County Magistrate Yan Jingsi’s face still wore a look of astonishment, and his eyes seemed to harbor some unwillingness.
At this moment, however, his physical body had already died; even with his unwillingness, he couldn’t tear open the ewe’s stomach.
The ewe’s belly was a natural place for reincarnation, and with his current strength, having just fallen into reincarnation, he still had the opportunity for Nascent Soul Emergence and the chance to tear open the mother sheep’s belly to escape.
But to escape would also mean death; he had already entered the lamb’s womb, and even if he tore open the mother sheep’s belly, he would find himself still a sheep once outside.
Moreover, his physical body had already died at Chen Shi’s hands.
Chen Shi pulled out a stack of talismans from his sleeve, searching for a Fertility Talisman.
Some women in labor, when their time came but couldn’t give birth, would need to use a Fertility Talisman.
His grandfather once said that being reborn had a time limit; one couldn’t delay for too long. If delayed too much and the time to transmigrate passed, the soul that failed to be reborn would have to return, resulting in a stillbirth. So, when the time to give birth came, if it didn’t happen, one had to induce the birth to avoid the fetus dying in the womb.
However, this explanation had never been verified, and Chen Shi didn’t know whether it was true or false.
When his grandfather told him this, it was like hearing fantastical stories of spirits and quirks.
Chen Shi affixed the Fertility Talisman onto the ewe’s belly, when suddenly a human voice came from within, saying, "Chen Shi, why?"
Chen Shi asked, puzzled, "What do you mean, why?"
That voice was none other than Yan Jingsi’s, who replied, "Why kill me? We have no grudges between us, and I was only following the orders of the Yan family to watch over you and your grandfather, never lifting a finger against you. You came to my Xuanwu Pavilion the day before yesterday with murderous intent, yet I did not fight back. I have treated you with nothing but kindness and righteousness. Today you plotted in all sorts of ways, praying for rain, summoning thunder, and buying so many livestock about to give birth, all to take my life. May I know the reason?"
Chen Shi responded, "Your family’s Jiao Long, Shangshan, killed people for cultivation. It killed too many, and I couldn’t stand by, so after killing it, I came for you. With you alive, more would die."
Yan Jingsi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Just for this reason? You killed me for this reason?"
Chen Shi nodded, realizing Yan Jingsi couldn’t see, and said, "Yes, just for this reason. You can’t accept it?"
Yan Jingsi, angry, continued, "I have been extremely talented since I was young, and I could understand and excel in any Taoist Skill the Yan Family collected at a glance. But I was feared by others in the family, and they sent me off to a wild place like Xinxiang to supervise you and your grandfather, wasting my potential! Yet I remained detached in my Daoist heart, diligently practicing in seclusion for ten years straight! I knew I wasn’t valued by the family, so I devoted myself to teaching my disciples! Those members of the Yan family who were not valued excelled under my tutelage and received the best inheritance and guidance! I gave them the best resources! I have been true to my ancestors above and have done right by the Yan family descendants below. You kill me for the evil deeds committed by Shangshan?"
"How does that concern me? I’m not a Judge."
Confused, Chen Shi waited for the Fertility Talisman to take effect, and said, "Your family’s Jiao Long killed too many people, so I came to kill you. I couldn’t defeat you, so I used various schemes and machinations to do you in. That’s what I have to consider."
Yan Jingsi was extremely irate and shouted, "Killing me is unjust! The common people are like livestock, like crops; you kill a scholar-official like me for the sake of livestock and crops, how can there be such reason in this world?"
Chen Shi replied, "Confucius says, when a person is about to die, their words are kind. You’ve been killed by me, yet you still don’t speak pleasantly! Born as humans, which law makes anyone lesser than you?"
Yan Jingsi argued, "I was born into a noble family, with ancestors of kings and nobles, with a superior lineage—how could we be compared to commoners?"
Chen Shi scoffed, saying, "Among the commoners, isn’t there someone whose ancestors were the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? The same blood flows in our veins, so where does this talk of nobility come from?"
The little lamb’s voice grew louder as it said, "Do you wish to argue about the Dao with me? Today, I would indeed like to have a thorough discussion with you. If there were no distinctions of wealth and status, how would there be rulers and ministers? Otherwise, how would there be Emperors and nobles? Is the blood of an Emperor and that of the common folk not different?"
A group of merchants passing by heard the human voice coming from the belly of the sheep and suddenly became panicked, shouting, "Evil Spirit! This sheep has become an Evil Spirit!"
Yan Jingsi scoffed, "Such fools, they deserve death. As an official, my teaching is like farming crops; a good harvest brings in more wealth, and a bad harvest less. The weather is unpredictable, I’ve just harvested a little less this time..."
The merchants were about to advance, intent on killing the ewe.
Chen Shi hurriedly stopped them, saying, "It’s the Evil Spirit in the sheep’s belly causing trouble, not the mother sheep’s fault. Why not wait until after she has given birth?"
The mother sheep’s gates had opened, and Chen Shi helped deliver the baby, resulting in the birth of a little lamb.
The little lamb broke free of the birth sac, landed squarely on its feet, and began to speak, "I am the County Magistrate Yan Jingsi of Lei County, your parent official..."
It hadn’t finished speaking when a stone struck it, knocking it to the ground.
The little lamb, both shocked and angry, cried out, "I was born in the Yan family..."
Stones rained down like hail, quickly beating it to death.
Fearful that it might come back to life, the people set it ablaze.
As it burned, the fragrance of roasted lamb filled the air.
As the people saw Chen Shi leading the mother sheep away, they exchanged glances...
Chen Shi, leading the mother sheep, went to look for Black Pot, who was balancing on its hind legs, busily attending to the birthing of these livestock. On the ground, there were many newborn animals, with little pigs being the most lively, scampering around not long after birth.
Chen Shi worriedly looked at these animals.
Man and dog reached the river bank to clean the bloodstains from their bodies. Black Pot jumped into the river water, vigorously rubbing the blood from its chest and back with its front paws, then suddenly paused and looked back at Chen Shi.