Taizong was in a daze as his soul went straight to the Tower of Five Phoenixes, in front of which he saw the horsemen of the Imperial Guard who invited him out hunting with them. Taizong was glad to go and they went off into the distance; but after they had been going for some time he found himself walking alone in a wasteland: the horsemen had all disappeared. Just as he was discovering to his alarm that he could not find his way a man appeared not far away, shouting.
“Great Tang Emperor, come here, come here.” On hearing this Taizong looked up and saw him:
A black silk turban,
A rhinoceros-horn belt.
The black silk turban has tabs blowing in the breeze;
The rhinoceros-horn belt has golden mountings.
In his hands an ivory tablet, glowing auspiciously;
His thin silk gown conceals his divine light.
He wears a pair of boots with whitened soles
As he climbs the clouds and grasps the mist,
Holding to his chest the Registers of Life and Death,
Noting down the quick and the dead.
His tangled hair blows about his ears;
His whiskers dance and fly beside his cheeks.
Once he used to be a Tang minister
But now he judges cases for the King of Hell.
When Taizong went up to him, he fell on his knees beside the path and said, “Your Majesty, please forgive your subject for his crime of failing to come far enough to meet you.”
“Who are you?” asked the Emperor, “and why have you come to meet me?”
“A fortnight ago your humble servant heard the Dragon King of the River Jing bringing a case against Your Majesty in the Senluo Palace because he was executed despite your promise to save him,” replied the other.
“The King of Qinguang of the First Palace sent devil messengers with an urgent summons to Your Majesty to be present when the case is heard between the Three Orders: the Human Order, the Underworld Order and the Water Order. When I heard this I came here to meet Your Majesty. I arrived late, so I beg for forgiveness.”
“What is your name and position?” asked Taizong.
“When your humble servant was alive I used to serve His Late Majesty. I was magistrate of Cizhou, and later made vice-president of the Ministry of Rites. My name is Cui Jue. I have now been given office in the underworld as the judge in charge of cases at Fengdu.” Taizong, greatly delighted to learn this, went up to him and supported him with his imperial hands as he said, “Sir, you have made a long and exhausting journey. Wei Zheng, our minister, gave us a letter for you; how lucky that we have met.” The judge thanked him and asked where the letter was. Taizong produced it from his sleeve and handed it over to Cui Jue, who received it with a bow. When he opened it he saw that it read as follows:
Your Excellency, Metropolitan Judge, and Venerable Elder Brother Cui,
Remembering our former friendship; I still see and hear you as if you were alive; but many years have now flown by since I last received your pure instruction. On feast days I set out some vegetarian dishes as a sacrifice to you, but I have been unable to divine whether they are enjoyed by you. As I have the good fortune not to have been abandoned by you and you have appeared to me in dreams, I now know that my great elder brother has risen high. But, alas, there is a great gap between the worlds of darkness and of light, and we are unable to meet each other as we are each at different ends of the universe.
As the Cultured Emperor Taizong has recently passed away of a sudden illness it seems likely that his case will be discussed by the Three Orders, so that he is bound to meet you, elder brother. I beseech you to remember the friendship of the days when you were alive and give His Majesty such assistance as will enable him to return to the sunlight. This would be a great favour, and I shall write again to thank you. I cannot go into all the details of the case here.
Your younger brother kowtows to you.
With affection,
Wei Zheng.
The judge was very pleased when he had read the letter. “I know about how the official Wei of the personnel department beheaded the dragon in a dream the other day,” he said, “and this news filled me with great admiration. He has always looked after my sons and grandsons, and now that I have a letter from him, Your Majesty need have no worries. Your humble servant can undertake to escort Your Majesty back to the light, where you will once more ascend the throne.” Taizong thanked him.
As they were talking a pair of servant boys in black appeared, carrying banners and a precious canopy. “An invitation from King Yama,” they shouted. Taizong and Judge Cui went along with them. A city wall appeared in front of them, and above its gates hung a large tablet on which was written DEVIL GATE OF THE WORLD OF DARKNESS in huge letters of gold. The two lictors waved their banners and led Taizong into the city and along its streets. Beside the road he saw his father and predecessor Li Yuan, as well as his dead brothers Jaincheng and Yuanji, who went up to him and said, “Shimin's here, Shimin's here,” using his personal name. They grabbed and hit him, demanding their lives back; and as Taizong could not avoid them they held him fast until Judge Cui ordered a blue-faced devil with terrible fangs to drive them away. Only then was Taizong able to escape from their clutches. After another mile or so he saw a green-tiled tower rising majestically before him.
A myriad coloured veils of haze drifting about it,
A thousand wisps of red mist dimly appearing.
The flying eaves had monsters at their ends,
The matching tiles of the five roofs were gleaming bright.
Rows of golden studs were driven into the doors,
A length of whitest jade was placed across each threshold.
When the windows faced the light they glowed like the dawn;
Red lightning flashed from the lattice and the blinds.
The tower soared into the azure sky
While porticos led to sumptuous courtyards.
Incense from braziers shaped like beasts perfumed the royal robes;
The light from lanterns of purple gauze was thrown on palace fans.
To the left a row of ferocious bull-headed demons;
To the right were terrible horse-faced devils.
Those who escorted the spirits of the dead had golden tablets;
Those who summoned souls wore white sackcloth.
This place was called the assembly of the underworld,
The Palace of Yama, King of Hell.
As Taizong gazed at it from the outside, jade ornaments could be heard tinkling as they swung from the belts of officials, and rare perfumes could be smelt. In front were two pairs of attendants holding lanterns, and behind them the ten generations of kings of the underworld came down the steps. The ten kings were the King of Qinguang, the King of Chujiang, King Songdi, King Wuguan, King Yama, King Impartial, King of Mount Tai, the Metropolitan King, the King of Biancheng, and the King of the Ever-turning Wheel. They came out of the Senluo Palace and bowed to Taizong in greeting. Taizong felt too humble to go forward.
“Your Majesty is a monarch in the world of light, but we are only kings in the world of darkness. It is therefore only right that we should do this, so why this excessive modesty?”
“We have offended against Your Majesties,” replied Taizong, “so how can we venture to talk in terms of light and darkness, or men and ghosts?” After much yielding Taizong went into the Senluo Palace, and when they had finished bowing to each other they sat down as hosts and guest.
A moment later the King of Qinguang clasped his hands together and said, “Why is it that the ghost dragon of the River Jing has brought a case against Your Majesty, saying that he was executed despite your promise to save him?”