Li Dequan told her the whole story, tears and snot streaming down the face of the man in his thirties.
Jin Shanyao was a wild tree that had never even been grafted, much less had offspring.
But during this time, she had learned how important human young were to humans.
Just as her benefactor had been willing to trade her chance at reincarnation for the two children to live smooth lives.
Li Dequan wiped away his tears. "Sorry to make a spectacle of myself, Master." He stood and asked cautiously, "How much do you charge for a reading, Master?"
A small ripple stirred in Jin Shanyao's heart. She put herself in his shoes and imagined someone stealing Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci.
No, no... Her head shook like a pellet drum.
She couldn't break the precept against killing. Her Spirit Core would crack.
Seeing her shake her head, Li Dequan panicked. "Master, I'm begging you. I only want one reading. I'll pay whatever it costs. Ever since my child went missing, I haven't dared close my eyes for days on end. Every time I do, I hear him crying for help.
"These past six months, I don't even know if he's gone hungry or thirsty, or if he's been beaten."
Li Dequan slapped himself hard, his face contorted with pain.
"I'm useless. I'm a useless father. I couldn't even keep an eye on my own child. I don't blame my wife for divorcing me. I deserve to die."
Whoa, brother, why are you slapping yourself? Jin Shanyao hurriedly shoved the cloth banner into Meng Anzhi's arms and grabbed Li Dequan's arm.
Looking him in the eye, she said with utmost seriousness, "One copper coin for a reading to find someone."
"What?" Li Dequan thought he had misheard. He rubbed his ears and stared back at her without blinking.
Jin Shanyao took a deep breath. Few humans had ears that worked properly. "I said one copper coin per reading."
Li Dequan dropped to his knees again with a thud, clutched the cart rut, and burst into tears.
He had spent everything he had searching for his son over the past six months. This was the first time anyone had been willing to help him for free.
He wiped his tears away fiercely, pulled out a copper coin, and slapped it onto the cart bed. "I'll take it."
The ox cart thumped under the blow. Jin Shanyao glanced at him, put the coin away, and asked her questions.
"What's your son's name? What was he wearing when he left? How tall was he? Was he fat or thin? The more detail, the better."
Li Dequan repeated the words he had spoken thousands of times, word by word, sentence by sentence. His son's face and voice were vivid before his eyes.
Jin Shanyao released her Spiritual Power, from a blade of grass by the road to a tree by the city gate, letting no chance to ask questions slip by.
The Lantern Festival fell in winter, when most plants were either withered or dormant, so the search took some time. Li Dequan watched her with hopeful eyes, not daring to speak.
Her Spiritual Power covered the entire county town and extended beyond its walls, finally stopping beside the Land God Temple.
An eight-year-old boy lay there, his limbs bound, the skin on his face rotting and crawling with maggots, the stark white bones of his palms exposed. Jin Shanyao's Spiritual Power hovered above him, and for a long time she couldn't come to her senses.
It was as though a wad of cotton had lodged in her chest, suffocating her.
Only when a drop of water struck her face did she come back to herself. Rumble... A muffled peal of thunder exploded in the sky, and rain poured down in torrents.
Meng Anzhi scrambled to her feet and held the palm-leaf fan over Jin Shanyao's head, getting soaked to the skin herself.
She wiped the water from her face with her little hand. "Don't be scared, Auntie. With me here, the lightning won't strike you."
A warm current welled up in Jin Shanyao's heart. She murmured, "Little fool," pulled her into her arms, and used her Spiritual Power to spread a protective barrier around them.
The clothes of the man before her gradually grew wet, rain and tears mingling on his face. There was hope and pleading in his eyes, but mostly anxiety.
"Master, have you found out where my son is?"
Jin Shanyao stood and pointed to the medical clinic beside them. "Let's talk inside."
Li Dequan apologized repeatedly. "I was too impatient. Master, please come into my clinic and shelter from the rain." With that, he stepped forward to lead the way.
Once they were inside, Li Dequan spoke. "Master, there are clothes my wife left in the back courtyard. You can change into them."
