招賢訪相 The Call for a Volunteer
自此時,蓋天下無一人不行善者。一壁廂又出招賢榜,招人進瓜果到陰司裡去;一壁廂將寶藏庫金銀一庫,差尉遲恭、胡敬德上河南開封府,訪相良還債。自此时,盖天下无一人不行善者。一壁厢又出招贤榜,招人进瓜果到阴司里去;一壁厢将宝藏库金银一库,差尉迟恭、胡敬德上河南开封府,访相良还债。
逐句解 Line by line
From this time, there was not a soul in all the realm who did not do good.
A hyperbolic statement of the proclamation's effect. 行善 xíng shàn, to do good.
On one hand, a call for a worthy volunteer was posted, seeking someone to carry melons and fruit down to the shadow-world;
招賢榜 a public notice calling for a capable man — here, one willing to die to fulfill the emperor's melon-pledge.
and on the other, a vault of gold and silver was taken from the treasure-store, and Yuchi Gong and Hu Jingde were dispatched to Kaifeng prefecture in Henan to seek out Xiang Liang and repay the debt.
寶藏庫 bǎo zàng kù, the treasure-store; 藏 zàng. 差 chāi, to dispatch. 相良 Xiàng Liáng; the surname 相 read xiàng. 還債 huán zhài, to repay the debt — the earthly settlement of the loan contracted in the underworld.
Two errands issue from the emperor's underworld debts: a call for a volunteer to die and deliver the promised melons, and the dispatch of two generals to repay Xiang Liang's borrowed merit-gold in the world above. The passage neatly closes the ledger of the netherworld journey — the loan settled, the pledge yet to be fulfilled — while the call for a volunteer opens the door to the Liu Quan episode that follows.