Although these contracts were really just private agreements, they carried as much weight as law. And it was not only the living who had to abide by their provisions--validity extended to the nether world, or so everyone believed.
這契約雖然是民間自己訂立，然而效力如同律法一般，契約不僅活人要遵守，大家相信效力還直抵陰間鬼神呢。