Chapter 6: Gluttony Deceived by Ghosts

  Don't laugh at me, the deepest memory of that era was starving, as if I had been starving all year round. Even when there was a good harvest, it was only when the grain was stored in the warehouse that we could eat a full meal. At other times, we could only eat half full, and that was with half wild vegetables added. I said to the little boy, "Brother, help me out, take me to see, I don't want much, just one steamed bun will do."

  The kid said: "This, this is a bit difficult to handle, if you really want to go, you'll have to use someone else's name."

  I said: "Then I'll take someone's name and you think of a way."

  The child said: "You do this, I tell you, remember, your name is now Ma Xiao'er, from Wangjiazhuang village, 15 years old this year. Now go to the Land Temple, when you get there, take out the pass and use it on the way."

  I nodded and happily followed the child to the Land Temple. Now I understand that at that time, it wasn't me being foolish, but rather my soul was absent for a period of time, which is a period of confusion. In fact, the Republic of China still maintained the customs of the Qing Dynasty, that is, every village had a temple, and our village had a Land Temple, in the wilderness, there was only one small house, inside were the plaques of the Lord and Lady of the Land, whenever someone died in the village, they would send offerings to the Land Temple.

  But when I got there, I was stunned. On the site of the Land Temple, a quaint and elegant government office stood, with the original couplet at the door reading: "Don't laugh at me for being old and useless, make a wish and try; even if you're wealthy and good at business, don't burn incense and take a look."

  I looked at the land temple and said to the child: "Is there food here?"

  "The child said: 'No, it's far away, you go inside and write a letter.'"

  I said: "I don't dare go in, I'm a bit scared."

  "The kid said, 'Don't be afraid, the Landlord and Landlady are not at home today. After you arrive, just find someone inside to open a letter for you, I'll give this to you, and after you deliver the goods, nothing will happen.'"

  As he spoke, he handed me a yellowish thing, which I now think should be a gold ingot. At that time, I was poor and had never seen it before. After the child gave me the thing, he instructed me to remember his words, and then let me in.

  After I went inside, I indeed saw a person wearing green and blue clothes. That person was writing something there. After I arrived, I handed over the thing, that person asked me my name and so on. I replied one by one according to what the little boy taught me. That person didn't ask much either, took out a piece of paper and wrote Ma Xiao'er's name on it, and said to me: "It's not easy to go west, be prepared with enough supplies, once you take this road there is no turning back."

  I didn't know at the time that this was a summons to the underworld, nor did I understand why I had to follow that little kid. Step by step, I entered the underworld. Later on, I came to realize that after a person's soul leaves their body, they become muddled and confused, only knowing how to walk westward without looking back. Once in the underworld, some people realized they were dead on the Yellow Spring Road, while others understood at the Wandering Soul Platform. However, as soon as they drank Meng Po's soup at Naihe Bridge, they wouldn't remember anything. They would enter reincarnation in a daze, and that's how life is - a muddled death and a muddled birth.

  Holding the letter, we headed west and walked until nightfall. We arrived at a city where a ghost market was in full swing. People were coming and going, bustling about, wearing all sorts of clothes, with many dressed in opera costumes. The atmosphere was lively with people calling out to buy and sell. The little boy led me to a large yamen, where the entrance was bound by iron chains, with fierce-looking doormen standing guard on either side.

  I hadn't even figured out what was going on when that kid suddenly pushed me onto the door god's body, and now I've gotten into big trouble. Those door gods tied me up tightly and then pushed and shoved me to a place that looked like a public hall. A person wearing opera clothes came in, and those door gods showed him the warrant. After he took a few glances, he had someone put an iron chain around my neck and led me to the underworld.

  That road was really desolate, and I realized at this time that I had been deceived by that little kid. This wasn't eating meat at all! But it was too late now. I wailed loudly, and the person holding me with iron chains beat me mercilessly. At this moment, I thought of when we herded cows, and how they would whip them when they didn't move. Just as I felt lonely and helpless, someone behind us said: "Stop, stop hitting him!"

  I looked back and couldn't help but feel overjoyed, it wasn't someone else, it was actually Zhang Daoye. Zhang Daoye wore a Taoist robe, with a precious sword on his back, he looked just like an immortal. When Zhang Daoye arrived, he whispered to the yin messenger who was escorting me and kept putting things into the yin messenger's hands, the yin messenger nodded repeatedly, until finally, he removed the iron chain from my body and said: "You child, you don't even know that you've been killed by someone, hurry up and follow Daoye back."

