Volume 1 : Path through Purgatory

Chapter 1 :    I Am Zhang Gui 

A gloomy atmosphere prevailed over the landscape. There were no chirping birds in the sky. There were no clouds to obscure the Sun and yet not a ray of sunshine could be seen. The sky was tinged in an unusual grey hue, in fact, this was the case for everything else as well.  It was amidst this backdrop of white and black that a crowd could be seen traversing a bridge - one behind another, one next to another. There was no interaction between them, each one walking with their eyes fixed ahead.

A closer look at this crowd would reveal their expressionless faces. Faces reminiscent of someone lost in daydreaming. Such a uniform crowd of people with such uniform expressionless faces would give anyone a ghostly vibe. However, there was one figure in the crowd whose face could be called anything but expressionless -  An oddball. He was clearly scared out of his mind. His eyes dodged from one side to another and he kept on peeking at others hoping to find solace in a like minded compatriot but all he was greeted with were the poker faces on everyone around him.

*drip* 

*drip* 

The tears rolled down his cheek one by one but instead of falling to the ground, they just… disappeared, evaporating into thin air. Zhang Gui had never been this frightened before. He was standing in the middle of a seemingly endless congregation. The people around him would have provided a source of comfort had it not been for the fact that just like him,they too had translucent bodies and were floating slightly above the ground. Just like him, they too were “ghosts”.

He didn’t know when this started and he certainly did not know when this would end. In fact, he didn’t even know what ‘this’ was. He felt like he was living an unending nightmare. He was already on the bridge when he opened his eyes. With no clue as to how he ended up in this situation, his first instinct was to run away. But where could he run to. When you are lost in the middle of nowhere, no matter where you run, you remain in the middle of nowhere. It took many  false assurances of eventually returning home to calm his heart down. 

Alas, the calm was short lived, the more he observed his surroundings the more he realized how grave of a situation he was in. The grey world and the maniacal poker face people were already quite distressing but the floating translucent bodies lead to only one conclusion no matter how much he thought about it : “We are all ghosts? Does that mean we are all dead ?”, an unpleasant thought passed his mind.

Such a conclusion was unacceptable for Zhang Gui, all he wanted to do was go back home. He was a young man, what could possibly make him a ghost. How could he have possibly died? Perhaps he was hallucinating, maybe he had taken some of those new “drugs”, what if this was just a dream he was about to wake up from. Any theory that could send him back home received undue support from his mind regardless of its logical fallacies. Home - this word drew more and more weight in his heart, a feeling of intense longing and desire arose. 

He was truly homesick. This feeling overcame all others , even his fear. He looked around, hoping to find a way, he wanted to turn around and walk in the opposite direction of everyone but the figures behind would not stop for him. As his eyes went darting around trying to find a solution,it was then that he realized that the figure walking next to him was a different one. Normally a common part of walking in a crowd - no one would ever bat an eyelid if the person next to them changed but it was very unusual for this case. Where did this guy come from, if everyone was walking forward with the same pace and rhythm.His face looked like any other generic old man with a goatee but what made him special was his wide smile spanning cheek to cheek. The smile almost made it seem like he was enjoying himself . There was almost a mischievous aspect to that smile. Zhang Gui’s suspicions compounded after he observed the guy’s behaviour. Instead of looking straight ahead like the others, he seemed to be looking at the grey sky and the bridge, like a sightseeing tourist - eyes filled with an inquisitive spark and glee. It was clear to Zhang Gui that if there was anyone like him in this crowd, if there was anyone who he could talk to, it would be this fellow.

Despite his hesitation,he worked up the courage to ask for help. He extended his hand to tap the shoulder of the one next to him, only to have his hand pass through the other. Nevertheless, the old man ahead was alerted by the movement and turned around to face Zhang Gui or more accurately his “ghost”. The old man looked to be as interested in him as he was in the old man. They stared at each other for a long time and ideally someone should have spoken up at this point but it was only after trying to speak that they realized… Neither of them could speak a word. 

