The woman second in line clutched her apron and stepped forward. "Master, my daughter went missing half a year ago, and I still haven't found her. Can you help me?
"My husband favors boys over girls. He hasn't looked for our daughter since she went missing, but my heart aches for her. Every night, I dream of her calling for her mother."
Tears fell as the woman spoke. "I tried to look for her in secret, but I couldn't find her. Everyone says she's just a girl, and if she's gone, she's gone. But I'm her mother! I can't let her go."
Jin Shanyao asked, "Your child went missing half a year ago too?"
The woman nodded. "Just before or after Li Dequan's child did. But his family reported it, while my husband..." She said no more.
Jin Shanyao held out her hand. "One copper coin to find someone by divination."
The woman stared at Jin Shanyao in disbelief, wild with joy. She had already made up her mind that if the master charged ten taels of silver, she would steal or rob to scrape it together. She hadn't expected the master to charge just one copper coin.
She hurriedly pulled a copper coin from her greasy apron and placed it in Jin Shanyao's hand. Jin Shanyao took the money and asked for the child's name, age, clothing, and appearance. Finally, she sat cross-legged and released her Spiritual Power.
She soon found the Land God Temple outside the city.
In the temple's rear courtyard, Jin Shanyao's Spiritual Power hovered overhead. A six-year-old girl's clothes lay open, her chest ripped open by a sharp weapon. Maggots gnawed at her rotting flesh.
Jin Shanyao's expression turned cold. In nature, even the most ferocious animals wouldn't harm their young. Who could be so cruel?
Her Spiritual Power suddenly intensified, frightening the vegetation around the Land God Temple into trembling.
"How many more bodies are there in this Land God Temple? Find them all for me."
As soon as she spoke, the surrounding vegetation rustled, scrambling to tell her what each of them knew, terrified that being a step too slow would see them reduced to ashes.
In the plant world, ascending to godhood had always been the stuff of legend. The vast majority of plants were cut down by humans before they even reached adulthood.
Now their eyes had truly been opened: a plant really could cultivate into a great god.
They were afraid and awed, and even felt a little more confident. From now on, Jin Shanyao would be the grand ancestor of their plant world. They would see who dared bully them.
After learning the details, Jin Shanyao's face grew exceedingly grim.
The woman waiting beside her for the result unconsciously tightened her grip on her apron, staring at her without blinking.
"Go report it to the authorities. In the rear courtyard of the Land God Temple outside the city, dig down one meter beside the well. Your daughter is there."
At those words, the woman collapsed to the ground. It was a long while before she came to her senses, then she leaned against the cart rut and wailed.
"My poor girl, how am I supposed to go on living?"
Someone kindly reminded her, "Don't cry yet. Hurry outside the city and take a look. Maybe the divination was wrong."
The woman stopped crying and wiped her face hard. "I'll go right now, I'll go right now." She stumbled out of the crowd and ran straight for the Land God Temple outside the city.
Li Dequan wanted to pull her back, but the foot he had stepped out with froze in midair.
He thought, Let her go.
Don't stop her. Only when she goes will we know whether the divination was right.
But another voice said, Pull her back. Hurry and pull her back.
That master is a fraud. Pull her back. Their children aren't dead at all.
While Li Dequan's thoughts battled like heaven and man, the woman vanished from sight. He sat down dejectedly at the shop entrance, staring blankly toward the city gate.
Jin Shanyao turned, set the stool she had brought on the ground, and motioned for the old beggar to sit.
The old beggar sat down awkwardly and rubbed his wrist hard with his sleeve before placing his arm on the cart bed.
Jin Shanyao took his pulse first. When she was done, she had Meng Anzhi take it. "Did you feel anything?"
Meng Anzhi glanced at her and said uncertainly, "His pulse is weak. It seems to be a thready pulse."
The old beggar blushed and scolded her mildly. "You silly girl, how could I have a pregnancy pulse? I'm a man."
Meng Anzhi said, "Thready. I said a thready pulse."
"You're the one with a pregnancy pulse..." The old beggar's words set the people around them roaring with laughter. His weathered face flushed red, and he ducked his head, wanting to flee.
