Riding the wind of rebirth

"You're back?" Old Chi Ri squatted with several other old men at the door. Old Chi Ri had a pipe in his mouth, a bowl of water in front of him, an eggshell cracked open on the side of the bowl, and an egg cracked into the bowl.

Black Dragon was the first to run to Old Chi Ri's side, panting heavily, and rubbing against Old Chi Ri with his body, showing his affection after not seeing him for many days.

Old Chi Ri grabbed the black dragon's head with his large, wrinkled hands and stroked it twice. He then patted its ears to calm it down, and the black dragon lay down at Old Chi Ri's feet.

"Grandpa, we're back!" Azi jumped off her horse.

"We're back." Zhou Zhi led everyone downstairs and went forward to greet Lao Chi Ri and several other elderly people.

"What's going on here?" Yan Xiao looked at the egg bowl in front of Lao Chi Ri, feeling a sense of mystery.

"This is egg divination, which uses the changes in the flow of egg white in hot water to predict things," Zhou Zhi explained. "Let's go inside first, so as not to disturb Grandpa."

"Leave my horse inside," Yan Xiao said, but he squatted down in front of the bowl. "I need to see something interesting..."

In the yard, Aunt Gillette was making dried tofu. When she saw everyone, she smiled and said, "You all had a good time, right? The leftover bean curd residue is perfect for nourishing the horses. They've been working hard these past few days."

"They didn't have to work hard at all, they've all gotten fatter." Azi jumped into Aunt Gillette's arms: "Mommy, we took so many beautiful pictures!"

"Auntie, how did you make so much dried tofu?" Zhou Zhi picked up a piece of dried tofu that had dried quite a bit of moisture and become soft and chewy from the winnowing basket, tore off a piece for Xiao Miao, and then took a bite of the rest for herself: "Mmm, it's so delicious! Auntie's cooking skills are getting better and better!"

"We don't have much to offer in our village, but since everyone seems to like dried tofu, I thought I'd make some as gifts. I've also made some mushroom oil these past few days, so everyone can take some with them."

Everyone hurriedly expressed their gratitude, but Tu Liangzhi, who had come out and overheard this, was displeased: "They haven't even said when they're leaving yet, isn't this just kicking them out?! Everyone should just enjoy themselves in the village and finish the festival first!"

The Yi New Year in Lianhe Township lasts for ten days. Zhou Zhi laughed and said, "Although everyone thinks so, it's really unlikely. Renzhong is the director of the bureau now, and he has a lot of work to do at his unit."

"I had to beg the old director for a long time before he agreed to help me cover the last shift," Wu Renzhong said with a sheepish smile. "Grandpa Chiri, Shama and I really can't stay any longer. We have to rush back tomorrow and start work the day after tomorrow."

"The town government will be officially operational after the New Year, Uncle Tu, you're a very busy man yourself, so don't worry about us." Zhou Zhi laughed, "Don't worry, we'll make sure they have a great time before we send them off!"

"Let's have another drink tonight. Hey, where's Yan Xiao? That kid can hold his liquor pretty well."

"He's watching Grandpa play the divination game at the door," Zhou Zhi said with a "better to die than lose" attitude. "This kid has been complaining these past few days that I didn't bring enough wine into the mountains. Uncle Tu, you should take good care of him later!"

"What are you greeting?" Yan Xiao asked as he entered.

"Do you understand?"

“I can’t understand them, they’re all speaking Yi language.” Yan Xiao looked at Zhou Zhi with a disappointed expression. “Tell me what you’ve been doing in the village! You missed a chance with a master! You can’t even do a simple egg divination.” “Brother, egg divination is an advanced skill of the Bimo (priest). Don’t even mention me, many novice Bimo can’t master it.” Zhou Zhi said, “It’s a skill for judging and exorcising ghosts, so I just told everyone not to disturb you. As for you, you can’t be dragged away even if you want to. Fortunately, you don’t understand Yi language, so it doesn’t matter.”

Yan Xiao was startled: "You mean there was a ghost at the door just now?"

"Slap your mouth! Slap your mouth!" Zhou Zhi reached out and slapped Yan Xiao's mouth twice. "I don't know the specific details of divination, but it's usually done when there's a sick person in the family or when there are five ghosts appearing. People will ask for divination to ward off disasters."

"Drawing an egg is a common term in Chinese, but in Yi language it is called Waqiesha. The specific method is to first sweep an egg over the patient's body from head to toe while chanting incantations. Then, a hole is pricked at the top with a needle, and the patient blows a breath into the egg through the hole. The egg is then brought to the Bimo (priest), who holds a wormwood leaf in one hand and a knife in the other. While chanting, he uses the knife to stab the poisonous insects in the mountains, the five ghosts in the forest, the water snakes in the river, the ghosts under the house, and the ghosts from outside the house that cause the illness. All the ghosts, bonds, and poisons that entangle the patient are pulled out and put into the egg, which is then cracked into a bowl."

"Is that all?" Yan Xiao asked.

“It’s not that simple,” Zhou Zhi said. “The egg that’s cracked into the bowl is just a projection of something that is bad for the patient. Based on the shape of the egg white and the yolk, the Bimo can determine the identity, origin, reason for the patient’s illness, location, and whether the illness is still bothering the patient. After that, the Bimo needs to find a way to resolve the problem based on the patient’s situation and birth date.”

"So, solving cases based on clues is equivalent to cracking a case," Yang Honghui said. "A separate arrest plan will be needed to apprehend the criminals."

"That's roughly the idea," Zhou Zhi said with a smile.

"So you can?" Yan Xiao asked, a little excited.

"No." Zhou Zhi spread his hands: "What I just said is all I know about egg-beating gossip."

"Tch! I can't even be bothered to talk to you!" Yan Xiao looked at Zhou Zhi with disdain, his eyes scanning Zhou Zhi from head to toe like a divination egg before finally saying, "Tell me, what have you been doing here for the past two years?!"

Zhou Zhi laughed heartily: "I've been doing so much that I'm too busy to learn how to do egg divination. Hahaha, I'll make you so angry."

"You!" Yan Xiao was very interested in these mysterious things, and although he wanted to get angry, he finally sighed: "It's such a pity..."

“I believe in Confucianism. In Confucianism, Heaven is impartial and always favors the virtuous. People who see a two-headed snake will surely die, but because they are worried that others will also see it and die, they quickly kill it and bury it. Such people will not only not die, but will also enjoy good fortune.”

"Well said, Elbow." Old Chi Ri walked in, accompanied by a black dragon licking its lips; it was probably the dragon that had eaten the egg earlier.

"Grandpa Chiri, is there a similar saying among the Yi people?" Yan Xiao asked.

"Yes, 'A diligent person has more food, and a kind person has more friends.' Just look at how many friends Elbow has, and you can tell he's a kind person." Old Chi Ri casually quoted a proverb: "A fire needs a hollow core to burn high, and a person needs a sincere heart to be a friend. You guys are pretty good at choosing friends!"

“I know, Grandpa Chiri is talking about ‘Erbi’!” Yan Xiao laughed. “I learned a saying when I came to the village, um… Han people travel from village to village with tea, Yi people recognize their men with wine!”

Zhou Zhi chuckled inwardly, thinking, "You'll see the power of those words soon enough!" (End of Chapter)