席方平，東安人。其父名廉，性戇拙。因與里中富室羊姓有郤，羊先死；數年，廉病垂危，謂人曰：「羊某今賄囑冥使搒我矣。」俄而身赤腫，號呼遂死，席慘怛不食，曰：「我父樸訥，今見陵於強鬼；我將赴地下，代伸冤氣耳。」自此不復言，時坐時立，狀類癡，蓋魂已離舍矣。
席方平，东安人。其父名廉，性戆拙。因与里中富室羊姓有郤，羊先死；数年，廉病垂危，谓人曰：「羊某今贿嘱冥使搒我矣。」俄而身赤肿，号呼遂死，席惨怛不食，曰：「我父朴讷，今见陵于强鬼；我将赴地下，代伸冤气耳。」自此不复言，时坐时立，状类痴，盖魂已离舍矣。
Xi Fangping was a man of Dong’an. His father, named Lian, was blunt and simple by nature. He had fallen out with a rich man of the village surnamed Yang, and Yang died first. Some years later, when Lian lay sick and close to death, he said to those around him, “Yang has bribed the messengers of the underworld to flog me.” Soon his body turned red and swollen, and he died screaming. Xi was so stricken with grief that he would not eat. “My father was simple and slow of speech,” he said, “and now a powerful ghost is bullying him. I will go down below and see that he gets justice.” From then on he spoke no more. Sometimes he sat, sometimes he stood, like a man gone simple: his soul had already left its house.
席覺初出門，莫知所往，但見路有行人，便問城邑。少選，入城。其父已收獄中。至獄門，遙見父臥簷下，似甚狼狽；舉目見子，潸然涕流。便謂：「獄吏悉受賕囑，日夜搒掠，脛股摧殘甚矣！」席怒，大罵獄吏：「父如有罪，自有王章，豈汝等死魅所能操耶！」遂出，抽筆為詞。值城隍早衙，喊冤以投。羊懼，內外賄通，始出質理。城隍以所告無據，頗不直席。席忿氣無所復伸，冥行百餘里，至郡，以官役私狀，告之郡司。遲之半月，始得質理。郡司扑席，仍批城隍覆案。席至邑，備受械梏，慘冤不能自舒。城隍恐其再訟，遣役押送歸家。役至門辭去。席不肯入，遁赴冥府，訴郡邑之酷貪。冥王立拘質對。二官密遣腹心，與席關說，許以千金。席不聽。過數日，逆旅主人告曰：「君負氣已甚，官府求和而執不從，今聞於王前各有函進，恐事殆矣。」席以道路之口，猶未深信。俄有皂衣人喚入。升堂，見冥王有怒色，不容置詞，命笞二十。席厲聲問：「小人何罪？」冥王漠若不聞。席受笞，喊曰：「受笞允當，誰教我無錢耶！」冥王益怒，命置火床。兩鬼捽席下，見東墀有鐵床，熾火其下，床面通赤。鬼脫席衣，掬置其上，反復揉捺之。痛極，骨肉焦黑，苦不得死。約一時許，鬼曰：「可矣。」遂扶起，促使下床著衣，猶幸跛而能行。復至堂上，冥王問：「敢再訟乎？」席曰：「大冤未伸，寸心不死，若言不訟，是欺王也。必訟！」又問：「訟何詞？」席曰：「身所受者，皆言之耳。」冥王又怒，命以鋸解其體。二鬼拉去，見立木，高八九尺許，有木板二，仰置其上，上下凝血模糊。方將就縛，忽堂上大呼「席某」，二鬼即復押回。冥王又問：「尚敢訟否？」答云：「必訟！」冥王命捉去速解。既下，鬼乃以二板夾席，縛木上。鋸方下，覺頂腦漸闢，痛不可禁，顧亦忍而不號。聞鬼曰：「壯哉此漢！」鋸隆隆然尋至胸下。又聞一鬼云：「此人大孝無辜，鋸令稍偏，勿損其心。」遂覺鋸鋒曲折而下，其痛倍苦。俄頃，半身闢矣。板解，兩身俱仆。鬼上堂大聲以報。堂上傳呼，令合身來見。二鬼即推令復合，曳使行。席覺鋸縫一道，痛欲復裂，半步而踣。一鬼於腰間出絲帶一條授之，曰：「贈此以報汝孝。」受而束之，一身頓健，殊無少苦。遂升堂而伏。冥王復問如前；席恐再罹酷毒，便答：「不訟矣。」冥王立命送還陽界。隸率出北門，指示歸途，反身遂去。
席觉初出门，莫知所往，但见路有行人，便问城邑。少选，入城。其父已收狱中。至狱门，遥见父卧檐下，似甚狼狈；举目见子，潸然涕流。便谓：「狱吏悉受赇嘱，日夜搒掠，胫股摧残甚矣！」席怒，大骂狱吏：「父如有罪，自有王章，岂汝等死魅所能操耶！」遂出，抽笔为词。值城隍早衙，喊冤以投。羊惧，内外贿通，始出质理。城隍以所告无据，颇不直席。席忿气无所复伸，冥行百余里，至郡，以官役私状，告之郡司。迟之半月，始得质理。郡司扑席，仍批城隍覆案。席至邑，备受械梏，惨冤不能自舒。城隍恐其再讼，遣役押送归家。役至门辞去。席不肯入，遁赴冥府，诉郡邑之酷贪。冥王立拘质对。二官密遣腹心，与席关说，许以千金。席不听。过数日，逆旅主人告曰：「君负气已甚，官府求和而执不从，今闻于王前各有函进，恐事殆矣。」席以道路之口，犹未深信。俄有皂衣人唤入。升堂，见冥王有怒色，不容置词，命笞二十。席厉声问：「小人何罪？」冥王漠若不闻。席受笞，喊曰：「受笞允当，谁教我无钱耶！」冥王益怒，命置火床。两鬼捽席下，见东墀有铁床，炽火其下，床面通赤。鬼脱席衣，掬置其上，反复揉捺之。痛极，骨肉焦黑，苦不得死。约一时许，鬼曰：「可矣。」遂扶起，促使下床着衣，犹幸跛而能行。复至堂上，冥王问：「敢再讼乎？」席曰：「大冤未伸，寸心不死，若言不讼，是欺王也。必讼！」又问：「讼何词？」席曰：「身所受者，皆言之耳。」冥王又怒，命以锯解其体。二鬼拉去，见立木，高八九尺许，有木板二，仰置其上，上下凝血模糊。方将就缚，忽堂上大呼「席某」，二鬼即复押回。冥王又问：「尚敢讼否？」答云：「必讼！」冥王命捉去速解。既下，鬼乃以二板夹席，缚木上。锯方下，觉顶脑渐辟，痛不可禁，顾亦忍而不号。闻鬼曰：「壮哉此汉！」锯隆隆然寻至胸下。又闻一鬼云：「此人大孝无辜，锯令稍偏，勿损其心。」遂觉锯锋曲折而下，其痛倍苦。俄顷，半身辟矣。板解，两身俱仆。鬼上堂大声以报。堂上传呼，令合身来见。二鬼即推令复合，曳使行。席觉锯缝一道，痛欲复裂，半步而踣。一鬼于腰间出丝带一条授之，曰：「赠此以报汝孝。」受而束之，一身顿健，殊无少苦。遂升堂而伏。冥王复问如前；席恐再罹酷毒，便答：「不讼矣。」冥王立命送还阳界。隶率出北门，指示归途，反身遂去。
