Kindness Goes Unpunished Walt Longmire 3 Craig

Johnson download

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-goes-unpunished-walt-
longmire-3-craig-johnson-8218246

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

Kindness Goes Unpunished Walt Longmire 03 Craig Johnson

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-goes-unpunished-walt-
longmire-03-craig-johnson-61612986

Kindness Goes Unpunished Craig Johnson

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-goes-unpunished-craig-
johnson-54928544

Kindness Goes Unpunished Craig Johnson

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-goes-unpunished-craig-
johnson-230335956

Kindness Courage And Integrity In Biblical Texts And In The Politics

Of Biblical Interpretation Festschrift Reimund Bieringer D
Kurekchomycz

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-courage-and-integrity-in-
biblical-texts-and-in-the-politics-of-biblical-interpretation-
festschrift-reimund-bieringer-d-kurekchomycz-50625762
Kindness And The Good Society Connections Of The Heart William S
Hamrick

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-and-the-good-society-
connections-of-the-heart-william-s-hamrick-2410788

Kindness In Leadership Paperback Gay Haskins Mike Thomas Lalit Johri

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-in-leadership-paperback-gay-
haskins-mike-thomas-lalit-johri-7311116

Kindness Clarity Insight Revised And Updated Dalai Lama Xiv

Bstandzinrgyamtshohopkins

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-clarity-insight-revised-and-
updated-dalai-lama-xiv-bstandzinrgyamtshohopkins-11841654

Kindness In Color Sammie Sam

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-in-color-sammie-sam-48720434

Kindness Will Save The World Stories Of Compassion And Connection

James Crews

https://ebookbell.com/product/kindness-will-save-the-world-stories-of-
compassion-and-connection-james-crews-51259196
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
XXVIII
 AN ENCOUNTER WITH A HOBGOBLIN
I got myself into trouble in the year Pyong-sin, and was locked up; a
military man by the name of Choi Won-so, who was captain of the guard,
was involved in it and locked up as well. We often met in prison and whiled
away the hours talking together. On a certain day the talk turned on goblins,
when Captain Choi said, “When I was young I met with a hobgoblin,
which, by the fraction of a hair, almost cost me my life. A strange case
indeed!”

I asked him to tell me of it, when he replied, “I had originally no home in

Seoul, but hearing of a vacant place in Belt Town, I made application and
got it. We went there, my father and the rest of the family occupying the
inner quarters, while I lived in the front room.

“One night, late, when I was half asleep, the door suddenly opened, and a
woman came in and stood just before the lamp. I saw her clearly, and knew
that she was from the home of a scholar friend, for I had seen her before
and had been greatly attracted by her beauty, but had never had a chance to
meet her. Now, seeing her enter the room thus, I greeted her gladly, but she
made no reply. I arose to take her by the hand, when she began walking
backwards, so that my hand never reached her. I rushed towards her, but she
hastened her backward pace, so that she eluded me. We reached the gate,
which she opened with a rear kick, and I followed on after, till she suddenly
disappeared. I searched on all sides, but not a trace was there of her. I
thought she had merely hidden herself, and never dreamed of anything else.

“On the next night she came again and stood before the lamp just as she had
done the night previous. I got up and again tried to take hold of her, but
again she began her peculiar pace backwards, till she passed out at the gate
and disappeared just as she had done the day before. I was once more
surprised and disappointed, but did not think of her being a hobgoblin.
“A few days later, at night, I had lain down, when suddenly there was a
sound of crackling paper overhead from above the ceiling. A forbidding,
creepy sound it seemed in the midnight. A moment later a curtain was let
down that divided the room into two parts. Again, later, a large fire of coals
descended right in front of me, while an immense heat filled the place.
Where I was seemed all on fire, with no way of escape possible. In terror
for my life, I knew not what to do. On the first cock-crow of morning the
noise ceased, the curtain went up, and the fire of coals was gone. The place
was as though swept with a broom, so clean from every trace of what had
happened.

