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05 The Dragon King Is Beheaded

Every night the Emperor heard bricks and tiles thrown beyond his bedchamber and the wailing of ghosts, and could not sleep. He summoned Xu Shiji, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong to consider what to do. Qin Qiong offered, "Set your heart at rest, Majesty. Let your servant and Jingde guard the palace gate tonight, and see what happens." The Emperor agreed. Strange to say, that night the two generals stood at the palace gate in armour, mace and whip in hand, and the Emperor slept undisturbed until dawn. They kept the watch two or three nights more, and each time the Emperor slept in peace. Loath to wear the two generals out, the Emperor had a painter take their likenesses and paste them on the great doors of the bedchamber. With the portraits of the two divine generals standing guard, the Emperor indeed heard the wailing of ghosts no more. Some days later the Emperor heard the rattle of bricks and tiles again, this time at the rear gate, and called his ministers to ask the reason. Xu Shiji proposed that Wei Zheng be posted at the rear gate, and the Emperor consented. That night Wei Zheng stood at the rear gate with a black silk headband, a brocade robe and wind-swept cape, black cloud-patterned boots, and the frost-edged sword that had slain the dragon, his eyes blazing — and no wandering ghost or wild spirit dared come near. So the Emperor was troubled no more, but his body grew weaker day by day. Knowing his end was near, he summoned Xu Shiji and entrusted him with his last affairs. Wei Zheng, standing by, said, "Your servant has a letter. When Your Majesty goes to the Underworld, give it to Cui Jue, the judge of Fengdu. He was a minister of the late Emperor and is a sworn brother to me; he will see that Your Majesty's spirit returns to the world of light." The Emperor committed these words to memory, hid the letter in his sleeve, closed his eyes, and died. The coffin of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang, was laid in state in the White Tiger Hall. The ladies of the three palaces and six courts, the empress and the concubines, the attendants and the heir apparent, and all the civil and military officers mourned in white. After his death the Emperor's spirit left his body and drifted out of the Five-Phoenix Tower. A troop of imperial guards came toward him and with one voice invited him to ride out hunting. The Emperor gladly agreed. He followed the troop closely — until suddenly horses and men vanished, and the Emperor stood alone in a desolate wilderness. In his alarm he heard a voice nearby: "Your Majesty, your servant Cui Jue is late to meet you — I beg your forgiveness!" The man wore a black gauze cap, a girdle of rhinoceros horn, and held an ivory tablet, and knelt by the roadside. The Emperor was overjoyed to hear it was Judge Cui Jue. He stepped forward to help him up and gave him the letter from his sleeve to read. Cui Jue read it and said, "A fortnight ago the ghost of the Jing River dragon accused Your Majesty before the Hall of Senluo of promising to save him and then having him killed instead, and King Qingguang ordered the three parties confronted. But set your heart at rest — your servant will see you back to the world of light." The Emperor thanked him again and again, deeply moved. Even as they spoke, two boys in blue arrived bearing banners and a jewelled canopy, saying the Yama Kings requested his presence. Together with Judge Cui they led the Emperor to a city whose gate bore, in great gold characters, the seven words: "Ghost Gate Pass of the Dark Underworld."

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