I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 121: Creation of Animals, Yin Fire

The shepherd didn't know what the young man in front of him was dressed like.

He subconsciously took two puffs of his tobacco, wondering whose son-in-law had escaped from his marriage and fled here.

Or maybe the person in front of you is a girl with a masculine appearance, born with a tall frame, and looks like a man, but is actually a woman.

Looking at that expensive red dress, she must be from a wealthy family.

But how could a newlywed from a wealthy family appear in a remote mountain village?
Weird, really weird.

While the shepherd was looking at the young man in the wedding dress, Xu Qing was also observing the flock of sheep in front of him.

There were about a hundred sheep in the flock before me, half of which were lambs.

In front of the stream, lambs are queuing up to drink water, but before each lamb can take a sip or two, they will be driven ashore by strong goats as fat as horses.

After looking at the flock of sheep for a while, Xu Qing turned his gaze to the shepherd.

The other person was sitting on a high rock, smoking his earthen pipe intermittently. He seemed to be relaxed, but the old man's eyes never left him.

When the shepherd saw Xu Qing walking towards him, his brows twitched and he subconsciously called out to the flock. The goats, as fat as foals, immediately drove their lambs ashore upon hearing the order.

Xu Qing intended to send General Chang to test the shepherd's methods, but when he dealt with the Taoist water engineer a few days ago, Chang's flag had lost a lot of evil spirits, and now it was still planted in the courtyard of Shuimen Bridge for breeding.

This is the disadvantage of having a rampant general. If he could refine a few more rampant generals, or build a military formation similar to the Five Rampage Soldiers, he would not have to worry about having no soldiers to command.

Now, the shepherd took advantage of the fact that he had no one under his command and sent a few big goats to block his way.

Xu Qing slowed down his pace. His phoenix coronet and bridal robe were not stained by the dust and dirt of the world. When the water scale by the stream touched the hem of his clothes, it rolled away like raindrops falling on an oil-paper umbrella.

His eyes swept over the goats that were as fat as horses, and Xu Qing finally said, "How much are these sheep for, old man?"

When the shepherd heard this, he was immediately happy.

"The big sheep are 20 taels each. The small sheep are not for sale. If you have something worthwhile, you can exchange it for it."

Xu Qing said calmly, "Why don't you sell the little lamb, but the big one?"

The shepherd raised his pipe and pointed at the lambs. "The lambs have been ordered, and I have to deliver them. If they are sold to someone else, how can I return them to the owner?"

"I see." Xu Qing looked at the obedient sheep and suddenly said, "Excuse me, old man, are these sheep also transformed from living people?"

"Don't worry, sir. These sheep must have been transformed from living people. If even one of them is not alive, I will gladly pay you ten times as much as you can."

Xu Qing came to a big sheep with a smile. These sheep were of different fatness and thinness. The fat ones were as big as foals, while the thin ones had their ribs vaguely visible under the sheepskin.

"You said these sheep are weird, they are obviously humans, but this big sheep wants to help you look after the lambs and prevent them from escaping."

The shepherd had already left the rock. He walked closer with a smile, stroked the back of one of the sheep with his calloused hands, and said:

"If a lamb runs away, I will kill a big sheep. So this lamb is the life of the big sheep, and they have to help me watch over it."

The shepherd grinned, revealing his yellow teeth that had been smoked by earth smoke for years.

There is a saying that it is better for me to die than for my fellow Taoists, and it is also said that if a person does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth.

After listening to the shepherd's words, Xu Qing finally understood why the other party could manage such a large flock of sheep by himself.

"People say that those who are accomplices to the tiger are accomplices of the tiger, but few people know that there are countless people who are accomplices of the tiger."

The shepherd boy remained silent. He took a puff of his tobacco and said with a smile, "How many sheep would you like, sir?"

Xu Qing glanced at Xuan Yu, who was catching butterflies and insects and playing around behind the shepherd. He narrowed his eyes and smiled, "You are lucky today, old man, to have met a great customer like me."

"I'll take all these sheep."

"Is the guest referring to a big sheep or a small sheep?" the shepherd asked in confusion.

"Of course I want them all!" Xu Qing stepped forward and drew all the old man's attention to himself.

The shepherd was stunned when he heard this. Now he finally understood that the transvestite young man in front of him was obviously looking for trouble on purpose!

"Young man, I don't have time to chat with you. If you really want to buy, then pick some big sheep and take them away. If you are deliberately making fun of me, then I will do it."

Before the old shepherd could finish his words, he felt a cold wind like a sword blowing towards him on his back!

It was Xuanyu who had been playing by the stream and had somehow found his way behind the shepherd.

When a cat attacks, it often wipes its tracks with its paw pads. Even in muddy ground, no claw marks are left, and even in a forest of fallen leaves, no sound is made.

Seeing that Xu Qing had attracted the shepherd's attention, Xuan Yu turned into black lightning, with his claws exposed, and cut towards the back of the other's neck.