“ Are we really dead? What the hell is going on? Since when can’t ghosts speak?”, Zhang Gui tried to curse but just like before the words could not escape his throat. From afar he could be seen flailing his arms about ,stomping his feet in frustration and trying to scratch his neck in an absurd attempt to get his voice back. The old man looked amused by the display, as if he was watching a monkey dance. His face at that moment would have a spectator believe that he was laughing. His eyes were gleaming and clear ,a stark contrast when compared to the blank, listless looks on the other “ghosts”. .The lack of speech did not stop this old man from conveying his message using hand signs, his message seemingly being : “ Don’t worry, just keep walking.” For some reason that inspired confidence in Zhang Gui. He could not make out what was on the other side of the bridge but given the old man’s confidence and bravado it could not possibly be that bad …. Could it ? Their interaction had been brief but it was enough to stall the multitudes of “ghosts” behind them. Being stopped from advancing caused a uniquely quizzical expression to surface on the previously poker faces.

Just as he was about to commence his journey, a voice came from high up above , “Huh...Why have all of you stopped? Even the dead dare to misbehave these days. One cannot just stop on the Bridge of Karma.All souls must reach the end.Go!” .

All the questions he had were answered in one go, unleashing a storm in Zhang Gui’s mind but he was not given the opportunity to organise his thoughts. Seemingly commanded by the voice ,a mysterious force emerged from the bridge and propelled him and everyone else with him on the path forward. He wanted to stop and think about the words he had just heard but the force seemed to be infallible. In that moment of powerlessness all he could do was look up to the source of those words. Up in the air far above the ‘Bridge of Karma’ stood a man garbed in black robes. Unlike the souls, this man’s body was opaque. His long hair was waving to the tune of the westward winds. His arms were across his chest and the gaze of his cold dark eyes was directed towards the bridge. He seemed to be scanning the bridge looking for something and when his gaze stopped over the old man, it became evident that he was the object of the search. A triumphant smile hung on the black garbed man’s lips, his cold eyes finally had a spark of enthusiasm. Pointing his finger towards the old man, he shouted , “ Imposter!! Who gave you the guts to return? Have you got no shame?” . And with a flick of his finger , the black robed man pulled the old man out from the crowd into the sky. The old man looked unfazed by this sudden confrontation , his ever present smile looked unsettling in that situation. He gave no justification to the black robed man, in fact, he seemed to be taking advantage of the high vantage point offered by the sky to observe the bridge and its surroundings in even greater detail. This nonchalant attitude was clearly enraging the black robed man. He gave one last glance to the crowd below and flew away with the old man in his grasp. 

Down below on the bridge, things were not going good for Zhang Gui,he had met the black garbed man’s gaze for only a moment and yet that moment was enough to fill him with dread and chill. The chill took him back to the time when he had to spend a night alone in the cold up on a mountain he had gone to for skiing . That one memory unlocked the vault of memories in his mind. As his legs marched onwards, he started reliving his memories… 

His parents had named him “Gui” meaning honourable. They had hoped he would take after his name and live an honourable life. To his credit, he definitely tried to live an honourable life but it never really worked out in his favour.He thought of his parents, they were the greatest source of encouragement in his life and he had managed to disappoint them the greatest. He thought about his friends whom he had known since they were small children. Their little “gang” was the talk of the town back then. He thought of his cousins, uncles and aunts.He thought of his crush,of his coworkers and that one sweet young lady downstairs that used to make the most delicious cheese cakes. He thought about his wonderful childhood,his tumultuous teens and his abruptly-ending adulthood. One by one, memory by memory,thought by thought, his life passed by his eyes. It was not only once, he re-lived his life again and again. Unbeknownst to him, during these recollections of his, his face resembled that of the other souls accompanying him. His eyes were blank and listless, his face without expressions. Perhaps every soul was going through the same thing.

