There's an old folk rhyme in the King's Ridge area that goes like this:
At the start of Renewal, sweeping graves and worshiping brings no sorrow,
In the middle of Renewal, descendants pay respects to the mountain ancestors,
At the end of Renewal, lonely souls and wild ghosts have no home to return.
The so-called beginning, middle, and end of Renewal are calculated according to the lunar calendar.
The lunar dates for the Renewal Festival are fixed on March 5th and 6th each year, but the solar dates vary every year.
If it falls on the second or third day of each lunar month, it is considered the beginning of Renewal; if it is on the twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, or thirtieth day of the lunar month, then it is considered the end of Renewal.
As for the middle of Renewal, any day in the middle of each lunar month can be counted as such.
Usually, during the beginning of Renewal, normal grave sweeping and worshiping are carried out without much fuss; during the middle of Renewal, as many male family members as possible are expected to attend. The so-called "mountain ancestors" are actually ancestors buried in the mountains. When a family has many male descendants, they thrive. Going to sweep graves with a lively atmosphere is not a big problem.
But at the end of Renewal, things become more sinister. According to local folklore in King's Ridge, during these days various lonely souls and wild ghosts who have no one to worship them would roam around.
On such days when sweeping graves, from leaving home all the way up to worshiping in the mountains, a piece of red paper must be burned at every intersection.
The purpose is to buy safety along the way and avoid being entangled by filthy things.
King's Ridge's older generations have been passing down this folklore orally, all the way down to James' father's generation, who have strictly followed these rules. Every time they return to their hometown to sweep graves, they never lack a sense of ritual. Especially during the years when the end of Renewal falls, they pay even more attention and are not sloppy at all.
Although Little Dog is young, he has taken the things passed down by the older generations to heart.
Seeing James staring blankly, Little Dog couldn't help but remind him: "Brother? Today is the twenty-ninth of the second lunar month, the end of Renewal. Could it be that those dirty things have come to our house?"
The conversation made the two brothers standing outside in the courtyard feel a bit chilly.
Fortunately, at this moment, a phone call brought them back to the normal world.
On the other end of the phone was their aunt's anxious voice.
It was clear that their aunt had just discovered Little Dog's disappearance. Upon learning that Little Dog had safely returned to King's Ridge, she breathed a sigh of relief and then specifically reminded them of various ancestral teachings regarding the end of Renewal. After repeatedly instructing them, she scolded Little Dog for a while before hanging up.
"Wow, Little Dog! When did you get up? You covered dozens of miles in no time? Are you some kind of supernatural being?"
"Hehe, I didn't sleep much last night. Brother, how about we burn some paper?" True to his name, Little Dog was as energetic as a dog despite not having slept much.
James didn't intend to go against the ancestral teachings. At his age, he was supposed to be rebellious and independent-minded. The fact that he could come back from the city to King's Ridge for grave sweeping showed that he valued these traditions.
As they watched the red paper burn into ashes by the roadside, James' doubts did not diminish.
Despite the continuous drizzle, the grave sweeping activities in the mountains could not be compromised.
James carried a hoe on his shoulder, and the offerings were placed in a bamboo basket that was becoming increasingly rare in the city. Little Dog had a firewood knife around his waist and held a snakeskin bag filled with red paper, paper ingots, paper silver pounds, and other items.
The two brothers burned a piece of red paper at each intersection, and after about an hour, they arrived at a mountain depression. From a distance, they could see a pavilion at the end of the road at the foot of the mountain. The pavilion looked like a vermilion bird spreading its wings, with a unique design.
"Brother, do you want to rest at Pheonix Pavilion?"
"Only the dead rest there. Do you want to rest?"
"No."
At King's Ridge, it is common for elders who have passed away to be buried in this area near Great Pheonix Mountain.
As the name of the mountain, Pheonix Pavilion is located at the foot of Great Pheonix Mountain.
Generally, during funerals, there are taboos such as not allowing the coffin to touch the ground along the way.
However, King's Ridge's customs are somewhat different. The coffin bearers from King's Ridge Ridge must take a break at Pheonix Pavilion regardless of their strength.