“The following night I was again alone, but had not yet undressed or lain
down, when a great stout man suddenly opened the door and came in. He
had on his head a soldier’s felt hat, and on his body a blue tunic like one of
the underlings of the yamen. He took hold of me and tried to drag me out. I
was then young and vigorous, and had no intention of yielding to him, so
we entered on a tussle. The moon was bright and the night clear, but I,
unable to hold my own, was pulled out into the court. He lifted me up and
swung me round and round, then went up to the highest terrace and threw
me down, so that I was terribly stunned. He stood in front of me and kept
me a prisoner. There was a garden to the rear of the house, and a wall round
it. I looked, and within the wall were a dozen or so of people. They were all
dressed in military hats and coats, and they kept shouting out, ‘Don’t hurt
him, don’t hurt him.’

“The man that mishandled me, however, said in reply, ‘It’s none of your
business, none of your business’; but they still kept up the cry, ‘Don’t hurt
him, don’t hurt him’; and he, on the other hand, cried, ‘Never you mind;
none of your business.’ They shouted, ‘The man is a gentleman of the
military class; do not hurt him.’

“The fellow merely said in reply, ‘Even though he is, it’s none of your
business’; so he took me by the two hands and flung me up into the air, till I
went half-way and more to heaven. Then in my fall I went shooting past
Kyong-keui Province, past Choong-chong, and at last fell to the ground in
Chulla. In my flight through space I saw all the county towns of the three
provinces as clear as day. Again in Chulla he tossed me up once more.
Again I went shooting up into the sky and falling northward, till I found
myself at home, lying stupefied below the verandah terrace. Once more I
could hear the voices of the group in the garden shouting, ‘Don’t hurt him
—hurt him.’ But the man said, ‘None of your business—your business.’

“He took me up once more and flung me up again, and away I went
speeding off to Chulla, and back I came again, two or three times in all.

“Then one of the group in the garden came forward, took my tormentor by
the hand and led him away. They all met for a little to talk and laugh over
the matter, and then scattered and were gone, so that they were not seen
again.

“I lay motionless at the foot of the terrace till the following morning, when
my father found me and had me taken in hand and cared for, so that I came
to, and we all left the haunted house, never to go back.”

Note.—There are various reasons by which a place may be denominated a

“haunted house.” The fact that there are hobgoblins in it makes it haunted.
If a good or “superior man” enters such a place the goblins move away, and
no word of being haunted will be heard. Choi saw the goblin and was
greatly injured.

I understand that it is not only a question of men fearing the goblins, but
they also fear men. The fact that there are so few people that they fear is the
saddest case of all. Choi was afraid of the goblins, that is why they troubled
him.

Im Bang.
XXIX
 THE SNAKE’S REVENGE
There lived in ancient days an archer, whose home was near the Water Gate
of Seoul. He was a man of great strength and famous for his valour.

Water Gate has reference to a hole under the city wall, by which the waters
of the Grand Canal find their exit. In it are iron pickets to prevent people’s
entering or departing by that way.

On a certain afternoon when this military officer was taking a walk, a great
snake was seen making its way by means of the Water Gate. The snake’s
head had already passed between the bars, but its body, being larger, could
not get through, so there it was held fast. The soldier drew an arrow, and,
fitting it into the string, shot the snake in the head. Its head being fatally
injured, the creature died. The archer then drew it out, pounded it into a
pulp, and left it.

A little time later the man’s wife conceived and bore a son. From the first
the child was afraid of its father, and when it saw him it used to cry and
seem greatly frightened. As it grew it hated the sight of its father more and
more. The man became suspicious of this, and so, instead of loving his son,
he grew to dislike him.

