Chapter 129 A Heartfelt Confession: Will Heaven grant the wish of a sinner? ...
Bai Yuan closed his eyes, looking weary: "I really don't have the energy, and I also have to spare some attention to guard against you."
It was clearly him who pried into Bai Yuan's privacy and committed an offensive act, yet he was still deeply hurt by Bai Yuan's words of "precaution."
Zhou Yaren suddenly felt inexplicably upset: "I know everything now. You were implicated because of me, which is why you're trapped in the Taiyin/Dao Body. You've been wronged. It's all my fault..."
Bai Yuan was powerless to interrupt him: "I know, our fates are both unfortunate, there's no need for further words." There was no need for him to say those self-blaming and self-reproaching words.
However, her nonchalant attitude and tone made Zhou Yaren pause for a moment: "Why won't you let me speak..."
"What do you want to say?" Bai Yuan opened his eyes, peering at him through slits. "Are you going to pour out your heart to me?"
Zhou Yaren was speechless after being asked that question.
Bai Yuan closed his eyes again, having no energy left to remain lucid and talk to him. He murmured, "No need to explain, I understand."
Zhou Yaren's nose tingled, and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes.
Bai Yuan said, "I heard it, and I understand it all."
Zhou Yaren's throat tightened: "What did you hear?"
Having heard his thoughts and feelings, and the heartfelt words he spoke, Bai Yuan's voice was as soft as a dream: "From now on, I will never abandon you until death."
In the blink of an eye, hot tears streamed down Zhou Yaren's face.
He had indeed thought firmly more than once that from now on, even if it meant being a slave, he would stay by her side until death.
Therefore, there was no need for him to say more; Bai Yuan truly understood.
"Ya-ren," Bai Yuan murmured as if in a dream, "from now on... it won't be so bitter anymore."
Upon hearing this, tears silently streamed down Zhou Yaren's face. So, Bai Yuan had even sensed this.
Because he has been suffering so much these days, he has really suffered so much.
That's why Bai Yuan mumbled in his delirium and then comforted him, saying, "I will never let you suffer like this again."
Zhou Yaren could no longer hold back, buried her head and covered her eyes, weeping uncontrollably as she guarded the innocent victim.
Tears instantly streamed down his palms. He never dared to imagine: What merit or ability did I, with my wretched and broken life, have to deserve your favor and kindness?
so……
"Bai Yuan, you've come to save me, haven't you?"
To save me, you were willing to sacrifice yourself, and then suffer alongside me in this sea of worldly torment.
Bai Yuan was only lucid for a moment and did not hear his slightly choked words.
Although their reunion lasted only a little over a month, he and Bai Yuan had already experienced a great deal, including the past he had forgotten. All they had encountered was suffering and hardship. Only He Yan, who was completely unaware of the past, had a very brief period of peace.
During that period, He Yan was carefree and unrestrained. On the way to Xianyang with Bai Yuan, they went up the mountain to hunt rabbits and down the river to catch fish, using the sky as their blanket and the ground as their mat. While traveling, he would often lie down on the branches of an old tree as big as an umbrella and fall asleep, or climb to the top of the tree to pick the few reddest wild fruits, put them in his arms, and run and jump towards Bai Yuan.
Zhou Yaren couldn't help but recall those scenes. If possible, he wanted to live a peaceful life like Bai Yuan, where life wasn't so hard anymore.
Once we find Lu Bing, kill Xu Zhangfang, and kill the Gu Master, we can settle this matter.
By then...
From now on, I will accompany you to the ends of the earth, regardless of how far the mountains or rivers may be.
If he is fortunate enough to survive this ordeal and never have to suffer torture again, that is his only wish.
Zhou Yaren looked up, her face still wet with tears, her heart filled with bitterness as she asked herself: Can I do it? Can we? Is Heaven willing to grant the wish of a sinner?
But no matter what, he still wanted to ask God for mercy.
Having not escaped a beating, Lin Mu, after being hit with the sole of a shoe, rubbed his burning backside as he passed the door and subconsciously glanced inside.
That one glance made Lin Mu immediately forget the "grudge" he had against Elder He, and he shouted, "Elder!"
Elder He said fiercely, "What are you yelling about? Do you want to get a beating?"
Lin Mu didn't care at all.
