40. THE SOUL-COLLECTOR VISITS

　　Zhao passed the imperial examinations and earned the rank of Excellent Talent. A kind, honest man, he was careful not to hurt any living creature.

　　One day he went to visit some relatives. When the ferry he was on reached the middle of the river they were crossing, he noticed somebody standing in the boat. Strange, that looked like a servant of his who had died three years before!
　
　　"What are you doing?" Zhao asked him.
　
　　"I am working for the world of spirits. My job is to collect souls when their time has come," the dead servant replied. "Today I have three souls to collect."

　　"Whose?" Zhao asked.
　
　　"One of them lives over on that bank, the second is one of the relatives you're visiting, and the third, the third..."
　
　　"Who is the third soul?" Zhao asked, but his dead servant wouldn't answer. Zhao knew that the third soul whose time had come was himself.
　

　　His dead servant told him not to be afraid. "This evening I won't go to your place, so everything will be all right."
　
　　"How so?"
　
　　"On my way here, I was asked to let you go, because you have been so kind and you haven't killed anything."
　
　　When Zhao got to his relative's house, he heard the sounds of mourning and weeping. Somebody had died. He turned around and went home. That night, his servant did not come for him. Everything was all right.
　
　　Zhao lived a long and useful life. He was happy and prosperous because he never killed anything. If you cherish life, you can cherish your own life.

40. 勾魂鬼的拜访

　　赵通过了科举考试，得到了秀才的名衔。他是一个善良、正直的人，总是小心翼翼以免伤害到其他生物。

　　一天他去拜访亲戚。当他乘坐的渡船到了河中间的时候，他注意到有一个人站在船上。奇怪的是，那个人看起来像是他三年前死去的仆人。

　　“您在干什么？”赵问他。

　　“我为幽冥界服务。我的任务是当人们寿终时收走他们的灵魂。”他死去的仆人回答，“今天我会收走三个灵魂。”

　　“谁的灵魂?”赵问。

　　“一个住在岸上，第二个是你要拜访的亲戚，第三，第三……”

　　“第三个是谁？”赵问，但是他死去的仆人没有回答，赵明白了。第三个大限将至的人就是他自己。

　　他死去的仆人叫他别怕。“今晚我不会去你那里，一切都会好的。”

　　“为什么？”

　　“在我来的路上，有人要求我放过你。因为你很善良，从不杀生。”

　　当赵到了他亲戚家里，他听到哭泣的声音。有人死了。他转身回家了。那天晚上，他的仆人没有来，一切都很正常。

　　赵过了长久而有意义的一生。他过着幸福的生活，而且子孙满堂，因为他没有杀生过。如果你珍爱其他生命，你才能真正珍爱自己的生命。