A man from Changqing County, Shandong, lived by selling cloth. While he was in Taian, Jiangsu, he heard there was a very good fortune teller, so he asked the man to forecast his future. The fortune teller told him:”You’re in trouble. Hurry home.”
Scared, the cloth dealer traveled north toward home with all his money. On the way, he met a man with short clothes who seemed to be a clerk from the government. They began to chat with each other. Whenever the cloth dealer bought food, he asked the clerk to eat with him. The clerk was very grateful and, when asked, told him:”I’m going to Changqing to arrest people.” The merchant pushed on by asking who he was going to arrest. The clerk showed him the warrant and to his alarm, the cloth dealer found his name on the top of the list.
He questioned the clerk: “Why do you want to arrest me?” The clerk told him: “I’m not a human being, but a clerk from the Fourth East Department of Hell. Apparently you’re going to die. That’s why I’ve been sent to arrest you.” With tears, the cloth merchant asked him to help. The ghost clerk said:”I cannot save you, but since there are many names on the list and it takes a long time to collect them all, you can go back and make after-death preparations. You will be the last man I will arrest on this trip as a way to show my gratitude.” Before long, they came to the bank of a river where the bridge had broken down. To wade through the river was not easy. The ghost said:”You’re going to die soon and when you die, you cannot take your money with you. You should use the money to build a bridge for the benefit of the people. It may cost you a great fortune, but it may bring you something good.”
The cloth dealer agreed. When he reached home, he told his wife to buy him a coffin, while he went to hire people to repair the bridge. A long time passed but the ghost had not come. The cloth dealer began to wonder. One day, the ghost clerk came, saying:”I’ve reported your action of repairing the bridge to the City God and asked him to pass the news on to Hell. He said your life will be extended because of what you did. Now the King of Hell has scratched your name off the list and I came to tell you this.” The cloth dealer was beside himself with joy and thanked the clerk profusely.
Later when he visited Heavenly Mountain, he remembered the help of the ghost clerk and burned paper money for the ghost clerk, murmuring his name. When he came out of the mountain, he saw the ghost clerk hurrying toward him, saying: “You nearly killed me. Fortunately the lord of the Fourth Fast Department did not hear you say my name just now as he was out on some job. Otherwise, I‘m finished.” He escorted the cloth dealer and said: “Don’t come again. If I ever go to the north, I will visit you.” So saying, he went on his own way.
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