As per Chinese folk religion, the soul consists of ten components - the three hun/魂, which are 'higher faculty' components responsible for more 'evolved' spiritual and mental functions like morality, and and the seven po/魄, which are 'base' components responsible for instinctual behaviour and earthly/worldly desires. These should be regarded, by default, as fractions of a whole rather than individual entities in their own right, although it is sometimes said that if fuelled sufficiently (if someone continually allows his base desires to get the better of him, for example), any of these components can become autonomous after death - this is supposedly how demons and evil spirits come into being.

In the Chinese folk religious context, a newly deceased individual is collected by local Hell deities and brought to their area's City God for arraignment (the City God is the local spiritual magistrate of a city, town, village or other settlement - I will speak more about him later). Charges are levelled against them based on the sins they have committed in life, and they are allowed to plead guilty or not guilty to each. The full list of charges is branded into the spiritual fabric of the individual, like a tattoo, to ensure easy identification (in case of escape) and aid the upcoming trial. The City God will then either declare that the individual be remanded, or be permitted supervised bail of up to 49 days' duration. During this bail period, the individual may visit their loved ones to say their last goodbyes. After the bail period is up, the individual is then brought to Hell for their trial proper, as detailed earlier in this thread.

Hell deities cannot be bought over or bribed. To do so would be considered a grave insult. Neither do they torture or punish anyone who is innocent. If the deceased are being tortured by Hell deities, the deceased DESERVE to be tortured, full stop.

But on to the story of Niu Tou and Ma Mian.

Niu Tou/牛头 and Ma Mian/马面 (Ox-Head and Horse Face) are the names given to the bestial pairs of ox-headed and horse-faced Hell soldiers who act as jailers, enforcers and muscle. They usually dwell within Hell itself and leave only to hunt down and recapture souls that have escaped, although a small number do serve on Earth as security detail within the courts of the various City Gods (and, as you say, escort the newly deceased during their bail period).

The original pair of Niu Tou and Ma Mian were an ox and a horse who were brutally mistreated by their owner despite all the hard work they selflessly did for him. After they died, the two animals petitioned the Hell magistrates for justice. To this end, they were transformed into ghostly monstrosities and recruited into the ranks of the Hell armies; the first prisoner they punished as part of their new job was none other than their owner. Most additional pairs of Niu Tou and Ma Mian, if not all of them, are clones of the first pair.

The statues below are from my personal collection, by the way; I painted them myself.

Hi Coco, glad you're enjoying the thread. Here are the answers to your questions.
The small lantern would, indeed, be a makeshift altar to Tian Gong.

A sincere prayer by a pious, virtuous person can transcend language barriers of any sort.
If a person dies suddenly or unexpectedly (i.e. in an accident or through foul play), their passing may be overlooked or undetected, thus resulting in their soul not being collected as it normally would be. Also, those who die violent deaths may find themselves bound to the place where they died, unable to leave unless they are collected, or unless the relevant rituals are performed to release them.

Other souls are under probation, yes, as you've suggested. Others are fugitives, perhaps escapees from Hell or elsewhere. Others are performing spiritual cultivation on earth, perhaps in the service of one or more gods. And there are others who are not the souls of the dead, but supernatural creatures who may have never even been human to begin with.
Hell is traditionally depicted as being located deep underground (the Chinese name for Hell, di yu/地狱, literally means 'prison of the earth'), but it is very vast, way more vast than the subterranean regions of the earth could ever encompass. It should more appropriately be regarded as a separate dimension in its own right - if you play Dungeons and Dragons, the Shadowfell would be a good analogue.

There are many zones in Hell. Some of these are boiling infernos, others frozen wastelands. The terrain and scenery are very varied, depending on where you are. It is said that some zones can even be tailor-made to suit the punishments of individual sinners.




