Controlling mountains and rivers since the Warring States Period

Chapter 418 Reincarnation (Part 2)

Just as the Xia Kingdom was completely divided, with three new countries being established in the east, west, and south,
He Bo, who had been waiting here for a long time, finally received some good news—

After decades of gestation,

The chaos that gripped the Xia Kingdom over the past decade, coupled with the growing yearning in people's hearts for the afterlife,

In the mortal world, He Bo deepens his understanding of "life and death" and the mysterious laws governing heaven and earth by welcoming the living and taking away the dead.
"Reincarnation"
It has finally taken shape!

So far, only the "Animal Path" has been established.

But once it happens, it will happen again.
He Bo was not in a hurry about when the other five "paths" would appear.

He simply followed the principle of playing with whatever he had, capturing a few deeply sinful dead souls to verify the initial effects of reincarnation, so that they could exert their last remaining energy as human beings.

And the other party lived up to expectations, successfully disappearing without a trace in the vast and boundless void of the underworld.

But He Bo could still sense their presence and location.

Because the path of reincarnation is closely connected with the underworld.

When the dead pass through, whether from the inside out or from the outside in, they will be connected with He Bo, the ruler.

The connection was unknown to anyone; even He Bo could not clearly discern its shape and structure, yet the feeling was incredibly clear.

Just like He Bo's understanding of life, death, and the soul over these decades—

The souls of the dead that dissipated due to the laws of heaven and earth,
Those newly born beings, also formed by the laws of heaven and earth,
He Bo has yet to hear about it.

But when he sits on a cloud or in the dark underworld, he can sense some wondrous changes taking place through the vague passage of reincarnation.

"Is it really not allowed to relay this?"

His clones were very curious about this matter and hoped to understand the workings of heaven and earth by taking a holistic view and manipulating the life and death of mountains and rivers.

He Bo didn't answer, but instead began reciting two passages from the *Tao Te Ching*, swaying his head:
"There is something undifferentiated and complete, which existed before heaven and earth. Silent and still, it stands alone and unchanging, ever-present and inexhaustible. It can be regarded as the mother of all things. I do not know its name, so I call it the Way, and I give it the name Great!"

"What cannot be seen is called 'Yi'; what cannot be heard is called 'Xi'; what cannot be grasped is called 'Wei'. These three cannot be questioned, therefore they are blended into one. Its upper part is not bright, its lower part is not dark; it is continuous and cannot be named, returning to nothingness!"

then,

He burst into laughter at the clone in front of him:
"It's truly invisible and intangible!"

"Even a wise man like Lao Tzu could only give Him a name with difficulty, let alone a dullard like me!"

"However, it's not a big deal."

Anyway, things can already be done.

He Bo himself understood how things worked.

Whether others can understand this "great way" is their own business.

"Besides, where else in the world can there be any other gods?"

It's no use saying anything.
Understanding it is useless.

He Bo naturally didn't bother to dwell on his words or put those ineffable thoughts into writing.

To know,
The reason why Lao Tzu wrote the profound and mysterious five thousand words of the Tao Te Ching was because Yin Xi blocked his way at Hangu Pass and begged him to stay in a luxurious little dark room for a while, which is why he was able to squeeze out the words!
No one in this world can block He Bo's path forward, and no one can lock He Bo in a dark room!

"Figure it out yourselves!"

He shrugged at his clone, indicating that such good fortune required his own effort.

After all,

He waved his sleeve and left without a trace, focusing solely on capturing the dead ghosts so that he could master the new power of "reincarnation".

Once things stabilize,
On the recommendation of Xia Wenwang and other old ghosts, He Bo brought before him the Gao family head, who had been dead for a long time and had been reincarnated in hell many times, and the Brahmin holy monk whom he had specially invited from India during his lifetime.

He said:
“You two have brought the country to such a state of chaos; you deserve even greater punishment.”

then,

He Bo immediately made the decision to throw them into the animal realm, to serve as cattle and horses for the people of the mortal world!
The holy monk was terrified and lay on the ground crying uncontrollably.

"I will serve you faithfully!" "I am your most loyal servant!"

"How could I have become such a lowly creature?"

He Bo asked him, still puzzled:
What do you have to complain about?

“I am not the creator you believe in, nor am I Vishnu who protects you, nor do I deign to destroy your world, Shiva.”

"I am a spirit from the Central Plains, worshipped by all the Chinese people!"

"Even so, I still took in your soul, allowing you to live under my protection."

"Sending you into the animal realm now is merely to make you atone for the sins of deceiving the descendants of the Xia people back then. Isn't that merciful?"

"Besides, doesn't your sect venerate sacred cows?"

The holy monk from India stammered, not daring to speak, for fear of angering the spirits and deities and not even being able to attain the rank of a beast.

While alive,
He can speak eloquently and debate with people at will.

But now, he has already suffered too much, so where does he get the courage?
The power of spirits and deities far surpasses eloquence!
So He Bo took it as a yes and decided that he would be reborn as a cow. To ensure that the holy monk could live a good second life, he even went to that small mountain village to deliver the baby.

"As for you!"

He Bo summoned the trembling head of the Gao family and squinted at him.

The other person prostrated himself on the ground, begging the gods and spirits for mercy.

“I have heard that if one’s sins in life can be redeemed in life, then one should not suffer painful punishment in death.”

"My death was so cruel, and I lingered in hell, unable to escape... Is that not enough to atone for my sins?"

This Gao Guojiu,
Upon hearing that his hometown of Ping'an County had been captured by the bandits of the Taiping Dao and that many of his clansmen had become mere decorations on the city walls, he was filled with rage and led his army to personally lead an expedition against the Taiping Dao.

quickly,

He was abandoned by his soldiers and died in a chaotic battle because he insisted on maintaining the demeanor of a noble family while in the army and refused to promote generals who had made military achievements but came from humble backgrounds.

Afterwards, He Bo went to the battlefield to review the "scene of the crime" and found that the emperor's brother-in-law had long since been physically reduced to mud and water due to the countless knives and galloping horses, and was scattered everywhere.

But such an outcome

This is clearly not enough to match the "achievements" of the Imperial Brother-in-law.

"Your sins are far greater than those of that poisonous monk!"

He Bo told him with emotion.

The latter was merely a mouthpiece for powerful families, used to deceive the common people.
However, the powerful families were indeed seizing land and enslaving the people, even triggering the current chaos.

But the Emperor's brother-in-law stubbornly insisted, "National turmoil is the fault of the monarch!"

Why blame him?
"Isn't this because the emperor died in the south?"

Even the Sindhu people, who longed to use the emperor's corpse to proclaim the victory of the "righteous path," couldn't find his hiding place. How could He Bo possibly find it?

Besides, He Bo was too lazy to bother searching for such a dead ghost.

Let it go with the wind!
“The monk’s sins were less serious than yours, so although he was forced to work like a beast of burden, he was able to be born in a relatively peaceful village.”

"Your words……"

He Bo pondered for a moment, then said, "I'll let you become a dog!"

"Didn't you like to keep many vicious dogs and drive them to the streets to bite people when you were alive?"

"I suppose you have no complaints about being reincarnated as it!"

He Bo thought to himself:
I've been far too kind!
Let those who worship cows become cows themselves.
Let those who indulge dogs become dogs themselves!
Where in the world can you find a ghost or deity with such a kind heart!

Only Gao Guojiu, who was gagged and dragged away, was still struggling, attempting to express his intense gratitude to the ghosts and gods.

(End of this chapter)