Chapter 1035: Unbroken Past IV

After quietly washing his underwear, Sun Yiqiu got dressed and tidied himself up before heading to the kitchen. His parents were already up, as were his elderly grandparents.

Seeing her grandson, his grandmother smiled and brought him a bowl of plain congee, topped with pickled vegetables, cured meat, and a piece of fermented tofu.

"Hurry and eat."

"Okay."

Sun Yiqiu took the bowl and chopsticks and began to eat his congee. The others glanced at him but said nothing, continuing to busy themselves. Steam billowed from the stove where something was cooking in a pot, and numerous dishes were already laid out on the kitchen counter.

"Eat quickly, then help out. There's a limit to how long you can laze in bed."

His father grumbled, but his grandmother, standing nearby, immediately spoke up for her grandson.

"Alright, son, it's barely dawn. We're not incapable of working. Xiao Qiu is still young; let him sleep a bit longer."

"Still young? He's already thinking about women!"

"Pfft… cough, cough, cough, cough…"

Sun Yiqiu, who was slurping his congee, choked on his food after hearing his father's comment. He coughed incessantly, his face flushed with embarrassment as his mind raced.

"Look at you. That child Dongdong is very likable; it would be good if she married into our family. Now hurry and eat, then help out. Your aunts and sister's families will all be here today."

"Ah, cough, cough."

Sun Yiqiu quickly composed himself, then sped up his eating before joining the others to help.

The lid of the pot on the stove was opened, releasing a large amount of steam. Inside, a large goose was cooking. The Sun family members lifted the goose onto a big serving platter, then inserted several chopsticks into it and wrapped the goose intestines around them.

With large cuts of white meat, the goose, and other poultry, fish, and vegetables placed on the table, the preparations were almost complete.

As the year drew to a close, the Sun family was preparing for their annual grand sacrifice. While most families performed separate rituals for gods and ancestors, the Sun family's tradition was clearly distinct.

As dawn broke, the Sun family cleared out the main hall of their residence, moving all chairs and stools to the side. They then successively placed the offerings on the large Eight Immortals table.

Sun Yiqiu's two aunts and his sister, who had married two years ago, arrived shortly after dawn, almost simultaneously. One aunt came with her grandson, another with her husband, and his sister arrived with her child and her husband.

"Brother! Happy New Year!"

"Brother! Oh, right, say hello to your eldest uncle!" "Eldest Uncle!"

"Little brother…"

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law! Hello, Grandpa, Grandma!"

"Sister, Brother-in-law. Oh, Little Tangdou is here too!"

"Everyone's here, that's good, hahahaha…"

The family members greeted each other, making the Sun family compound very lively. However, as everyone had returned for the sacrifice, they naturally did not forget the main purpose of their gathering.

After the lively greetings, the altar table was set up. Besides the offerings, incense burners and red candles were naturally indispensable, but the most special items were several ancestral tablets.

Sun Yiqiu's grandfather personally "invited" them out and placed them, facing outwards, at the end of the table.

Other families performed sacrifices separately for gods and ancestors, usually without tablets, simply calling out and offering prayers. The Sun family, however, had a total of three tablets.

In the middle of the deep brown tablet, the characters "Heaven and Earth" were written in a majestic script. The left tablet bore the inscription "Ancestors of the Sun Clan," and the right tablet read "Immortal Aunt Ancestress."

But this was not the end. Sun Yiqiu's father slowly pushed the display cart they usually used for their stall to the doorway. Then old Mr. Sun himself walked to the cart, carefully knelt down, and "invited" a small wooden plaque from beside the money jar. He then slowly walked to the altar table and hung this small wooden plaque in the middle of the "Heaven and Earth" tablet.

"Alright, we can begin!"

Whether sincere or feigned, the Sun family members immediately became serious. Even the previously playful children were scolded into behaving properly. The Sun family members stood in front according to seniority, with those married into the family standing a step behind.

The red candles were lit. Old Mr. Sun held three lit incense sticks, facing the altar table solemnly.

"As the year draws to a close, the Sun clan of Ning'an County offers this sacrifice. We pray to Heaven and Earth, gods and Buddhas, to protect the descendants of the Sun clan. We pray for the blessings of our ancestors, and the blessings of Immortal Aunt Ancestress!"

As he spoke, the Sun family members all bowed down together, and Old Mr. Sun inserted the incense sticks into the censer.

"Alright, come up one by one and offer your respects! Remember to be sincere!"

At the old man's instruction, the Sun family members stepped forward one by one to worship. Of course, babies had to be held by adults.

Although this annual event was grand, it was a family affair, and the Sun family members were naturally quite relaxed. Among the younger generation, it was less about genuine solemnity and more about respecting the traditions of their elders. Perhaps their views would change when they grew older, but for now, they were not truly devout.

"Grandma, why is this different from our family's ceremony?"

The child who came with Sun Yiqiu's second aunt was only five years old. This was his second time attending the sacrifice, but he had long forgotten the first, which was when he was two. Before his grandmother could speak, Old Mr. Sun, standing nearby, was already smiling and explaining.

"Haha, Little Cabbage, don't think our Sun family hasn't produced any remarkable officials or nobles. Our ancestors were quite distinguished. Take this tablet, for example—your grand-uncle isn't boasting, but there aren't many like it under heaven. And then there's our Immortal Aunt Ancestress…"

"Grandpa's telling those old stories again. I've heard them so many times since I was a child that my ears have calluses."

Sun Yiqiu, his sister, and brother-in-law were chatting and laughing in the back. Over by the altar, his grandfather finished his "explanation," but Little Cabbage, having apparently heard some things, quickly pressed for more details.

