Thunderous Justice Against Evil Forces

In Guangxi there was a magistrate named Li who was fabulously wealthy. He had seven concubines and a mountain of treasures and rare objects. Magistrate Li died at the young age of 27 from illness. He had an old servant who was always loyal and honest. The servant was very sad that his master had died so early, so he asked the concubines to invite monks to set up an altar and chant sutras, to commemorate the departed soul.

Suddenly a Taoist carrying an alms book came begging for donations. The old servant scolded him, "My master unfortunately died young, how could we have any thought of giving you alms!" The Taoist laughed and said, "Do you want your master brought back to life? I have mystical arts and can resurrect your master." Hearing this, the servant rushed to tell the concubines. Though doubtful, they came out to meet the Taoist, but he had already left. The servant and concubines all regretted offending this living immortal, which caused him to run away. They blamed each other.

A few days later, the servant was at the market when he ran into the Taoist again. Shocked and overjoyed, the servant grabbed the Taoist and begged his forgiveness while earnestly pleading with him to revive his master. The Taoist said, "It's not that I don't want to use my arts to resurrect your master. But by the rules of the underworld, to bring a soul back to life, another must take their place in death. I was afraid no one in your household would be willing to die in your master's place, so I left that day." The servant said, "Please come discuss this with us."

The servant brought the Taoist back and told the concubines what he said. At first the concubines were happy to see the Taoist return, but upon hearing someone had to die in their master's place, they were furious. They looked at each other speechless. Then the old servant boldly spoke up, "Mistresses, you are still young, it would be a pity for you to die. I am old with little left to my life, what do I have to worry about!" After speaking, the servant left the inner chamber and asked the Taoist, "If I, this old servant, take my master's place in death, would that work?" The Taoist said, "As long as you have no regrets or fear." The servant said, "I can do it."

The Taoist said, "Seeing your sincerity, I will grant your wish. You may now bid farewell to friends and family. My art will take three days to prepare and seven days to take effect."

So the servant hosted the Taoist in his home, paying respects morning and night, not daring to slight him. During the day he went door to door bidding farewell to friends and family, shedding tears. Some of his friends laughed at him for being foolish, some admired his loyalty, some pitied him, and some scoffed in disbelief.

On his way home he passed by a temple to Guan Yu, whom he had always worshipped. He entered and knelt in prayer, saying, "I willingly offer to replace my master in death. I beseech Lord Guan to help the Taoist's magic succeed, so my master may return to life." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw a barefoot monk standing at the incense altar, scolding him, "I see evil omen all over your face, great misfortune is upon you. I can save you, but you must keep it secret." He then gave the servant a paper package, saying, "Open this when you are in mortal danger." Having spoken, the monk disappeared.

The servant secretly opened the package when he got home. Inside were five long fingernails and a rope noose. He rewrapped it and kept it close.

Three days later, the Taoist had the servant’s bed moved opposite his master’s coffin. The doors were locked with only a hole in the wall for delivering food and water. The Taoist built an altar near the concubines' chambers to chant mantras. At first nothing unusual happened. After a few days the servant grew suspicious. Just as he thought to move, he heard rustling under the bed. Soon two black demons leaped out from the ground, with green eyes and sunken sockets, covered in short fur, about two feet tall, with heads the size of wagon wheels, eyes flashing as they stared at the servant. They circled the coffin, gnashing at the seams with their teeth.

The seams opened and the servant heard coughing and clearing of the throat, sounding just like his master. The two demons opened the front of the coffin and helped the master out. The master looked frail and ravaged by illness. The demons massaged his belly and the master slowly began to speak. But when the servant looked closely, though the form was his master's, the voice was the Taoist's!

The servant was furious, thinking "Lord Guan's words have come true!"

He quickly opened the package from his robe. The five fingernails flew out and turned into five golden dragons, each several yards long. They lifted the servant into the air and tied him to a ceiling beam with the rope. Dangling from above, the servant looked down to see the demons helping the "master" from the coffin to his bed, only to find it empty.

The "master" suddenly shrieked, "My magic has been disrupted!" The demons' expressions turned fierce as they ransacked the room but found nothing. Enraged, the "master" tore apart the servant's bedding and curtains. One demon looked up and joyfully saw the servant hidden above. Together with the "master" they leapt up to grab him, but before touching the beam there was a thunderclap.

The servant fell to the ground. The coffin closed shut and the demons vanished without a trace. Hearing the thunder, the concubines rushed in to see what happened. The servant recounted all he witnessed. They hurried to check on the Taoist and found him dead by the altar, struck by the thunder.

Sulfur letters were written on his corpse: "This demonic charlatan used magic to take another's form and coveted wealth and women, violating the Celestial Code. His sentence of death by decapitation has been carried out according to the law."