Chapter Seven: The Unfilial Son Meets an Untimely End

After hearing the ghost Yang Zhijin briefly recount the story of the Netherworld Hounds, Wei Xiaoping’s curiosity about his own past and present lives grew even stronger. He kept wondering to himself: before he traversed worlds or reincarnated to arrive here, what kind of place had he lived in? What had his life experiences been like? The Netherworld Hounds had been human in their previous lives, yet after death, they became dogs—a transformation so drastic! I am human in this life; was my previous existence vastly different from who I am now?

As he pondered, Wei Xiaoping continued to listen to the ghost Luo Zhifu tell more about the Netherworld Hounds.

“The six Netherworld Hounds were actually three married couples. In their past lives, they were human and once traversed into a rural village in an Asian country on Earth. The three men were brothers, all born to the same parents. The three women had married into this family and became sisters-in-law. The brothers’ parents had been born in the 1920s in a certain country. At that time, their nation had been invaded by foreigners for decades, and only by the late 1950s did the people finally drive out the invaders. Because of these decades of foreign invasion and war, the country was left in ruins. After the nation was founded, poverty was widespread. In order to quickly restore national strength and improve people’s lives, the king called upon everyone to tighten their belts and work hard for production. Back then, the country had just been established, compounded by a long drought that devastated agriculture—so much so that many families barely had enough to eat, and it was not uncommon to see people dying of hunger by the roadside. It was during these years of drought that the three brothers were born. Their family was already struggling, and with three children born during such hard times, their hardship was unimaginable. Yet, no matter how difficult it was, the parents persevered with strength and determination rare among ordinary people, raising their three sons and sending them to school, even managing to find them good jobs through connections.”

Eager to learn why these three couples died and why the King of the Underworld punished them by turning them into dogs instead of human ghosts, Wei Xiaoping asked, “Brother Luo, can you tell me directly why, after their deaths, they were punished and turned into dogs by the King of the Underworld instead of becoming human spirits?”

Luo Zhifu laughed heartily, “General Wei, do you think I’m digressing? It seems you’re not used to listening to stories! If I don’t explain how their parents endured so much hardship to raise them, how could I highlight the depth of their children’s ingratitude? Don’t worry, I’m about to get to the part you’re most anxious to hear.”

He patted Wei Xiaoping on the shoulder and continued, “Later, these parents, fulfilling their responsibilities, even scraped together money to find wives for their three sons and helped raise their grandchildren. Not long after, the elderly couple grew old and infirm, unable to get around. They asked their sons to take turns caring for them. At this, the three sons refused, always coming up with excuses to shirk responsibility—claiming that since their parents had helped one more than the others, that child should take care of them, or saying that since their parents had helped them less, the responsibility shouldn’t fall on them. They even complained about their parents being old and sick, despised their frailty, and often beat and scolded them. Eventually, the brothers and their wives frequently quarreled over trivial matters, sometimes even coming to blows, causing such an uproar that their neighbors were thoroughly annoyed and avoided them whenever possible.

As men, the brothers should have set a good example for their wives and children, teaching them to be filial and to foster harmony among siblings and in-laws. Yet, not only did they refuse to feed their own parents, they abused them—brothers fought among themselves, and the wives, seeing their husbands mistreat their parents and siblings, followed suit. As the saying goes, ‘like husband, like wife’; in such a family environment, the daughters-in-law treated their in-laws and sisters-in-law no better. Sometimes, their treatment of the elderly was even worse than that of their husbands! The three couples not only failed in filial piety but also created chaos over the smallest issues, disturbing the peace of the entire neighborhood.”

“In the end, when the elderly couple saw their children refusing to care for them, showing no filial piety, and constantly quarreling and fighting, bringing shame and unrest to the community, they were overwhelmed by despair and a sense of failure as parents. One stormy night, filled with thunder and lightning, the two of them ended their lives together by drinking poison.”

Hearing this, Wei Xiaoping exclaimed in anger, “Those three children were so ungrateful as to treat their own parents like this—it’s utterly inexcusable! Parental love and filial piety are the natural order of things. It’s one thing to lack filial piety, but to add abuse on top of that is the height of disgrace!”

Luo Zhifu went on, “That wasn’t even the worst of it—there was more to come! After the couple’s suicide, their three sons, living in the city, didn’t even know their parents had died until the neighbors informed them. On learning of their parents’ death, the sons refused to buy coffins or provide a proper burial, using the excuse that their parents’ deaths were inauspicious, and even blamed the neighbors for bringing bad news. They claimed that the misfortune of their parents’ ‘bad deaths’ would bring disaster upon their own families. Sigh, such unfilial sons! There have been none like them in all of history—can you imagine anything more enraging?”

Wei Xiaoping sighed deeply, “I’ve heard of unfilial sons who merely disrespect or neglect their parents, but never behavior so extreme! These three truly deserved to be struck down by lightning. My heart aches for the elderly couple!”

Luo Zhifu added, “Exactly. That’s why their unfilial behavior was unprecedented. In the end, the elderly couple’s funeral was arranged by kindhearted villagers who raised money to buy coffins. On the day of the burial, not a single member of the sons’ families attended to offer incense or pay respects.”

Wei Xiaoping, his heart heavy with sorrow, said, “Such kind-hearted elders—how pitiful! If I had been born in their village, I would have paid my respects and given those three unfilial sons a good thrashing as a lesson.”

Luo Zhifu and Yang Zhijin praised him, “General Wei, you are truly compassionate and righteous! Surely you must have enjoyed the respect and love of all during your time among the living.”

Wei Xiaoping didn’t answer but pressed on, “And then? How did these three unfilial sons and their wives die and end up as dogs?”

Luo Zhifu replied, “Three years after the couple’s death, a magnitude six earthquake struck the city where their sons lived. The quake wasn’t severe, but it toppled a few dozen homes and injured several villagers. By some twist of fate, all three brothers’ houses collapsed, killing them and their wives under the rubble. Their children survived but were badly injured.”

He paused, pointing ahead. “We’re almost at the Human Transmigration Office—that stand-alone building up ahead is the place.”

Wei Xiaoping looked in the direction Luo Zhifu indicated. Not far away, a solitary building stood about two hundred meters ahead, a modest five or six stories tall. Though not high, it was built in the style of an ancient palace, majestic and imposing.

Around the Human Transmigration Office, Wei Xiaoping saw clusters of other buildings, each with horizontal plaques above their doors: “Ape Transmigration Office,” “Pig Transmigration Office,” “Canine Transmigration Office,” “Bovine Transmigration Office,” “Grass Transmigration Office,” “Tree Transmigration Office,” and so on. Now and then, pigs, dogs, cattle, or small trees could be seen drifting or walking in and out. Because this was the registration office for the transmigration of all living things, there were many kinds, and in some cases, several types shared a building for consultations. Only the Human Transmigration Office occupied its own building.

“Humans must truly be the noblest of creatures to merit their own grand building; the King of the Underworld certainly knows how to arrange things,” thought Wei Xiaoping.

Luo Zhifu continued, “General Wei, shall I finish the story of the Netherworld Hounds? By the time I’m done, we should be at the office.”

“Please do, Brother Luo. I’m eager to know how exactly the three sons and their wives were punished by the King of the Underworld—tell me every detail so I can vent my indignation!” Wei Xiaoping replied.