Jin Shanyao smiled. "Sir, she wasn't saying you were pregnant. She meant you've gone without enough food or warm clothing for a long time, and your body is weak."
The old beggar, who had started to lift his backside, sat back down on the stool. He rubbed his rough hands on his knees and timidly looked up. "I just want to ask, how much longer can I live?"
A moment of silence followed his question. Someone took out a copper coin and pressed it into his hand without saying a word.
The old beggar held the coin in his hand, his eyes fixed on Jin Shanyao's face, trying to discern any change.
Jin Shanyao picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote out two prescriptions. She gave one to Meng Anzhi and held the other out to the old beggar.
Meng Anzhi clutched the prescription. It was full of characters she didn't recognize, and she felt as though the sky had fallen. How could there be so many characters in the world she didn't know? Once she had memorized this page, there would be another.
Fortunately, she was young and her brain was fresh. If she were like Old Woman Li next door, forgetting one thing as soon as she picked up another, what would she do?
The old beggar didn't take the prescription. "Young lady, you're making fun of me. If I had money to buy medicine, would I be coming to you for treatment?" With that, he braced his hands on his knees, stood up, and walked away.
The sight of the old beggar waiting for death made Meng Anzhi uncomfortable. Before she had time to feel sad, someone else had already sat down on the stool.
As before, Jin Shanyao took the patient's pulse first, then taught Meng Anzhi how to take a pulse and diagnose an illness. Only then did everyone realize what the so-called free treatment was.
They were actually being used as teaching cases.
One divination and three consultations took only half an hour.
It was just past the hour of the dragon, and Meng Anzhi was going to the mountain with Jin Shanyao to identify medicinal herbs.
On White Head Mountain.
Meng Anzhi asked, "Auntie, none of the people who come to us for treatment have money to buy medicine. Does that mean their illnesses can't be cured?"
Jin Shanyao tossed a notoginseng plant into her back basket and casually picked a few mushrooms. "If they're sick and don't take medicine, they'll die quickly."
Meng Anzhi fell silent. "Auntie, we've been using all the herbs we gather for practice. Can I use them for the patients?"
"You can, but some herbs need to be processed. I'll only teach you the methods; as for who gets the medicine, that's up to you."
Meng Anzhi's eyes brightened, and she said happily, "Then I'll pick more. I saw that the old beggar's ankle was festering today. Auntie, can you teach me to make wound medicine first?"
"All right." It wasn't convenient for Jin Shanyao to interfere in mortal karma, but she wouldn't stop Meng Anzhi if she wanted to help. This was a rare opportunity to learn.
The sooner Meng Anzhi mastered pharmacology, the sooner Jin Shanyao could return to the Heavenly Court and be an immortal.
The next day, someone came from the county yamen.
"Miss Jin, someone came to the yamen this morning to report that she'd found her child's body at the Land God Temple outside the city. She said you found it through divination."
Constable Wang stood in the street, stopping the people who came forward for treatment. "His Excellency knows your Divine Abilities are vast and would like to ask for your help."
"Is there any money?"
Constable Wang was taken aback. "How much do you want?" he asked uncertainly.
"One copper coin."
"You must be joking, Miss Jin." Who asked for one copper coin for their help? A meat bun on the street corner cost two.
Constable Wang thought Jin Shanyao was teasing him, but when he saw her expressionless face, he awkwardly put away his smile, took out a copper coin, and handed it to her respectfully.
After accepting it, Jin Shanyao put the stool on the ox cart and went to the county yamen with Meng Anzhi.
Magistrate Yang had been waiting outside for some time. As soon as he saw Jin Shanyao, he hurried up to her. "Master, you must help me this time. If you don't, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my official hat."
Murders had occurred one after another in his jurisdiction. If he couldn't catch the killer, he couldn't escape responsibility.
Magistrate Yang briefly explained the situation. Half a year ago, there had been a child-abduction and trafficking case in the county town. Because few people had reported it, the county yamen had searched for a few months and then let the matter drop.
Who would have thought someone would report this morning that a child abducted half a year ago had been found?
Finding her was good, but the trouble was that she was dead.