Three days before the wedding, the house became lively. Although Zhuang Yubai didn’t understand the marriage rituals, he felt something was off.
First, a shaman arrived, wearing a feathered headdress and draped in colorful beads, moving with a dazzling display of light and sound. His stepmother led him around the house, burning incense and scattering ashes, filling the room with smoke that made everyone’s eyes water.
Next came two Taoist priests in yellow robes, with wide sleeves and tall hats, who danced around the front and back courtyards as if performing some exorcism ritual. When they reached the area where Zhuang Yubai lived, they brandished peach wood swords and waved Bagua mirrors, chanting incantations to summon gods and ward off evil.
Zhuang Yubai, having never seen such a spectacle, hid in his room, feeling a bit anxious.
When his mother passed away, her burial was simple, without any rituals. Although they did pay for some monks to chant scriptures, the money must not have been much, as the monks left after just a short while. It was nothing like the current scene, with swords being waved around the house.
Before leaving, the Taoists burned a large stack of talismans around Zhuang Yubai. The yellow paper with blood-red symbols looked like ghostly scribbles. The smoke from the burning talismans was even more choking than the shaman’s earlier ritual.
Zhuang Yubai endured the discomfort, gritting his teeth. His mother had always valued appearances, and he couldn’t let people say that her child was unruly. Especially not his stepmother.
Afterward, elders from the clan came one after another to offer their congratulations. Though they said they were congratulating him, their expressions were strange, as if they were forcing smiles out of obligation.
His stepmother greeted them cheerfully, skillfully accepting the small red-wrapped packages they brought, saying polite things like, “Thank you for adding to Yubai’s dowry.”
Later, Zhuang Yubai was moved from the back room of the house to a side room next to the clan’s ancestral hall.
Zhuang Yubai had seen some weddings and funerals in the clan, but he had never heard of anyone moving into the ancestral hall before getting married. He mustered the courage to ask his father. His stepmother said it was a clan tradition, and because his birth mother had passed away early, the ceremony was more complicated, and he should endure it.
After his mother’s death, when his stepmother came into the house, the first thing Zhuang Yubai learned was “endurance.”
When he was moved from the west wing to the cold and damp back room, he had to endure. When his mother was alive, he studied in the clan school, but now “the family is struggling,” so he couldn’t study anymore and had to work to earn money for the family, he had to endure. When his stepmother had a younger brother, his expenses had to be frugal, and half of the betrothal gifts from the Meng family had to be saved for his brother’s marriage, he had to endure…
Now, when his stepmother said to endure, Zhuang Yubai didn’t say much. He would endure a little longer. It was only a matter of a few days. Once he was married into the Meng family, everything would get better.
Zhuang Yubai comforted himself.
Due to the rush, Zhuang Yubai only brought his personal belongings. His stepmother said everything was arranged over there, and his things would be organized as part of his dowry.
Zhuang Yubai packed his mother’s dowry, along with her clothes and jewelry, into a box, pleading with his father to include them in the dowry list.
He had never asked his father for anything. Now, as he was about to leave, it was the first and last time he asked his father.
His father, with a dark expression, sat beside a pile of red packages, the shadows from the lamp covering him entirely. In the flickering light, his father seemed to nod.
In his memory, his father was always silent, without a voice or presence. He couldn’t remember the last time his father spoke to him.
When his mother passed away, his father sat in the same chair, dragging a dark shadow, silently sipping strong tea, like a sigh hidden in the night.
But at that time, the pile beside his father wasn’t red packages but yellow paper money for his mother’s funeral.
Until Zhuang Yubai left the house, his father didn’t say a word to him.
After Zhuang Yubai left, his stepmother, Mrs. Liu, suppressed her smile and began to unwrap the packages. Inside the red packages meant to “add to Yubai’s dowry” were stacks of yellow paper money for funerals.
And the 200 wen “River God Betrothal Gift” from each family.
Zhuang Yubai didn’t know that the wedding he was looking forward to was also his funeral.
This was a meticulously planned “River Sacrifice” ceremony.
The most important offering in the entire ceremony was Zhuang Yubai himself.
*
Half a month ago, Pingning Prefecture experienced flooding, submerging many farmlands on both banks. With the summer harvest approaching, if it was also affected by the flood, how would the farmers who relied on the land survive? Villages along the Jiao River were all on edge, and the low-lying Huainan was filled with anxiety.
Just as every household in Huainan was sighing, the clan leader’s youngest son, Zhuang Haoren, brought back a shaman.
In the dead of night, with torches burning red, the shaman, after communicating with the gods, slowly awoke in the clan leader’s council hall. His eyes, under his messy hair, glowed red in the torchlight. His throat made a low, eerie sound, like a ghostly wind passing through.
He drank a mouthful of blood-red tea and solemnly conveyed the River God’s decree to the Zhuang clan.