The origin of the Gates of Hell being opened during the Seventh Month lies in the story of Maudgalyāyana, also known as Mu Lian/目连. He was one of Buddha's first disciples, who journeyed to Hell and discovered his departed mother in a state of starvation as a result of being miserly and mean-spirited when she was alive - she was now a hungry ghost, one of hundreds.

Mu Lian developed a means to offer food to the hungry ghosts, as well as to contribute to their eventual salvation by providing charity to monks and the needy, thus accumulating merits on their behalf (the Ullambana). This eventually evolved into the beliefs surrounding the Hungry Ghost Festival, in which the prisoners in Hell are let out during the Seventh Month for a temporary reprieve, to partake of food offerings provided by their loved ones and good Samaritans alike.



The spirits are guarded, of course, to prevent them from escaping or otherwise causing havoc. But the Hell deities can only do so much, of course. Mishaps do happen, unfortunately.

Those with the second sight get sensitised to the sight of spirits. Whether it is the Seventh Month or otherwise may thus make no difference to your mother's friend at all.  
Li Ya Pek, the Black Ghost, does indeed wield magic chains, which he uses to bind his prisoners with.

This is me dressed up as him, by the way.

What are the rituals performed on the eighth night and ninth day of Chinese New Year?

Once upon a time, medieval-era Hokkiens, fleeing persecution (the persecutors are variously described as Mongols, Manchus, Japanese pirates or simply local bandits), prayed to the Heavenly Emperor (this is either the Jade Emperor or his boss, depending on whom you ask) for deliverance. He guided the fugitives into a vast field of sugar cane, where they securely hid. Their pursuers got hopelessly lost in their attempt to explore the field and gave up the search, thus allowing the Hokkiens to escape unharmed. This event took place over the eighth night and the ninth day of Chinese New Year.

From then on, people of Hokkien descent perform thanksgiving rituals to the Heavenly Emperor each New Year on the abovementioned dates. Sugar cane is an item prominently featured during these rites.

The Nine Emperor 九皇大帝

The Nine Emperor is nine Lord of Star 星君 that is believed was the Lord of the Big Dipper 北斗七星 (贪狼，巨门，禄存，文曲，廉贞，武曲，破军) and another two companion star (which is invisible to naked eye) 左辅星、右弼星

Their full name are as below (As according to α、β、γ、δ、ε、ζ、η)
- Tan Lang Tai Xing Jun (貪狼太星君)1st Star
- Ju Men Yuan Xing Jun (巨門元星君) 2nd Star
- Lu Cun Zhen Xing Jun (祿存貞星君) 3rd Star
- Wen Qu Niu Xing Jun (文曲紐星君) 4th Star
- Lian Zhen Gang Xing Jun (廉貞綱星君) 5th Star
- Wu Qu Ji Xing Jun (武曲紀星君) 6th Star
- Po Jun Guan Xing Jun (破軍關星君) 7th Star
- Zuo Fu Da Dao Xing Jun (左輔大道星君) 8th Star
- You Bi Da Dao Xing Jun (右弼大道星君) 9th Star

Also, the other names that refer to the Big Dipper includes: 天枢、天璇、天玑、天权、玉衡、开阳、摇光。

They were believed to be the son's of The Mother of Dipper Stars 斗姆元君 (She is also often portraits as the mother of all star).

The Nine Emperor Festivals held over the eve of the Ninth month of Chinese calendar, where the Nine Emperor were invoke and welcome to earth to be prayed for blessings. The festivals often last 9 days, at held at temples dedicated to the Nine Emperor. Devotees often seen praying along side waterways (especially river and sea side) due to it is believed that the Nine Emperor arrive at Earth via waterways.

Devotees often prep themselves extensively so that they are ready to accept the blessing from the Nine Emperor. For those who is capable of (young, male) often go fasting, or at least take up vegetarian diet for a few day prior to the Festival(斋戒持素). For most devotees, vegetarian meal for the first day is a common practice.

