Offerings to a ghost

As a funeral officiant, Chen Miao naturally knew there were rules to offering incense.

The saying "three for gods, four for ghosts" meant that three sticks of incense were usually offered to deities, ancestors, and the like, while four were offered to departed souls and wandering ghosts.

There were quite a few explanations for "three for gods."

One was the "way of the three powers": the three sticks symbolized the three powers of heaven, earth, and humanity, expressing reverence for the universe and nature.

Another was the "offering to the three treasures." In Buddhism, the three sticks represented the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha; in Taoism, they corresponded to the Tao, the scriptures, and the master.

There were also the "three pure ones," with the three sticks representing Taoism's three supreme deities.

As for "four for ghosts," that had several explanations too.

Some said that "four" was associated with "death" and "yin" in traditional culture, hence the four sticks.

Some said that "four" represented the "four ghost gates" of east, south, west, and north, symbolizing the deliverance of the "lone souls of the ten directions."

Others said that "four" represented the "four symbols suppressing yin," using the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise to suppress yin energy and prevent departed souls from causing trouble.

And so on. If he really tried to count them all, there were versions of every kind.

But regardless of the explanation, "three for gods, four for ghosts" was an accepted rule. The two could not be mixed up!

Otherwise, he would offend immortals, deities, and ancestors, or provoke ghosts and departed souls.

At that moment, as Chen Miao looked at the four precious incense sticks in his hand, he was not thinking about reselling them for several thousand yuan. He was wondering whether they could be used on Old Wang!

Qian Xiaomei's final wish had been fulfilled, but now Old Wang's resentment had appeared.

So Chen Miao wondered whether using items redeemed from the book to resolve situations foretold in it might be more appropriate.

Still, to find out whether his guess was right, Chen Miao felt he would have to try it first.

Looking at the four incense sticks in his hand, Chen Miao decided to find a box to store them in so they would not get damaged.

He would not use these four for the experiment. After all, he only had two qian of "yin virtue," enough to redeem eight incense sticks in total.

While looking for a box, Chen Miao suddenly remembered something. The contents included an [Item list]. Since he could take incense out of the book, could he put it back inside too?

Chen Miao immediately turned to the [Item list] page.

Recalling how he had taken the incense out, Chen Miao lowered the sticks in his hand toward the page.

He had not even blinked, yet the four incense sticks vanished from his hand just like that.

When he looked at the book again, another line had appeared under [Item list].

[Four incense sticks]

Though he had already experienced plenty of miraculous things, Chen Miao still found it astonishing.

Closing the book and setting it neatly on the desk, Chen Miao left the office.

Once he had learned that the book looked different to other people than it did to him, he had stopped worrying that someone might discover its secrets.

Soon, Chen Miao arrived at the funeral supplies store inside the Tianmen Funeral Home.

Elder Uncle ran the store himself, and it carried a full range of funeral supplies. It served as both a shop and a storeroom for the funeral home.

This funeral supplies store was not to be underestimated. Half the funeral home's revenue could be said to come from it.

After all, no one haggled over things for the dead.

The prices at the Tianmen Funeral Home's store were fairly reasonable, but even so, the profit margin was over fifty percent.

"Li Fang, could you get me a small incense burner, a stack of spirit money, and a bundle of incense sticks... good-quality ones?"

Li Fang, who had been watching videos on her phone, smiled when she saw Chen Miao. "Oh, Three Waters. Sure, give me a moment."

After pausing the short video on her phone, Li Fang went to fetch what Chen Miao had asked for.

"How much?"

"Don't be silly. If you want to pay, go give the money to Elder Uncle."

Li Fang said it with a cheerful smile, then went back to her phone, paying no further attention to the slightly embarrassed Chen Miao.

Chen Miao wanted to explain that this was for his own business, not the funeral home's.

But give Elder Uncle money?

Chen Miao shook his head and carried the black plastic bag toward the cafeteria. He scooped up several handfuls of sand from the sandy patch beside the small pool behind it, filling the incense burner a little over halfway before leaving.