He had walked for an indefinite amount of time, without a sense of time it could have been years and it could very well have been seconds. But with every recollection his memory showed improvements, he could control more and more of what he saw and at one point when he finally realized how he had died , when he realized what had brought him to this place, he regained full control. He broke out of his stupor. Perhaps it was fate or maybe just a coincidence, but he had broken through just one step away from crossing the “Bridge of Karma”. A teardrop slid down his cheeks only to instantly disappear just like before but something was different, this one reeked of melancholy. Along with the melancholy, a clear sense of clarity permeated through his mind giving his overall aura a somber tone. It almost felt like his soul had taken a big leap qualitatively, kind of a spiritual breakthrough. It had allowed him to understand a lot of things. He had died and the weird floaty thing that he was right now was his soul, not some ghost. And from the get go, it looked like he had ended up in hell. For someone aspiring to be honourable to end up in hell truly was a play of fate, rued Zhang Gui. Somehow, he brought his wistful heart under control and pushed his legs forward. Finally, He had traversed the Bridge of Karma.

It was then that a baffling sight entered his eyes. Right after the end of the bridge was what looked like a tea stall. A kind looking old lady was pouring tea for everyone with her wooden ladle. Beside the tea stall was a pond.It was filled with a shiny mercurial liquid that was clearly not water. Various souls could be seen enjoying a bath in the pond,their faces reflected a blissful expression that was a rare one for departed souls. Overlooking over the pond and the tea stall was a majestic palace on top of a mountain. The Palace seemed to dispel all the gloomy energy around it. Its grandiose structure compelled any soul that looked at it to kneel before it.

Zhang Gui was in a similar situation. He had stared at the Palace a little too long and hence, his knees were on the ground but he couldn't care less about that. His entire focus was on what he had seen : A tea stall and a pond.He quickly recalled a story his mother used to tell him as a night bedtime story. More than a story it was a myth,the myth of Meng Po and the Pond of Reincarnation. In the story, his mother had told him,Meng Po was an old lady also known as the Lady of Forgetfulness who brewed and served the Five-Flavoured Tea of Forgetfulness to all the weary souls of the Underworld. Any being who consumed that tea would lose all the memories of the life they had lived previously. Their soul would be cleansed of the burdens of their previous lives and prepare them for reincarnation through the Pond of Reincarnation. The pond,his mother had told him, took those amnesic souls and facilitated their rebirth in accordance with their karma. A thorough cleanse and permanent amnesia completely erased the identity of the previous life of the soul. If he went through with this, Zhang Gui would cease to exist.

But it was not in his hands to decide the matter of his existence. The fragrance of the tea wafted towards him and dragged his body towards Old Lady Meng. She looked at him with the same kind smile she always had and handed him his tea cup. Then with her wooden ladle she poured over his share of the tea into his cup. The fragrance from this tea attracted some more souls.Zhang Gui looked tense, unlike the other souls who perhaps had no clue of their fate or maybe they were aware of everything and simply looked forward to their next life. Directly or indirectly, they had all accepted their fate. But Zhang Gui had not.

The allure of the fragrance forced his hands to bring the tea cup close to his mouth. Zhang Gui closed his eyes to think all that he held dear one last time. Moments away from his doom, a sudden gush of current went through him freeing him from the force pushing the tea towards him.The current travelled throughout his body from the sole of his legs to the palm of his hands to his chest and eventually his mind. The translucent body gained weight and substance as the current passed through it. Colour returned to his skin and for the first time his feet actually touched the ground. The current had turned that floating apparition back into a solid body. Almost instinctively,Zhang Gui clenched his hand breaking the cup and caused the tea to splatter on the ground. He felt a strength of unknown origin rising from within him,it made him feel invincible. He felt the locks that had sealed his mouth slowly shattering.Initially, only a grunt escaped his mouth,but soon after, a beastly cry echoed through the valley with a proclamation :

“I WANT TO LIVE!”

“I DON’T WANT TO BE ERASED!”

“I AM ZHANG GUI !!”