Appealing to the Heavens Above, and the Underworld Below

Yet the most eye-catching part was the most important segment of the Lamp Mansion Festival.

In the parade, a group of people in white robes and ghost masks carried a black-gold Divine Palanquin, walking at the center of the procession.

This is the Holy Prince!

According to the ancient legends of Anyang City, the Holy Prince was a child of hell. From birth, he held half the authority of the underworld.

Yama felt his authority challenged, so he cast the Holy Prince into the mortal realm. Later, he searched far and wide for the Holy Prince, wanting to bring him back.

The mortal world selected a "Holy Prince" to hold the Lamp Mansion Festival—partly to offer the "Holy Prince" to Yama, and partly in hopes that Yama, recognizing their merit, would convey their wishes to their families.

Of course, this was just a folk tale.

The "Holy Prince" wasn't truly sacrificed to Yama. They simply picked a suitable person to sit in the Divine Palanquin and ride through the parade.

Xu Zhou squeezed through the crowd, sighing, "So many people!"

Ji Wu fidgeted, itching to shake his leg.

With this many people, picking that guy out of the parade was impossible.

"This must be the Holy Prince's palanquin! So many people carrying him—looks awesome!"

Xu Zhou wore an expression like he wanted to be carried around too.

Ji Wu snorted. "This is just peacetime. Back in the day, this so-called Holy Prince was, to put it bluntly, an offering to Yama."

"In ancient times, people were foolish. For these hollow legends, they'd really offer up real sacrifices to satisfy their own selfish ends."

Xu Zhou looked enlightened. "Then why does Anyang Island promote it as an event?"

"The past is the past. Now it's just a simple activity to comfort people's hearts. Treat it like an ordinary float parade."

A local who'd been eavesdropping on their conversation frowned. "Hey! What do you outsiders know!"

"This Lamp Mansion Festival is our local traditional culture. As for that offering nonsense—it never happened! That's a rumor! Slander!"

He glared at them, looking ready to throw a punch if they said another word.

Xu Zhou and Ji Wu didn't want to start a fight here, so they shut their mouths.

Xu Zhou pulled out his phone to film the spectacular parade. The moment he aimed the lens at the Divine Palanquin, he blurted, "Holy crap!"

Ji Wu slapped the back of Xu Zhou's head. "Kids don't swear."

Xu Zhou rubbed his head. "That was just an exclamation—no, wait, I'm shocked! Mr. Ji, I think I saw Brother Bai!"

"Where?"

"There!"

Ji Wu followed Xu Zhou's pointing finger.

On the Divine Palanquin, carried by eight bearers, sat a figure in a dark black robe. His face was all too familiar.

Though makeup adorned him—golden divine patterns traced at the corners of his eyes and between his brows—he radiated an imposing, almost inhuman divinity.

Ji Wu recognized him in an instant.

Who else could it be but Bai Zuo, the one who'd ditched his mission?

"You little bastard!" Ji Wu nearly ground his teeth to dust.

Xu Zhou heard the grinding sound and absentmindedly wondered if he should recommend a good dentist to Supervisor Ji.

"Let's catch up! I want to see what kind of trouble he's stirring up this time!"

"Okay!"

The two squeezed through the crowd, struggling to keep pace with the parade.

Bai Zuo sat in the Divine Palanquin, lifted by the crowd, and leaned back lazily. "What a hassle! Hurry up and end this!"

The parade lasted over two hours.

Soon, the procession reached its destination—the final stage of the Lamp Mansion Festival.

The wandering deities had already stepped down.

This stage didn't require them.

Before them stood a stone-built Divine Altar. The masked bearers carried the Divine Palanquin up and set it down.

The Holy Prince stepped out of the palanquin onto the altar, marking the end of the parade.

In truth, the ritual had been shortened. Originally, the Holy Prince had to enter a coffin, and the lantern-bearers would burn all their lanterns beneath the altar, sending prayers for their families to the underworld.

Of course, for safety, those steps had been cut.

Only the parade itself remained worth watching.

That was how it should have been.

By now, the crowd should have started dispersing. The wandering deities, the Holy Prince, and the bearers would all remove their makeup.

But today was different.

The Holy Prince stood on the altar, dragging his long black robe, and began to hum softly in a strange, eerie tone.

Those who had participated in the parade in previous years were quite surprised: "Huh? There's a new segment added this year?"

"Is it strange that there's this segment?"

"Could it be a surprise event thought up by Anyang Island?"

"This tone is actually quite pleasant to hear, with a special sense of sacredness and ethereality, a chill that seeps into the heart amidst the gloom—it fits the atmosphere of the Lamp Mansion Festival perfectly!"

"The organizers really put their hearts into it!"

"This is the right way to actively promote culture! Otherwise, the same old routine gets pretty tiresome."

"The Lamp Mansion Festival is the most important culture of our Anyang Island—it can't be changed casually!"

Some locals were displeased; outsiders might not know, but how could they, the locals, not?

There was no such segment in the ceremony at all. Who was so bold as to dare alter such an important event?

It was a complete disrespect to their culture!

"Appealing to the heavens above, reporting to the underworld below, now I, the Holy Prince, have returned to my position, specially inheriting the authority of the underworld to carry out my duties."

Bai Zuo, playing the Holy Prince, exuded an innate majesty just by standing there.

He managed to stun the crowd below into a daze.

Bai Zuo lifted his head slightly, looking down at the crowd with a contemptuous gaze as if they were ants. "I have returned to my position. You, who offered yourselves as ghosts and gods, shall now become Ghost Soldiers under my command, spared from the suffering of the Eighteen Hells."

His words meant: you wanted to offer me to Yama, now that I've returned with half the authority of the underworld, you offer yourselves to me, to be my beasts of burden, or else I'll cast you into the Eighteen Hells.

With that, he waved his hand.

A massive phantom spread from the ground, silently enveloping the crowd.

In the crowd, Ji Wu and Xu Zhou, who had been unable to push forward due to the sheer number of people, suddenly looked up.

"Mr. Ji!"

Ji Wu nodded: "I feel it too."

An immense eerie aura!

And this familiar feeling—he wondered if it was caused by a certain someone.

Impossible, there was no eerie presence here. How could Bai Zuo suddenly unfold a Ghost Domain in front of so many people?

Those standing at the very front felt a chill, and then something furry seemed to crawl up their pant legs.

"Ah!!!"

He stomped his foot violently several times.