When Xi first went out of the gate, he did not know which way to go. He simply asked anyone he saw on the road the way to the city. Shortly he entered the city. His father was already in prison. At the prison gate he saw him in the distance, lying under the eaves in a sorry state. Looking up and seeing his son, the old man burst into tears. “The jailers have all been bribed,” he said. “Day and night they flog me. My legs are shattered!” Xi was enraged and cursed the jailers loudly: “If my father has done wrong, there are the king’s laws for it. Is it for dead goblins like you to deal with?” Then he went out, took up a brush and wrote a complaint. It was the hour of the City God’s morning court, and he went in crying out his wrong and handed it up. Yang took fright and bribed everyone, inside the court and out, before he appeared to answer the charge. The City God ruled that the complaint had no grounds, and gave Xi no satisfaction. With nowhere left to vent his anger, Xi travelled more than a hundred li through the dark to the prefecture, and accused the officers and runners of corruption before the Prefect. He was kept waiting half a month before he got a hearing. The Prefect had Xi beaten, and sent the case back to the City God to be reviewed. Back in the county, Xi suffered every kind of shackle and torture; his wrongs were cruel, and he had no way to air them. The City God, afraid that he would sue again, sent runners to take him home under guard. At the gate the runners took their leave. Xi would not go in. He slipped away to the court of the underworld and accused the prefecture and the county of cruelty and greed. The King of the Underworld at once had both officials arrested to face him. The two officials secretly sent trusted men to talk Xi round, offering him a thousand taels. Xi would not listen. Some days later the landlord of his inn told him, “You’ve carried your pride too far. The officials asked to make peace and you stubbornly refused. Now I hear each of them has sent a letter up to the King. I’m afraid things look bad.” Xi took it for gossip on the road and did not quite believe it. Presently a man in black came to call him in. He went up into the hall and saw anger on the face of the King of the Underworld. Without letting him say a word, the King ordered twenty strokes. “What crime have I committed?” Xi demanded. The King acted as if he had not heard. As he was beaten Xi shouted, “I deserve the beating! Who told me to have no money?” The King grew angrier still, and ordered him put on the fire bed. Two ghosts seized Xi and dragged him down. By the eastern steps he saw an iron bed with a fierce fire