Appeal to Heaven Above and the Underworld Below

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

A group of people in white robes and Demon Masks carried a black-and-gold Divine Palanquin in the procession. They walked in the middle of the parade.

That was the Holy Prince!

According to an ancient legend in Anyang City, the Holy Prince was a child of the underworld. From the moment he was born, he possessed half of the authority of the netherworld.

Yama felt that his authority had been challenged, so he cast the Holy Prince into the mortal world. Later, he searched far and wide for him, hoping to bring him back.

The mortal world chose a "Holy Prince" to take part in the Lamp Mansion Festival. On one hand, it was to offer the "Holy Prince" to Yama; on the other, they hoped that, in recognition of their service, Yama would convey their blessings to their families.

Of course, this was just a folk legend.

The "Holy Prince" wasn't actually offered to Yama. They simply chose a suitable person to sit in the Divine Palanquin and make one circuit with the procession.

As Xu Zhou squeezed through the crowd, he marveled, "There are so many people!"

Ji Wu was so irritated he felt like shaking his leg.

With so many people around, finding that guy in the procession was practically impossible.

"That must be the Holy Prince's Divine Palanquin! So many people are carrying it. It looks so cool!"

Xu Zhou wore an expression that said he wanted to be carried around, too.

Ji Wu scoffed. "That's only because we're living in peaceful times. In the past, to put it bluntly, the so-called Holy Prince was a sacrifice offered to Yama."

"In ancient times, people were ignorant. They really did offer up living sacrifices to satisfy their own selfish interests over these vague, baseless tales."

Xu Zhou looked as though he'd learned something new. "And Anyang Island still promotes it as an event?"

"Things were different in the past. Now it's just an ordinary event meant to comfort people. Think of it as a regular parade with floats."

A local who had been listening to them grew displeased. "Hey! What do you outsiders know?"

"The Lamp Mansion Festival is part of our local traditional culture. As for the sacrifices you mentioned, there was no such thing! That's a rumor! Slander!"

The man glared at them as if he were ready to charge over and beat them up if they said another word.

Xu Zhou and Ji Wu didn't want to start a fight with him, so they fell silent.

Xu Zhou took out his phone, hoping to capture the spectacular procession. But the moment he aimed it at the Divine Palanquin, he couldn't help exclaiming, "Holy crap!"

Ji Wu smacked the back of Xu Zhou's head. "Children shouldn't swear."

Xu Zhou rubbed his head. "It was just an exclamation. No, I mean, I was 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 people, sat a figure in a dark robe. The face looked familiar no matter how he looked at it.

Though the man wore makeup, golden lines at the corners of his eyes and between his brows formed divine markings. He looked imposing, with an otherworldly, almost divine aura.

Ji Wu recognized him at a glance!

Who else could it be but Bai Zuo, the guy who had ditched his mission!

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

Hearing Ji Wu's teeth grind, Xu Zhou wondered absently, Should I recommend a reliable dentist to Supervisor Ji?

"Let's hurry after him! I want to see what kind of trouble he's making this time!"

"Oh!"

The two squeezed through the crowd, struggling to keep up with the procession.

Bai Zuo sat in the Divine Palanquin, carried aloft by the crowd. Bored, he leaned back. "What a hassle! Can this be over already?"

The procession went on for more than two hours.

Soon, the parade reached its destination, where the final event of the Lamp Mansion Festival would take place.

The spirit performers had already stepped down.

They weren't needed for this part.

Before them stood a Divine Altar built of stone. People wearing Demon Masks carried the Divine Palanquin up to it and set it down.

The Holy Prince stepped out of the palanquin and onto the altar. That marked the end of the procession.

In fact, quite a few parts of the ceremony had been cut. For example, the Holy Prince was supposed to enter a coffin at the end, while those who had carried lanterns in the procession lit them beneath the Divine Altar and burned them all. Only then could their prayers for their families be delivered to the underworld.

Naturally, all those parts had been removed for safety.

The procession of the spirit performers was the only part still worth watching.

That was how it was supposed to go.

Once the event reached this point, everyone should have begun to disperse. The spirit performers, the Holy Prince, and the palanquin bearers would all remove their makeup.

But today was different.

The Holy Prince standing on the Divine Altar trailed his long black robes behind him and began to hum softly in a strange tone.

People who had taken part in the procession in previous years were surprised. "Huh? Did they add a new part this year?"

"Was this part always here?"

"Could it be a surprise activity Anyang Island came up with?"

"The melody's pretty nice. It sounds so sacred and ethereal, yet there's a chilling, eerie feeling that seeps into your heart. It really suits the atmosphere of the Lamp Mansion Festival!"

"The organizers really put thought into this!"

"This is how you actively keep a culture alive! The same old routine gets tiresome."

"The Lamp Mansion Festival is the most important part of Anyang Island's culture. They can't just change it however they want!"

Some locals were displeased. It was one thing for outsiders not to know, but how could the locals not know?

There was no such part in the ceremony. Who was so bold as to alter such an important event?

It was a blatant show of disrespect for their culture!

"Appealing to Heaven above and the Underworld below, I, the Holy Prince, now return to my rightful place. I shall assume half the authority of the netherworld and carry out my duties."

Bai Zuo, dressed as the Holy Prince, exuded a natural dignity just by standing there.

He had the crowd beneath him completely spellbound.

Bai Zuo raised his head slightly and looked down at everyone with disdain, as if they were nothing but ants. "I have returned to my rightful place. Since you offer yourselves to the gods and spirits, you shall serve as Ghost Soldiers at my command and be spared the suffering of the Eighteen Hells."

What he meant was: You want to offer me to Yama? Now that I've returned to my rightful place and possess half the authority of the netherworld, you can offer yourselves to me and serve me. Otherwise, I'll send you to the Eighteen Hells.

With that, he waved a hand.

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

Ji Wu and Xu Zhou, who had been unable to push their way forward because of the crush, looked up sharply.

"Mr. Ji!"

Ji Wu nodded. "I felt it, too."

A massive, eerie aura!

And the feeling was so familiar. Could it have been caused by that guy?

Impossible. There were no ghosts here. How could Bai Zuo suddenly unfold a Ghost Domain in front of so many people?

The people at the very front felt a chill sweep over them. Then they felt something furry crawling up their pant legs from their calves.

"Ah!!!"