Less than two days later, Xie Lian encountered a huge crisis.
There was nothing left to eat in the shrine.
He could manage with just a few steamed buns and a plate of pickled vegetables a day, supplemented with some cucumbers from the field. The villagers' offerings from Pugilistic Village were more than sufficient to support him. But now, three mouths were added to the daily consumption. Two living children and one living ghost quickly depleted his food reserves.
The two children were manageable, but Qi Rong, a ghost unwilling to leave the body of a grown man, constantly insulted Xie Lian for treating him with disdain and complained about the food, yet he consumed more than anyone else. It made Xie Lian want to shove something unpleasant into his mouth.
After the pantry was completely emptied, Xie Lian decided to take the two children to the marketplace to see if they could gather some supplies and have a decent meal.
Generally, Xie Lian didn't have good luck, but today his luck was exceptionally bad. After making rounds, he ended up with nothing. Finally, standing at the bustling street corner, he decided to return to his roots.
He settled the two children aside, stood at the street corner, and called out loudly, "Respected elders and neighbors! I just arrived in this treasured place, my finances are tight. I'll perform some tricks, hoping everyone will support and provide some food or travel fare..."
With his sleeves fluttering in the breeze, Xie Lian exuded an ethereal aura, speaking loudly and clearly. Idle people on the street came over, saying, "What can you do? Let's see."
Xie Lian smiled and said, "Spinning plates, interested?"
The crowd waved their hands dismissively, "Not challenging enough, just a small trick! Can you do anything else?"
Xie Lian continued, "How about breaking stones on the chest?"
But the crowd replied again, "Too old-fashioned! Can you do anything else?"
Xie Lian realized that even street performances needed to keep up with the times. His once impressive skills had become outdated, and no one admired them anymore. As the crowd began to disperse, he reluctantly used his trump card, pulling out a stack of protective talismans he had crafted by hand from his sleeve, saying, "Watch the performance and get a free protective talisman, handmade, don't miss it."
Hearing about freebies, the dispersing crowd gathered back, asking, "What kind of protective talisman? Which temple blessed it? Is it from the Emperor Jun Wu?"
"Do you have a fortune-bringing one? I'll take a God of Wealth talisman, thank you!"
"I want the True Lord Juyang's one, please save one for me!"
Xie Lian replied, "No, no. The ones I'm giving away are from the Divine Joy Crown Prince, blessed at Pugilistic Shrine, guaranteed effective." Of course, they're effective. Unlike other divine officials who receive blessings from thousands daily, with a constant hum in their ears that they pass down to their subordinate deities, Xie Lian only had a few prayers at most each day. So who has a better chance of being heard?
Everyone sneered, "What's that, never heard of it!" Xie Lian added, "No worries if you haven't heard of it, Pugilistic Shrine is just seven miles away in Pugilistic Village, feel free to visit..." But before he could finish, the crowd had already dispersed. Those who had grabbed the talismans casually tossed them aside after walking a few steps. Xie Lian patiently picked them up, dusted them off, and calmly put them back in his sleeve. As he collected them, a pair of cloth shoes stopped in front of him.
Xie Lian looked up to see Lan Ying's dark eyes peeking out from behind his bandages, fixedly staring at him.
Xie Lian softly said, "What's the matter? Go sit with Guzi over there, I'll be done in a moment."
Lan Ying remained silent. At this moment, a large manor at the end of the street suddenly had its doors thrown open, and a person was hurled outside, followed by a loud shout, "Quack!"
Passersby quickly gathered to watch the commotion. A series of footsteps stomped over, trampling the talismans left behind, leaving them crumpled and filthy. Xie Lian was momentarily speechless.
Giving up on retrieving them, he instructed Lan Ying to look after Guzi and also went to see what was happening. In front of the manor, a wealthy-looking man was arguing non-stop with an elderly man who appeared to be a doctor. The wealthy man angrily shouted, "What did you say when you came yesterday?
Didn't you say everything was fine and not to worry? What happened today?! My wife didn't fall or eat anything bad, why has this suddenly happened?!"
The doctor protested, "I checked on your wife yesterday, she was indeed fine! I think you should consult a Daoist, not a doctor!"
The wealthy man was furious, pointing at him, "My son's not even born yet, and you're cursing him! Be careful, I'll sue you until you're broke!"
The doctor grabbed his medicine box, "Even if you do, it won't help; her pulse is truly beyond my understanding! I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life!"
The crowd began to jeer, "Find another doctor!" "Better get a Daoist to take a look!"
Xie Lian instinctively felt there was something fishy and raised his hand amidst the crowd, saying, "A Daoist is right here. I am a Daoist."
Everyone turned to him in unison, puzzled, "Aren't you just a street performer???"
Xie Lian politely responded, "That's just a side job. Thank you." Then he walked up and asked, "May I see your respected wife?"
From within the manor came cries of alarm, indicating that a group of women were in a panic. The new doctor the wealthy man had called wasn’t arriving anytime soon, so in desperation, he actually dragged Xie Lian inside the house. Xie Lian also pulled the doctor along with him.
When they entered the chamber, they saw blood everywhere. On the lavish bed draped with floral curtains lay a young woman in agony, her face ashen, almost rolling in pain, clutching her abdomen. Fortunately, she was being held down by several elderly women and maids.
As soon as Xie Lian stepped inside, he felt a shiver down his spine.
The room was filled with an unusually heavy yin energy and it was emanating from a single source.
