Chapter 121

The sheep-herder didn't know what kind of outfit the young man in front of him was wearing.

He subconsciously puffed on his dry tobacco twice, wondering whose son-in-law had escaped his wedding and fled here.

Or perhaps the person in front of him had a female face but a male appearance, born with a large frame, looking like a man but actually being a woman.

Looking at the expensive bright red clothes, it must be someone from a wealthy family.

But how would a newlywed from a wealthy family appear in a mountain gully?

Strange, truly strange.

While the sheep-herder was sizing up 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 front of him, half of which were lambs.

In front of the stream, the lambs were queuing to drink water, but before each lamb could drink a mouthful or two, it would be driven away to the shore by a sturdy ram as big as a horse.

After watching the flock for a while, Xu Qing turned his gaze to the sheep-herder.

The other party was sitting on a high rock, puffing on his dry tobacco intermittently. His posture looked relaxed, but the old man's eyes never moved an inch from him.

Seeing Xu Qing walking towards him, the sheep-herder twitched his eyebrows and subconsciously called the flock. The rams, as big as colts, heard the order and immediately drove the lambs ashore.

Xu Qing wanted to send a 'Chang General' to test the sheep-herder's methods, but unfortunately, when dealing with the Water-Worker Daoist a few days ago, the Chang Flag had suffered a lot of damage to its Yin-Sha, and it was still inserted in the Water-Gate Bridge courtyard for cultivation.

This is the disadvantage of having only one Chang General. If he had refined a few more Chang Generals or created a military formation similar to the 'Five-Chang Soldiers,' he wouldn't have to worry about having no soldiers to drive.

Now it was good; this sheep-herder was bullying him for having no one under his command and sent a few big rams to block his way.

Xu Qing slowed his pace. The phoenix crown and rosy cape were not stained with worldly mud. The water scale by the stream touched his hem, but like raindrops falling on an oil-paper umbrella, they all rolled off.

His gaze swept over the rams as big as horses, and Xu Qing finally opened his mouth: "Old gentleman, how do you sell these sheep?"

When the sheep-herder heard this, he was happy inside.

"Big sheep are twenty taels of silver each; lambs are not for sale. If you have items you can take out, you can also use them for exchange."

Xu Qing said calmly: "Why are lambs not for sale, but big sheep are?"

The sheep-herder raised his pipe and pointed at the lambs: "The lambs have already been ordered by someone, and I still have to deliver them. If I sold them to another family, how would this old man deliver them to the master?"

"So that's how it is." Xu Qing looked at the obedient rams and suddenly said: "May I ask, old man, are these big sheep also transformed from living people?"

"Guest, rest assured. These big sheep are definitely transformed from living people. If even one is not a living person, this old man is willing to pay ten times the compensation."

Xu Qing smiled and came to a ram. These big sheep varied in fatness; the fat ones were as big as colts, and the thin ones could faintly see the ribs exposed under the sheepskin.

"You say these sheep are strange too. They are all transformed from people, yet these big sheep help you look after the lambs and don't let these lambs escape..."

The sheep-herder had already left the mountain rock. He smiled and walked over, his calloused hands stroking the back of one of the sheep, and said:

"If one lamb runs away, this old man will kill one big sheep. So the lambs are the lives of the big sheep; they have to help me look after them well."

The sheep-herder grinned, revealing yellow teeth smoked by dry tobacco for years.

There is a saying: 'Dead fellow daoist, not dead poor daoist,' and another: 'If a man is not for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him.'

Hearing the sheep-herder's words, Xu Qing finally understood why the other party could manage such a large flock of sheep by himself.

"They say 'acting as a tiger's accomplice,' but they don't know that there are countless people acting as accomplices for humans."

The sheep-herder didn't commit to the words. He puffed on his dry tobacco and said with a smile: "I don't know how many sheep the guest intends to buy?"

Xu Qing glanced at Xuanyu, who was playing with butterflies and insects and had circled behind the sheep-herder, and narrowed his eyes with a smile: "The old gentleman is lucky today to have met a big customer like me."

"I'll take all these sheep."

"Does the guest mean the big sheep or the lambs?" the sheep-herder asked in confusion.

"Naturally, I want them all!" Xu Qing took a step forward, pulling the old man's attention entirely to himself.

Hearing this, the sheep-herder was stunned for a moment. At this moment, he finally understood: the young man in front of him with a cross-dressing habit was clearly here to find trouble on purpose!

"Young man, I don't have time to talk nonsense with you. If you really want to buy, pick some big sheep and take them away. If you are deliberately teasing this old man..."

Before the old sheep-herder finished speaking, he felt a Yin wind like a steel knife scraping towards his back!

It was Xuanyu, who had been playing by the stream, who had somehow sneaked behind the sheep-herder.

