6 / Righteousness and Evil Are Ever Opposed as Ice and Charcoal; Slander and Praise Now Reveal Truth and Falsehood — An Interview with Yue Fei, the Great National Hero, Recounting Events of Bygone Years
Grateful for the empowerment of the Buddha! I departed riding a white lotus flower.
“Amitabha!” Ayù pressed her palms together in greeting to the Magistrate. “Magistrate, today I wish to ask you to take me to visit General Yue Fei. Many legends about the General circulate in the human realm. When I was young at school, my teacher praised General Yue Fei.”
The Magistrate said: “Yue Fei is a general of the netherworld now. Ayù, follow me. I shall take you to his General’s Mansion, and you can interview him yourself.”
We arrived! My heart thrilled with nervous excitement. Before us stood an ancient building resembling a temple. At its centre were the words: General Yue Fei’s Mansion. Four yakshas armed with weapons stood guard at the scarlet main gate. One yaksha saluted the Magistrate upon seeing him.
The Magistrate instructed the yaksha to announce our arrival to the general, and explained, “Shangguan Yuhua, a Buddhist lay cultivator from the mortal realm, is tasked by the netherworld to compile The Inexorable Nether Laws. The work aims to purify mortal customs and liberate suffering sentient beings trapped in transgressions. She needs to collect information via interviews in the netherworld. Shangguan Yuhua has come to pay her respects to the General and interview him. Kindly pass this message on.”
The yaksha immediately went ahead into the mansion to report. Another yaksha led us into the front hall and invited us to sit and take tea while we waited. A doorway in this hall led deeper within, and we took our seats to await audience.
This place bore no resemblance to hell; it felt like an official’s residence, with patrolling yaksha guards on duty. Presently the yaksha who met us at the gate returned. He said the General would hold a meeting shortly, yet had time to receive us beforehand. The yaksha then guided us into the inner hall.
The inner hall was far larger than the front hall. At its centre were four large characters that looked like running script: Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty. These calligraphic characters emanated an aura and magnetic field that upheld justice. Dynamic and stirring, they inspired a profound sense of righteousness that tugged at the heart! A writing desk sat in the middle of the great hall, where the General was seated. I pressed my palms together and bowed to General Yue Fei.
“Shangguan Yuhua, a commoner, pays her respects to the General!”