On a certain day, when there were just the two of them in the room, the
officer lay down to have a midday siesta, covering his face with his sleeve,
but all the while keeping his eye on the boy to see what he would do. The
child glared at his father, and thinking him asleep, got a knife and made a
thrust at him. The man jumped, grabbed the knife, and then with a club
gave the boy a blow that left him dead on the spot. He pounded him into a
pulp, left him and went away. The mother, however, in tears, covered the
little form with a quilt and prepared for its burial. In a little the quilt began
to move, and she in alarm raised it to see what had happened, when lo!
beneath it the child was gone and there lay coiled a huge snake instead. The
mother jumped back in fear, left the room and did not again enter.
When evening came the husband returned and heard the dreadful story from
his wife. He went in and looked, and now all had metamorphosed into a
huge snake. On the head of it was the scar mark of the arrow that he had
shot. He said to the snake, “You and I were originally not enemies, I
therefore did wrong in shooting you as I did; but your intention to take
revenge through becoming my son was a horrible deed. Such a thing as this
is proof that my suspicions of you were right and just. You became my son
in order to kill me, your father; why, therefore, should I not in my turn kill
you? If you attempt it again, it will certainly end in my taking your life. You
have already had your revenge, and have once more transmigrated into your
original shape, let us drop the past and be friends from now on. What do
you say?”

He repeated this over and urged his proposals, while the snake with bowed
head seemed to listen intently. He then opened the door and said, “Now you
may go as you please.” The snake then departed, making straight for the
Water Gate, and passed out between the bars. It did not again appear.

Note.—Man is a spiritual being, and different from all other created things,
and though a snake has power of venom, it is still an insignificant thing
compared with a man. The snake died, and by means of the transmigration
of its soul took its revenge. Man dies, but I have never heard that he can
transmigrate as the snake did. Why is it that though a spiritual being he is
unable to do what beasts do? I have seen many innocent men killed, but not
one of them has ever returned to take his revenge on the lawless one who
did it, and so I wonder more than ever over these stories of the snake. The
Superior Man’s knowing nothing of the law that governs these things is a
regret to me.

Im Bang.
XXX
 THE BRAVE MAGISTRATE
In olden times in one of the counties of North Ham-kyong Province, there
was an evil-smelling goblin that caused great destruction to life. Successive
magistrates appeared, but in ten days or so after arrival, in each case they
died in great agony, so that no man wished to have the billet or anything to
do with the place. A hundred or more were asked to take the post, but they
all refused. At last one brave soldier, who was without any influence
socially or politically, accepted. He was a courageous man, strong and
fearless. He thought, “Even though there is a devil there, all men will not
die, surely. I shall make a trial of him.” So he said his farewell, and entered
on his office. He found himself alone in the yamen, as all others had taken
flight. He constantly carried a long knife at his belt, and went thus armed,
for he noticed from the first day a fishy, stinking odour, that grew gradually
more and more marked.

After five or six days he took note, too, that what looked like a mist would
frequently make its entry by the outer gate, and from this mist came this
stinking smell. Daily it grew more and more annoying, so that he could not
stand it longer. In ten days or so, when the time arrived for him to die, the
yamen-runners and servants, who had returned, again ran away. The
magistrate kept a jar of whisky by his side, from which he drank frequently
to fortify his soul. On this day he grew very drunk, and thus waited. At last
he saw something coming through the main gateway that seemed wrapped
in fog, three or four embraces in waist size, and fifteen feet or so high.
There was no head to it, nor were body or arms visible. Only on the top
were two dreadful eyes rolling wildly. The magistrate jumped up at once,
rushed toward it, gave a great shout and struck it with his sword. When he
gave it the blow there was the sound of thunder, and the whole thing
dissipated. Also the foul smell that accompanied it disappeared at once.

The magistrate then, in a fit of intoxication, fell prone. The retainers, all
thinking him dead, gathered in the courtyard to prepare for his burial. They
saw him fallen to the earth, but they remarked that the bodies of others who
had died from this evil had all been left on the verandah, but his was in the
lower court. They raised him up in order to prepare him for burial, when
suddenly he came to life, looked at them in anger, and asked what they
meant. Fear and amazement possessed them. From that time on there was
no more smell.

Im Bang.
XXXI
 THE TEMPLE TO THE GOD OF WAR
[Yi Hang-bok.—When he was a child a blind fortune-teller came and cast
his future, saying, “This boy will be very great indeed.”

