Chapter 269
Chapter 269
Today was the seventh day since Li Lanxi, owner of the ski resort, had died.
His family arranged everything according to custom, then returned tearfully to their rooms to rest.
For those unfamiliar with the custom, the seventh day after a person’s death in China is called the first seventh-day observance, also known as the Night of the Soul’s Return.
Legend says that the dead return home that night. Before the soul arrives, the family should prepare a meal for the deceased, then stay out of sight. The best solution is to sleep. Those unable to sleep should at least hide beneath their blankets. If the dead soul sees its family, lingering concern may hinder its next reincarnation as a human.
Some also believe the deceased returns at midnight on the seventh day. The family should burn a ladder-shaped offering at home so the soul can climb this “heavenly ladder” into the sky.
To explain a little further, similar accounts of the first seventh-day observance appear in both Buddhist and Daoist texts.
Daoism holds that a person possesses three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls. After death, one ethereal soul departs each year and one corporeal soul every seven days. The ethereal souls are exhausted after three years, while the corporeal souls are exhausted after seven observances. Hence the seven weekly mourning observances and the third-year anniversary.
Another account says that during the forty-nine days after death, King Yama questions the departed soul once every seven days. The seven observances are therefore also called the passing of seven ordeals.
Buddhism teaches that life turns through the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Between death in one existence and birth in another comes the stage of the intermediate-state body. Shaped like a child, it searches the underworld for the conditions of rebirth in periods of seven days. If it finds none after the first seven days, another period begins. By the end of the seventh period, it must be born somewhere.
The Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva records:
“If, during the seven times seven days after a person’s death, the living perform many wholesome deeds on the deceased’s behalf, those beings may forever leave the evil paths, be reborn among humans or devas, and enjoy wondrous bliss, while their living relatives gain immeasurable benefit.”
That was why wealthy families in ancient China held deliverance rites and memorial services every seventh day throughout the forty-nine days after a clansman’s death.
But this digression has gone far enough, honored readers. Let us return to the story.
At midnight, nether winds rose outside the Li family villa. The white paper lanterns hanging at the gate, symbols of deepest mourning, rattled loudly in the wind.
A deathly pale human shape flickered within the gusts, appearing and disappearing. A large character meaning “wronged” was written across its chest.
It was Li Lanxi’s aggrieved soul.
The underworld bailiffs escorting him home knew he had been a great philanthropist in life, so they treated him politely.
“You died an unjust death. Go inside and look upon your home. After drinking the farewell wine, return promptly to the Underworld Court with us. Do not delay the appointed hour. And remember, never act rashly or disturb the living!”
Li Lanxi trembled. He tried to step through the door, then stopped. After hesitating several times, he clenched his teeth, dropped to his knees before the two bailiffs, and kowtowed.
“My lords, I was wronged! I spent my life doing good, supporting widows and orphans, repairing bridges and roads. Why did I meet such an end? I was murdered, yet I do not even know how or why! If… if you two had not arrived in time when I died, even my soul might not have escaped. Heaven and Earth are unjust. I cannot accept it!”
One bailiff flew into a rage.
“Insolence! How dare a lowly ghost complain against Heaven and Earth? Are you not afraid of deepening your sins and falling forever into the Eighteen Hells?”
Though it sounded like a rebuke, it was actually a warning. The bailiff did not want a good man like Li Lanxi to be punished further for words spoken in grief.
But Li Lanxi was stubborn. He refused to enter his home and kept banging his head against the ground, shouting that Heaven and Earth were unjust and that he would not accept it.
As time passed, the resentment and vicious energy around his soul grew heavier. He was beginning to show signs of becoming an evil ghost.
Once an aggrieved soul transformed, only a person of profound cultivation could deliver it with great power. Otherwise, it would wander the world forever, harming others and itself, until its soul was ultimately destroyed.
The two kindhearted bailiffs could not bear to see a good man meet such an end.
“We understand what you want, but what you ask is beyond our power. We are underworld bailiffs. We cannot investigate mortal affairs or judge the cases of the living. Even if we wanted to clear your name, take revenge, and arrest the murderer, we could not do it!”
Li Lanxi’s aggrieved soul was nearly consumed by obsession. Ignoring their explanation, he continued to proclaim his innocence and kowtow.
Had he been an evil man, the bailiffs would have had no patience for this. They would have chained him, beaten him, and dragged him back to the Underworld Court.
But faced with a philanthropist murdered by evil arts, they were genuinely troubled.
After a moment, the shorter bailiff had an idea. He quietly addressed his burly companion.
“Brother, this is Huimu Mountain, and we have an acquaintance nearby. He may be rather simple and forthright, but he has always been warmhearted. Perhaps he can help this poor fellow clear his name.”
The other bailiff paused, then understood.
“Brother, you mean the Young General?”
“Hahaha! Exactly. We’ll take this aggrieved soul to him. We can even use official business for private benefit and cadge a meal of wine and meat!”