Inside the solemn Hall of White Tiger of the Tang palace, the air was thick with grief. Crown Prince, Empress, and concubines wore mourning robes. Ministers lined up in neat ranks, weeping and preparing for the succession. Everyone believed Emperor Taizong had passed peacefully into the next world.

Everyone, that is, except Wei Zheng.

“Please, everyone, stay calm,” Wei Zheng declared. “His Majesty will return!”

“Return? From death?” Xu Jingzong scoffed. “Stop talking nonsense. Dead is dead!”

Wei Zheng was about to explain when suddenly—

“HELP! I’m drowning!”

The voice came straight from inside the imperial coffin.

Panic exploded across the hall. Empress fainted. Palace maids screamed and collapsed. Crown Prince nearly crumpled to the floor. The royal mourning turned into outright chaos.

Fortunately, a few elder officials had the courage to act. Xu Maogong, Qin Shubao, Yuchi Jingde, and Wei Zheng rushed to the coffin and flung it open.

There sat Emperor Taizong who was soaking wet, gasping for air, and yelling, “Who pulled me out? I was drowning in a river!”

Wei Zheng broke into a relieved smile. “His Majesty has returned!”

The ministers hurried to lift Emperor Taizong out, fussing over him with anxious concern.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty,” they said. “We’re all here.”

Emperor Taizong, still catching his breath, croaked out, “I just took a tour of the Hell… terrifying stuff. And then that Marshal Zhu pushed me into a river! I nearly died again!”

Wei Zheng immediately called for imperial physicians. Hot soup, herbal brews, and thick porridge were brought in. After a night of care, Emperor Taizong’s strength returned, and so did his place among the living.

The next morning, the court changed out of mourning robes and into their official uniforms. Outside the palace gates, they lined up in perfect formation to greet the restored emperor.

And there he came—bright-eyed, full of vigor, dressed in full imperial regalia: high crown on his head, golden dragon robe flowing, jade belt shining, boots polished. He looked every bit the reborn ruler of a mighty Tang Empire—Li Shimin, back from the dead.

He ascended the golden throne in the Hall of State. Ministers flanked him in silence. The eunuch at his side bellowed: “Speak if you have something to report. Otherwise, dismissed!”

But of course, they all had something to say.

Grand Counselor Xu Maogong, Wei Zheng, Du Ruhui, and Fang Xuanling stepped forward, joined by the generals Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Jingde, and Xue Rengui. In unison, they knelt and asked, “Your Majesty, you were in the Hell for quite some time. Could you tell us what you saw?”

Emperor Taizong nodded, his voice steady.

“I had just finished reading Wei Zheng’s memorial when I closed my eyes and felt my spirit lift away. I was summoned by the Imperial Guard for a royal hunt. On the way, I saw my late father and elder brothers—arguing, awkwardly. Just then, a stern official in black arrived. It was Judge Cui Jue. He drove them off and took the memorial from me. I hadn’t even opened it when I was suddenly hauled into the Court of Hell to meet the Ten Kings.”

The court fell utterly silent.

“They brought up the matter of the Dragon King of Jing River,” Emperor Taizong continued. “They said I’d promised to spare him, but Wei Zheng went and executed him anyway. They accused me of breaking my word. Luckily, I explained the situation. After checking the Book of Life and Death, they found I had twenty more years to live. So they ordered Marshal Zhu and Judge Cui Jue to escort me back to life. If I hadn’t gone through this, I’d never have known how strict the laws of the Hell are, or how swift karma strikes.”

Gasps rippled through the hall. The ministers bowed deeply and cried out in awe, “Heaven protects the righteous! Long live the Tang!”

Emperor Taizong went on, more serious now.

“On the way back, I saw countless souls in torment. Wicked ones burned in fire and hacked with blades. Others were victims of war, dying unjustly and blocking my path. Judge Cui Jue stepped in again and lent me silver from a man named Xiang Liang, who had deposited funds in the Hell. I gave it to the restless souls and promised to host a Water and Land Puja to ease their suffering. Finally, at the Six Realms of Rebirth, Marshal Zhu set me on a horse. We galloped to the banks of the Wei River, where two golden carp leapt in the water. I was still watching when—bam!—he shoved me in, and that’s when I woke up.”

The ministers listened, dumbfounded, thrilled, unnerved. Emperor Taizong wasn’t done.

He issued an imperial pardon that very day: releasing all four hundred death-row prisoners from the Ministry of Justice and allowing them to visit home. They were only asked to return exactly one year later to face justice. He freed three thousand palace maids and had them married off to frontier soldiers.

The empire rejoiced. The people sang his praises. The ministers wept in gratitude.

Emperor Taizong himself wrote a decree:

“Live honestly. Don’t play tricks. Do good now. Don’t wait for the next life. Good deeds bring real reward. Chanting scriptures means nothing if your heart is wicked.”

Then he posted a royal notice across the land:

“Seeking volunteers to bring melons and fruits to the Hell as thanks to the Ten Kings. All may apply.”