At seven years of age his father gave him for subject to write a verse on
“The Harp and the Sword,” and he wrote—

“The Sword pertains to the Hand of the Warrior

And the Harp to the Music of the Ancients.”

At eight he took the subject of the “Willow before the Door,” and wrote—

“The east wind brushes the brow of the cliff

And the willow on the edge nods fresh and green.”

On seeing a picture of a great banquet among the fierce Turks of Central

Asia, he wrote thus—

“The hunt is off in the wild dark hills,

And the moon is cold and gray,
While the tramping feet of a thousand horse
Ring on the frosty way.
In the tents of the Turk the music thrills
And the wine-cups chink for joy,
‘Mid the noise of the dancer’s savage tread
And the lilt of the wild hautboy.”

At twelve years of age he was proud, we are told, and haughty. He dressed
well, and was envied by the poorer lads of the place, and once he took off
his coat and gave it to a boy who looked with envy on him. He gave his
shoes as well, and came back barefoot. His mother, wishing to know his
mind in the matter, pretended to reprimand him, but he replied, saying,
“Mother, when others wanted it so, how could I refuse giving?” His mother
pondered these things in her heart.

When he was fifteen he was strong and well-built, and liked vigorous
exercise, so that he was a noted wrestler and skilful at shuttlecock. His
mother, however, frowned upon these things, saying that they were not
dignified, so that he gave them up and confined his attention to literary
studies, graduating at twenty-five years of age.

In 1592, during the Japanese War, when the King escaped to Eui-ju, Yi
Hang-bok went with him in his flight, and there he met the Chinese (Ming)
representative, who said in surprise to his Majesty, “Do you mean to tell me
that you have men in Cho-sen like Yi Hang-bok?” Yang Ho, the general of
the rescuing forces, also continually referred to him for advice and counsel.
He lived to see the troubles in the reign of the wicked Kwang-hai, and at
last went into exile to Puk-chong. When he crossed the Iron Pass near
Wonsan, he wrote—

“From the giddy height of the Iron Peak,

I call on the passing cloud,
To take up a lonely exile’s tears
In the folds of its feathery shroud,
And drop them as rain on the Palace Gates,
On the King, and his shameless crowd.”]

The Story

During the Japanese War in the reign of Son-jo, the Mings sent a great army
that came east, drove out the enemy and restored peace. At that time the
general of the Mings informed his Korean Majesty that the victory was due
to the help of Kwan, the God of War. “This being the case,” said he, “you
ought not to continue without temples in which to express your gratitude to
him.” So they built him houses of worship and offered him sacrifice. The
Temples built were one to the south and one to the east of the city. In
examining sites for these they could not agree on the one to the south. Some
wanted it nearer the wall and some farther away. At that time an official,
called Yi Hang-bok, was in charge of the conference. On a certain day when
Yi was at home a military officer called and wished to see him. Ordering
him in he found him a great strapping fellow, splendidly built. His request
was that Yi should send out all his retainers till he talked to him privately.
They were sent out, and then the stranger gave his message. After he had
finished, he said good-bye and left.

Yi had at that time an old friend stopping with him. The friend went out
with the servants when they were asked to leave, and now he came back
again. When he came in he noticed that the face of the master had a very
peculiar expression, and he asked him the reason of it. Yi made no reply at
first, but later told his friend that a very extraordinary thing had happened.
The military man who had come and called was none other than a
messenger of the God of War. His coming, too, was on account of their not
yet having decided in regard to the site for the Temple. “He came,” said Yi,
“to show me where it ought to be. He urged that it was not a matter for time
only, but for the eternities to come. If we do not get it right the God of War
will find no peace. I told him in reply that I would do my best. Was this not
strange?”

The friend who heard this was greatly exercised, but Yi warned him not to
repeat it to any one. Yi used all his efforts, and at last the building was
placed on the approved site, where it now stands.