beneath it; its surface glowed red all over. The ghosts stripped off Xi’s clothes, picked him up and laid him on it, and rolled and pressed him back and forth. The pain was beyond bearing; his flesh and bones were scorched black, yet to his torment he could not die. After about two hours a ghost said, “That will do.” They helped him up and hurried him off the bed to put on his clothes. Luckily, though he limped, he could still walk. Back in the hall, the King asked, “Will you dare to sue again?” “My great wrong is not yet righted,” said Xi, “and my heart is not dead. If I said I would not sue, I would be lying to Your Majesty. I will sue!” “And what will your complaint be?” “All that has been done to me — I will tell it all.” The King was angry again and ordered that he be sawn in two. The two ghosts dragged him off. He saw an upright post some eight or nine feet tall, with two boards laid face up against it, smeared top to bottom with clotted blood. Just as they were about to tie him, there came a great shout from the hall: “Xi!” The two ghosts marched him straight back. Again the King asked, “Do you still dare to sue?” “I will sue!” he answered. The King ordered them to take him away and saw him quickly. When he was down, the ghosts clamped Xi between the two boards and bound him to the post. As the saw came down, he felt his skull slowly splitting open. The pain was unbearable, but he endured it and did not cry out. He heard a ghost say, “A brave fellow, this one!” The saw rumbled on until it was below his chest. Then he heard another ghost say, “This man is a devoted son and has done no wrong. Turn the saw a little aside, so as not to harm his heart.” He felt the blade bend and twist on its way down, and the pain was twice as bad. In a moment half his body was split open. When the boards were undone, the two halves of him fell to the ground. The ghosts went up into the hall and loudly reported. From the hall came the order to put his body back together and bring him in. The two ghosts pushed the halves together and dragged him off to walk. Xi felt the seam where the saw had gone through, so painful it seemed about to split again, and after half a step he fell. One ghost took a silk sash from his own waist and handed it to him. “This is a gift, to reward your devotion to your father.” Xi took it and tied it on, and at once his whole body was strong, without the least pain left. He went up into the hall and lay prostrate. The King asked him the same question as before. Afraid of more cruel torture, Xi answered, “I will not sue.” The King at once ordered that he be sent back to the world of the living. The runners led him out of the north gate, pointed out the way home, then turned and left.