Before long, the notice reached Junzhou. There lived a wealthy merchant named Liu Quan. He had riches beyond counting, a wife named Li Cuilian, and two small children.

One day, Li Cuilian went out to offer food to monks without telling her husband. Liu Quan scolded her for it. In a fit of anger, she hanged herself.

Heartbroken, Liu Quan mourned day and night. When he saw the royal notice, he decided to offer melons and his own life as penance. He signed up, strapped a pumpkin to his head, slipped poison under his tongue, and went to the Jinting Pavilion where he ended his life.

His soul arrived at the Gates of Hell and was taken to the Senluo Palace. He knelt, presented the melons, and pleaded to be reunited with his wife.

The Ten Kings were moved. “Emperor Taizong truly keeps his word,” they said. They checked the Book of Life and Death and found that Liu Quan and Li Cuilian were destined to become immortals in this life.

“Send them back!” the kings ordered.

But there was a hitch. Li Cuilian had died long ago. Her body no longer existed. No vessel, no rebirth.

After some thought, one king said, “Well, since Emperor Taizong’s sister, Li Yuying, has just reached the end of her lifespan, let Li Cuilian borrow her body.”

And so, with ghostly escorts on both sides, Liu Quan and Li Cuilian were returned to the world of the living. One in his own body, the other in the form of a princess.

The Hell messenger first pushed Liu Quan’s soul back into his body at the Jinting Pavilion, restoring him to life on the spot. Then he escorted Li Cuilian’s soul straight to the palace gardens, where Princess Li Yuying was out for a stroll. Without so much as a “pardon me,” he yanked Li Yuying’s soul out of her body, and down she went like a sack of rice.

The palace maids screamed in panic and rushed to alert the Empress, who in turn reported it to Emperor Taizong. When Emperor Taizong heard that his beloved younger sister had suddenly collapsed for no reason, his heart sank. “Yama did say her time was nearly up,” he muttered. “Looks like he meant it.” He hurried over, and seeing that Li Yuying still had a faint pulse, gently lifted her up and whispered, “Yuying, wake up…”

To his surprise, her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she said was, “Wait for me, my husband! Slow down!”

Emperor Taizong blinked. Was that dream talk?

Li Yuying looked up at him, puzzled. “Who are you? I’m Li Cuilian. My husband’s name is Liu Quan. We live in Junzhou. One day I gave my hairpin to a monk, my husband scolded me, I got upset, and… I hanged myself. Luckily, my husband came to the Hell to deliver melons. The King of Hell saw how much we loved each other and let me return. But on the way back, I tripped and someone grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. How outrageous!”

The more she talked, the more shocked the entire court became.

Emperor Taizong thought she was delirious and was just about to summon the imperial physicians when a palace guard rushed in with an urgent report: “Your Majesty, there’s a man outside named Liu Quan. He says he’s just returned from the Hell after delivering melons, and he’s waiting for your command.”

Emperor Taizong was stunned. “Bring him in at once!”

Liu Quan entered, dropped to his knees, and reported, “I presented melons to the Ten Kings of Hell. They were touched, praised Your Majesty’s kindness, and checked our records. Turns out, my wife and I were meant to become immortals. So they let me return to life. But when I got back, my wife was nowhere to be found.”

Emperor Taizong asked, “Did you hear anything the ghost messengers said?”

Liu Quan replied, “I overheard them say her body was long gone, so she borrowed ‘Princess Li Yuying’s’ instead. I don’t know who that is, and I certainly couldn’t find her.”

It all clicked for Emperor Taizong. He turned to his ministers. “No wonder Yuying woke up calling for her husband. I thought she was babbling nonsense. It was real!”

Wei Zheng offered, “Shall we bring the princess here and ask her ourselves?”

Before the messengers could even leave, shouting erupted from inside: “I don’t want any medicine! This place isn’t my home! My house has gray tiles and brick walls. What is all this gold and glitter? Let me go back!” A couple eunuchs and palace maids managed to escort her into the throne room.

Emperor Taizong asked gently, “Do you still recognize your husband?”

She snapped, “What kind of question is that? We’ve been close since childhood. Of course I do!”

Emperor Taizong ordered Liu Quan to be brought forward. The moment Li Cuilian saw him, she ran to him and threw her arms around him. “Why’d you walk so fast? I kept chasing after you, but people kept grabbing me and pulling me away. It was awful!”

Liu Quan was stunned. Everything she said matched his wife’s memories, but… she definitely wasn’t in his wife’s body. He hesitated, unsure whether to believe his eyes or his ears.

Emperor Taizong sighed deeply. “Life and death. Some things are simply written in the stars. As strange as this is, it’s clearly real.”

He immediately gifted them the princess’s dowry, jewelry, and robes, then issued a decree exempting Liu Quan from all taxes and labor for the rest of his life. And with imperial blessings, the reunited couple returned to their hometown, happily ever after.

End of this chapter. Thank you for reading!

This is just the serialized version of Journey to the West (modern retelling). If you want to read the full book faster, check out the complete, easy-to-read English and Chinese (Simplified & Traditional) version on Amazon.

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