific to watch.

Lu Ao felt uncomfortable watching it, tugged on Song Zhou's sleeves, and shook his head, "Forget it, I won't watch anymore, it's boring."
To be continued...