"Burn some paper offerings."
"Pay your respects to the Mountain God."
Inside the Mountain God Temple, the burly man lit some paper money in a copper basin. After burning several stacks, he burned a red paper figure in it, then crouched beside the basin and waited for the figure to burn to ashes.
Then he picked up the copper basin and placed it at the Divine Temple's entrance.
He muttered under his breath.
Whatever he was reciting was unclear, but the ashes of the paper money inexplicably rose from the basin, scattering in the breeze and drifting into the surroundings.
Anyone looking closely
would have noticed the ashes vaguely forming the outline of a little person in midair.
Eventually,
the little person vanished into the mountains.
"This Mountain God Temple is getting stranger and stranger..." The burly man silently glanced at the pitch-black bamboo grove around him. Not daring to linger at the entrance, he returned inside and said,
"It's still a while before the second half of the night. Eat something and rest for a bit."
The other three had no idea what he had just done, but burning both paper money and a paper figure hardly seemed like anything wholesome. Still, they had come too far to turn back. They could only pretend not to know and steel themselves as they waited for the outcome.
"Don't worry."
"It'll be fine."
Seeing their nervousness, the burly man smiled.
Using the oil lamp,
he lit the candles left inside the temple.
At once,
the dim yellow light dispelled the darkness, finally giving the ordinary people a little sense of security.
"Each of you, burn a stick of incense."
"The Mountain God will protect you."
The burly man dug out some incense sticks from beneath the altar and distributed them to