The yaksha splashed cold water to rouse him. After drinking the reviving ginger broth, he regained his senses, yet appeared worn out and tormented. The yaksha told him to truthfully recount how he came to fall into this hell.
The condemned soul spoke: “In my mortal life, I ran a wholesale dried seafood business in an eastern city and earned great wealth. Yet I had very few genuine close friends; I was always a lonely person. I had countless fair‑weather drinking companions from trade, all superficial acquaintances who used one another. I had to force smiles every day, and life felt hollow. I long wanted to quit the seafood wholesale trade, but kept running it solely for profit as business thrived. I was passionately fond of angling from childhood. The main reason I fell into this hell was that I thought I had amassed ample wealth from a young age, so I decided to launch a business centred around my hobby, believing losses would not ruin me. I searched around the world for professional angling gear, along with high‑quality hiking and expedition equipment, and opened a shop specializing in fishing tackle alongside outdoor supplies.
“I started the shop prepared to accept failure, yet business boomed, boosting my confidence. I became friends with some like-minded angling enthusiasts and resolved to promote angling skills to expand my revenue.
“Following the promotions, my company prospered rapidly. Proud of my successful investments, I aggressively marketed my services to firms and private groups, organizing fishing cruises, birthday gatherings and custom packages. I also helped fellow enthusiasts open angling restaurants and tackle shops. Later, I wanted to concentrate on planning how to further expand my fishing enterprise.
“As my family wealth kept expanding, I moved my household into an upscale neighborhood for the affluent. The three of us relocated into a spacious mansion spanning several thousand square feet, attended by several domestic servants. Yet good fortune did not last long. Less than three months after moving in, my son grew timid and oversensitive. He lived in constant fear, claiming someone intended to attack him, though no one in the household harbored such intent. My wife suffered from lower back pain and depression, flying into rages daily and suspecting me of having an extramarital affair. Servants came and went in constant turnover.
“My wife and son consulted mental-health doctors, taking oral medication and receiving injections, yet their conditions worsened rather than improving. Afterwards, my son would hide in terror at any sudden noise around the house. Once bright and lively, he grew terrified of strong light and sought out dim corners. All the curtains had to be drawn shut to block direct sunlight streaming into the home. Strained marital relations meant constant scoldings at home, leaving me dejected. To escape my troubles, I began drinking and singing karaoke with friends every day. I started an extramarital affair with a young woman I met there, which resulted in two pregnancies. I persuaded her to undergo an abortion both times.
“I sank into a life of indulgence and debauchery, often staying away from home entirely, though I still thought of my son deep down. One day I blacked out from drunkenness and fever and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. Tests confirmed I had advanced liver cancer. After three months of agonizing suffering, I passed away in terrible pain, wuu… wuu… wuu… (sobbing bitterly). Before I could grasp what had happened, Ox‑Head and Horse‑Face dragged me dazedly to hell in iron chains.”
The Nether Sovereign Yama King slammed the table in towering rage and shouted: “Do you acknowledge your crimes? You were reborn in the mortal world endowed with abundant blessing rewards, yet you failed to make good use of them to further practice goodness and cultivate blessings. Instead, you squandered your blessing rewards recklessly by running businesses that involved killing living creatures. Worse still, you induced others to follow suit, corrupting people’s minds and severing their kind and compassionate hearts.
“Your gravest karmic offence in this lifetime is angling and taking animal lives. You shall first be imprisoned within the Solitary Souls Angling Fish in the Sword‑Sea Hell to undergo punishments for ten thousand years. You can only come before me for judgment on your other transgressions once every angling shop founded owing to your influence has shut down permanently.”
Terrified, the condemned soul dropped to his knees and cried out in desperation: “I only ran my tackle shop for eight years. Why am I sentenced to ten thousand years of torment in hell? Why must I wait for unrelated angling businesses to close? I hold no shares in those shops at all.”