冥報記 3.17

3.17

隨有康抱者。江南搢紳之士。少有學行。大業九年。楊玄武作亂。其兄受玄武官。抱緣兄坐。當死而潛避。自匿於京師。至十年。抱因入祕書省。尋覓舊識。是時煬帝不在。皇城諸門皆閉。唯開安上一門。出入皆由之。抱適入門。遇見一舊相識人姓曾。曾亦江南人。時判留守事。見抱與語。問其所安。抱知其相悉。亦以情告。既別而入。曾氏使人逐捕之。抱入祕書。逐者捕以告官。時王邵為祕書少監。先與抱故識。不欲罪之。乃迎謂捕者。我早識。康抱知其旨。應聲答曰。實南丁避役耳。邵驅出令去。捕者還報曾。曾又於安上門邀捕擒之。抱知不免。謂曾曰。我誠負官。死自我分。然無負於卿。卿與我故知。不能相濟。曷反如此。若死者有知。必當相報。抱尋伏法。後數日。曾宅在太平里。將入留守。由善和里於西門內。忽見抱乘馬。衣冠甚鮮。二青衣從後。謂曾。我命亦將盡。然尚可三年。由卿任我。我今任太山主簿。已請天曹報殺卿。曾叩頭謝罪。請為追福。抱許而忽不見。數日又遇抱。於此謂曾曰。我終殺卿。放卿七日修福。過此當先取卿頭將去。若不信者。卿死面當在背。曾懼還家。修如期而死。迴於背。果如所言（康親識人說云爾也）。

During the Sui dynasty there was a man named Kang Bao, a gentleman of the gentry from Jiangnan, who had scholarship and proper conduct in his youth. In the ninth year of the Daye era, Yang Xuanwu rebelled; Bao's elder brother accepted an official post from Xuanwu, and Bao was implicated because of his brother. Condemned to die, he went into hiding, concealing himself in the capital. By the tenth year, Bao went into the Palace Library to look for old acquaintances. At that time Emperor Yang was away, and all the gates of the Imperial City were shut, with only the Anshang Gate open, through which all traffic passed. Just as Bao entered the gate, he ran into an old acquaintance surnamed Zeng. Zeng was also a man of Jiangnan, and at the time was serving as an administrator under the regent. Seeing Bao, he spoke with him and asked where he was staying; Bao, knowing that they were well acquainted, told him the truth. After they parted and Bao went inside, Zeng dispatched men to pursue and arrest him. Bao had entered the Palace Library, and his pursuers arrested him and reported it to the authorities. At that time Wang Shao was the deputy director of the Palace Library; having previously been an acquaintance of Bao, he did not wish him to be condemned, so he came forward and said to the captors, 'I have known him for a long time.' Kang Bao understood his intention and promptly responded, 'I am in truth merely a southern laborer dodging corvée service.' Shao expelled him and ordered him to leave. The captors returned and reported to Zeng, who again lay in wait at the Anshang Gate, arresting and seizing him. Knowing that he could not escape, Bao said to Zeng, 'I have indeed failed the government, and death is my due lot; yet I have never wronged you. You and I are old acquaintances; if you could not help me, why must you do the reverse? If the dead possess awareness, I shall certainly take retribution on you.' Soon after, Bao was executed. Several days later, Zeng, whose residence was in the Taiping ward, was on his way to the regent's office; as he passed from the Shanhe ward inside the West Gate, he suddenly saw Bao riding a horse, his robes and cap very splendid, with two servant boys following behind. Bao said to Zeng, 'My life was also nearing its end, but I still had three years remaining; it was on your account that I was killed. I now serve as the registrar of Mount Tai, and have already petitioned the Heavenly Bureau to execute you in retribution.' Zeng kowtowed and begged forgiveness, asking to cultivate merit on his behalf; Bao consented, and suddenly vanished. Several days later, Zeng met Bao again at this spot, who said to him, 'I will kill you in the end; I grant you seven days to cultivate merit, after which I shall take your head and carry it away. If you do not believe me, when you die your face will be on your back.' Terrified, Zeng returned home and cultivated merit, dying when the appointed time arrived; his face had turned to his back, exactly as had been foretold (related by Kang's close acquaintances).