What Chen Miao intended to do was simple: try ordinary incense sticks first.

He was a funeral officiant, so he knew a little about the proper rites for making offerings.

Old Wang was only a manifestation of resentment. Although that resentment looked troublesome, he probably was not as vicious as a ghost like Qian Xiaomei, who could kill people outright.

If Chen Miao really encountered a ghost capable of killing people directly, he would not consider experimenting. He would use the four incense sticks from the book straightaway.

Chen Miao did not take the supplies straight to the cold storage room. Instead, he waited in the office until after five in the afternoon.

Offerings to ghosts were generally made at dusk, during the hour of the rooster, from five to seven in the afternoon.

At that time, yang energy gradually faded and yin energy began to rise.

Some also said that making offerings to ghosts during the hour of the rat worked better, but that was from eleven at night to one in the morning. Chen Miao was afraid something might go wrong, so he chose dusk for this first attempt.

While waiting, Chen Miao kept reviewing the ritual procedure, gradually gaining some confidence.

Soon, the time came. Chen Miao arrived at the cold storage room and got to work.

He placed a chair in front of Old Wang's compartment door and set down the incense burner, the spirit money, and a bowl of plain rice he had requested from the cafeteria. Then he went out to get a cup of clean water, washed three apples, and brought them back on a plate.

Generally, odd numbers represented yang and even numbers represented yin. There were many explanations for using the yang number "three" here.

They included "the end of life in the yang world," "the fulfillment of yang numbers," and "yin arising as yang ends."

Once everything was there, Chen Miao arranged the rice and apples in front of the incense burner, then stacked the spirit money neatly to one side.

As for the clean water, he placed it to the left of the offerings.

Clean water symbolized purity and new life, signifying the washing away of the departed soul's sins, suffering, or resentment from life to help him find release.

Another explanation held that clean water was a "medium between yin and yang." Because water had no fixed form or shape, it could connect yin and yang. Folk belief held that departed souls could receive offerings through its "reflections" or "vapor."

Compared with those explanations, however, some folk interpretations were more down-to-earth.

People believed that the souls of those who died violent deaths often suffered hunger and thirst in the underworld, and clean water could temporarily ease their suffering.

Paired with plain rice, it meant "eat and drink your fill, then set off in peace."

The offerings Chen Miao had prepared were fairly basic. If he had enough time, there were also many choices of water.

But he did not have the means right now, and this was only an experiment anyway. There was no need, so Chen Miao did not spend time on that.

Looking at the offerings, Chen Miao ran through everything in his mind once more. After deciding there were no problems, he moved on to the next step.

He drew four sticks from the bundle of incense, held them in his left hand, and lit them.

Once the incense was lit, Chen Miao fanned out the flames with his hand.

He could not blow them out with his mouth!

Incense was an offering, the equivalent of food for ghosts and deities. Blowing on it was like spitting into their meal.

Even before discovering that ghosts existed in this world, Chen Miao had respected these folk taboos. Now, he dared not break them.

After lighting them, Chen Miao inserted the four incense sticks side by side into the burner, evenly spaced, with none given precedence over the others.

This arrangement represented "equal offerings." There was also an arrangement using the four cardinal directions, representing a "four-direction boundary," chiefly intended for suppression.

Old Wang had not harmed anyone. There was no need to suppress him.

Of course, Chen Miao also feared that doing so might backfire and anger Old Wang.

After inserting the sticks, Chen Miao pressed his palms together and bowed twice toward Old Wang's compartment, silently reciting, May you leave suffering behind and find joy, and soon ascend to the Immortal Realm.

When he finished, Chen Miao drew a circle on the floor with an opening toward the southwest and burned the spirit money inside it, silently reciting, This money is offered to you for your journey. Do not return to the world of the living.

After watching the spirit money burn away completely, Chen Miao continued waiting where he was.

Only after all four sticks of incense had burned out did Chen Miao leave the offerings where they were and walk out of the cold storage room without looking back.