Cats often use their paw pads to wipe away traces when attacking people. Although there were no claw marks on the muddy ground, there was no sound in the forest of fallen leaves.

Xuanyu saw Xu Qing attract the sheep-herder's attention, so she turned into a black lightning bolt, her claws bared, and cut towards the back of the other party's neck.

Gray mist carried a fishy wind, and the sheep-herder felt a bone-chilling Yin cold enter his scalp from his back.

The cat's speed was too fast, so fast that he couldn't react at all.

"Rip—"

The sound of cloth tearing suddenly sounded, and the coarse cloth clothes the sheep-herder was wearing shattered in response.

Xu Qing followed closely, turning his wrist almost at the same time. The treasure sword hidden in his sleeve fell, and the 'Sinan Sword' pointed directly at the sheep-herder's heart.

"Pfft—"

The sound of the sword blade piercing through leather came.

It was also at this moment that the old sheep-herder, who was a beat slower, blew the pipe bowl, and sparks and dust rolled around him.

In the smoke, there was a sharp cat cry.

Xu Qing activated his Qi-Gazing Technique. The scalding sparks splashed on his wedding dress but caused no damage.

The only thing he cared about was the thick smoke that kept eroding into his acupoints.

These thick smokes were very similar to the water monkey's method of soaking into the lungs, except that the water monkey soaked in water, while the sheep-herder soaked in fire-poison smoke.

The wide sleeves danced, and several 'Fire-Avoidance Talismans' inside showed scorched yellow traces, then burned without wind, turning into ash.

But soon other Fire-Avoidance Talismans took their place.

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

Unable to see the sheep-herder's trace in the thick smoke, Xu Qing simply took out the 'Water-Filtering Bowl' and began to recite the 'Water-Sucking Spell.'

The water in the stream not far away received the call and surged towards him like a rising tide.

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

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and looked. The sheep-herder's figure had disappeared, leaving only a tattered sheepskin coat in front of him.

That sheepskin coat not only had Xuanyu's claw marks but also the holes he had pierced with his sword.

"Young man, you almost hurt my life. I'll remember this grudge!"

A human voice sounded from the flock of sheep. Xu Qing turned his head and looked. Hundreds of sheep were rubbing shoulders and moving back and forth, with no human figure.

On the side, Xuanyu turned into a black shadow and escaped into the flock.

The Cat Immortal is good at the art of 'Soul-Taking and Shadow-Moving.' She turned into light and shadow, walked along the black shadows under the lambs, and circled the whole flock before long.

Black demonic qi condensed into the shape of a cat from the shadow beside Xu Qing. Xuanyu, who had revealed her form, looked up at Xu Qing, then turned to look at the uneasy flock, and made a childish sound: "Strange, there is no sign of that old man in the flock except for sheep, but I clearly heard him speaking in the flock..."

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

"I know you are all living people, but you were caught by this evil person and turned into livestock using the 'Animal-Creation Art.' Now you have also seen that this evil person is not my opponent. As long as you expose him, you can regain your freedom..."

The flock was still for a moment, and then a commotion came from the flock.

Some lambs bleated at an old sheep, and then more lambs joined in.

The surrounding rams saw this and gathered into a circle, surrounding an old sheep alone.

"..."

The old sheep stepped uneasily, but wearing the sheepskin, he could not break through the siege of the sheep.

The eyes of those sheep were full of resentment and anger.

The flock separated a passage, and Xu Qing and Xuanyu walked over.

"You stupid people, if I die, you will never be able to turn back into humans in your life!"

The lambs were unmoved by this, but the rams became restless again.

"Boy, I see it now. In the end, you just want to save these people. But if you kill me, no one can undo the technique on them."

"Since that's the case, why don't we make a deal? I can restore these people to their original appearance, but you have to let me go..."

The old sheep walked to Xu Qing with confidence, but before he could continue, a sword light slashed towards his neck without hesitation.

The huge sheep head rolled to the ground, and thick blood plasma, steaming with heat, sprayed everywhere. The surrounding flock was so frightened that they retreated together.

A dead person—when is it your turn to bargain?

Xu Qing put away his treasure sword, his face showing no other ripples except for some impatience.

Xuanyu jumped to the side in disgust. Although she wasn't splashed by the blood on the old sheep, she still couldn't help but shake her paws.

Xu Qing drove the flock to the side, let Xuanyu guard the side, and then came to the sheep-herder's side to examine the corpse.

The sheep-herder was dead, but the other party was still in the shape of an old sheep and had not returned to human form.

This was significantly different from Xu Qing's initial guess. He originally thought that as long as the person who turned into an animal died, the evil art of 'Animal-Creation' would be broken automatically.

Now it seemed that was not the case.

