Section of the dead and the evil
Any deceased people who, bearing a grievance against a living person and having made a statement of his case through the Office of Hell, prior to its resolution and without authorization causes spiritual monstrosities in the person’s home, if they endlessly seek merits and retribution in return, although not harming human lives, having caused frequent setup of cases and hatred towards ordinary people, shall be turned over to the Office of Hell to be destroyed. (trans. from Hymes, p. 33-34, fn. 31.)
Any sinister spirits who manifest or hide their shapes and shadows, start fires or splash blood, distract or disturb domestic animals, and shock or offend the living people shall be exiled to a distance of three thousand li. Those who even take people’s lives shall be executed.
Any ghosts and spirits who set fire to people’s rooms and cupboards, burning down possessions and properties, if the number of victims reaches ten households, they shall be executed; if less than ten households, they shall be given three years’ penal servitude and sent to places of heavy punishment in the underworld. Those who knowingly indulge the case without intervening shall be exiled to a distance of three thousand li.
Any buried corpses, any ghosts or evil spirits from old times, and all other nameless ghosts, if they linger in the human world on the excuse of lacking a host and refuse to leave after death, they shall be given one year of penal servitude. Those who rely on their power to harass living people for sacrifices or harm people’s lives shall be exiled to a distance of two thousand li. Any spirits in charge of the local place who know but do not investigate shall be punished for the same crime.
Any ghosts and evil spirits who do harm to living people and when pursued hide themselves shall be given three years’ penal servitude. Those who refuse arrest and fight with spirit clerks and soldiers shall be executed.
Any evil ghosts wandering without a host, if they take the chance of being newly dead or having been dead for long to harass living people and request things, they shall be exiled to a distance of one thousand li. Those who harm people’s lives shall be annihilated. In cases where the deceased’s family indeed fail to offer sacrifices occasionally so the ghosts take the chance to do evil things, they shall be offered food as sacrifices, given good retributions for their merits of benevolence, and be dismissed after receiving moral remonstrations. If after receiving sacrifices and blessings, they still do harm to living people as before, they shall be sent to the Eastern Peak to be imprisoned as a low ghost.