When Elder He was in good health, he enjoyed traveling around practicing medicine, especially in remote and impoverished areas. These places were notoriously difficult to navigate; most people struggled to make ends meet, let alone afford medical care and medicine. Elder He would set up a stall at the village entrance or by the roadside, practicing medicine without charging a penny. Because of these acts of kindness and virtue, he rose to the rank of elder in the Taihang Mountains—a position he could wield with impunity, highly respected and respected. If he displeased someone, even the sect leader had to defer to him; beating Lin Mu was nothing compared to him.
Lin Mu is absolutely not one to hold a grudge.
"She's here!" Lin Mu said, rushing over like the wind and pulling Elder He, who was putting on his boots, into the room.
"Don't pull me, you brat!"
"Hurry up, Elder! She might not be here for long. Quickly take her pulse."
Elder He couldn't break free from the boy at all: "Nonsense! I'm saving people, not demons and monsters, that's beyond what I'm talking about."
Lin Mu ignored him completely and forcibly dragged Elder He to the bedside: "Bai Yuan is a person now, you must treat her quickly."
"What do you mean 'it's a person'? You might as well go to the market and find an umbrella maker..."
Zhou Yaren earnestly pleaded, "Please, Elder, save us."
Elder He was forced into this situation and couldn't refuse the two of them, so he had no choice but to sit down in front of the bed and place his hand on Bai Yuan's wrist to take his pulse.
Elder He took the pulse for a while, then hissed, "Don't say..."
Lin Mu craned his neck: "What?"
Elder He lowered his eyes and sensed for a moment: "She really does have a pulse, she looks quite human."
Zhou Yaren: "..."
forest:"……"
Elder He let out a drawn-out "hmm—", prompting Lin Mu to press for an answer. Despite being a grumpy old man on ordinary days, when it came to examining patients, Elder He was so slow that he could drive anyone else crazy.
"I can't diagnose any specific problems; it's just that you're too weak."
Zhou Yaren: "Weak?"
Elder He nodded: "Yes."
Lin Mu exclaimed in disbelief, "Just weak? How is that possible!"
Elder He raised his eyelids: "Why don't you come and see?"
"It wasn't an elder; Bai Yuan was seriously injured before..."
After taking her pulse, Elder He couldn't say anything else: "She's as weak as can be."
"So what should we do?" Lin Mu asked. "Should we prescribe some tonic or treat it in some other way?"
Boss He asked with a stern face, "What do you mean by 'supplement'?"
Lin Mu retorted, "Don't you know what supplements are needed? You're a great doctor!"
Elder He tucked his hands into his sleeves: "What do you need to replenish for a demon like her, this monster and monster? Replenish Yin? How? By absorbing Yang to replenish Yin?"
Lin Mu seemed to have heard forbidden words and was shocked: "Elder! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Not only Lin Mu, but even Zhou Yaren was stunned.
Elder He rolled his eyes at the overreacting little boy, knowing he was embarrassed: "Then why are you asking such a silly question? Hurry up and start a fire to cook!"
Lin Mu was furious again. He knew this old man was unreliable, so he turned and walked away.
Elder He was about to follow when he was stopped by someone behind him.
Zhou Yaren hesitated and asked, "Is what the elder said about replenishing yin with yang energy true?"
Elder He rolled his eyes so hard they almost reached the sky: "What a load of rubbish! I think you're a pig-brain too."
However, the speaker may not have meant anything by it, but the listener took it to heart.
In the world of Taoist cultivation and numerology, there are often those who seek shortcuts by practicing dual cultivation. Some, however, do not follow the righteous path, secretly absorbing yin to supplement yang, or absorbing yang to supplement yin.
Therefore, what Elder He said today may be a feasible solution.
As Zhou Yaren was pondering this matter, Elder He suddenly returned, clinging to the doorframe and warning him, "Don't get any funny ideas! You're too weak! Utterly weak!"
Even without those brats saying anything, just from Zhou Yaren's clingy way of holding onto the umbrella, he could tell that these two oddballs were definitely having an affair. So he said very seriously, "I went to great lengths to save you, not so you could become someone else's tonic."
Zhou Yaren almost laughed at his words: "I know, Elder, you're overthinking it." Even if he wanted to be a tonic, he couldn't absorb it right now.
Moreover, given Bai Yuan's current condition, it can be said that he is too weak to receive any nourishment.
Upon hearing this, the old man left with a stern face.
He went around to the kitchen and saw Lin Mu squatting by the water vat rinsing rice. He ordered, "Pour the rice water into the yard to water the vines."
