Six Yin Dishes, Every Dish Eerie

I knew flower cakes, and I had seen little flower cakes too.

But this Chicken Blood Flower Cake was something I had never even heard of.

As Uncle Yu kneaded the dough, he explained:

"Just as the living have food for the living, the dead have dishes for the dead.

The first dish of the Six Offerings is this Chicken Blood Flower Cake.

When ghosts eat flower cakes, sweetness fills their hearts.

No matter how vicious an evil ghost is, once it eats my Chicken Blood Flower Cake, its malice will be reduced by thirty percent."

Uncle Yu spoke with complete conviction.

And his dough-kneading technique and flour-sifting movements were both incredibly practiced.

At the same time, he had me pluck the chicken we had slaughtered, then dig up thirty-eight large earthworms from the greenery outside.

He said the second Yin Dish of the Six Offerings was called Earth Dragon Stewed Chicken.

Earth dragons were earthworms.

The very thought of chicken stewed with earthworms made my skin crawl and my stomach churn.

But I knew that, ugly as they were, earthworms really were a traditional medicine.

They reduced internal heat, promoted urination, and were known as earth dragons.

Uncle Yu said, "When ghosts eat stewed chicken, joy awaits them."

Next, he introduced the names and purposes of the remaining dishes.

The third Yin Dish was called Locust Bark Boiled Meat.

It used old locust tree bark and neck meat from a pig—the ring of lymphatic meat around where the pig's neck was bled—and it could not be cooked through.

They said when ghosts ate boiled meat, they had blood and flesh.

The fourth dish was Beef Tallow Greens. This one was more normal, though it had a strong beef tallow flavor.

It was fine for hot pot, but when used for stir-frying, the smell was overpowering.

And the fried greens had to be arranged into the shape of the Chinese character for "person."

They said when ghosts ate greens, they would be free of sickness and harm.

The fifth and sixth dishes that followed

were both fried dishes, but they were also highly unconventional.

They were called Fishbone Meatballs and Decapitated Fried Fish.

Fishbone Meatballs were made by mixing tiny fishbones into pork before deep-frying it.

And the final dish was Decapitated Fried Fish.

Only the body was fried, not the fish head.

After frying, a thick layer of lard had to be smeared over the fish head.

These two Yin Dishes each had their own significance as well.

When ghosts ate meatballs, they knew pain and shame.

When ghosts ate fried fish, they entered the earth without a word.

Six dishes were also the Six Yin Offerings.

Perhaps some people had heard of them, but their methods and procedures

were something only a Yin Chef like Uncle Yu knew how to prepare.

I could not help much, so I could only do odd jobs at the side and keep an eye on the dishes.

Uncle Yu bustled about, personally handling every dish himself.

There were only six dishes. They did not seem particularly complicated.

Yet we started at five and worked until nine-thirty that night.

Only when Uncle Yu smeared the thick lard over the fried fish body, the final Yin Dish,

were the Six-Offering Yin Dishes finally complete.

And tonight, under Uncle Yu's guidance, I would set the table and lay out the feast.

I would use these six Yin Dishes as offerings to dispel Zhang Qiang's resentment and malice, then send him on to reincarnation.

That way, he would stop haunting me.

And I could return to the life of a normal person.

"The dishes are done. Just a few final steps remain before everything is complete."

Uncle Yu let out a long breath and spoke.

I immediately asked:

"Uncle Yu, what steps are still left?"

Uncle Yu looked at me.

"Once these offering dishes leave the pot, they will inevitably attract hungry wandering ghosts nearby.

If some other filthy thing eats them halfway through,

then all our efforts will have been wasted.

So before the rightful recipient arrives,

we need to protect the dishes. Once they are protected, we also need to choose a table..."

What Uncle Yu said sounded mysterious, yet it also seemed to make sense.

So I asked him how exactly we were supposed to "protect the dishes."

And how was I supposed to choose the table?

Uncle Yu explained it to me bit by bit.