Im Bang.
XXXII
 A VISIT FROM THE SHADES
[Choi Yu-won.—(The story of meeting his mother’s ghost is reported to be
of this man.)

Choi Yu-won matriculated in 1579 and graduated in 1602, becoming Chief

Justice and having conferred on him the rank of prince. When he was a boy
his great-aunt once gave him cloth for a suit of clothes, but he refused to
accept of it, and from this his aunt prophesied that he would yet become a
famous man. He studied in the home of the great teacher Yul-gok, and Yul-
gok also foretold that the day would come when he would be an honour to
Korea.

Yu-won once met Chang Han-kang and inquired of him concerning Pyon-
wha Keui-jil (a law by which the weak became strong, the wicked good,
and the stupid wise). He also asked that if one be truly transformed will the
soul change as well as the body, or the body only? Chang replied, “Both are
changed, for how could the body change without the soul?” Yu-won asked
Yul-gok concerning this also, and Yul-gok replied that Chang’s words were
true.

In 1607 Choi Yu-won memorialized the King, calling attention to a letter

received from Japan in answer to a communication sent by his Majesty,
which had on its address the name of the Prime Minister, written a space
lower than good form required. The Korean envoy had not protested, as
duty would require of him, and yet the King had advanced him in rank. The
various officials commended him for his courage.

In 1612, while he was Chief Justice, King Kwang-hai tried to degrade the
Queen Dowager, who was not his own mother, he being born of a
concubine, but Yu-won besought him with tears not to do so illegal and
unnatural a thing. Still the King overrode all opposition, and did according
to his unfilial will. In it all Choi Yu-won was proven a good man and a just.
He used to say to his companions, even as a youth, “Death is dreadful, but
still, better death for righteousness’ sake and honour than life in disgrace.”
Another saying of his runs, “All one’s study is for the development of
character; if it ends not in that it is in vain.”

Korea’s ancient belief was that the blood of a faithful son served as an elixir
of life to the dying, so that when his mother was at the point of death Yu-
won with a knife cut flesh from his thigh till the blood flowed, and with this
he prepared his magic dose.]

The Story

There was a minister in olden days who once, when he was Palace
Secretary, was getting ready for office in the morning. He had on his
ceremonial dress. It was rather early, and as he leaned on his arm-rest for a
moment, sleep overcame him. He dreamt, and in the dream he thought he
was mounted and on his journey. He was crossing the bridge at the entrance
to East Palace Street, when suddenly he saw his mother coming towards
him on foot. He at once dismounted, bowed, and said, “Why do you come
thus, mother, not in a chair, but on foot?”

She replied, “I have already left the world, and things are not where I am as
they are where you are, and so I walk.”

The secretary asked, “Where are you going, please?”

She replied, “We have a servant living at Yong-san, and they are having a
witches’ prayer service there just now, so I am going to partake of the
sacrifice.”

“But,” said the secretary, “we have sacrificial days, many of them, at our
own home, those of the four seasons, also on the first and fifteenth of each
month. Why do you go to a servant’s house and not to mine?”
The mother replied, “Your sacrifices are of no interest to me, I like the
prayers of the witches. If there is no medium we spirits find no satisfaction.
I am in a hurry,” said she, “and cannot wait longer,” so she spoke her
farewell and was gone.

The secretary awoke with a start, but felt that he had actually seen what had
come to pass.

He then called a servant and told him to go at once to So-and-So’s house in

Yong-san, and tell a certain servant to come that night without fail. “Go
quickly,” said the secretary, “so that you can be back before I enter the
Palace.” Then he sat down to meditate over it.

In a little the servant had gone and come again. It was not yet broad
daylight, and because it was cold the servant did not enter straight, but went
first into the kitchen to warm his hands before the fire. There was a fellow-
servant there who asked him, “Have you had something to drink?”

He replied, “They are having a big witch business on at Yong-san, and

while the mutang (witch) was performing, she said that the spirit that
possessed her was the mother of the master here. On my appearance she
called out my name and said, ‘This is a servant from our house.’ Then she
called me and gave me a big glass of spirit. She added further, ‘On my way
here I met my son going into the Palace.’”

