Chapter 143 A common ghost and two treasuries of good money
That night, Lijiazhuang was brightly lit.

Mr. Li’s name was Liang Jiang, and he had just passed away. He lived to be eighty-seven, which was considered a long life, and it was also considered a happy funeral.

Li Liangjiang had three sons and one daughter. His family tradition was very upright and he raised good children. Li Liangjiang did not die suddenly, but was ill and had recurring illnesses without any improvement. His children took care of him by taking care of him in bed, cleaning his body and feeding him, so he did not suffer much.

But the old man was clear-minded and knew that he did not have much time left, so he wrote a will early on. Therefore, the huge family property was passed down and everyone had a share according to the will. Those who had more real estate would get fewer copper coins, and those who had less land would get more silver. This avoided a lot of dirty tricks and prevented children from turning against each other and family discord.

Also, because the old man usually ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddhist scriptures, and was friendly to his neighbors, when those who couldn't make ends meet came to him for help, he would open the door to welcome them and give them some rice and flour. His good reputation spread far and wide, and when they heard that the old man had passed away, they all brought their women to help with his funeral.

When Li Liangjiang's children saw the crowds of people, their faces lit up. This was all the good karma accumulated from their previous generations, which must not be lost.

A banquet was held from Li's house to the entrance of the village, and the place was filled with guests and was very lively.

A beggar came to the door and kowtowed to the coffin tablet several times, tears streaming down his face: "Mr. Li was kind-hearted and had accumulated virtues throughout his life. It was a happy funeral, so I shouldn't have cried. But when I thought of that winter when my elder brother held my hand and said he would give me some clothes to wear during the winter, I couldn't help but burst into tears."

Li Liangjiang's youngest son was handsome, and he did not mind the beggar's dirtiness. He patted him on the back to calm him down, and personally offered him a cup of tea: "According to your age and seniority, I should call you uncle. My father must be happy to know you are here. The dead are gone, and the living remember them. Just don't be too sad, or you will lose your mind."

As he said this, he led the beggar to the table and sat down. No one at the table had any complaints. They were all people trying to make a living. No one was half a head taller than the other. Unless it was absolutely necessary, who would want to become a beggar and make a living by begging?

An old man was wandering among the banquets, but no one came to lead him, allowing him to move back and forth. Just then, a little boy came running over. The old man wanted to hide, but the boy walked straight past him.

Li Liangjiang looked at his body and suddenly realized that he was dead.

Danglanglang.

Suddenly, the sound of chains was heard, and two people appeared in the brightly lit room, one in white clothes, holding a white banner, and the other in black clothes, holding shackles.

"Mr. Li, your life is over. The judge has asked us, the God of Death, to lead you to the underworld." said the man in white.

"Oh my, so this is the Black and White Impermanence!"

Li Liangjiang could not help but be amazed and bowed quickly: "I didn't expect to trouble you two, I am extremely terrified." He was also uneasy in his heart. People said that the ghost messenger was vicious, Yama was scary, the underworld was gloomy and cold, and he didn't know what the result of this trip would be.

Bai Wuchang said with a smile: "Mr. Li, this is a good job, not too much trouble. Stop talking nonsense. It's bad for your ghost body to wander around in the world of the living. It's time to get on the road."

Hei Wuchang shook the shackles in his hand and said, "You should have been sent on your journey in shackles and chains, but Mr. Li has a good reputation and will spare you this suffering."

"Thank you two, the ghost messengers of impermanence." Li Liangjiang hurriedly expressed his gratitude.

Bai Wuchang waved the white banner in his hand: "The dead are on their way, the gates of hell are wide open!"

A pitch-black door with a carving of evil spirit heads and embedded bones appeared, with a crack slightly open.

"Please come in!" Bai Wuchang said with a half-smile.

Li Liangjiang took a last reluctant look at the younger son who was welcoming and seeing off guests at the banquet, the older son who was teasing other children, the second son who was drinking with others, and the little girl who was serving dishes, and then he stepped into the ghost gate.

The three ghosts entered the Ghost Gate, and behind the gate was a small path, winding and twisting.

"This is the road to the underworld, the gap between the yin and yang. If you walk to the end, you will reach the underworld. There are many lonely ghosts wandering here, and there are also evil spirits that devour the living souls. If it weren't for my two brothers' protection, I'm afraid I would not be safe along the way." Bai Wuchang said. Li Liangjiang hurriedly bowed: "Thank you for the escort, I am very grateful."

