False evidence

Chapter 405 The Golden Toad Reflects in the Mirror
After hearing Meng Chao's words, I realized that I was still in the position of lifting the stone slab halfway.

Meng Chao rolled up his sleeves and came over to help me lift it. "It's not heavy!"

At this moment, the strange light emanating from the acupoint had disappeared. The city gate tower had also vanished, and all that remained standing to the side was a tombstone.

Meng Chao helped me move the stone slab aside, glanced back at the acupoint, and called out:

"Holy crap, what's in here?"

Xiao Shen San came over and looked inside with me.

The acupoint wasn't empty; instead, a large toad was squatting inside!

The toad had clearly been dead for a long time and was already shriveled up, but even after being dried in the shade, it was still about the size of a rice bowl, almost taking up half of the acupuncture point.

One can only imagine how big it would be if it were still alive!
The dead toad still had its eyes open, but it only had one eye, the pupil of which was gray and looked like a mud ball. It was lying there, facing the tombstone.

"A golden toad looking in a mirror!" Xiao Shen exclaimed softly, looking at me: "Did you just see something?"

I nodded.

His eyes darted around, and he turned around to grab a half-empty bottle of mineral water, opened it, and poured it over the toad corpse in the tomb.

The toad was already dead beyond any doubt, but when water was poured on it, it suddenly opened its mouth and made a "croaking" sound. Then it leaped up and jumped out of the tomb!
Meng Chao and I were so frightened that we quickly backed away, only to see the giant toad that had seemingly come back to life crawling rapidly into the bushes with a strange gait.

I realized that this toad not only had one eye, but it was also missing a leg.

This is no ordinary toad; it is clearly a three-legged golden toad that can bring wealth and ward off evil!
Xiao Shen said, "Quickly put the ashes in!"

The ashes were placed in an urn, covered with a stone slab again, and sealed with cement.

Xiao Shensan took the lead, offered incense in front of the new grave, and placed the Tianpeng Ruler brought by Meng Chao in front of the tombstone.

The group left the cemetery together. I had planned to go to the funeral parlor with them, but Fang Ling said she wasn't feeling well. So I took her and Meng Chao home first before turning back to find Shen San.

As soon as Xiao Shen saw me, he said, "That woman is really ruthless."

I knew he was referring to Fang Ling (Tong Jiawen), and I was filled with questions, so I asked him to sit down and explain.

At this point, Xiao Shen Sancai explained to me:
Jiang Baohan is an expert in tomb construction and has considerable knowledge of matters related to yin and yang.

He knew that he was utterly wicked and deeply sinful, and that he would surely suffer the torments of hell after death.

That's why he arranged such a strange burial method. I asked Xiao Shen San, what was the purpose of doing the funeral this way?

Xiao Shen San said, "Being buried in tattered shrouds worn by animals means he willingly chooses not to reincarnate, but to remain in the mortal world and be reborn as an animal. The eighteen layers of yellow paper with the 'promotion' decoration represent his willingness to endure the punishments of the eighteen levels of hell!"

I was confused: "Since he chose to stay in the mortal world, how could he go down to the eighteenth level of hell? Or does he want to be punished as an animal in the mortal world first, and then go to be punished? Wouldn't that be adding punishment to himself?"

Xiao Shen shook his head: "That's what you don't understand. Why are humans the most intelligent of all beings? It's because only humans have complete three souls and seven spirits! All other living beings have incomplete souls and spirits! By burying him in this way, he is essentially splitting his three souls and seven spirits into two parts. One part stays in the mortal world and becomes an animal spirit, while the other part goes to hell to be tortured. Although being an animal means suffering the torments of chaos, since he has a human soul as an animal, the soul being tortured in the underworld will not feel any torture. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Divide into two?" I tried to say, "Those with feelings become beasts, and those without feelings are tortured?"

Xiao Shen nodded vigorously. "This method is not something ordinary people can think of. Only those who understand the Heaven and Earth Burial Ceremony and are exceptionally bold would dare to take such a risk."

At this point, he seemed somewhat puzzled. "Looking back now, it was really too risky. You know, if such a method of deception and trickery were exposed by those below, one would be condemned to eternal damnation! Was he just incredibly bold, or was he simply insane?"

I had only just begun to understand when, fearing he would disrupt my train of thought again, I quickly broke the silence and asked:

"Fang Ling...you know who she is, what did she mean by shouting that at the grave?"

Xiao Shen grinned and said, "That woman is really cunning. Not only is she cunning and vicious, but she's also incredibly clever! She says she won't hold a grudge about the past, but ever since she came here with you, she's been listening intently."

You know your own flaws; you're just like my second brother, content to be an ordinary person, never bothering to understand the supernatural or occult. That woman is different. If I'm not mistaken, she's been plotting revenge from the very beginning!

When I was speaking, one of you wasn't paying attention, and the other was racking your brains. Also, don't forget, she's a ghost too! She has a better understanding of ghosts than you do. She followed the whole thing from beginning to end, and based on what she saw and heard, she's roughly figured out what Jiang Baohan is up to!

Xiao Shen wiped his forehead, shook his hand, and said, "I said she was ruthless because she endured until that critical moment, and then suddenly shouted that... which made all of Jiang Baohan's plans go down the drain! All that work was for nothing!"

Xiao Shen's assessment of me was quite insightful. I was indeed unwilling to actively learn about matters of Yin and Yang, so when he spoke of it to me, I only vaguely understood most of it.

Xiao Shen is a shrewd man; he could tell from my expression that I was still confused, so he simply spoke plainly:
"Jiang Baohan's cunning and trickery were all to avoid suffering. Tong Jiawen's shout at that crucial moment was tantamount to informing the underworld that he still had debts to repay in this life! Tong Jiawen wouldn't let him repay those debts to himself, but instead made him repay them to his living descendants..."

You need to know that for the living to repay debts to the dead, burning more paper money and performing rituals might be enough. But for the dead to repay debts to the living, that's calculated over countless reincarnations!
Those who commit heinous crimes, whether punished in the underworld or reincarnated as animals after death, see it as both punishment and a way of accumulating good karma. Only after their sins are punished and they have accumulated enough merit can they be reborn as humans. However, according to the rules, debts owed to the living must be repaid first.

People often say, "Even if I have to be a cow or a horse in the next life, I will still have to repay the debt." This means that no matter how great a sin a person commits, even if they are condemned to eternal damnation, if they owe a debt to a living person, and the debtor is still alive, they must first be reborn as an animal to repay the debt. If it cannot be repaid in one lifetime, then it will be repaid in two. And once it is repaid, the sins committed before will still be punished accordingly!

I broke out in a cold sweat listening to this.

Xiao Shen San grinned and said, "In short, Jiang Baohan's scheming is all for naught, even if he succeeds! His human soul being reborn as an animal in this life is just to repay a debt to Tong Jiawen's descendants. Once the debt is paid off, his three souls and seven spirits will reunite and he will suffer the torments of hell again!"

(End of this chapter)