Qiong Ying turned her head and saw a procession coming from the town, either for a wedding or a funeral, with music and fanfare. When they came closer, it turned out they were taking advantage of the morning light, as some of last night's ominous air had dissipated, and the townsfolk were bringing snacks for the Ghost King.
In front were a few charlatan Taoists, pretending to walk solemnly with ritualistic steps, scattering spirit money to open the way toward the graves. Behind them were some handymen carrying four or five children in baskets, likely seized from some poor households, along with offerings of pigs, cattle, sheep, wine, and dishes. They paraded among the grave mounds at the corpse-refining ground, walking around as if in a procession, all the way into the City God Temple. Then they carried out the corpses from the temple and buried them in designated graves as instructed by the Taoists.