First, he took out a sheet of yellow paper.

He had me cut off some of my hair and burn it into ash, then use my finger to write the character "seal" on it.

He said this was called an Ash-Hair Seal Talisman.

When the time came, I was to place the six dishes inside a large wicker basket.

I would stick the yellow paper onto it, and those filthy things eyeing the Six Yin Dishes

would only be able to smell them, not eat the Yin Dishes inside.

Unless I removed the Sealing Talisman myself.

That was how I would protect the dishes.

Choosing the table depended on the characteristics of the ghost haunting me.

Zhang Qiang had drowned, so the table had to be set beside water.

Uncle Liu's home happened to be close to People's Park.

Zhang Qiang had also appeared there last night.

Therefore, the location for the table would be People's Park.

The shore, three meters from the lake, was the most suitable spot.

Otherwise, it could only be set where Zhang Qiang had drowned.

But that place was Little White Bridge at the school. If I set up a table there, the security guards would surely chase me off.

After doing all that, I would only need to wait for the ghost haunting me to appear.

Then I only needed to serve the dishes one by one. Once he had eaten all six Yin Dishes,

his malice and resentment would be dispelled. He would be freed and reborn, and he would no longer haunt me.

Of course, Uncle Yu said there were exceptions.

Unless the other party was an extremely vicious and baleful evil ghost.

But he did not believe the recently deceased Zhang Qiang was that kind of ghost...

Uncle Yu spoke with utter confidence and perfect logic.

I had no other choice.

And right now, Uncle Yu was my lifeline.

Whatever he said, I did.

I nodded in agreement and memorized every step.

Uncle Yu gave me a large wicker basket, the one he normally used to buy groceries.

I placed the six Yin Dishes inside it one by one, separating them with cardboard.

Decapitated Fried Fish went at the bottom. At the top were Chicken Blood Flower Cake, a bowl of plump White Rice, a stick of Long Incense, and a pair of chopsticks.

After arranging everything, I took a pair of scissors and cut off some hair.

I burned it into ash, dipped my finger in it,

then wrote the character "seal" on the yellow paper and stuck it onto the basket.

Finally, Uncle Yu gave me one of the small folding tables he used at his stall.

I would use it to set the table that night.

By the time I finished all that, it was already ten at night. It was time for me to head out.

Uncle Yu said to me:

"Xiao Jiang! This is as far as Uncle Yu can help you.

That thing haunting you should not be too vicious.

As long as you bring out Uncle's six Yin Dishes for it to eat tonight,

and send it away, there should not be much of a problem.

But just in case, take Uncle's cleaver with you.

My master passed it down to me. It might protect you at a crucial moment.

But if you can avoid drawing it, do not draw it.

This Dragon-Head Cleaver of mine has always been for chopping vegetables and meat."

With that, he handed me the Dragon-Head Cleaver he used for cooking.

I could tell that this cleaver was extremely precious to Uncle Yu as a chef.

The blade was heavy and sharp.

Even holding it in my hand, I could feel waves of cold seeping into me.

For three hundred yuan, Uncle Yu had helped me this much. It was an immense kindness.

I looked at Uncle Yu, then at the Dragon-Head Cleaver in my hand.

My heart was filled with gratitude.

"Uncle Yu, no matter how things turn out tonight,

I, Jiang Ning, will remember your kindness."

After saying that, I gave Uncle Yu a deep ninety-degree bow.

But Uncle Yu merely smiled.

"There is no need for that.

I am helping you because we are fated to meet.

And because I am accumulating a little virtue for myself.

It is ten o'clock. Go quickly!"

I nodded at him.

"Uncle Yu, I'll be going, then.

Once this is over, I will definitely repay you someday!"

Uncle Yu said nothing more, only waved at me.

I put away the Dragon-Head Cleaver and tucked it at my waist.

Then I hoisted the large wicker basket onto my back, picked up the folding table, and headed out the door...