61: Open voting

Inside the rock crevice, the staff quickly took their positions, and at 9 o'clock, the program officially began.

The host, He Xing, stood in front of the camera, dressed in ethnic minority attire, holding a microphone, and said, "Hello, dear audience friends, and welcome back to our live broadcast. I am your host, He Xing. After more than half a month of experience, I believe everyone has gained some understanding of the corpse driving culture in Western Hunan. Today, we will reach the final chapter of this mystery-solving journey!"

"Today, we will follow four celebrity guests and the corpse driving, Master Tian. We will raise the 'corpse' here, then depart from this mysterious rock crevice, pass through a deep cave, cross dark currents by small boat, and finally safely escort the 'corpse'—which is, of course, our prop—back to the village."

"Today's journey is not only a test of physical strength and courage but also a challenge of teamwork and wisdom. Let us follow the camera together and enter this mysterious journey of corpse driving in Western Hunan!"

"Additionally, after today's program, we will open a special voting segment! Audience friends can vote for the performance of the four celebrity guests, and the guest with the most votes will directly qualify for the second season of our ‘the adventures’! So, everyone must pay full attention to their performance and cast your valuable vote for the guest you support!"

"Alright, let's enter the final stop of our cultural experience journey—the corpse driving ceremony!"

As He Xing spoke, he stepped aside and moved out of frame.

After the guests and Tian Gangwu greeted the camera, the corpse driving ceremony officially began.

Inside the rock crevice, the light was dim, and it was silent, with only the dripping sound of water falling into the stream.

Tian Gangwu stood at the very front, dressed in a Taoist robe, wearing a Taoist crown, and holding a horn.

Behind him, a villager stood to his right, holding a torch for illumination. Chen Fang and the other three stood to his left.

Tian Gangwu took a deep breath and loudly declared, "The corpse driving raises the corpse here."

After saying that, he blew the horn, and a low, deep horn sound echoed through the rock crevice. The horn is believed to ward off evil and avoid misfortune; blowing it before departure is meant to notify nearby travelers to make way and to deter evil spirits in the mountains.

Master Tian picked up a bowl of wine with both hands from beside him, stood up, turned from left to right, and slowly poured out the wine, "One bowl to heaven."

Chen Fang and the other three began scattering paper money into the air.

Amidst the flying yellow paper money, Master Tian poured out the second bowl, "Two bowls to earth."

Immediately followed by the third bowl, "Three bowls to the spirits."

Master Tian put down the wine bowl, "Let's go, back home."

With that, he struck the copper gong in his hand, producing a clang, and blew the horn again.

Under the flickering light of the flames, paper money danced, and the low sound of the horn echoed in the rock crevice.

"Between 1 AM and 3 AM, the weather is cold and the ground is frozen. The deceased are returning home; travelers, make way."

Another long, wailing sound from the horn.

The corpse driving team officially set off.

The four guests were grouped by height: Chen Fang with Xie Yunxuan, and Zhao Jin with Pan Pengpeng. Although the latter two had a height difference of five or six centimeters, their props were lighter, making them easy to carry.

In front of the camera, the guests and Tian Gangwu demonstrated the corpse driving.

The program team added explanatory subtitles to the live broadcast screen to explain each segment to newly arrived viewers. As a result, new viewers also generally understood the meaning and significance of the corpse driving.

"I once thought corpse driving was full of evil practices, but it turns out it's about the deceased returning home."

"How difficult it must have been to return home in those days."

"Souls returning to their homeland."

"Lost souls returning to their land and rooting deeply."

"From fear to reverence, it's truly good."

"I won't be afraid of corpse driving movies anymore; they're not malevolent ghosts, just people who want to go home."

"Not only are they not ghosts, but in last weekend's activity, it was said that many of them were martyrs."

"I didn't watch it before, there were only very short clips online. Please hurry and upload the recorded and edited version. o(╥﹏╥)o"

"Home is the place where you wanted to leave when you were young, but it's hard to return to when you grow up."

"You netizens didn't spare me either. I can only go home two or three days a year."

Tian Gangwu held the torch and walked at the very front. The four of them stepped in straw sandals, treading through small puddles, the cool stream water washing over their sandals and feet. Soon, everyone walked out of the rock crevice, and the bright light from outside shone upon them.

The group crossed a small river and walked up the overgrown mountain.

After crossing the hill, they boarded a bamboo raft and paddled through a cave.

Two hours later, the group returned to the village entrance.

After the four guests and Tian Gangwu greeted the camera, Tian Gangwu turned sideways and introduced, "Once the body is successfully brought back to the village, an interment ceremony usually takes place at midnight. This process is handled entirely by the corpse driving; family members and other living people are not allowed to interfere to avoid 'startling the corpse.' In reality, it's also to prevent scaring the family members, so we handle it before they view it. So, this is the entire process of our corpse driving. In reality, the journey would be much longer and more difficult. But the core spirit has been conveyed to everyone."

After the guests asked a few more questions on behalf of the audience, the corpse driving ceremony concluded.

He Xing walked to the camera again.

"Dear audience friends, thank you for your companionship and support all along. After 17 days of intensity and mystery, our corpse driving experience activity is finally coming to an end…"

He Xing summarized the experiences of the past seventeen days, then previewed, "But our journey is not over. Tonight, a bonfire party is about to be lit, and we will gather around, chat about our lives, and have a collision of cultures from inside and outside the mountains."

"We have specially arranged an exchange activity with the children of the village—a dialogue of innocence and dreams. The four guests will talk with the children about stories of resilience, vitality, hope, and dream chasing. We believe this will be a warm and touching exchange, and it will also provide spiritual solace for the weary workers."

"Finally, there's an unexpected activity, but the specific details, let's unveil them together on site!"

"Additionally, the voting segment has been opened. Please cast your valuable vote for the guest you wish to reunite with in the second season."

"Thank you for your companionship. Let us witness the perfect conclusion of this journey and more unknown excitement together at tonight's bonfire party. We'll see you there!"

"Are you sure it's a healing segment? Please don't be as tear-jerking as last time."

"The hearth room one? I cried that time, but I also felt quite healed, experiencing human kindness and briefly forgiving this world."

"Is the child in tonight's dialogue segment the little sister who helped in the kitchen last time? She looks so well-behaved. She even asked if the crayfish would not be able to find their mom and dad."

"So innocent, it made me, a black-hearted chef, cry. From now on, I'll only sell pre-made dishes to college students."

"It made me, a college student, cry too. From now on, I'll give bad reviews to all online purchases, takeout, and deliveries! Angry.JPG"

"Don't vote for Chen Fang!"

"? This program isn't a straw boat, don't post his fans' and anti-fans' trash here."

"I'm fed up, the bullet comments in every variety show are arguing. The fans of the two next door are also arguing. But here, Chen Fang can't see the bullet comments, and no one argues with his anti-fans, so the anti-fans can still punch the air, amazing."

"Alright, alright, I'm just rebellious. You don't want me to vote for Chen Fang, right? I'll vote anyway!"