The old butler had told the three of them about the situation before they came to the Cai residence. Of course, he didn't tell them that the two in the well had already turned into fiends. The Cai residence had been in chaos for more than a month. If he had told them about this, the three of them would definitely not have agreed to retrieve the corpses.
After exchanging pleasantries with the three of them, my great-great-grandfather led the three of them, the old butler Cai Zhang, and a dozen young and strong servants to the well in the garden. They also took the things that my great-great-grandfather had asked them to prepare.
When they arrived at the well, my great-great-grandfather first got someone to take out the incense and paper. A servant held the incense burner and circled around the well with smoke curling up. He muttered softly,"The King of the Well has shown mercy. I didn't mean to offend you." A servant was at the well. He lit up the joss paper one by one and threw it into the well. He said," Xiao Lan, Zhang Jiang, come and collect the money."”
Burning incense and circling around the well was a form of worship to the Jing Dragon King. Going down to the well to retrieve the body would disturb the Jing Dragon King's peace and quiet, so he had to beg for mercy. By throwing the joss paper into the well, he was giving money to the ghosts of Xiao Lan and Zhang Jiang.
My great-great-grandfather took advantage of the time when the servants were burning incense and paper to ask the old man who was fishing for the corpse. He asked the three of them who wanted to go into the well to fish for the corpse. Because the well was too small, only one person could go in.
Before the old man could speak, the young man in his twenties said that he wanted to go down. The middle-aged man in his forties quickly stopped him, and the middle-aged man said that he wanted to go down.
My great-great-grandfather looked at the two of them and felt that this young man was a little confused and not as steady as the middle-aged man, so he agreed to let the middle-aged man go. After that, my great-great-grandfather untied a section of the middle-aged man's braids and put the muggrass he had prepared into his braids. Then, he tied the six-foot-long red caltrop to the middle-aged man's waist.
At this point, don't ask me why men also wear braids. Remember, this is the Qing Dynasty, and all men wear braids.
Wormwood and red caltrop were used to ward off evil spirits. They were afraid that the middle-aged man would be entangled by something unclean after diving into the water. At this time, it would be unrealistic to stick chicken blood on his forehead and Yang Energy Shield Talismans on his chest like in the past. This was because chicken blood washi talismans could not withstand blisters and would dissipate when they saw water.
After the incense and paper were burned, my great-great-grandfather asked someone to bring over the two bamboo tubes and two willow branches. The two bamboo tubes were as thick as an adult's calf and more than a foot long. There was a wooden stopper wrapped in coarse cloth at the top. These bamboo tubes were usually used to hold water or wine in ancient times. The two willow branches were only as thick as chopsticks, and there were a few thin leaves on them.
My great-great-grandfather took a willow branch and put it into a bamboo tube. At this time, the bamboo tube was not covered. It was tied to the middle of the bamboo tube with a rope, and then slowly put it into the well. When it touched the water surface of the well, he stopped putting the rope and let the bamboo tube float naturally on the water surface.
At this moment, my great-great-grandfather shone a torch into the well and shouted," Xiaolan, Xiaolan, let's go home. Get into the bamboo tube and don't come out. Hold on to the willow branch and don't let go. I'll bring you home…"
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