Chapter 11: Past Life and Next Life Are All Livestock

  Mr. Zhang told Mr. Liu: "The old yellow cow has worked hard all its life, from now on we should treat this old yellow cow well, everything has a spirit."

  Old Liu nodded hastily, I glanced at Old Huang Niu, still with tears in his eyes, and quickly turned my head, not daring to look. Zhang Daoye and Liu Dajye had a conversation, then pulled me away, saying as we walked: "This time you saw the reincarnation, right? The views of Taoism and Buddhism on reincarnation are the same, after death, one's deeds continue, either becoming a ghost or being reborn."

  I said: "Master Dao, you will definitely become an immortal when the time comes."

  Zhang Daoye smiled and said, "I've done too many evil things in this life, I don't dare to think about becoming an immortal. Let's go to Jia Renyi's house to buy a big rooster."

  At that time, the village was poor and everyone in the village was poor. However, there were also rich people, such as Jia Renyi's family, which was wealthy. They had long-term workers and short-term workers during harvest season, mules, horses, and many chickens raised at home. But this Jia Renyi was a hypocrite who pretended to be kind and invited the second master to come over just for show, in order to gain a reputation for being benevolent. In reality, I knew he didn't want us poor devils to follow him to school. However, I heard that Zhang Daoye was good at flattering the wealthy, and Jia Renyi often sent wine and meat to Zhang Daoye. Today, going to Jia Renyi's house would be a great show.

  I followed Zhang Daoye through the streets and alleys, walking along, I suddenly found that under my feet, many people were lying down. Those people had men and women, old and young, these people just slept there, their clothes didn't look like those of the Republic of China. I was so scared that I didn't dare to walk anymore. Zhang Daoye smiled and said: "Don't be afraid, these are actually ancient people who died in the past, the soul guarding the corpse is here, you have been temporarily opened by me The heavenly eye can see a person's previous life, and also see the Netherworld."

  I suddenly realized that Zhang Daoyi, who had always been a bit mysterious and unpredictable, especially when walking on this road with a dance-like gait, dodging left and right, was actually trying to avoid stepping on the invisible people below. After saying those words, he started walking ahead of me, wearing his Ba Na Fu Mo clothes, swaying from side to side as he walked. In the past, I would have definitely laughed at this sight, but now I couldn't bring myself to smile. As the saying goes, "the dead are revered," Zhang Daoyi's behavior was a sign of respect for the deceased. Later, when I saw Tang Bohu's famous phrase, "Others laugh at me as being too crazy, I laugh at others for not seeing through," I finally understood that there are many things in this world that we can't see through, and it's not that others are crazy, but rather that we are ignorant.

  I also learned to avoid the people sleeping on the ground, just like Zhang Daoye did. The people on the street were talking and laughing, looking at a big madman and a little madman. We arrived at the home of landlord Jia Ruyu, which was not simple - it had high walls and a large courtyard with watchtowers at each corner. When we reached the entrance to Jia Ruyu's mansion, I saw that the gate was made of black lacquer, with a gatehouse above it. On either side of the gate were written the words "Yangguang Gate: Spring is always present" and "A good man's house celebrates abundance". At the entrance, there was also a mounting block for dismounting horses.

  Zhang Daoye walked to the door and shouted in a loud voice: "Jia Shanren, Jia Shanren, I, Zhang Lao Dao, have come to bring you good fortune."

  Zhang Daoye's voice was like a broken gong, shouting loudly outside, almost half of the village could hear it. Of course, Jia Renyi in the house could also hear it. After a while, the gate opened, and only Longqing, Jia Renyi's old servant, came out to open the door. This Longqing was a bachelor, diligent and honest, with a short stature, as black as coal, a real farmer. Others said he was as honest as an ox. I wonder what he was in his previous life. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that he was indeed a black ox. Zhang Daoye's medicine was truly amazing, able to see through the yin and yang realms.

  Behind Zhang Qing followed Jia Renyi and his wife, Jia Renyi and his wife were both stout and fat, a pair of pig eyes. Now looking at them, they were pigs in their previous life, with a pair of pig eyes, this is normal. Jia Renyi looked at his chubby figure, with a full face of flesh, when he saw Zhang Daoye coming, he first frowned, then smiled and came up to say: "Zhang Daoye's noble visit, my humble abode is truly honored."

  Mr. Zhang smiled and said, "Your home is not humble compared to my solitary palace, besides, I came to knock on the wall, wouldn't I turn into dust? Look at my clothes, they're old, just a shake and they'll fall apart."

