Matching her drawing movements, the incantations Sangu chanted did not stop, growing increasingly rapid.
“Yin and Yang of heaven and earth, guide the soul back to its place. Bai Zhen'er of the Bai clan, if you are willing to accept the respects of your descendants, please appear quickly...”
As Sangu chanted, the temperature inside the ancestral hall gradually dropped. The three sticks of incense in the censer burned extremely fast, nearly reaching the bottom in the span of just a few sentences.
A faint breeze suddenly blew in through the crack in the ancestral hall's doors. It was an icy wind that stirred the red cloth on the altar table and rustled Bai Ci's bridal gown.
Bai Ci could vaguely sense that something was mingled with the wind, slowly drawing near.
Sangu opened her eyes and, with swift hand movements, inserted another three sticks of incense into the censer, just before the original three burned out completely.
After a moment of silence, the temperature in the ancestral hall stabilized, dropping no further. With no other unexpected complications arising, a relieved smile appeared on Sangu's face.
She turned her head and softly whispered a reminder to Bai Ci, “Young lady, the ancestor's spirit has arrived.”
“Step forward and hold her spirit tablet. We must hurry and perform the wedding ceremony.”
Bai Ci nodded and quickly walked up to the altar table.
“Ancestor, I am here.”
After offering her greeting, Bai Ci picked up the spirit tablet wrapped in red cloth.
The spirit tablet felt slightly cool to the touch. It carried a weight far exceeding what a block of wood of that size should have, as if she were holding an actual person.
Fortunately, the weight corresponded to someone who must have been quite slender, so Bai Ci was still able to hold it.
Sangu stepped beside Bai Ci, holding two red silk ribbons. She tied one around Bai Ci's wrist and the other around the spirit tablet, binding the two of them tightly together.
“With the first tie of the red thread, fate is sealed for three lifetimes. With the second tie, they shall remain together and never part. With the third tie, they are bound in life and death.”
“With heaven and earth as witness, and the ancestors as testament, today Bai Ci and Bai Zhen'er are united in marriage, to accompany each other for a lifetime, never to part.”
“May the obsession of Bai Zhen'er of the Bai clan be resolved, allowing her to rest in eternal peace. May the descendants of the Bai clan break free from their shackles and live in peace and prosperity.”
Having spoken, Sangu picked up the wine flask on the table and poured two cups. She handed one to Bai Ci and spilled the other onto the ground in front of the altar.
“Young lady, offer a toast to the ancestor. May you remain bound together, safe and sound year after year.”
Bai Ci took the cup and raised it before the spirit tablet. “Ancestor, I toast you.”
With that, following the procedural details Sangu had instructed her on before the ceremony, she drank half of the wine in her cup and spilled the remaining half onto the ground, toasting Bai Zhen'er's lonely life.
Afterward, holding the spirit tablet, Bai Ci bowed three times toward the spirit tablets of the Bai family ancestors on the altar.
This served to inform the Bai family ancestors of this unique wedding, and formally enshrined Bai Zhen'er in the Bai family ancestral hall.
“The ceremony is complete.”
As Sangu's voice fell, the wind inside the ancestral hall gradually subsided, and the temperature slowly began to rise.
At the exact moment the wedding concluded, every Bai family woman present suddenly felt a wave of relief wash over her.
The sensation of being bound by invisible shackles vanished without a trace in an instant, replaced by an unprecedented feeling of lightness and comfort throughout their bodies.
They instinctively rolled up their sleeves and checked one another, their brief exchanges filled with irrepressible joy.
The red thread on their arms—which had accompanied them since childhood, symbolizing both a blessing and a shackle—had vanished completely. Not a single trace remained, as if it had never existed in the first place.
Everything was over... right?
“Bai Ci, I just saw your message. Is the shackle really completely broken? Congratulations!” An Shu's cheerful voice came from the receiver.
For the past two days, An Shu had been constantly worrying about Bai Ci. Even though the Bureau still had plenty of follow-up and cleanup work to handle, she frequently took the time to check her phone, waiting for Bai Ci's message.
From the moment Bai Ci told her about the upcoming wedding, her heart had been in her throat, worrying that the ritual might go wrong or that Bai Ci would pay an irreversible price for it.
Now that she knew the dust had settled, the heavy weight in her chest finally lifted.
“Yes, it's broken,” Bai Ci replied.
An Shu let out a long breath on the other end of the line. “Now I can finally put my mind at ease. By the way, are you still in Baijiacun? When are you coming back?”
“I'm not in the village anymore. My mom and I are at the airport right now.”
“The airport?” An Shu froze, her voice full of surprise. “Where are you... going?”
Bai Ci leaned back in her seat in the airport waiting lounge, glancing at Mother Bai beside her.
Clutching two plane tickets in her hand, Mother Bai was staring out the window at the planes taking off and landing. Her eyes were filled with ease and anticipation, the anxiety and dread of the past days completely swept away.
Pulling back her gaze, Bai Ci explained softly, “With the curse weighing on us before, my mom lived in constant fear every single day. She barely got a night of peaceful sleep.”
“Now that everything is completely over, I thought I'd take her on a trip to travel around and relax.”
Hearing this, An Shu fell silent for a couple of seconds before she couldn't help but chuckle. “I didn't expect you to have this side to your personality.”
“I thought the first thing you'd do after the ceremony was come over for a re-examination,” An Shu admitted candidly, then followed up with an invitation.
“But it's perfectly normal that you want to travel and clear your mind. Once your trip is over and you're back, you must come to the Bureau of Investigation to do another test.”
“Alright,” Bai Ci agreed readily.
Hearing her steady tone, An Shu on the other end of the line was completely reassured. She chattered on, reminding Bai Ci to stay safe and to contact her anytime if anything came up.
Before they could chat much longer, the airport's boarding announcement rang out on time, a sweet, mechanical voice broadcasting the boarding information.
“I have to board now, so I'll hang up first. I'll contact you when I get back,” Bai Ci said softly.
“Okay, have a great trip. Relax and take your time.”
As the boarding announcement rang out again, Bai Ci took the hand of her eagerly expectant mother and slowly boarded the plane along with the flow of passengers.
“Mom always said she wanted to see the ocean. If there's a chance, I should take her on a trip.” It was because of this sentence in the notebook that Bai Ci had decided on this journey.
She wanted to fulfill this long-overdue wish before the instance drew to a close.
The plane soared into the sky, breaking through the clouds. The buildings and villages on the ground grew smaller and smaller, eventually turning into blurry silhouettes.
The flight was smooth all the way. A few hours later, the plane landed steadily at the airport of a coastal city.
Bai Ci and Mother Bai strolled along the sandy beach, met with a salty sea breeze blowing against their faces.
The blue sky was crystal clear, and the white clouds stretched lazily. In the distance, the sparkling sea merged with the horizon, vast and boundless.
Right at that moment, an extremely soft female voice whispered in Bai Ci's ear without warning.
“How nice.”
It carried the relief of the dust finally settling and the tenderness of a wish fulfilled.
This was Bai Zhen'er's voice.
The instant the voice faded, Bai Ci clearly felt the cool air that had lingered around her since the wedding suddenly disperse.
Now, everything was truly over.
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