5 The Vice Magistrate’s Trial

During the Kaiyuan reign period (713-742), a vice magistrate of Lihue District died suddenly. He was called before a judge who was formerly the Magistrate of the Lihue District. “Your allotted life span is not over yet,” The Judge said. “You’re on trial because several goats have sued you. If you explain yourself properly, you will be sent back.” The goats cascaded down in a large boat, crashing to the ground with a thump. “Why did you kill these goats?” The Judge asked.

The Magistrate answered, “The crime was not mine, they were under the control of the Prefect.”

The Judge chided the goats and they were sent on their way. The Vice Magistrate was released, but as he left the hall, he was stopped by a beautiful woman. “I was a member of the Tan family,” She said. I’ve been detained here due to my beauty. If you take me back with you, I will give you money and be your concubine forever.”

The Vice Magistrate and the woman walked together through the halls of the underworld and came back to life. When he went to find the woman’s house, she told him, “My family has promised my body to another, but here is additional money to compensate you.” A slight gleam emanated from the package. As his hand clasped the package, the Vice Magistrate felt the world darken and whirl around him, and he awoke on the cold tile floor of the underworld yet again.

The Judge stared down at him from his high throne. “Vice Magistrate,” his voice boomed. “I am a prosecutor for the Trial School. You are on trial for the abuse of women in your past life. We brought you here the first time under false pretenses. Throughout your life, you’ve treated women as commodities to be used for your own benefit. We presented you with the option to take this woman’s money as a final trial, and you have failed.”

***

It was morning at the Trial School. Tittering and rustling echoed throughout the building as female spirits prepared for the day.

Chu-hua Tan left her room as the school’s hourly clock rang, indicating that morning had begun for the living. Her dark hair fell down to her waist, an otherworldly gleam emanating from her skin and eyes. She drifted over to the central room and looked among the many white sheets pinned to the wall to find her own name. Once she located her sheet, she flipped it over and perused its contents.

Name: Vice Magistrate of Lihue District 

Reason for Trial: Abuse of prostitutes, animals 

Initial Trial: Supposedly on trial for solely the abuse of animals. While this is true, this is the least egregious of his mistakes. If he fails to question the nature of this accusation, which is likely, you will enter and commence the trial. 

Trial Format: Present yourself as a lost spirit and go back with him to the world of the living. Promise him you will be his concubine. Once he finds you, present him with a package of money instead. If he takes this money, he will reappear in the underworld. 

As Chu-hua committed the sheet to memory, one of the new students, Mei, appeared at her side. Mei’s skin glowed slightly less than Chu-hua’s, an indication that she was still transitioning from the world of the living to the dead. “What assignment do you have today?” She asked.

“Political leader who abused prostitutes. Pretty typical for me. What’s yours?” Mei handed her the sheet.

Name: Dong Guan 

Reason for Trial: Slit his wife’s throat in the middle of the night. 

Initial Trial: Lingxi, a monk formerly close with Guan, takes Guan to the underworld because his luck has run out. If he fails to question the nature of this accusation, which is likely, you will enter and commence the trial. 

Trial Format: Guan will encounter a river of blood. Appear at the river and offer to ferry him across. Tell him he can cross safely if he has committed no immoral actions. If he attempts to cross the river, he will reappear in the underworld. 

“This is only my second assignment,” Mei said. “Last one was a murder too.”

“Madam always chooses cases that are applicable to the individual spirit’s past life,” Chu-hua said. “If you show me your past life, I’ll show you mine. It’s something of an initiation ritual here to show your history to the other girls.”

Mei held out her hand and Chu-hua grasped it with one of her own, placing the other on Mei’s temple. The world whirled around them as they entered Mei’s memory. There was a haziness to the image, a blurriness that made the experience surreal.

Mei’s former self lay sleeping in a white bed. A man entered the room from an adjacent door. He looked at Mei, seemingly pondering. With one quick movement, he removed the wedding band on his finger and picked up a knife on the vanity. Blood gushed across the white sheets as he swiped the weapon across Mei’s throat.

Chu-hua turned to Mei with sadness in her eyes and reached out her hand. Mei grasped it this time and the two entered a different memory, appearing within a rundown house. Several naked girls ran throughout the rooms, their laughter echoing off the walls. In a small room with no windows, Chu-hua’s past self sat weeping silently.

A tall woman with severe cheekbones and hair piled high into a knot rapped quickly on the door. “Chu-hua, customers are here. You can’t stay in there all day.”

The world whirled around ghosts Mei and Chu-hua as they exited the memory and reappeared in the Trial School. There was a new sense of understanding between the two as they looked at each other, a mutual feeling of deep-seated sadness, but also of anger, of the need for revenge.

“Let’s go to training,” Chu-hua said. She reached out her hand to Mei, this time just to hold it. Their arms swayed as they exited the front door into the fields outside.