Liao-Fan: Another example is of Ta-jo Ying, the imperial secretary who lived in Tai-chou. When he was young, he used to study in remote mountain areas. At night he often heard the sounds of ghost and spirits but he never feared them. One day he heard a ghost say happily to another ghost:
Ghost l : There's a village woman whose husband left home a long time ago and has not returned. Her in-laws think that their son is dead and are forcing her to remarry. Tomorrow night she is going to commit suicide here, and will replace me so that I can be reborn.
Narrator: The souls of those who commit suicide have to wait for another to die at the same place they did in order to leave the ghost realm and attain rebirth at a higher level.
Liao-Fan: Mr. Ying heard this and immediately set out to sell his parcel of land. He attained four lians of silver and made up a letter from the daughter-in-law's husband and sent it to her home along with the silver. The father-in-law noticed that the letter was not in his son's handwriting, but examined the silver and said.
Father-in-law: The letter may be a fake, but the silver's not. Besides, who would send us this much money? Perhaps our son is truly alive and well, and we should not force our daughter-in-law to remarry.
Liao-Fan: Therefore the daughter-in-law did not commit suicide and her husband returned home after all. Mr. Ying heard the ghosts converse again:
Ghost l: Humph! Originally I was able to leave this place for rebirth, but my chance got messed up by Mr. Ying!
Ghost 2: Why don't you inflict some harm on him?
Ghost l: No, I can't. His goodness and virtue has been recognized by the gods and he's going to receive a prominent position in the future. How can I harm him?
Liao-Fan: Mr. Ying heard this and became even more diligent in practicing kindness and accumulating merit. Whenever there was a famine, he would use his own money to buy food for the poor and needy and was always eager to help those in emergencies. When things did not go his way, he always reflected within himself rather than complain of the outside conditions. Even today, his descendants are still very prominent.
Liao-Fan: There was another person, Feng-chu Hsu, who lived in Changso, Chiangsu province, whose father was very wealth. Whenever there was a famine, his father would donate his own grain and all the rent on the rice fields to the poor. One night he heard ghosts singing outside his home:
Ghosts: No kidding! No kidding! A person of the Hsu family is going to pass the imperial exam!
Liao-Fan: This went on for several days and sure enough, that year his son Fengchu passed the imperial exam. From then on, he was even more diligent in doing good deeds and accumulating merit. He often fixed bridges and took care of travelers and monks. One day he heard the ghosts sing again:
Ghosts: No kidding! No kidding! A person in the Hsu family is going to pass an even higher level on the imperial exam!
Liao-Fan: And sure enough, Feng-chu passed the higher exam and became the governor of two provinces.
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