As for how the sheep in the flock would turn into humans after the sheep-herder died, Xu Qing had never worried.

No matter how many secrets a person has, as long as they arrive here, it's like being stripped naked. No secret can escape his eyes.

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

The old man's name was Chen Mancang, just because he was born in a year of disaster, and eating and drinking were problems, so his parents gave him such a name.

There was nothing to see about Chen Mancang's childhood. It wasn't until thirty years ago, when he was in his twenties, that Chen Mancang's life took a turn.

That was on the road of fleeing from famine, when Chen Mancang met an old man herding sheep.

It must be said that in those days, it was difficult for people to survive, and the grass roots and tree bark along the way had been scraped off, but the sheep-herder in front of him was driving dozens of sheep forward.

Chen Mancang had been hungry for several days. Seeing a flock of sheep and an old man at this time, green light flashed in his eyes.

Years of famine, people eating each other.

Chen Mancang had lived so long in the year of great drought and still had the strength to travel, so naturally, he had no taboos.

Drooling, he followed all the way. Halfway, the old man was probably hungry and actually set up a pot to stew sheep in the wilderness.

The old man smiled and peeled off the whole sheepskin, carefully placing it aside, afraid of damaging it.

The remaining bones and meat were thrown into the pot to stew.

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

He didn't ask if the old man was willing or not, picked up a piece of half-cooked meat with bones, and gnawed on it.

By the time Chen Mancang was full, he found the old sheep-herder looking at him with a smile.

He couldn't help asking: "I ate your sheep; aren't you angry?"

The old man stroked the sheepskin that still had blood on it and said: "This ewe was too small and thin to walk, and keeping it was a burden. Now that you've eaten it, you have strength in your body and can grow more meat and walk further. This is a good thing; I'm too happy to be angry."

No matter how Chen Mancang listened, he felt something was wrong. How could this old man talk about him like livestock...

However, he didn't think much about it. After eating and drinking, Chen Mancang dozed off beside the flock. When he opened his eyes and woke up, he saw the old sheep-herder smiling at him with satisfaction.

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

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

But he was different from other sheep. Every time other sheep saw their kind being cooked and sold, they would show a sorrowful expression.

But Chen Mancang would only drool.

In order to get a bite to eat, Chen Mancang began to please the sheep-herder. He took the initiative to take on the job of looking after the flock and tried his best to please the sheep-herder on weekdays. His diligent and loyal appearance was something even a sheepdog would sigh at.

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

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

On this day, the sheep-herder and a customer who loved to eat sheep talked about business.

That customer was a Commandery Prince of the Prince's Mansion. Because he had eaten meat several times due to a shortage of military rations when he led troops to fight in the past, he had been thinking about this thing ever since.

It wasn't that it was delicious, but he liked the feeling of cooking it.

The Commandery Prince was obviously an expert in this field. After seeing the sheep-herder's flock, he took a fancy to the leader, Chen Mancang, at a glance.

This sheep is good, fat enough, big enough!

Chen Mancang didn't care. After all, many people had wanted to buy him in the past, but in the end, didn't they choose other sheep?

The sheep-herder couldn't bear to sell a sheep as sensible as him!

Sure enough, when the old man heard the Commandery Prince's words, he refused without thinking.

"This sheep is the leader of my flock. With it, I can save a lot of effort. If the Prince takes it away, I will have to suffer a lot of fatigue in the future..."

"One hundred taels of silver!"

"This is not a matter of money. This sheep has been with this old man for several years, and we have long since developed feelings. It's no exaggeration to call it a grandfather-grandson relationship..."

"Ten pearls, two bolts of silk, plus five hundred taels of solid silver!"

"It's just a sheep; why does the Prince need to spend so much? I'll send it to the Prince's mansion right away."

Hearing this, Chen Mancang was both shocked and angry.

Thinking of how he had worked for the old man for so many years, if there was no credit, there was hard work. How could he be sold so easily?

In the Prince's mansion, Chen Mancang was sent to the kitchen.

Seeing the knives and axes in the kitchen, Chen Mancang was terrified.

Hearing the Prince's servants mention that the Commandery Prince loved to cut meat from living sheep to eat, he was even more afraid.

To avoid suffering while alive, Chen Mancang simply took advantage of people not paying attention and struggled to roll into a water vat full of water.

Even if he drowned, he didn't want to suffer the punishment of being sliced a thousand times.

Perhaps it was his destiny not to die. Chen Mancang, who rolled into the water vat, gulped down a lot of fresh water. When his stomach was full of water, he suddenly felt a sense of relief all over his body.

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

Chen Mancang, who was stark naked, jumped out of the water vat, unable to stop his joy.

It turned out that the way to break the evil art of 'Animal-Creation' was to pour water!

(End of chapter)