The gray fog was filled with a fishy wind, and the shepherd felt a bone-chilling chill running from his back straight into his scalp.

The cat was so fast that he couldn't react at all.

"Shoot-"

The sound of cloth tearing suddenly rang out, and the shepherd's coarse cloth clothes shattered.

Xu Qing followed closely behind, and almost at the same time, he turned his wrist, and the sword hidden in his sleeve fell down, and the Si Nan Sword went straight to the shepherd's heart.

"Pfft-"

There was the sound of a sword piercing leather.

It was at this moment that the old shepherd, who was a beat slow to react, blew on the pipe, and smoke and sparks suddenly swept around.

A sharp cat cry was heard in the smoke.

Xu Qing activated his Qi-gazing technique, and the hot sparks splashed onto his wedding dress, but did not cause any damage.

The only thing that concerned him was the thick smoke that kept seeping into his orifices.

These thick fumes are very similar to the way water monkeys soak people's lungs, except that the water monkeys soak them in water, while the shepherds soak them in poisonous smoke from fire.

The wide sleeves fluttered, and several fire-avoiding talismans inside showed signs of being burnt, and then they spontaneously combusted without wind and turned into ashes.

But soon other fire-avoiding talismans came to replace it.

Xu Qing was not afraid of the fire poison and rushed into the center of the fire.

The shepherd could not be seen in the thick smoke, so Xu Qing simply took out the water strainer and began to chant the water-collecting spell.

The water in the stream not far away responded and rushed towards him like a rising tide.

The mountain stream rushed through the fire, instantly sweeping away the thick smoke and fire.

Xu Qing squinted his eyes and saw that the shepherd's figure had disappeared, leaving only a torn sheepskin coat in front of him.

There were not only Xuan Yu's claw marks on the sheepskin coat, but also holes pierced by his sword.

"Young man, you almost killed me. I will remember this!"

A human voice was heard among the sheep. Xu Qing turned his head and looked. Hundreds of sheep were rubbing shoulders and moving back and forth, but there was no human figure.

On the side, Xuan Yu turned into a black shadow and disappeared into the flock of sheep.

The cat fairy was skilled in the art of capturing souls and moving shadows. It transformed into light and shadow, and moved along the dark shadow under the lamb, completing a full circle in a short while.

A black demonic aura condensed from the shadow beside Xu Qing and took the shape of a cat. Xuan Yu, who had revealed his true form, looked up at Xu Qing, then turned back to look at the uneasy flock of sheep. He said in a childish voice, "Strange, there's no sign of that old man in the flock except for the sheep, but I clearly heard him talking among the sheep."

Xu Qing's heart moved slightly. He walked to the front of the flock and said:

"I know you are all living people, but you were captured by this demon and turned into livestock using the animal-making method. Now you can see that this demon is no match for me. As long as you report him, you can regain your freedom."

The flock was still for a moment, and then there was a commotion among the flock. A lamb bleated at an old sheep, and then more lambs joined in.

Seeing this, the big sheep around also gathered into a circle and surrounded an old sheep alone.

"."

The old sheep stamped his feet restlessly, but even though he was wearing sheepskin, he could not break through the blockade of the other sheep.

The eyes of those sheep were filled with resentment and anger.

The flock of sheep made a path for them, and Xu Qing and Xuan Yu walked over.

"You idiots, if I die, you'll never be able to turn back into a human again!"

The little lambs were unmoved by what they heard, but the big sheep started to become restless again.

"Boy, I finally see. Ultimately, you just want to save these people, but if you kill me, no one will be able to undo the spell on them."

"In that case, let's make a deal. I can restore these people to their original appearance, but you have to let me go."

Lao Yang walked up to Xu Qing fearlessly, but before he could continue speaking, a sword light slashed towards his neck without hesitation.

The huge sheep's head rolled to the ground, and steaming thick blood plasma sprayed everywhere. The surrounding flock of sheep retreated in fear.

He's a dead man, why would you bargain with him?
Xu Qing put away his sword, and apart from a little impatience, there was no other expression on his face.

Xuanyu jumped aside in disgust. Although it was not splashed with the blood from the old sheep, it still couldn't help shaking its paws.

Xu Qing drove the flock of sheep aside, then asked Xuanyu to guard them. He then came to the shepherd and began to look at the corpse.

The shepherd died, but the other party still looked like an old sheep and had not regained its human appearance.

This was obviously different from Xu Qing's initial guess. He originally thought that as long as the person who was transformed into an animal died, the evil method of creating animals would be broken on his own.

That no longer appears to be the case.

As for how the sheep in the flock would become humans after the shepherd died, Xu Qing never worried about it.

No matter how many secrets a person has, once he comes to him, it is like stripping him naked. No matter how big the secret is, it cannot be hidden from his eyes.

Xu Qing took out a large needle used for sewing corpses, sewed the sheep's head back into place, and then began to watch the shepherd's life.