  Jia Renyi hastily said: "Master Dao is joking."

  Mr. Zhang said: "Let's not talk about trivial matters. I came today to give your family a favor in secret."

  Jia Renyi's mother turned her pig-like eyes and said with a fake smile: "Master Dao is really kind, I don't know what kind of evil intentions he has in sending this to my family?"

  Mr. Zhang said with a smile: "The well where we draw water has drowned someone, and the soul was not replaced last time, now it's starting to make trouble, I think of getting a big rooster to replace the dead person's spirit, what do you think of this rooster..."

  At this time, Jia Renyi's wife came over and said in a loud voice: "I say, Zhang Daoye, you're just eating at our house all the time. Can't you see that we also have wine and meat to entertain guests during festivals? You say there's a dead person's soul in the well, but it has to be our family who takes out the rooster. Isn't this bullying our family?"

  "Who says I'm taking advantage of your family? Look, I didn't take it for free, I paid money for it."

  After finishing speaking, it's like having lice on his body, digging everywhere, and saying while digging: "I clearly brought a big dollar with me, how come I don't have it?"

  Jia Renyi looked at Zhang Daoye without speaking, coldly smiling to himself. He knew that Zhang Daoye couldn't produce the silver dollar. Jia Renyi's wife said: "Daoye, don't bother looking anymore. If you had a silver dollar, you would have used it to buy wine long ago. You're still relying on others' generosity."

  "Who says there isn't? Look, isn't this the ocean?"

  Jia Renyi's family was wealthy, but when they saw the money in Zhang Daoye's hand, their eyes widened. They stared at the money as if Zhang Daoye had stolen it from his own home. Zhang Daoye walked up to Jia Renyi with a smile and said: "Renyi, my younger brother, I'm an old Taoist priest who loves to eat, and I've eaten a lot of your family's food over the years. This time, one chicken costs one dollar, and you don't need to find any change. Consider it compensation for all the things I've eaten at your house."

  Jia Renyi looked at Zhang Daoye and said: "Is what you're saying true?"

  Zhang Daoye smiled and said: "Is this still fake? When did I, Lao Dao, ever say anything false?"

  Jia Renyi, upon hearing this, immediately grabbed a handful of silver dollars and put them in his mouth to bite, then blew on them and held them up to his ear to listen. His mouth was smiling so wide that his back teeth were showing. He turned to Changqing behind him and said: "Changqing, hurry up and go catch some chickens for Zhang Daoye, grab the biggest one."

  Chang Qing responded with a "yes" and walked towards the yard. After a while, he grabbed a red rooster and handed it to Zhang Daoye. Zhang Daoye took the big rooster and said to me: "Let's go, you daredevil! We'll go to your house and have your dad kill the chicken. We'll drink wine together. This vengeful spirit in the well will soon find a substitute body anyway. I saw that dead ghost coming in and out of here yesterday."

  Jia Renyi hastily asked Zhang Daoye about the vengeful spirit in the well, what's going on? Why is it still coming and going from his place? Zhang Daoye mysteriously said: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed."

  At this time, Jia Renyi's son, Jia Mingzu, came out. He and I were classmates. As soon as he saw me, he ran over to my side and said, "How dare you come to my house?"

  I took a look at Jia Renyi's son, and there was also an animal shadow on his body. I was talking to Jia Mingzu, while Jia Renyi asked Zhang Daoye to clarify the matter of that wrongly killed ghost. Zhang Daoye cleared his throat and said: "When speaking, leave three parts unsaid. All I can tell you is that your son has a dark brow and black air rising from him, this is an omen of water disaster, you must be careful."

  After finishing speaking, he pulled me away. Jia Renyi heard it and quickly grabbed Zhang Daoye, saying: "Daoye, my son is in trouble, can you please help him?"

  Master Zhang said: "Originally, I wanted to break it, and I came to your house to ask for a rooster. Secretly, I would have broken the water calamity of your son. However, your family is quite something - you want me to pay one big dollar for just one chicken! This chicken, in my opinion as an old Daoist, would be better off thrown into the water. Anyway, finding a substitute has nothing to do with me."

  Jia Renyi quickly took out the silver dollar and put it in Zhang Daoye's hand, saying: "Master Zhang, please help me. You wanted to eat chicken, didn't you? Take this chicken and eat it." Then he turned around and said to Chang Qing: "Chang Qing, go catch another rooster for Master Zhang."