who has
wrought such ruin in my life is an evil spirit. He has nothing in
common with men, but has been let loose from the region where evil
spirits are confined to punish me for some wrong that I have committed
in the past. He therefore knows the ways of the infernal regions, and
is hand in glove with the rulers there, and even with Yam-lo himself.
He is, moreover, on the most friendly terms with the tutelary God of my
capital, and so no complaint of mine would ever be listened to for a
moment by any of the powers who rule in the land of the dead.

"There is another very strong reason, too, why any appeal that I might
make for justice would be disregarded. My soul has not yet been loosed
from my body, but is still confined within it in the well. The courts
of the Underworld would never recognize me, because I still belong to
this life, over which they have no control.

"Only to-day," he continued, "a friendly spirit whispered in my ear
that my confinement in the well was drawing to a close, and that the
three years I had been adjudged to stay there would soon be up. He
strongly advised me to apply to you, for you are endowed, he said, with
powers superior to those possessed by my enemy, and if you are only
pleased to exercise them I shall speedily be delivered from his evil
influence."

Now the Goddess of Mercy had sent Hien-Chung a number of familiar
spirits to be a protection to him in time of need. Next morning,
accordingly, he summoned the cleverest of these, whose name was Hing,
in order to consult with him as to how the king might be delivered from
the bondage in which he had been held for the three years.

"The first thing we have to do," said Hing, "is to get the heir to the
Throne on our side. He has often been suspicious at certain things in
the conduct of his supposed father, one of which is that for three
years he has never been allowed to see his mother. All that is needed
now is to get some tangible evidence to convince him that there is some
mystery in the palace, and we shall gain him as our ally.

"I have been fortunate," he continued, "in obtaining one thing which we
shall find very useful in inducing the Prince to listen to what we have
to say to him about his father. You may not know it, but about the
time when the King was thrown into the well, the seal of the kingdom
mysteriously disappeared and a new one had to be cut.

"Knowing that you were going to summon me to discuss this case