The secretary, overhearing this talk from the room where he was waiting,
broke down and began to cry. He called in the servant and made fuller
inquiry, and more than ever he felt assured that his mother’s spirit had really
gone that morning to share in the koot (witches’ sacrificial ceremony). He
then called the mutang, and in behalf of the spirit of his mother made her a
great offering. Ever afterwards he sacrificed to her four times a year at each
returning season.

Im Bang.
XXXIII
 THE FEARLESS CAPTAIN
There was formerly a soldier, Yee Man-ji of Yong-nam, a strong and
muscular fellow, and brave as a lion. He had green eyes and a terrible
countenance. Frequently he said, “Fear! What is fear?” On a certain day
when he was in his house a sudden storm of rain came on, when there were
flashes of lightning and heavy claps of thunder. At one of them a great ball
of fire came tumbling into his home and went rolling over the verandah,
through the rooms, into the kitchen and out into the yard, and again into the
servants’ quarters. Several times it went and came bouncing about. Its
blazing light and the accompanying noise made it a thing of terror.

Yee sat in the outer verandah, wholly undisturbed. He thought to himself, “I

have done no wrong, therefore why need I fear the lightning?” A moment
later a flash struck the large elm tree in front of the house and smashed it to
pieces. The rain then ceased and the thunder likewise.

Yee turned to see how it fared with his family, and found them all fallen
senseless. With the greatest of difficulty he had them restored to life. During
that year they all fell ill and died, and Yee came to Seoul and became a
Captain of the Right Guard. Shortly after he went to North Ham-kyong
Province. There he took a second wife and settled down. All his
predecessors had died of goblin influences, and the fact that calamity had
overtaken them while in the official quarters had caused them to use one of
the village houses instead.

Yee, however, determined to live down all fear and go back to the old
quarters, which he extensively repaired.

One night his wife was in the inner room while he was alone in the public
office with a light burning before him. In the second watch or thereabout, a
strange-looking object came out of the inner quarters. It looked like the
stump of a tree wrapped in black sackcloth. There was no outline or definite
shape to it, and it came jumping along and sat itself immediately before Yee
Man-ji. Also two other objects came following in its wake, shaped just like
the first one. The three then sat in a row before Yee, coming little by little
closer and closer to him. Yee moved away till he had backed up against the
wall and could go no farther. Then he said, “Who are you, anyhow; what
kind of devil, pray, that you dare to push towards me so in my office? If you
have any complaint or matter to set right, say so, and I’ll see to it.”

The middle devil said in reply, “I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry.”

Yee answered, “Hungry, are you? Very well, now just move back and I’ll
have food prepared for you in abundance.” He then repeated a magic
formula that he had learned, and snapped his fingers. The three devils
seemed to be afraid of this. Then Man-ji suddenly closed his fist and struck
a blow at the first devil. It dodged, however, most deftly and he missed, but
hit the floor a sounding blow that cut his hand.

Then they all shouted, “We’ll go, we’ll go, since you treat guests thus.” At
once they bundled out of the room and disappeared.

On the following day he had oxen killed and a sacrifice offered to these
devils, and they returned no more.

Note.—Men have been killed by goblins. This is not so much due to the fact
that goblins are wicked as to the fact that men are afraid of them. Many
died in North Ham-kyong, but those again who were brave, and clove them
with a knife, or struck them down, lived. If they had been afraid, they too
would have died.

Im Bang.
XXXIV
 THE KING OF YOM-NA (HELL)
[Pak Chom was one of the Royal Censors, and died in the Japanese War of
1592.]

The Story

In Yon-nan County, Whang-hai Province, there was a certain literary

graduate whose name I have forgotten. He fell ill one day and remained in
his room, leaning helplessly against his arm-rest. Suddenly several spirit
soldiers appeared to him, saying, “The Governor of the lower hell has
ordered your arrest,” so they bound him with a chain about his neck, and
led him away. They journeyed for many hundreds of miles, and at last
reached a place that had a very high wall. The spirits then took him within
the walls and went on for a long distance.

