On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Gates of Hell swing wide open, and lonely souls and wild ghosts wander the mortal realm.
"Xiao Huang, waawaaawaaaa."
At the edge of a cliff, a child about twelve years old poked his small head out, looking down and wailing loudly.
The child's name was Lu Yu; his parents had passed away early, and the few acres of land they left behind had been seized by his second uncle's family.
Just moments ago, a yellow calf from his second uncle's family, less than three months old, had slipped and fallen off the cliff.
"Why couldn't you just think it through? You jumped down without even saying a word."
"Ahhh. Woowoowoo."
"Moo."
Beside him, an old yellow ox let out a dissatisfied low, thinking to itself, 'Is this the time to cry? Hurry up and find a way to save my son.'
This place was located on the border of the Yue Kingdom, in a small mountain village near Fire County.
The Yue Kingdom had been suffering from a drought for three years; not only was there no grass for the cattle to eat, but there wasn't even any grass left for people to eat.
Sometimes when Lu Yu was hungry, he would eat grass along with the old yellow ox.
Just now, while Lu Yu was eating grass, he heard the yellow calf let out a moo.
When he turned around, he saw the yellow calf's legs flailing in the air as it jumped off the cliff without hesitation.
These days, slaughtering an ox without permission is a serious crime. Even if it is an ox you raised yourself, at the very least, you would be given dozens of strokes with a board and imprisoned for two or three years.
In severe cases, conscription, exile, or even beheading are possible.
Now that the yellow calf had fallen off the cliff, his second uncle and second aunt would surely pin the blame on him.
After crying for a while, Lu Yu went around to find some dried vines.
He spent most of the day weaving the vines into a rope dozens of zhang long, then tied it to the base of a withered, crooked-neck old tree.
"Old Huang, stay here and don't run off. I'm going to see if your son is dead."
Lu Yu gave the old yellow ox a heads-up, glanced down the cliff, and then boldly climbed down the rope.
If he could find the yellow calf's body, the County Magistrate might show some mercy considering Lu Yu's young age.
Before long, Lu Yu disappeared below the cliff, leaving only the vine rope swaying back and forth.
At first, the old yellow ox was quite obedient, standing honestly by the cliff's edge and watching Lu Yu gradually disappear.
After a while, the old yellow ox seemed to get hungry and lowered its head to start munching on the withered grass on the ground.
As it munched, the old yellow ox happened to bite into the rope made of vines.
These vines were quite sturdy; the old yellow ox gnawed a few times but couldn't bite through them.
However, it was not discouraged and continued to gnaw with force.
Thud.
"Ahhh."
The old yellow ox's ears twitched. With a piece of vine in its mouth, it turned its head toward the cliff.
It seemed to have heard Lu Yu's scream just now.
After looking for a while, the old yellow ox thought it had misheard and went back to eating grass.
The cliff was bottomless, with many vines and plants growing on its walls.
Halfway down grew a crooked-neck old tree covered in vines, and below the tree was a protruding ledge about one zhang wide.
On the ledge lay a yellow calf.
However, blood was now oozing from the yellow calf's nose and mouth; it had already stopped breathing.
"Ahhh—"
Lu Yu fell halfway down and was caught by the crooked-neck old tree. Some vines tangled around him, instantly slowing his descent.
Bang.
Even so, when Lu Yu hit the ledge, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His breathing gradually weakened, and he fell unconscious.
Near the cliff wall on the ledge, there was a massive cave. A giant white skeleton stood at the entrance, blocking most of the opening.
Inside the cave, green and red lights shone together, resembling ghost fires.
"Jie jie jie."
An extremely unpleasant and piercing laugh echoed from within the cave.
The owner of the voice seemed to be an old man. After laughing, a ball of green light shot out from inside and entered Lu Yu's body.
Several hours later, in the middle of the night, Lu Yu finally opened his eyes slowly.
Lu Yu's face happened to be facing the cave entrance.
As soon as he opened his eyes, the giant skeleton and the ghost fires inside the cave came into view, scaring him into a terrified scream as he quickly scrambled backward.
"Ahhhh."
"A ghost, it's a ghost."
He retreated for some distance until his back hit the yellow calf's carcass, only then stopping.
"What is this place?"
"Am I dead? Is this the Underworld?"
Several questions flashed through Lu Yu's mind.
"Jie jie jie." The unpleasant and piercing laughter rang out again.
"A ghost. It's a ghost."
"Don't come over here."
Lu Yu was scared out of his wits and continued to retreat, hiding behind the yellow calf.
Behind him was the cliff, a pitch-black abyss; Lu Yu could retreat no further.
"Jie jie jie."
"You're already dead. You're a ghost yourself, so what are you afraid of?"
"What? I..." Lu Yu's face was filled with terror and disbelief.
"If you don't believe it, try slapping yourself across the face," the old man's voice came again.
Hearing this, Lu Yu slowly raised his trembling hand and gave himself a hard slap.
Slap.
The sound was very loud, but Lu Yu felt no pain.
"I'm really dead?"
Slap. Slap. Slap.
Lu Yu gave himself seven or eight more hard slaps in a row until both his cheeks were swollen, yet he still felt no pain.
"Well? This old man didn't lie to you, did he?" the old man's smug voice drifted from the cave.
Lu Yu sat on the ground, looking dejected.
Thinking about it, falling from such a high cliff, it was only natural to be killed by the fall.
"Forget it, if I'm dead, I'm dead. I was alone and helpless in this life anyway. I just hope I can be reincarnated into a better life next time."
After a period of sadness, Lu Yu came to terms with it and asked.
"Ghost Grandfather, I heard that after people die, they have to report to the Underworld. Why are we here?"
After Lu Yu spoke, he looked around in terror, afraid that two ghost messengers would suddenly appear to seize him.
"Hahaha, today is the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the day the Gates of Hell open wide. It's the day when ghosts from the Underworld return to the mortal realm to reunite with their loved ones. Why would those officials come to catch you?"
Lu Yu had heard of this before; he used to listen to it as a ghost story, never expecting it would happen to him.
He heard that the Gates of Hell open on the first day of the seventh month and don't fully close until the thirtieth.
"Little ghost, do you want to be reincarnated into a good life? I suggest you give up on that idea."
"Why?" Lu Yu asked, puzzled.
The old man said, "Let me ask you, after you died, did anyone burn spirit money for you?"
Lu Yu thought for a moment and shook his head.
The Yue Kingdom had been in a drought for three years, and people were starving to death; where would his second uncle's family get the spare money to burn spirit money for him?
"Exactly. Money makes even ghosts turn the millstone. Without any money, how can you dream of a good reincarnation?"
"It's not even certain if you'll be able to be human in your next life."
"Ahhh."
Lu Yu let out a long, drawn-out cry. He couldn't help but think of the stray dogs in the village that ate filth and the rats in the fields, and he felt a wave of nausea.
"I have a way here that can keep you from going to the Underworld and let you stay in the mortal realm forever. Do you want it?"
"What way?" Lu Yu asked hurriedly.
The old man said, "Come inside, and I will tell you."