The old man's name was Chen Mancang. His parents gave him this name because he was born in a famine year when food and drink became a problem.

There is not much to note about Chen Mancang's childhood, until thirty years ago, when he was in his twenties, when Chen Mancang's life took a turning point.

It was on the way to escape famine that Chen Mancang met an old man herding sheep.

It was hard to survive in this situation. The grass roots and tree barks along the way were all scraped off, but the shepherd in front of him was driving dozens of sheep forward.

Chen Mancang had been hungry for several days. When he saw a group of sheep and an old man, his eyes glowed green.

When there was famine, people ate each other.

Chen Mancang was able to survive for so long in a year of severe drought and still have the strength to travel, so naturally he had no dietary restrictions.

He followed with his mouth watering. Perhaps the old man was hungry, so he set up a pot and cooked a lamb in the wilderness.

The old man smiled as he peeled off the entire piece of sheepskin and put it aside carefully, fearing that he would damage the sheepskin.

He threw the remaining mutton with bones and flesh attached into the pot to stew.

Smelling the aroma of meat, Chen Mancang finally couldn't help but come to the pot.

Without asking the old man whether he was happy or not, he picked up a piece of half-cooked meat with bones and started to chew it.

When Chen Mancang had eaten and drunk his fill, he found that the old shepherd was looking at him with a smile.

He couldn't help but ask, "I ate your sheep, and you're not angry?"

The old man stroked the bloodstained sheepskin in his hand and said, "This ewe is too small and thin to walk. It would be a burden if I kept her. Now that you've eaten her, you'll have strength, grow more meat, and walk farther. This is a good thing. I'm overjoyed, so how could I be angry?"

Chen Mancang felt that this was not right no matter how he listened to it. Why did this old man talk to him like an animal?
But he didn't think much about it. After eating and drinking, Chen Mancang leaned against the flock of sheep and took a nap. When he opened his eyes, he saw the shepherd smiling at him with satisfaction.

Chen Mancang wanted to speak, but he could only make the bleating sound of a sheep.

After that, Chen Mancang, who was turned into a sheep, became a member of the flock.

But he was different from other sheep. Whenever other sheep saw their own kind being cooked and sold, they would look sad.

Chen Mancang could only drool.

In order to get something to eat, Chen Mancang began to please the shepherd. He took the initiative to take on the job of looking after the sheep and tried his best to please the shepherd on weekdays. His diligence and loyalty were so good that even a sheepdog would be envious of him.

Finally, after unremitting efforts to climb up, Chen Mancang ate the bones thrown by the shepherd.

Two years passed like this, and Chen Mancang became the largest, fattest, and most respected leader of the flock.

One day, the shepherd talked about business with a customer who loved to eat lamb.

The client was a prince from the Prince's Mansion. When he led his army to war, he had to eat meat a few times due to the shortage of military rations. Since then, he has been obsessed with this kind of thing.

It’s not that it’s delicious, but he likes the feeling of cooking.

The prince was obviously an expert in this area. After seeing the shepherd's flock of sheep, he immediately fell in love with the leader Chen Mancang.

This sheep is good, fat and big enough!
Chen Mancang didn't care. After all, many people wanted to buy him in the past, but didn't they choose other sheep in the end?

The shepherd would be reluctant to sell a sheep as sensible as him!
Sure enough, when the old man heard the prince's words, he refused without thinking.

"This sheep is the leader of my flock. With it, I can save a lot of energy. If the prince takes it away, I will suffer a lot in the future."

"One hundred taels of silver!"

"This isn't about money. This sheep has been with me for several years, and I've developed a bond with it. It's not an exaggeration to say we're like grandfather and grandson."

"Ten oriental pearls, two pieces of silk, and five hundred taels of pure silver!"

"It's just a sheep. Why would Your Highness spend so much money on it? I'll send it to Your Highness's residence right away."

When Chen Mancang heard this, he was shocked and angry.

Considering how he had been working so hard for the old man for so many years, even if he had made no contributions, he had worked hard. How could he be sold out so easily?

At the prince's mansion, Chen Mancang was sent to the kitchen.

Seeing that the kitchen was fully equipped with knives and axes, Chen Mancang was terrified.

When he heard the servants in the palace mention that the prince loved to eat meat from live sheep, he became even more afraid.

In order to avoid suffering while alive, Chen Mancang simply took advantage of no one's attention and struggled to roll into a water tank full of water.

Even if he was drowned, he would rather not be cut into pieces.

Perhaps it was his destiny. Chen Mancang fell into the water tank and gulped down a lot of water. When his stomach was filled with water, he suddenly felt relieved.

The ropes that bound him, including the sheepskin on his body, had fallen off without him noticing.

Chen Mancang, naked, jumped out of the water tank, unable to contain his joy.

It turns out that the way to break the evil spell of creating animals is to flood them!

(End of this chapter)