There are several climbing vines in the courtyard, their new leaves are lush and green, and recently, under Elder He's care, they have formed flower buds that are about to bloom.
As Lin Mu was watering the vines with a gourd ladle, he suddenly heard someone banging on the door. His first thought was that his senior brothers had returned, so he rushed to the door, but then became wary, thinking that the visitor might not be friendly.
"Is anyone home?" A frantic male voice rang out from outside, accompanied by banging on the door. "Open the door quickly!"
Lin Mu peeked through the crack in the door and saw a farmer, soaking wet, carrying a drenched woman on his back, knocking on the door and calling out, "Elder He, Elder He, are you there?!"
Elder He had lived in Pinglu for a short period of time, and many people recognized him. These past few days, he had been frequently going out to get medicine and buy groceries, walking through the streets and alleys, and it was inevitable that he would be seen by people.
"Elder He, please save my sister! She's dying!"
Upon hearing that someone was about to die, Lin Mu dared not be careless and immediately unlatched the door.
Elder He stepped forward in response, but before he could reach them, he heard the surrounding people talking.
"I don't know what made her so desperate to jump into the river."
"Luckily, a boatman rescued him, otherwise he would have drowned."
What? !
Suicide by jumping into the river?!
Elder He immediately stopped, waved his long sleeves, and turned his face away without even looking: "I will not save him."
"Elder He!" The farmer immediately squeezed through the door and rushed forward in a few steps.
Elder He swatted at him like a fly: "No, no, just carry him away."
Lin Mu grabbed the old man: "Elder, we've already carried him over, how can we just stand by and watch him die?"
Elder He, with a heart of stone, said: "A doctor cannot save a damned ghost."
"How dare you speak like that?" Lin Mu retorted, getting angry. "Elder, don't be so stubborn!"
"I have long ago established a rule: those who seek death will not be saved."
"How dare you presume to be a doctor!"
"I'm not the only doctor in Pinglu. Go find whoever you want to treat! Take him away!" Elder He couldn't shake off Lin Mu's grip. "Let go!"
"Elder, you must save people."
"Mind your own business, you brat!"
"Elder He!" The farmer knelt down and kowtowed. "Please save my sister. She didn't want to jump into the river. She was driven to this point by her in-laws. I went to see Doctor Qi at Chunsheng Hall, but after examining her, he said that my sister's condition was unusual and that only a Taoist doctor could help. He was the one who directed me to you, Elder He."
Lin Mu sensed something was wrong. Wasn't it supposed to be a drowning incident? "What extraordinary situation requires a Taoist doctor?"
Something seemed amiss, and Elder He turned around as well.
The farmer said, "My sister's in-laws had someone abort her pregnancy."
Lin Mu didn't understand: "Received what?"
“The fetus,” the farmer said, “has been taken in.”
Lin Mu looked puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Elder He had already walked to the unconscious woman and squatted down to check on her condition.
"My husband's wife had been married for three years without having children, so he took a concubine. The concubine gave birth to a healthy baby boy in the first year, and he's five years old now. Half a year ago, my sister suddenly became pregnant, which should have been a joyous occasion. We were overjoyed when we found out, and her in-laws naturally started to treat her better. But unexpectedly, the once lively boy suddenly fell seriously ill. They searched all the doctors in the city, but none of them could cure him, and the child's condition was getting worse. So they found a shaman who knew about yin and yang to look into the matter, and she said that the child had been aborted."
"Miscarriage?" Lin Mu had never heard of such a thing.
As Elder He spoke, he lifted the woman's sleeve, intending to take her pulse, but found that both of her wrists and arms were bruised and purple from being bound by ropes.
No one knew exactly how much suffering the child had endured. Elder He frowned and told Lin Mu, "It means that the child's soul entered the womb of a living being."
There is a general consensus that after death, people enter the six realms of reincarnation to be reborn. However, there is another type of person who is unlucky or physically weak, especially children who are frightened, who may "walk away" into the womb of a pregnant woman.
It is said that in the early stages of pregnancy, the fetus in the womb has no soul and needs to be born by a spirit.
Reincarnation is not limited to being human; one may be reborn into the animal realm, becoming a cow, a horse, a pig, or an insect. Similarly, the soul may be reborn as a cow, a horse, a pig, a dog, or even a chicken, duck, fish, a goose, a fly, a moth, or any other living being in the world.
