I have heard about praying for longevity since I was a child, but I have never seen it with my own eyes.
Hu Ma said that there are many people whose yang life has expired, but they have done a lot of good deeds and accumulated merits in their lives. At this time, they can go to the yin department and ask for an extension of life. The success rate is quite high.
But if this person has done evil in his life and done nothing good, even if he asks for it, the underworld will not allow it.
My aunt didn't know what kind of disease she had, so I did everything behind her back.
On this day, Hu’s mother canceled all the appointments and concentrated on doing things for me to pray for my longevity.
Mother Hu can survive the yin, I have known this for a long time.
But she rarely handles overcast for people, because the risk of overcast is very high. During the overcast, the soul is separated from the body, and it is easy to not come back if you are not careful.
I have heard people say before that no one can touch a person in the underworld when she is in the underworld, let alone try to wake her up, otherwise the soul will not be able to return to the body and the person will be dead.
It soon became dark, and the rites of passage were prepared.
An offering table, five steamed buns, five apples, five oranges, a bowl of water, and a bowl of rice.
There is a pair of chopsticks inserted upside down on top of the rice. This is called upside-down rice, which is specially eaten by the dead.
There is also a pair of white candles, also reserved for the dead.
Then Hu Ma said she was going to change clothes. I thought she was going to change into casual clothes, but she changed clothes and came out, which shocked me.
I saw Hu Ma actually wearing a set of old clothes worn by dead people, that is, a shroud. The top and bottom were blue, and she wore a pair of embroidered shoes.
Needless to say, she looked pretty in this outfit, but as soon as Hu Ma lay down on the bed next to the altar table, the atmosphere became weird on the spot.
Someone next to me brought a quilt over, and the quilt also had big longevity characters embroidered on it.
Don't ask, it's a dead man's suit.
Then he turned off the lights again, and the room was pitch dark. Only the two white candles shone with a huge dim light. Against the background of the quilt and shroud, and Ma Hu lying motionless, it was extremely scary.
Hu Ma got into the mood quickly and closed her eyes after lying down, and then the two gods started playing the drum.
Coincidentally, this second god is Mr. Zhang, who worked with Aunt Bai last time. He is also quite famous, and many great gods come to him for work.
I saw Mr. Zhang beating the drum for a while and then started singing.
This time he sang a sad tune called "Crying the Seven Passes".
"Holding a stick of incense in your hand, the incense rises to nine heavens. New Year's Eve paper is hung on the main door, and white flags are hung on the second door. When you go to heaven, old man, your children and grandchildren will kneel on the ground and cry for you for seven passes..."
"The first seven passes are Wangxiang Pass. You always look back at your homeland, and your soul reaches the sky. Wanting to see your old face is even harder than climbing to heaven..."
"The Second Seventh Pass is the gate of hell. The two ghosts, big and small, are blocking the road and want the money to buy the road. My children burn a few more packets of paper. Old man, you have just passed the Second Seventh Pass..."
"The Sanqi Pass is the Golden Rooster Pass. The golden rooster is blocking the road. Scatter the grains on the side of the road. The golden rooster will pick up the grains. You will pass the Sanqi Pass..."
"The Forty-Seventh Level is the evil dog level. The evil dog also blocks the way. Old man, pick up the dog-beating stick and drive the evil dog away quickly. Only by driving away the evil dog can you pass the Fourth Seventh Level..."
Crying for Seven Passes is a folk custom in Northeast China. People often sing it when doing white things, but it is rare now.
It is said that after death, people have to pass seven passes before they can reach the underworld. Relatives of the deceased should use their cries to help guide the souls to move forward, thereby shortening the time for the souls to go to the underworld.
But when the yin is over, singing the "Crying Seven Passes" can be regarded as a fill-in, to heighten the atmosphere first, and then send the old immortal to do the yin.
Mr. Zhang's song was very sad and full of tears, which made me feel uncomfortable. I thought that if my aunt was really at the end of her life, I might have to face such a scene soon.
After a while, Mr. Zhang finished singing this section and began the formal process of passing the Yin.