If they try to show off by going straight up the mountain without stopping, something bad is likely to happen halfway up.
It could be that one of the coffin bearers sprains their leg and falls or that the coffin flips over.
In conventional terms, from King's Ridge to Pheonix Pavilion is nearly ten miles of mostly winding mountain roads that are extremely difficult to walk. When coffin bearers reach this point, their physical strength has already reached its limit; without taking a break, they don't have enough energy to support climbing up the mountain.
An even more mysterious explanation is that Pheonix Pavilion is a place where the realms of Regal Valor and Soveregin Grace meet. Once on Great Pheonix Mountain, the 'Regal Valor' energy is too strong; if one does not take a good breath of 'Sovereign Grace' energy at Pheonix Pavilion before going up, accidents can easily happen.
There is also the most sinister theory that after a person dies, their soul doesn't immediately vanish. If they don't wait at Pheonix Pavilion, once the body is buried, the soul loses its support and can easily turn into an evil spirit causing trouble. The soul must be allowed to enter the ground and return to its resting place, free from the agitation of the living world, in order to truly be at peace.
In the local area, there are many rumors about Pheonix Pavilion.
It is said that hundreds of years ago, a Regal Valor and Sovereign Grace master sought out dragon veins and selected this Anglo-Sync treasure of Great Pheonix Mountain, claiming that it had the potential of a sleeping dragon. From the perspective of Grand Master, it was indeed a living dragon.
The surrounding environment was perfect in terms of dragon, tomb, sand, water, and direction – all five key elements were in place.
The only flaw was that there was no mountain peak guarding the south side to form a gathering of six stars.
Later on, through calculations by Anglo-Sync masters, a solution was found: building a pavilion in the shape of a Pheonix south of Great Pheonix Mountain.
Using the pavilion as a substitute for a mountain may not be perfect, but it makes up for the overall situation with its small form. Though not ideal, it does create an atmosphere of gathering six stars and brings auspicious signs of peace in the world.
James and Little Dog had certainly heard many stories about Pheonix Pavilion.
The two brothers burned another piece of paper at the pavilion and found the path up the mountain.
The path up the mountain was rarely walked throughout the year, and it was very easy for vegetation to grow. Without a firewood knife to clear the way, it would be difficult to climb.
In addition, due to continuous Renewal rain, the soil and rocks on the path had become loose and difficult to walk on.
It took the brothers about sixty-six minutes to reach their family's ancestral graves, where generations of ancestors, all the way down to their grandfather's generation, lay in eternal rest.
James, being strong, was responsible for clearing weeds and cleaning up the tombs. He then added fresh soil.
Little Dog arranged the offerings, lit incense, and burned paper.
After completing these rituals for six or seven ancestral graves, the two brothers were tired but satisfied with their efforts.
"Brother, isn't it strange? In previous years when it rained like this, it wasn't easy to burn paper. But today, this rain is like oil and burning red paper is no trouble at all."
Little Dog couldn't stay idle; if he did, he would start mumbling about strange things.
After Little Dog mentioned it, James realized that today's paper did burn surprisingly smoothly.
Perhaps this year's paper material is different and has added some flammable ingredients?
With so many bizarre and strange occurrences happening already, what difference would one more make?
It wasn't until all the paper money had turned into ashes without any risk of reigniting that the brothers started packing their things and prepared to descend from the mountain.
People who are used to walking on mountain paths know that going downhill is more difficult than going uphill.
From a metaphysical perspective, the momentum of going uphill is upward, with full energy and spirits, making it difficult for evil spirits to attack. When going downhill, one's body is tired and the momentum is downward, making it easier to encounter evil.
As they were walking, Little Dog suddenly asked from behind, "Brother, do you hear any strange noises?"
James listened carefully but only heard the rustling sound of raindrops. So he shook his head in disagreement.
"No, wait! Brother, listen closely. There's a child crying."
In the deep mountains and dense forests, surrounded by tombs during the Renewal Festival, Little Dog claimed to hear a child crying!
Even though James was considered courageous, upon hearing these words, he instantly broke out in a cold sweat.