"Grand-uncle, grand-uncle, is there really an Immortal Aunt Ancestress? Grandma said she was a heavenly being. Is she more powerful than some great scholars? I heard there are learned scholars in big cities who can ascend to heaven and descend into the earth!"

"Uh, well, she's definitely more powerful than them!"

Old Mr. Sun felt somewhat uneasy when he said this. How could he not have heard about some great Confucian scholars in Ning'an County? Many common people also knew of their prowess to some extent, but mostly, they heard more about them than they saw. As for the Immortal Aunt Ancestress, he had only heard stories since childhood, never seen her, and not many tales had been passed down.

"Oh, right, and this tablet is proof! This Heaven and Earth tablet and this small plaque were personally bestowed by the Immortal Aunt Ancestress herself, who rode clouds to our old Sun family residence, so that the Sun descendants would never forget it for generations."

"I know about this. The braised noodles here are delicious, but every time we close the stall, we have to save a portion of ingredients; we can't sell everything! Grand-uncle, I want braised noodles later!"

"Alright, alright, you'll have braised noodles later! Your grand-uncle will cook it himself today!"

Why save a portion? The Sun family had actually forgotten, though it might have been meant by their ancestors to signify "abundance every year." Regardless, they never broke this unspoken ancestral rule.

"Yiqiu, it's your turn. Stop fooling around and go up to offer your respects."

His father called Sun Yiqiu, who then ceased his playful banter with his sister and brother-in-law, put on a serious expression, and went to the altar table to worship, murmuring words of blessing and well-being.

The entire sacrifice process was uneventful. Just like any ordinary family, after the sacrifice, they cleared the altar table, set aside some edible dishes, reheated others, and prepared some new food, such as braised noodles.

At noon, the family gathered around the table with its round tabletop extension to eat. The elders enjoyed a small drink, while the younger ones played rambunctiously, and an infant cried mid-meal, wanting to be fed, making it a very lively scene.

Unbeknownst to the family, an extra person was in the room: a woman dressed in pale green. Her dark hair was styled in a bun with long, willow-like sideburns, and a cascade of hair flowed three feet down her back like water. A white jade hairpin on her head was adorned with a faintly glowing pearl.

The woman simply watched the Sun family happily eating their meal. She walked a few steps around the table and stopped beside Sun Yiqiu. With one hand supporting her elbow and the other stroking her chin, she carefully observed Sun Yiqiu, the most prodigious eater at the table. The large, red-patterned bowl in his hand was piled high with rice, which, along with the various dishes he scooped into it, was rapidly disappearing.

Not at all like Ya Ya!

Seeing the Sun family eating with gusto, Zaoniang bit her finger, turned, and walked out of the hall. As she left, a braised duck leg appeared in her hand.

"Just a taste!"

After murmuring a word, Zaoniang flicked her sleeve, and the dust near the doorway scattered. She casually sat down, one leg extended and the other bent, and began to savor the braised duck leg.

Although there was a saying that a gentleman's benevolence fades after five generations, the rules of the Sun family noodle stall had been followed for so many generations. Even if Sun Ya Ya didn't care, Zaoniang, who spent most of her time in Ning'an County, certainly wouldn't ignore it.

"What if the Grand Master wanted to come back one day to eat noodles and couldn't find anyone?"

Thinking this, Zaoniang glanced out the door again. Two people stood there, looking serious and holding swords. From their attire, they appeared to be the day patrol gods of Ning'an County.

"You are no ordinary person. Why have you come here?"

"Do you have any connection with this Sun family?"

"If you have no connection, please leave immediately!"

The two day patrol gods did not immediately attack. After all, the other party had only secretly taken a duck leg from the Sun family, and the aura emanating from her was neither divine, nor Buddhist, nor immortal, nor demonic, nor ghostly; they couldn't act rashly.

Zaoniang stood up and gracefully bowed.

"Hello, two day patrol gods. I am also from Ning'an County and know the ancestors of this Sun family. Today, I suddenly sensed that this family had been tainted by something, so I came specifically to check. I have not committed any presumptuous acts, nor will I harm them. Please investigate thoroughly."

The two day patrol gods instinctively glanced at the half-eaten duck leg and nodded slightly. Their hands were still on their swords, but they adopted a more relaxed posture. This woman inexplicably exuded an aura that made others willing to trust her, even spirits and gods, which was quite miraculous.

"Do you know what it was tainted by?"

"I'm not clear yet, and it doesn't seem to have harmed the Sun family. So I plan to wait here. If it's a misunderstanding, we can clear it up. But if it doesn't know what's good for it, I'll make it vanish, body and soul."

Zaoniang's tone was very calm, but her words were somewhat ruthless. The two day patrol gods possessed a certain empathic ability and could sense that these were not boastful or exaggerated words, nor even an expression of self-confidence, but simply a statement of obvious fact.

The more they felt this way, the more unusual it seemed. The woman before them was likely extraordinary.

The day patrol gods became more respectful. One of them intentionally bowed deeply, adopted a respectful posture, and then asked again.

"May I ask, Immortal Maiden, your esteemed name and where you are from?"

Zaoniang smiled, realizing they didn't believe she was from Ning'an County. With a hint of solemnity, she tucked the duck leg into her sleeve's spatial dimension. She stood straight, her sleeves falling behind her, and her hair gently swayed in the breeze.

"Born and raised in Ning'an County, Zaoniang!"

A gentle breeze swept through the county. At the end of this twelfth lunar month, a faint, almost imperceptible floral fragrance seemed to drift through the county.