席念陰曹之暗昧尤甚於陽間，奈無路可達帝聽。世傳灌口二郎為帝勳戚，其神聰明正直，訴之當有靈異。竊喜兩隸已去，遂轉身南向。奔馳間，有二人追至，曰：「王疑汝不歸，今果然矣。」捽回復見冥王。竊意冥王益怒，禍必更慘；而王殊無厲容，謂席曰：「汝志誠孝。但汝父冤，我已為若雪之矣。今已往生富貴家，何用汝鳴呼為。今送汝歸，予以千金之產、期頤之壽，於願足乎？」乃註籍中，嵌以巨印，使親視之。席謝而下。鬼與俱出，至途，驅而罵曰：「奸猾賊！頻頻翻覆，使人奔波欲死！再犯，當捉入大磨中，細細研之！」席張目叱曰：「鬼子胡為者！我性耐刀鋸，不耐撻楚。請反見王，王如令我自歸，亦復何勞相送。」乃返奔。二鬼懼，溫語勸回。席故蹇緩，行數步，輒憩路側。鬼含怒不敢復言。約半日，至一村，一門半闢，鬼引與共坐；席便據門閾。二鬼乘其不備，推入門中。
席念阴曹之暗昧尤甚于阳间，奈无路可达帝听。世传灌口二郎为帝勋戚，其神聪明正直，诉之当有灵异。窃喜两隶已去，遂转身南向。奔驰间，有二人追至，曰：「王疑汝不归，今果然矣。」捽回复见冥王。窃意冥王益怒，祸必更惨；而王殊无厉容，谓席曰：「汝志诚孝。但汝父冤，我已为若雪之矣。今已往生富贵家，何用汝鸣呼为。今送汝归，予以千金之产、期颐之寿，于愿足乎？」乃注籍中，嵌以巨印，使亲视之。席谢而下。鬼与俱出，至途，驱而骂曰：「奸猾贼！频频翻覆，使人奔波欲死！再犯，当捉入大磨中，细细研之！」席张目叱曰：「鬼子胡为者！我性耐刀锯，不耐挞楚。请反见王，王如令我自归，亦复何劳相送。」乃返奔。二鬼惧，温语劝回。席故蹇缓，行数步，辄憩路侧。鬼含怒不敢复言。约半日，至一村，一门半辟，鬼引与共坐；席便据门阈。二鬼乘其不备，推入门中。
Xi thought that the underworld was even darker and more corrupt than the world of the living, but he had no way to bring the matter to the ears of the Lord on High. It was said in the world that Erlang of Guankou was a kinsman of the Lord on High, a wise and upright god; a complaint to him would surely bring a miracle. Glad that the two runners were gone, he turned and headed south. As he hurried along, two men came after him. “The King suspected you wouldn’t go home,” they said, “and so it is.” They seized him and brought him before the King of the Underworld again. Xi supposed the King would be angrier than ever and his punishment crueller still. But the King showed no harshness at all. “Your purpose shows true devotion,” he said to Xi. “But I have already cleared your father’s wrong for you. He has now been reborn into a rich and noble family. What need is there for you to cry out? Now I will send you home, and give you an estate worth a thousand taels and a life of a hundred years. Will that satisfy your wishes?” He wrote it into the register, stamped it with a great seal and had Xi see it with his own eyes. Xi thanked him and went down. The ghosts went out with him, and once they were on the road they drove him along, cursing him: “You sly crook! Turning back and forth, running us off our feet! Try it again and we’ll put you in the big millstone and grind you fine!” Xi glared at them and shouted, “What are you devils up to? I can bear knives and saws, but I won’t bear whipping. Let’s go back to the King. If the King tells me to go home alone, why trouble yourselves to see me off?” And he turned and ran back. The two ghosts were afraid, and coaxed him back with gentle words. Xi deliberately dawdled and limped; every few steps he rested by the roadside. The ghosts seethed but dared not say another word. After about half a day they came to a village where a door stood half open. The ghosts led him over to sit down with them, and Xi sat on the threshold. Catching him off guard, the two ghosts pushed him through the door.