The next morning, the noisy undead girls finally fell asleep. Older Brother Jayad and I were also going to escort El out of the city. After a bit of preparation, we set off to reach the rendezvous point outside the city before Lye and the others were scheduled to leave.
“I’m truly grateful for your kind care these past three days. I’ll remember it,” El said to us.
If it were before, she would never have stayed under the same roof as humans, let alone with Undead creatures like Vampires, Ghouls, and Ghosts. This was almost unthinkable for High Elves.
However, this time she was forced to live with us for three days. During this period, we had been taking care of her, especially when she had difficulty walking. Via and the others had been meticulously looking after her, including bathing her, bringing her tea and water, and even assisting with her personal needs.
During this time, they also talked a lot, understanding each other. El learned that Undead creatures also had families, joys, and sorrows. For example, Via’s experience of running away from home, Lorna’s grief over being killed by her father, and Sherris’s hatred for the brutal death of her entire family. Of course, they also shared happy moments.
After getting to know each other, El felt that her relationship with them had become much closer. She had abandoned her previous prejudices, believing that Undead creatures must be evil. She even felt a bit reluctant to leave.
“Let’s go. We’ll see each other when the time is right,” I said. El nodded. Elves, due to their long lifespan, are much more subdued in their emotions than humans. She could easily see through things.
We left the factory, which had already started operations, and headed for the city gate, where we were to meet Lorna. She was also here to see off the students.
However, on the way, I saw a surprisingly lively scene. Many people were decorating their houses, painting terrifying grimaces on their surfaces, hanging ghost dolls made of white cloth under the eaves, or piling snowmen into the shapes of monsters.
The most common decorations were pumpkins. Many people placed pumpkins in front of their houses, and some commoners were using carving knives to carve grimaces into the pumpkins and scoop out the flesh.
I even saw farmers pushing carts of pumpkins and selling them along the roadside. Business was good, and even impoverished commoners were willing to buy a pumpkin at this time.
“Is this some kind of human festival? It’s so strange, the paintings are so frightening,” El said uncomfortably.
“Ah, I seem to recall seeing people celebrate like this every year when winter set in. They’d make pumpkin lanterns and dress up as monsters. MacDuff strictly forbade us from stealing anything on that day, saying we might steal something unclean. What was it called again?”
Jayad was recalling his past. He had no calendar knowledge back then, and all his knowledge about festivals came from hearsay. Of course, he wouldn’t remember the specific dates, only the impressions of the events and customs.
“It’s Halloween,” I said, finishing his sentence. Older Brother Jayad suddenly realized, “Right, right, it’s Halloween! I remember now.”
So that’s it. What Lorna and the others mentioned yesterday, the festival specifically for ghosts, was Halloween. I should have realized sooner. This isn’t just a festival for ghosts.
“Halloween? Ah, I think I know. These days seem to be when the gates of hell are wide open, connecting to the Underworld, and the deceased return to the mortal realm. The Queen even told us not to go out and would set up a barrier. Why do you humans celebrate it as a festival?” El suddenly recalled.
As an Elf with a long history, she couldn’t possibly not know what would happen on this day, but they had different ways of observing it. Elves were proficient in magic and their numbers were small. They could use barriers to completely enclose their settlements and put all their kin under protection. Humans didn’t have this ability.
So I could only explain to her, “Halloween originated from the Celts in the Scottish region. Oh, in your Elvish, it should be called the Isle of Albion. The Celts would wear masks of evil spirits, pretending to be evil spirits themselves, thus deceiving the evil spirits returning from the Underworld and protecting themselves from harm.”
“Later, this method spread. Every year on this day, people would dress up as demons and monsters, carry pumpkin lanterns, and parade on the streets to protect themselves from being harmed by evil spirits.”
“However, strictly speaking, Halloween should be tomorrow. Tomorrow is when the Grand Churches collectively hold memorial ceremonies for saints, relying on the power of saints to suppress the demons and monsters emerging from the Underworld. Tonight, when ghosts appear, it should be called the Night of All Spirits.”
After my explanation, El finally understood what Halloween was. However, she still asked curiously, “Relying on disguising yourself as a ghost to avoid the harm of ghosts, is this method really feasible?”
“Uh, I’m not too sure about that. It should be feasible, after all, it’s a ritual that has been passed down for so many years. And with so many human cities, it’s impossible to protect them all. It’s probably the only recourse,” I said with some uncertainty.
What I said just now was my inference based on the customs of Halloween in my previous life. Since demons and monsters really existed in this world, it was probably true that ghosts would emerge during Halloween.
At least I could feel it now. The Yin energy in the surroundings had indeed become much denser, similar to the feeling when entering the Falbedy Cemetery. Despite the lively atmosphere around, it felt deathly silent.
Moreover, I surmised that depending on the region and time zone, the opening time of the gate to the Underworld would also vary. For example, in the East, people would guard against ghost appearances during the Ghost Festival and the Ullambana Festival, and the methods used were also quite different.
I didn’t know what would happen tonight. With these thoughts in mind, we walked to the city gate. From afar, we saw Leo Man in her white Priest Robe, almost blending in with the snow.
“You’re here. Is this the Elf that Parul said you rescued from the Painted World? Hello, may God bless you,” Leo Man said, looking at her and drawing a Cross from her forehead to her chest and then from left to right.
“Uh, hello. I’ve heard about you from them, Miss Leo Man.” El was not used to the Sign of the Cross, but she could tell that the other party was being polite to her, so she greeted her with Elven etiquette.
“Let’s go, let’s get out of the city. Huh?” Leo Man suddenly paused, her eyes looking at Jayad’s chest. “Did you really go buy a Cross?”
Although hidden by his coat, she could still see that Jayad was wearing a Silver Cross. Such astute perception!
“Yes, I went to buy it. You didn’t say we couldn’t buy one that day, did you?” I said. Although she had only refused and then hinted that we could buy one ourselves, I didn’t want to give her the impression that Older Brother Jayad was not devout.
“No problem, but I didn’t expect you to buy it so quickly. Remember to take off the Cross when you go out tonight. Absolutely do not wear it,” Leo Man said.
