A certain man from Hunan possessed the memories of three lifetimes. In his first life, he served as a county magistrate responsible for grading examination papers. Among the candidates was a scholar named Xing Yutang, who possessed considerable talent and exquisitely written essays. Yet, this magistrate deliberately failed to pass him. Xing Yutang died in resentment and went to the Underworld to lodge a complaint. Many scholars who had suffered wrongful deaths sympathized with him, and upon hearing the news, they rallied in support, joining him in an appeal against the injustice.

The King of Hell ordered the magistrate to be apprehended and questioned, "Since you were the grading official, why did you dismiss a famous scholar and instead pass mediocre individuals?" The magistrate pleaded, "Your Honor, I had a chief examiner above me; I was merely following orders." The King of Hell nodded and then ordered the chief examiner to be arrested and asked what he had to say. The chief examiner replied, "My duty was merely to compile the test papers. Even if there were excellent essays, if the grading official did not recommend them, what recourse did I have?"

The King of Hell declared, "Neither of you shall push the blame onto the other; both are guilty of dereliction of duty and, by custom, deserve the lash." Just as the execution was about to commence, Xing Yutang cried out in dissatisfaction, weeping loudly. The assembled scholars, moved by him, joined in the lamentation. The King of Hell inquired as to the reason. Xing Yutang stated, "The punishment is too light. For their inability to discern good writing, both should have their eyes gouged out." The King of Hell refused, saying, "The inability to judge the quality of the essays stems from their limited perspective; it is understandable." The crowd was unconvinced and roared in protest, shouting, "If not their eyes, then their hearts! Choose one, Your Honor."

The King of Hell, having no choice, commanded his subordinates to strip the two men bare and cut open their chests with sharp blades. Blood flowed as the two writhed in agony. Only then did the scholars feel vindicated, laughing, "We suffered in the underworld with grievances unaddressed. Today, with Mr. Xing's help, we have vented the fury in our hearts. How satisfying, how satisfying." With that, the crowd dispersed.

After enduring the torture, the magistrate was reincarnated in Shaanxi, born the son of a commoner. When he reached the age of twenty, bandits rose in revolt, and he was taken captive by the rebel army. Later, when the imperial forces quelled the rebellion and captured many prisoners, the magistrate was among them. He thought to himself that since he was not a traitor, he might be released without punishment. Soon after, he was escorted to the yamen for trial. The presiding judge was a young man; upon looking closely, he realized it was none other than Xing Yutang. The magistrate was aghast, thinking, "My end has come."

Subsequently, all the other captives were sent back. When it was his turn, the presiding judge allowed no defense and ordered him dragged out for execution. The magistrate died harboring deep resentment and went to the Underworld to file a complaint. The King of Hell did not immediately arrest Xing, stating, "His natural lifespan has not yet ended; he still has thirty years of official fortune ahead of him."

Thirty years later, the King of Hell ordered Xing to be arrested. After an interrogation, Xing was demoted to the animal realm for wantonly taking human lives. As for the magistrate, due to his severe sin of beating his parents during his lifetime, he was also cast into the animal path. The magistrate worried about facing Xing's revenge in the next life and begged the King of Hell for mercy, requesting to be born a large beast. The King of Hell agreed, decreeing that the magistrate would be reincarnated as a large dog, and Xing as a small dog.

The magistrate went to the market in Shuntian Prefecture to be born. One day, he was sleeping by the roadside when a guest walked by leading a golden-furred dog. The golden dog was small in stature, only the size of a fox. The magistrate peered closely and realized it was Xing. Feeling superior due to his larger size, he rushed forward to bite and tear at the smaller dog. The golden dog became enraged and clamped its jaws around the larger dog's throat, holding fast and refusing to let go. The magistrate yelped and struggled violently, unable to break free. In a short while, both dogs died. They arrived together in the Underworld and began to argue. The King of Hell intervened, saying, "When will this cycle of vengeance end? Now I will reconcile you two." He decreed that in the next life, Xing would become the magistrate's son-in-law.

After this, the magistrate was reborn in Qingyun. At the age of twenty-eight, he passed the provincial examination and had a daughter who was beautiful and demure. Many prominent families sought her hand in marriage, but the magistrate refused. One day, he happened to pass through a neighboring county and coincidentally arrived at the time of the examination results posting. The top scholar's surname was Li, who was none other than Xing Yutang.

The magistrate invited him for drinks, and during their casual conversation, he learned that Mr. Li was unmarried. He immediately arranged a betrothal between his daughter and Li. Friends who heard of this remarked on the magistrate's appreciation for talent, unaware that this was a karmic connection from a past life.

Soon after, Li married his bride. The couple enjoyed a harmonious relationship. However, Li, being arrogant due to his talent, was quite disdainful of his father-in-law and rarely visited. The magistrate took no offense. Later, Li’s official career stalled; he failed the examinations repeatedly, and his family's circumstances grew increasingly poor. The magistrate provided substantial assistance, both financially supporting Li and using his connections to smooth the way for him. With the magistrate’s help, Li finally achieved the rank of Jinshi and gained widespread renown. From then on, father-in-law and son-in-law reconciled completely, becoming as close as father and son.