"Well, accepting the post of Wuchang, I naturally have to perform my duties," Bai Wuchang waved his hand, "but my brother and I rarely come out, you can't ask us to go back empty-handed, right?"

Hei Wuchang didn't say anything, and the chain was dragged on the ground, making a rustling sound.

Li Liangjiang was in a dilemma, because the clothes he wore were the ones he wore when he was buried, and he had no money. Besides, how could he give the silver from the world of the living to the ghosts in the underworld?

Seeing that Li Liangjiang was in trouble, Bai Wuchang reminded him: "Let the good people know that you are popular with people, kind and generous, and have brought blessings to thousands of families. You have done immeasurable good deeds and have accumulated two warehouses of incense and charity money. Now they are in the underworld waiting for you to take them!"

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is," Li Liangjiang was overjoyed, and he didn't ask about the use of the silver in detail. He wanted to get through this first. He had already seen the figure of a fierce ghost on the side of the road, but because of Wuchang beside him, he didn't dare to get close. "The messenger is right, I am willing to give the silver, I am willing to give it."

Bai Wuchang and Hei Wuchang looked at each other and said, "We don't want any of them. We can take the amount of the small Zhoutian silver from the incense donation vault, which is 108 ingots in total. My brother and I can each take two ingots."

"I'll follow the messenger's arrangements." Li Liangjiang thought about it. There were 216 ingots in total in the two warehouses. Even though four ingots were lost, there were still many left, so he didn't feel bad.

Bai Wuchang saw that Li Liangjiang agreed and nodded. A ghost flag and a ghost city appeared at the end of the road.

Three ghosts came to the top of the city wall, and there were ghosts holding spears guarding the left and right sides of the city gate.

"It turns out that Grandpa Wuchang is out on business. Please come in quickly." The ghost said with a smile.

The Black and White Impermanence smiled at him and walked in. Li Liangjiang was about to go with them, but the ghost officials on the left and right crossed their halberds and stopped him.

"Stop, enter the city and pay the entrance fee."

Seeing that the Black and White Impermanence behind the door turned a deaf ear to him, Li Liangjiang understood what was going on, so after some negotiation and giving away two ingots of silver, he was allowed to enter the city.

This actually opened the eyes of Gu Qingyuan who was following behind him.

"It seems that the underworld is completely rotten, with corruption and extortion, and they will not stop until all the money in Li Liangjiang's two warehouses is drained."

Sure enough, after entering the city, one had to wait for the judge to decide what was good and what was evil. The judge was busy with official duties, so he let Li Liangjiang stay first. He had to pay money to stay in the hotel, and he also had to pay errand fees to report the news. After finally waiting for the judge to be free, he had to pay him a reward for writing.

When he met the judge, he stopped pretending and asked for offerings directly. If he gave more, the written verdict would cover up his crime more and he would be reborn as a good person in the next life. If he gave nothing, there would be a few more strokes on the verdict and he would be reborn as a pig or a dog.

Li Liangjiang's two treasuries of charity silver had been spent before he even met the judge. The judge was not very satisfied and gave him a mediocre sentence. A mediocre sentence is neither good nor bad, and an average sentence is mediocre. Poor Li Liangjiang, who had done good deeds all his life, was destined to live a mediocre and empty life in the next life.

In a tall mansion, the Judge and the God of Death have a small gathering.

"Pan Lu, we have an agreement. I have taken on Li Liangjiang's mission and brought him to you. You have to give one of the two warehouses of philanthropy silver to my two brothers." It was Bai Wuchang who spoke again.

Judge Lu waved his hand and said, "It was agreed before, but that's not how it's done. My subordinates have to eat, and we have to bribe the higher-ups. If the higher-ups don't cover up for us, and this matter of disrupting the reincarnation cycle and withholding the charity's silver is exposed, the three of us will be in big trouble. At most, we will get half a warehouse, no more."

Bai Wuchang cursed inwardly, they were the ones doing the errands, but Judge Lu wanted to go to a warehouse and a half just by opening his mouth. Did he really think there was anything fishy about his so-called connections?
Just as I was about to continue arguing, a voice came:
"Since the distribution is unequal, I have a good idea."

(End of this chapter)