Hua Xian History: Death

Death
It is believed when people die they are summoned in front of Gao Yao, the god of justice. They are judged by their life decisions and actions, and placed on a scale. In rare cases, a spirit cannot reach Gao Yao and is forced to find the reason of their death or complete the dream they were attempting to live out before being able to visit Gao Yao.


 * If the good they have done easily outweighs any evil, they are given the option to continue to the 'heaven' plane beyond, or reincarnate with their choice of looks and gender (they still must follow the laws of new life, losing all memory of their previous life and any skills, abilities, and strengths they once had). Specific people, including heroes, guardians, and other good-doers, have the option to become a good spirit to combat the evil spirits in the mortal realm.
 * If the good just outweighs the evil, they are reincarnated with a new life at random.
 * If the evil outweighs the good just by a little, they are reincarnated at random with the chance of becoming an animal.
 * If the evil outweighs the good by a lot, they are either reincarnated as a rodent, pest, or forced to live as an evil spirit until they can reverse the evil they had done in the mortal world. (Some people live out as an evil spirit in spite, causing more evil)
 * If the evil spirits cause too much evil, they are either condemned by King Yama (the god of Diyu, or 'hell') to be removed completely by a good spirit, or brought in front of Yama to be condemned to torture forever. When killed by a good spirit, an evil spirit turns into Jian, forced to wander the mortal realm forever without any ability to interact with the world as an empty vessel once holding some remnant of life.

Spirits
Depending on the judgement of Gao Yao, there is a chance a dead person will become a good or evil spirit.

There are technical terms for either, but most often people use the term 'spirit' for ease of using it in conversation.


 * Di Fu Ling are good spirits that have decided to return as guardians, protecting the mortal realm from evil spirits.
 * You Hun Ye Gui are evil spirits that have been forced to wander the world and reverse the evil they had done in their life (though most do not and remain in the mortal realm to cause more evil).
 * There is a very rare case where a spirit dies before they could achieve a dream or died unfairly due to circumstances out of their control. These spirits are called Yuan Gui. They are not good or bad, but they focus primarily on finding the reason of their death, or to live out their dream. Once either are completed, they are able to move on to visit Gao Yao.

While there are good and evil spirits at war, shaped often as their mortal self but in their incorporeal form, some good and evil spirits evolve if they stay in the mortal long enough to retrieve their soul in some way. After doing so, they may turn into special spirits..:


 * Huli Jings, or fox spirits.  These spirits can be either good or bad, but always appear as beautiful women. These women can turn into fox spirits. They are often compared to fairies, as they are very mischevious and flirty.
 * E Gui are evil spirits of those who were condemned for their greed. They develop green or gray cracking and decaying skin, though never lose their skin. They are cursed with perpetual hunger and a tiny mouth, unable to eat enough to calm their neverending hunger.
 * Jiangshi are spirits that are brought back to a dead mortal body using necromancy without returning the soul. They look like zombies and feed off of the life essence of mortals, much like vampires (though the difference is their ability to feed of Qi, rather than blood). They are phobic of daylight and only come out natrually at night. In some cases, necromancers cover up their jiangshi to allow them to roam during the day as well.
 * Diao Si Gui are spirits that have died by hanging to death. Most of the time these spirits are evil. They are easily identified by their long lolling red tongues coming from their mouths.
 * Shui Gui are drowned spirits, and live specifically under the body of water they were drowned in. They are definitely evil, as they drag mortals into the water to join them. In extreme cases where the spirit is vengeful, they take on the form of marine animals, like big squids or large carnivorous fishes.
 * Wu Tou Gui are beheaded ghosts. They are considered evil even though they do not harm anyone. They wander aimlessly, and sometimes appear around the location they were beheaded, seen feeling around for their lost head.
 * Niu Tou Ma Mian are good spirits specifically given the job by King Yama to collect evil spirits and bring them to hell. They are identified by their head, either an Ox or a Horse head in place of their usual head. They carry military pitchforks and chains to aid them with the capture of evil spirits.
 * In the case a spirit dies while wandering, they become a mindless ghost called a Jian that cannot interact with the mortal world. They simply exist as remnants of a spirit, stuck to wander eternally.