âI canât go?â Xi Xi asked as she pointed at herself. She looked extremely surprised.
He Xiyan looked at the fortune teller, Mr. Wang, in confusion and with a deep frown.
âSir, why canât my daughter go?â she asked.
She knew that children under five years of age whose luck cycle had not formed could not visit coffins but her daughter was almost 11 years old.
Mr. Wangâs brows creased as he looked at Xi Xi who stood beside him. He stared at her for some time before he finally turned to face He Xiyan.
âHer yin-energy is very strong and her fate is at odds with the Seven Killings. A place of burial is also a place with very strong yin-energy. If she goes there, she would attract bad luck and bring about bloodshed,â Mr. Wang enunciated each word clearly as though he was delivering a warning.
Xi Xi wasnât too bothered by his words. She chuckled, looked at her brother and smacked her brotherâs arm. Then, she sidled up to him and said softly, âDid you hear that? Bro⦠heâs making things up again!â
Xi Xi did not believe the fortune tellerâs words. Moreover, there was nothing negative about her, and she was a cheerful and bright girl.
He Xiyan nodded and said politely, âVery well. Thanks for the warning. I will not bring my daughter to the graveyard tomorrow.â
Although she thought that the fortune tellerâs words were strange, she would rather err on the side of caution and take his warning seriously.
ââ
He Xiyan brought her two children to stay at her uncleâs place. The next morning, she rose at 6 AM, had breakfast, and went to her parentsâ graves.
Her parents were buried on the hill behind her childhood home. It was a simple grave and it was marked by a tombstone that wasnât very big.
She would come to their graves every year during the Tomb Sweeping Festivals to pay her respects.
One year had passed since she had last been back and weeds had grown all around her parentsâ graves. The men hired by the funeral services company took several hours to get rid of all the weeds.
A simple ceremony had to be performed before they could shift her parentsâ place of burial.
The men from the funeral services company had come prepared with the firecrackers, joss paper, wine, meat, a rooster and a hen.
After these items needed for the ceremony were laid out on the altar. He Xiyan led Yuan Yuan to kneel in front of the graves.
They had changed into black outfits.
âYuan Yuan, remember to remain silent,â she said as she patted her sonâs back. The relatives of the dead would have to pay their respects by kneeling for some time before their graves could be opened.
Yuan Yuan nodded. This was his first time going through such a ceremony. His paternal grandparents had also passed away many years ago but they had both been cremated. Ye City didnât have such a custom either.
When in Rome, they would have to do as the Romans do, so Yuan Yuan knew he shouldnât judge their customs.
The ceremony lasted 15 minutes.
He Xiyan placed her hands on the ground and slowly lowered her head.
Her eyes quickly brimmed with tears and tears streamed down her cheeks.
Her childhood memories came flooding back and each scene played in her mindâs eye like something out of a movie. She recalled how her parents used to look when they were younger: the small dimples her dad had when he smiled and her motherâs soft and gentle voice. She also remembered how they lived happily as a family of three even though they werenât doing well financially.
Her parentsâ greatest wish had been for her to enter a good university, get a good job, and marry a man she loved to form a happy family unit.
She would never forget how her parents spent their hard-earned savings accumulated over twenty years to buy a house in the school district in order for her to enter a better school. She would always remember how her parents did not buy new clothes for themselves for three years in order to save money so that they could hire a better tutor to teach her how to draw.