The woman's womb.
Xie Lian immediately blocked those behind him and shouted, "Stop! There's something wrong with what's in her womb!"
The wealthy man, terrified, asked, "Is my wife giving birth?!"
The doctor and the elderly women couldn't listen anymore, insisting, "It's only five months, how could she give birth?!"
The wealthy man scolded the doctor, "If she's not giving birth, then why can't you diagnose her condition? Quack! You can't even read the pulse!"
Seeing that the woman was about to faint, Xie Lian commanded, "Be quiet!" and with a flip of his hand, summoned the Ancient Heart Sword. When they saw him suddenly produce a long, pitch-black weapon, everyone was startled, shouting, "What are you trying to do?!" Then they saw the sword, astonishingly, floating in mid-air!
Everyone was taken aback.
The Ancient Heart Sword hovered above, its tip pointing downwards towards the woman’s swollen belly. The sword's aura was fearsome, and as the others watched, the woman's belly started to move—pressing upwards to the left, then to the right. It shifted back and forth until the woman suddenly broke into a severe coughing fit and expelled a stream of black smoke from her mouth!
The Ancient Heart Sword had been prepared and swiftly severed the dark smoke. The woman screamed, "My son!" and fainted immediately.
Only then did Xie Lian retrieve the sword, sheathing it on his back, and turned to the doctor, "It's done."
The doctor stood speechless for a few moments, stuttering, before he finally approached tentatively. The wealthy man seemed elated, "Is my son safe?"
Yet, after feeling the pulse for a while, the doctor nervously replied, "Gone..."
The wealthy man was stunned and then shouted, "Gone? How could it be gone?!"
Xie Lian, however, turned and said, "Your wife did not have a miscarriage; she lost it, do you understand what I mean by 'lost'?"
The wealthy man asked, "Isn't 'lost' the same as a miscarriage?"
Xie Lian explained, "There’s a subtle difference. A miscarriage simply means it’s lost. 'Lost' implies this: there was once a child in your wife’s belly, but now, that child is missing."
Indeed, the woman’s stomach, once bulging, was now inexplicably flattened, without any external injuries, and unnaturally so. The wealthy man queried, "Wasn’t my child just in her belly?!"
Xie Lian replied, "What was inside moments ago was not your child. What was bulging in your wife's stomach was merely that black smoke!"
After the doctor confirmed that the woman had merely fainted and was not in danger, they left the room. The wealthy man asked, "Master Daoist, may I know your name? Which temple do you belong to, and which True Lord do you serve?"
Xie Lian gave his surname "Xie" and intended to say "Pugilistic Shrine," but inexplicably changed it to say, "Thousand Lamps Temple."
Once the words were out, he felt his face flush for some unknown reason. The wealthy man responded, "Oh, never heard of it. Is it far away?"
Xie Lian wasn’t sure if it was, so he mumbled, "Hmm..."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the wealthy man excitedly asked, "Master Daoist, what exactly was that monster earlier? Was my wife always... carrying that thing? Just a mass of black gas?!"
Shifting back to the topic, Xie Lian regained his composure and said, "Not necessarily always. Didn't you mention that yesterday when you invited the doctor over, your wife was still fine? Her pulse should have been steady then. Today it became chaotic, so I suspect the fetus was affected last night. Think back—did anything unusual happen to your wife last night, or did she do anything strange?"
The wealthy man shivered, "Yes!"
Xie Lian was invigorated and listened as the wealthy man exclaimed, "Master Daoist, you're truly insightful! My wife really had a strange dream last night. She dreamt of a child playing with her, calling her mother. She woke in the middle of the night feeling something kicking her belly and was very happy, thinking it might be the child inside eager to say hello to its parents. I even teased her about it!"
Instantly, Xie Lian deduced, "There’s definitely something wrong with that child!"
Pausing, he asked again, "About how old was this child? What did it look like? Did your wife mention?"
The wealthy man, drenched in cold sweat, replied, "She probably wouldn't remember. At the time, she could only say it was small, needed to be held, and felt quite light in her arms."
Pondering for a moment, Xie Lian continued, "I’ll ask you a few more questions, and please answer truthfully, otherwise we won't be able to resolve this. First, are there any concubines vying for favor in your household? Secondly, has your wife previously aborted a child?"
The first question was to determine if there was any possibility of a curse arising from jealousy among women confined to the back courtyard, as their capacity for causing trouble should not be underestimated. The second was to see if there could be lingering resentment from any fetal abortions that were imposed without due cause, something that could linger in the mother and not allow new life to endure.
Under Xie Lian’s repeated inquiries, the wealthy man confessed to everything, confirming all suspicions. Not only were there many concubines squabbling in his household, he also kept a mistress outside, hoping to bring her in whenever possible. Furthermore, one of his wife's young maids revealed that her mistress, who was originally his concubine, had once been pregnant.
Misled by quack doctors into believing the fetus was female, but wanting a son to elevate her own status, she took medicine to abort the child. Xie Lian listened to all of this until his head throbbed. The wealthy man anxiously asked, "Master Daoist, could it be vengeful retaliation by the unborn girl?"
Xie Lian replied, "That is a possibility, but not entirely so. After all, your wife couldn’t specify the age or gender of the child she saw in her dream."
The wealthy man questioned, "Then... Master Daoist, since that black gas entered my wife's belly only last night, where did my own child disappear to now?"