Also, temples that are celebrating Nine Emperor Festival will hang Lantern (or any modern equivalent) up high using bamboo pole (立竹嵩). This is to act as a beacon to helps the Emperors to find their ways to Earth and his devotes.

On the day of the festivals, devotees often wear all white garments, so even without shoes. Praying activities last all day long but the atmosphere will change dramatically during the night, turning the festival into  a carnival. Praying activities include Passing Ping An Bridge 过平安桥 and others.

The mediums will perform other divine act such as climbing knife mountain爬刀山 and walking across burning charcoal过火坑. Those devotees that had prep themselves will also follow the medium to walk over the charcoal.

-tbc-

This is the mostly believed version of Nine Emperors in Malaysia, which supported by Ampang Nine Emperor Temple.

People believed that the Nine Emperor is nine member of the Association of Heaven and Earth 天地会, which they protected the bloodline of Ming Dynasty from the invasion of Manchurians. Since they are deemed as rebellions by the authority, any praying or worshipping activities about them is prohibited.

Thus, the people created the Nine Emperor Legends that fits their hidden identity, and worship them, to appreciate for what they had done.

The names of the chivalrous individual could not be named, nor their faces cann carved on statues, so that the praying activity can avoid being detected by the authority.   

Hence the secrecy behind the Nine Emperor.

Also, it was believed that these nine men sacrifices their life at a beach at southern china, thus the Nine Emperor Festivals is always related to waterways, i.e the Nine Emperor come and go via water ways, the Nine Emperor sit in ships, raining is good sign etc.

It is more than just a mere possibility.

Here is Tua Ya Pek/the White Phantom, a Hell deity, paying his respects to Lord Guan, a Heavenly god.

sharing a video of a recent festivity in Sg

1. The Jade Emperor is traditionally depicted as an aloof, distant monarch, disinterested in mortal affairs. I think it's safe to say you won't get much luck with him.

Generally speaking, the higher up the food chain you go, the less involved with us humans the deities get. Oftentimes, higher ranking deities are merely present in a temple or shrine in order to supervise the lower ranking ones who possess mediums during trances, and provide them with the necessary authority to solve devotees' problems.



2. The Monkey King is very widely worshiped. He is a warrior and Dharma protector who can be called on to dispel evil spirits. Also, he is a master of guan xi - the art of interpersonal relationships and diplomacy, as evidenced by his always knowing whom to approach whenever he required help with solving a problem that was beyond his scope or ability. It would not be unreasonable to approach him if you are having trouble with workplace politics.

Regarding him being powerful, most of the difficulties that the Heavenly armies encountered when they battled him back in the day stemmed from the fact that they had absolutely no idea what they were dealing with - at the time, they had yet to battle an foe of his type. He is tough, but not unbeatable. For instance, Lord Er Lang adapted very quickly to the Monkey King's tactics and was able to fight him to a draw. A rematch between the two of them might very well result in a tipped scale.





3. Piggy's job scope as Cleanser of the Altar is to clean up after major ceremonies to the gods - he's a glorified janitor, essentially. We commonly see him being worshiped OUTSIDE of this job scope, however, in that he is most widely prayed to by bar-girls, prostitutes, strippers and other women of easy virtue, for protection while performing their jobs (against disagreeable clients, violent pimps, diseases, etc). Although he took his Buddhist vows, that doesn't stop him from looking after the class of girl he is so fond of.

The Monkey King was being prayed to LONG before Wu Cheng En wrote Journey to the West.

Take a look back here:
There is no single 'King Yama' - rather, there are ten 'Yama Kings' or Kings of Hell/阎罗王, also known as the Ten Judges.

That being said, the entity whom most people usually refer to when they say 'King Yama' is the leader of the Ten Judges, who rules over the Fifth Court of Hell.

He holds the title of Imperial Magistrate/阎罗天子, and is none other than Justice Bao/包公大人, the legendary judge who went down in history for his impartiality and detective skill.

Bump for a simple wayside shrine to Guan Yin.

Bump for the resting places of Hell deities.