  I stared blankly at Zhang Dao, asking him what was going on. Zhang Dao said: "No time now, let's talk when we get back."

  As he spoke, he pulled my hand and told me to close my eyes. After I closed my eyes, all I could hear was the sound of the wind whistling. When he called for me to open my eyes again, we were already standing in front of our home. Once inside, Zhang Daoye led me into the house, where I was shocked by what I saw: another version of myself was soaking in a large tub, only his head visible above the waterline, shouting at the top of his lungs. At that moment, Zhang Daoye walked over and said, "Ma Xiao'er, why haven't you come out yet? Your earthly life has already ended; all this is predetermined by fate. You were supposed to report to the underworld, but instead you've borrowed someone else's body to return to the world of the living. Don't you fear the laws of the underworld?"

  "I don't want to die, nor should I die. Since I've taken on this body, I will never leave easily."

  Zhang Daoye said: "I didn't expect you still don't repent now, I will take justice into my own hands."

  As he spoke, Zhang Daoye wrote a few words on his left hand with his right hand, then blew a mouthful of air and recited: "Messenger of the Five Thunderbolts, mighty and powerful, descending spirit, thundering heaven and earth, arrayed like clouds, quickly capture the demon, chase away the evil spirits, I obey the edict of the Great Emperor of the North Pole."

  Then, with his hand pressed on the lid of the jar where "I" was, he blew a mouthful of air at "me". Suddenly, someone flew out of the jar and fell to the ground. I looked at that person, it was none other than the child who had deceived me. The child got up from the ground and kept kowtowing to Zhang Daoye. Zhang Daoye said: "As a ghost, you should have re-entered the cycle of reincarnation, but you borrowed someone's soul and violated the laws of the underworld, which deserves severe punishment. However, Heaven has mercy, so I will send you to the City God Temple to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation."

  That little kid quickly kowtowed to thank him, I was watching from the side, at this time Zhang Daoye said: "It's bad, come here quickly."

  I rushed over as soon as I heard, wanting to ask what was going on, but unexpectedly, Zhang Daoye pushed me into the big vat. I opened my mouth to shout out, but a mouthful of water choked me, and only then did I realize that I was still in the vat. Hurriedly, I poked my head out of the water, and found that Zhang Daoye and the child had vanished without a trace. At this point, I discovered that inside the vat where I was, there were many medicinal herbs. As I climbed out of the vat, just as I was about to leave, my mother came in. I happily shouted "Mother!", but Mother said with delight: "You dare recognize me?"

  I said in confusion: "Mother, how could I not recognize you? What happened?"

  "My mother said: 'Don't you remember at all?'"

  I nodded, and my mother said: "Didn't you have a fever yesterday?"

  "I said: 'How was it after the fever yesterday?'"

  "Yes," my mother continued, "you were burning up so badly that you passed out directly. I was scared to death and didn't know what to do. Fortunately, your heart was still beating strongly, and your forehead was hot until evening when you slowly came to. But after waking up, your eyes turned red, and you started talking nonsense, saying you were Ma Xiao'er from Wangjiazhuang village. Later, I and your father found something wrong and went to invite Zhang Daoye. Zhang Daoye took a look and asked us to leave, telling us that your situation was very critical - not only had you been poisoned by a corpse, but also possessed by a ghost. We begged Zhang Daoye to save you, and he told us not to spread the word, saying he would think of a way to retrieve your soul. Then, Zhang Daoye brought glutinous rice from the Taoist temple, asking us to find a large jar, put the rice in it, and feed you some white powder. He then left for the temple to make arrangements."

  I said: "No wonder, this time I almost went into the underworld."

  My father came over and asked me what was going on, so I told him the whole story. My parents were both sweating bullets after hearing it, thanking heaven and earth for their good fortune. Just then, Zhang Daoye walked in, and my parents quickly had me kneel down to kowtow. After listening, I knelt down to kowtow to Zhang Daoye, who helped me up and said: "No need, no need. I'll give you a protective treasure, and from now on you won't run into these things again."

  He handed me a peach wood charm, on which were inscribed some characters that I couldn't recognize. Delighted, I put the thing away and my illness came and went quickly. Master Zhang was indeed extraordinary, and I soon recovered from my illness.