"It's all right. A few drops of rain will dry soon enough." Jin Shanyao discreetly sent Spiritual Power into Meng Anzhi.
Meng Anzhi felt warmth spread through her body, and her clothes, which had caught a few drops of rain, dried in an instant.
Jin Shanyao watched Li Dequan and chose her words carefully. "Go to the Land God Temple outside the city. Look under the third tree."
The hope in Li Dequan's eyes turned cold in an instant. "What do you mean?"
Jin Shanyao wanted to be tactful, but she truly couldn't find the words. She said bluntly, "He's dead."
"What did you say?" Li Dequan's voice rose sharply, and his eyes, still wet a moment ago, turned bloodshot.
"You swindler! Get out! I don't need your reading anymore."
"Get out! Get out! Don't stand in my house! Get out!" Li Dequan screamed hysterically. Ignoring the rain pouring down outside, he shoved Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi out.
Then he slammed the door shut, leaned back against it, and slowly slid down.
He pounded his head desperately and wailed, his cries of despair reaching Jin Shanyao's ears.
Under the eaves, Meng Anzhi held Jin Shanyao's hand and looked up. "Auntie, is his son really dead?"
Jin Shanyao gave a soft "Mm."
Silence settled over the air again, broken only by the man's crying.
Li Dequan didn't understand. His family had practiced medicine for generations. If they hadn't saved a thousand people, they had saved hundreds. Surely so many lives should have earned them some Merit?
The neighbors all said good deeds brought good rewards, so why had his family suffered retribution instead?
Why on earth was this happening?
The rain stopped. The ox cart's bed was too wet to sit on, so Meng Anzhi and Jin Shanyao squatted beside it.
"Auntie, are we still setting up our stall here?"
Li Dequan was miserable enough already. If they treated people for free outside the Li Household's door, she feared he would kill someone.
Jin Shanyao stared at a little puddle on the ground. "How about we stand a little farther away?"
Meng Anzhi nodded solemnly. "That works."
So the two led the ox a hundred meters away. The cart had barely stopped when a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Miss Jin, what are you doing?"
Jin Shanyao turned around. It was the shopkeeper of Benevolence Hall. She took the cloth banner off the ox cart and planted it on the ground, water droplets rolling down the cloth and falling to the earth.
Qin Baitang stared at the words on the banner, the corner of his mouth twitching. You've come to treat people for free right outside my door. Isn't that smashing up my business?
Jin Shanyao said, "Is something the matter, Shopkeeper Qin?"
What could be the matter? The street doesn't belong to me. Qin Baitang smiled awkwardly. "Miss Jin, you know how to treat patients?"
"I know a little."
"Treating people is a matter of great importance. There's no room for carelessness. Taking the pulse, writing a prescription, dispensing medicine-an error at any step could cost a life. You must be careful, Miss Jin."
Jin Shanyao nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Shopkeeper Qin. I'll take their pulses carefully and give due thought to the medicines I prescribe."
Was I reminding you? Was I chasing you away? Qin Baitang thought. But Jin Shanyao was looking at him with a smile in her eyes and an innocent expression.
At a loss for words, Qin Baitang pointed around the corner of the shop. "Miss Jin, there's plenty of room over there. You could set up your stall there." At any rate, she shouldn't block his door.
Jin Shanyao glanced in the direction he was pointing. Though out of the way, the spot was large enough, just right for parking the ox cart. She gave Qin Baitang a grateful smile.
"You're actually pretty nice. Thanks."
Qin Baitang was speechless, then laughed. He went into the shop, and when he came back out, he saw Jin Shanyao and the little girl squatting by the roadside with the cloth banner, gazing eagerly at the passersby.
He called an assistant over. "Go get them two chairs."
"Shopkeeper, we both treat patients. What's she playing at, setting up her stall outside our shop? And she's treating them for free. What if she ends up treating someone to death and damages our shop's reputation?"
Qin Baitang said coldly, "Why so much nonsense? Just do as you're told."
The assistant dared say no more. He took two chairs and sheepishly delivered them to Jin Shanyao.