If the soul of the living child enters the womb, the child will become ill, and medicine will be ineffective. The soul must be retrieved from the womb; this is called "retrieving the fetus."
The farmer said, "That sorceress cast several divinations in the hall, then carried the incense burner and ritual implements all over the house. In the end, she actually said that the child's soul had gone into my sister's womb!"
Lin Mu was shocked: "What?!"
"The spirit medium said that if the young master's soul is not retrieved as soon as possible, as the fetus in my sister's womb grows bigger and stronger, the longer the fetus remains in the womb, the more serious the young master's condition will become, and the more difficult it will be to retrieve his soul. The day my sister gives birth will be the day the young master dies."
"This is utterly absurd! Utterly absurd!" Lin Mu exclaimed angrily. Even he could discern the intrigue and schemes within this power struggle, which must be the concubine's way of harming people. "This vicious spirit medium was probably bribed by the concubine to harm others."
“Who can argue with that? But everyone believes it without a doubt,” the farmer said. “No matter how much my sister begged, my son-in-law was determined to have the spirit medium remove the fetus in order to save his eldest son.”
Lin Mu blurted out, "How do we collect it?"
“How else could they have done it? A group of burly old women and servants held my sister down, tied her tightly to the bed with ropes, and then that sorceress used a rolling pin to violently push and press on her abdomen. My poor unborn nephew had to suffer this torture along with his mother. They were a family of man-eating wolves and scorpions.” The farmer’s voice trembled with sobs as he spoke. “They couldn’t push the baby out of her womb, so the sorceress reached in and pulled the bloody fetus out of my sister’s belly!”
Lin Mu was horrified, his face turning deathly pale. Turning his head to look at the unconscious woman on the ground, he felt a chill run down his spine.
That's so vicious.
After taking her pulse, Elder He confirmed that the woman had indeed been damaged by a forced abortion. She was already weak, and this further ordeal would likely leave her with chronic health problems.
"The fetus, barely the size of a palm, was pulled out and thrown into a brazier. They burned it with incantations, saying it was to burn the fetus, because only by burning the fetus clean would the wandering soul return to its body, and only then would the seriously ill young master recover." The farmer sobbed. "My sister suffered a massive hemorrhage and fainted. When she woke up, the child in her womb had already turned to ashes, a victim of the Yang family's knife. My sister went mad immediately. How could she not go mad after being driven like that? She gritted her teeth and crawled to the room of that damned child, determined to strangle him."
“That child was the lifeblood of the Yang family. My sister had just grabbed his neck when the maids and servants who rushed over pulled her away. The concubine took this opportunity to lash out, beating and cursing my sister. She then had my son-in-law lock her in the woodshed and starve her for three whole days.”
"My poor sister, she was treated so badly by everyone from top to bottom, she's worse than an animal."
"If it weren't for her loyal maid Xiao Huan, who secretly ran away and rushed all the way from Shanzhou to Pinglu to deliver the news, we probably wouldn't even know she was dead!"
"Xiao Huan also said that when they conspired to terminate the pregnancy, my sister tried to escape to save the child in her womb, but before she could even leave the city, she was caught and brought back by the Yang family."
“How could they do this to their own wife, daughter-in-law, and the child in her womb? That’s the blood and flesh of the Yang family too. I really… Even tigers don’t eat their cubs.”
“I was on my way to Shanzhou today to bring her home, but I never expected… I really never expected…” Nong Han choked up several times, wiping away tears with his sleeve, and continued, “She must have escaped from the Yang family and boarded the ferry to come home…”
Pinglu and Shanzhou are separated by a river, which is only a hundred feet wide. Just as the ferry was leaving the Shanzhou bank and passing through the middle of the river, about to reach Pinglu, she suddenly plunged into it.
“She must want to go home, to go home and ask her brother to stand up for her. When she was little, if she was bullied outside, she would come back to me and ask me to help her get revenge. But today she hasn’t come home to tell me that she was bullied at her in-laws’ house. She must have accidentally fallen into the river. The river is very rough and the boat is unstable. She just lost her footing. She didn’t jump into the river to commit suicide. Elder He, please have mercy and save my sister. She really just wants to go home, she doesn’t want to kill herself.”
After listening to the farmer's tearful account, Elder He, with a cold and stern face, having already roughly checked the woman's pulse and injuries, said without further ado, "Carry her to the inner room."
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