"It's time to beat the drum and whip the whip. I'll give Old Xian Yin Si a ride. You feed the horse and prepare the saddle. Bring enough fodder and get more money. Put the document bag on your shoulder. Move the saddle, pedal, mount the horse, and walk in a circle. Hurry up and look ahead. , there are two lights in front of the gate of hell, one is dark and the other is light. The bright light is the road to the world of the world, and the dark light is the city of death in the underworld. Don’t leave with the bright light, but walk with the dark light. This hell is no better than the road to the earth, there is no road along the way. People will take care of you. If there are beautiful scenery everywhere, don’t look away. Raise your whip and whip your horse to go southwest. Brave the rain and wind, and walk on the middle of the three main roads..."
"Take one step, two steps, look carefully at the terrace. Look up, you can't see the stars, sun and moon, look down, you can't see the land is safe. The cold wind penetrates the human bones, and the ghosts cry and howl. Don't be brave Little one, don’t be timid. Put aside timidity and timidity. Let’s go through the eighteen levels of hell...
"The first level of hell has a pass, a tall gate tower with a flagpole, flying eaves and walls reaching up to the sky, four lanterns hanging in the air, and the four characters "Netherworld Underworld" standing on it. The city wall is three feet long, with blue bricks lined up in rows, and a black and white suspension bridge. How neatly the repairs were done, there were people who had gone and returned, old people and young people, women and men, people riding horses and sedans, people carrying carts and carrying burdens, people who were lame, blind, deaf, dumb, stupid, stupid and incomplete, and people from all walks of life. Eight tables and five elements..."
Mr. Zhang sang for half an hour and passed through several hells, but when he reached the fifth level, something happened.
Suddenly Hu Ma's body started to tremble, and then she began to shake violently, kicking her legs. Seeing this, Mr. Zhang hurriedly speeded up the rhythm and changed the words at the same time.
"Old Immortal, don't be anxious, don't panic. Just take the document in your hand and sign it and seal it, and the two ghosts will send you on a horse to gallop forward... If the underworld is not accommodating, just say hello and turn back. After leaving Fengdu Mansion and passing through the Gate of Hell, you rush back to the Earth Temple. Returning to the human world is the right way..."
Mr. Zhang's drumming was fast and urgent, and I hurriedly stepped forward to support Hu's mother. Then I heard a cry in her throat, as if she finally took a breath and sat up straight.
Immediately afterwards, Hu Ma suddenly opened her eyes.
I just glanced at her, and instantly I gasped and got goosebumps all over my body!
Hu Ma's eyes were almost all white, with only two pupils as big as black sesame seeds, which looked extremely terrifying.
Mr. Zhang stopped playing and asked cautiously.
"I dare to ask you, old man, are you Li Xiuying, the old monument king?"
Hu Ma put her hands on her legs and lowered her head. She looked sinister. She nodded slowly, indicating that she was Li Xiuying.
Mr. Zhang asked again: "You always travel between yin and yang, and you can still be reported in the underworld. What happened just now that made you rush back to the human world?"
When Hu Ma heard this, she let out a long sigh.
This sigh was low and sad, as if there was something difficult to resolve and the voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken for a long, long time.
Just hearing this sigh made me feel uncomfortable all over.
At this time, Hu's mother was no longer herself, but Li Xiuying, the old monument king.
Then I heard her speak slowly: "Today is different from the past. The underworld is very strict with interrogations. Several ghost-headed soldiers chased me and I almost couldn't come back..."
When Mr. Zhang heard this, he was amused and said, "You have such a high level of Taoism, why are you still afraid of a few ghost-headed soldiers?"
Hu Ma shook her head: "No matter how high the Taoism is, what's the use? In other people's territory, if it's a dragon, you have to coil up, and if it's a tiger, you have to lie down. If you can't enter the underworld of the underworld, everything you talk about is in vain."
Mr. Zhang asked again: "Oh, it's not possible if you can't get in. Then you can think of a way to handle this matter for him. It's not easy for this child to be filial and pray for his aunt's life."
Hu's mother rolled her eyes, snorted and said, "His filial piety has nothing to do with me. If he wants to live longer, let him go on his own!"