There was within this enclosure a great structure whose height reached to
heaven. They arrived at the gate, and the spirits who had him in hand led
him in, and when they entered the inner courtyard they laid him down on
his face.

Glancing up he saw what looked like a king seated on a throne; grouped

about him on each side were attendant officers. There were also scores of
secretaries and soldiers going and coming on pressing errands. The King’s
appearance was most terrible, and his commands such as to fill one with
awe. The graduate felt the perspiration break out on his back, and he dared
not look up. In a little a secretary came forward, stood in front of the raised
dais to transmit commands, and the King asked, “Where do you come
from? What is your name? How old are you? What do you do for a living?
Tell me the truth now, and no dissembling.”

The scholar, frightened to death, replied, “My clan name is So-and-so, and
my given name is So-and-so. I am so old, and I have lived for several
generations at Yon-nan, Whang-hai Province. I am stupid and ill-equipped
by nature, so have not done anything special. I have heard all my life that if
you say your beads with love and pity in your heart you will escape hell,
and so have given my time to calling on the Buddha, and dispensing alms.”

The secretary, hearing this, went at once and reported it to the King. After
some time he came back with a message, saying, “Come up closer to the
steps, for you are not the person intended. It happens that you bear the same
name and you have thus been wrongly arrested. You may go now.”

The scholar joined his hands and made a deep bow. Again the secretary
transmitted a message from the King, saying, “My house, when on earth,
was in such a place in such and such a ward of Seoul. When you go back I
want to send a message by you. My coming here is long, and the outer coat
I wear is worn to shreds. Ask my people to send me a new outer coat. If you
do so I shall be greatly obliged, so see that you do not forget.”

The scholar said, “Your Majesty’s message given me thus direct I shall pass
on without fail, but the ways of the two worlds, the dark world and the
light, are so different that when I give the message the hearers will say I am
talking nonsense. True, I’ll give it just as you have commanded, but what
about it if they refuse to listen? I ought to have some evidence as proof to
help me out.”

The King made answer, “Your words are true, very true. This will help you:
When I was on earth,” said he, “one of my head buttons1 that I wore had a
broken edge, and I hid it in the third volume of the Book of History. I alone
know of it, no one else in the world. If you give this as a proof they will
listen.”
The scholar replied, “That will be satisfactory, but again, how shall I do in
case they make the new coat?”

The reply was, “Prepare a sacrifice, offer the coat by fire, and it will reach
me.”

He then bade good-bye, and the King sent with him two soldier guards. He
asked the soldiers, as they came out, who the one seated on the throne was.
“He is the King of Hades,” said they; “his surname is Pak and his given
name is Oo.”

They arrived at the bank of a river, and the two soldiers pushed him into the
water. He awoke with a start, and found that he had been dead for three
days.

When he recovered from his sickness he came up to Seoul, searched out the
house indicated, and made careful inquiry as to the name, finding that it was
no other than Pak Oo. Pak Oo had two sons, who at that time had graduated
and were holding office. The graduate wanted to see the sons of this King
of Hades, but the gatekeeper would not let him in. Therefore he stood
before the red gate waiting helplessly till the sun went down. Then came out
from the inner quarters of the house an old servant, to whom he earnestly
made petition that he might see the master. On being thus requested, the
servant returned and reported it to the master, who, a little later, ordered him
in. On entering, he saw two gentlemen who seemed to be chiefs. They had
him sit down, and then questioned him as to who he was and what he had to
say.

He replied, “I am a student living in Yon-nan County, Whang-hai Province.

On such and such a day I died and went into the other world, where your
honorable father gave me such and such a commission.”

The two listened for a little and then, without waiting to hear all that he had
to say, grew very angry and began to scold him, saying, “How dare such a
scarecrow as you come into our house and say such things as these? This is
stuff and nonsense that you talk. Pitch him out,” they shouted to the
servants.
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com