The shaman claimed that the Jiao River had been calm for years, all thanks to the River God’s efforts. But the people on both banks had not shown gratitude, not even offering fruits during festivals. The recent flood in Pingning Prefecture was a wake-up call from the River God. If they continued to be ungrateful, they should be prepared for the flood to sweep through Huainan.
In the council hall, a room full of people sat in silence. Those who could attend the clan leader’s meeting were all prominent figures in the clan, and everyone looked serious, with no one speaking up. Matters of gods and spirits couldn’t be entirely believed or dismissed.
“We’re all waiting for the summer harvest to pay taxes and feed our families. If the River God gets angry, how will we survive? Sir, with your great virtue, please help us find a solution,” Zhuang Haoren broke the silence, respectfully offering the shaman a cup of fresh tea.
“Sacrifice to the river. Human sacrifice.”
The voice, like a ghostly wind, made everyone’s hair stand on end.
Human sacrifice?!
The words caused an uproar, with expressions of confusion, astonishment, fear, anger, and sorrow flashing across faces in the dim light.
The clan had performed countless rituals, even during the great drought ten years ago, when they sacrificed cattle, sheep, and pigs. But now they were talking about human sacrifice?
The shaman sensed the skepticism in the chaotic gazes. He dropped the mystical tone and wiped his face, returning to normal:
“I’m just a medium. Choosing a human sacrifice is your Zhuang clan’s decision. The more sincere your reverence, the more the River God will protect you. Ultimately, whether the sacrifice is accepted is up to the River God. But whether to sacrifice or not is up to you.”
The words were clear, leaving no room for ambiguity. But the clan members understood: even if they sacrificed someone, that person might not die. If the person offered for sacrifice didn’t die, it meant the River God didn’t accept.
Currently, the river was at its peak, and the water was fierce. A person bound and placed on a bottomless boat had little chance of returning alive.
It was a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, with no body to bury…
If sacrificing one person could save the entire clan, it seemed worth it. The premise was that the person wasn’t a family member.
The discussion grew louder, spreading like the flickering firelight throughout the council hall. There were supporters, opponents, and many who remained neutral, observing. In the intertwining, uncertain gazes, there was a lot of calculation and weighing of interests.
Finally, everyone turned their gaze to the clan leader.
The clan leader’s white beard trembled as he wanted to say something but ultimately chose to remain silent. The wrinkles on his face deepened.
“Did the River God specify what kind of person they want for the sacrifice? Age, appearance…” Zhuang Haoren stepped in to break the tense atmosphere, providing an escape for his father.
The shaman slowly walked to the center of the council hall, the rusty copper bells under his beaded attire ringing with each step, like a sound from the underworld.
He picked up two torches, spread his legs, and squatted into a large “fire” character, stomping the ground with force. In the flickering ghostly light, the copper bells rang loudly.
Clang, clang—
After half an incense stick’s time, the shaman fell straight to the ground, eyes wide open, bloodshot, and the ghostly wind rose from his throat again:
“Seventeen or eighteen years old, fair appearance, virgin, amber-colored hair…”
Everyone exchanged glances, mentally checking if there was such a person in the clan.
“It seems there really is such a person, that boy from Zhuang Laosan’s family, what’s his name, Yubai.” Someone started, and everyone nodded, agreeing that this person indeed matched the River God’s requirements.
“Yes, that boy named Yubai. When his mother was alive, he studied in the same school as my eldest. I saw him a few times when he was young, and he was quite handsome!”
“If that’s the case, I also have such an impression. He hasn’t been seen much in recent years, probably busy with family work. Occasionally, I saw him alone by the river washing clothes… By the river, you see, this child even likes the river, it’s fate.”
“Yes, he hasn’t married yet… Recently, the Meng family came to discuss marriage, but I heard Zhuang Laosan’s family hasn’t agreed. Unmarried, a virgin, isn’t that convenient!”
“The most convenient is the hair color! I used to think the child’s hair was yellow because he was weak from birth, but who would have thought, it’s the amber color the River God is looking for…”
The more they talked, the more it seemed like the River God had specifically drawn a portrait to find this Yubai: “If the River God truly favors him, it’s a blessing the child has earned over several lifetimes!”
With the target precisely locked on Zhuang Yubai, the tense atmosphere in the council hall dissipated.
No matter what, sacrificing to the River God was a major event. Whether to sacrifice and how to do it couldn’t be decided in a few words.
The clan leader dismissed everyone and invited the shaman to rest. There were still many things he needed to consider.
Indeed, as long as they weren’t the ones facing execution, spectators enjoyed the spectacle.
Once the candidate was locked in, people began to secretly ponder their positions during the river sacrifice. After all, it was a chance to witness Huainan’s history.
Since their ancestors, who had ever witnessed a “human sacrifice” firsthand? In the future, when they were old, sitting in a wicker chair basking in the sun, they would have plenty of opportunities to boast to their descendants:
“Back in the day, your grandpa participated in that grand ‘human sacrifice’…”
Author’s Note: