The backyard of the Buddha hall.
"Master, it hurts so much, please help me..."
"Jinghui, I really don't know what to do." Usually calm and composed, the highly respected Dingxian is now at a loss, unsure of how to handle such a situation.
Childbirth, although many nuns in the temple have experienced it, she is a true nun with no such experience after all these years.
"Junior sister Jinghui, just push harder, that's all you can do!"
A simple and straightforward instruction.
That's all there is.
"Senior sister, I've been trying my best..." On the bed, the young woman in labor looked pale, her hair soaked with sweat stuck to her forehead, one hand grasping the bed frame, another holding a nun's hand, and she bit into the quilt corner with effort, which was already torn by her teeth, with blood staining the plain silk.
If Lin Miao saw this, he'd be surprised — she hadn't shaved her hair, was she practicing with hair, or was she just a secular disciple?
What should I do, what should I do...
The nuns in the room were at a loss, having run out of ideas, yet the baby simply wouldn't come.
If this baby doesn't come out, it will be two lives lost.
No one in Heaven-Reaching Temple could bear the consequences if anything happened to Jinghui, and Dingxian stood there, sweating profusely from anxiety.
"Master, use a knife!" suggested a nun.
"A C-section is out of the question, absolutely not..." Dingxian rejected the idea outright without hesitation.
"Master, I'm begging you, I don't mind if I die, but I must save this child!" Jinghui pleaded with all her strength.
"No, Master will not let either of you die; I'll save you both!" Dingxian proclaimed loudly.
"Master, please, act quickly, so I can at least see my child..." Jinghui gritted her teeth, out of strength.
If the child in her belly didn't come out, it would suffocate.
"I'll send someone to find a midwife..."
"There's no time, Master; even if you brought a midwife back, I wouldn't last, besides, having a midwife in the temple would ruin Heaven-Reaching Temple's reputation..." Jinghui said with difficulty.
"I won't let anything happen to you," the determined Dingxian went over and placed her hand on Jinghui's head, channeling a strong internal energy into her.
Through decades of cultivation, Dingxian's internal energy had reached a high level, at least in the Gathering Yuan Realm.
"Master, don't waste your energy!"
"Master, those three who stayed at our temple tonight have herbs and a medicine box with them..." a nun suddenly interjected.
An itinerant doctor?
But it's just a young lady from a minor family with her nurse and servant traveling, and the medicine box and herbs are probably for health issues. This is just desperation.
However, one who has been ill for a long time could indeed become a good doctor, offering a glimmer of hope.
But they're so young, are they reliable?
Should we...?
Dingxian hesitated, her experience far deeper than the nuns' — despite their age, few had truly seen the outside world.
"Master, I'll go!" With that, the nun who spoke rushed out the door.
This Jingxin, despite her age, remained impulsive; all these years of cultivating had not changed her nature.
Oh well, treat a dead horse like a living one.
...
Lin Miao didn't want any trouble, but sometimes trouble finds you.
He heard hurried footsteps heading toward his and his senior sister's rooms and quickly jumped out of bed to open the door.
Jingxin was originally heading straight to Sun Youwei's room, as in her mind, the young lady seemed to be in charge, so naturally, she went to speak with the owner first.
But when Lin Miao suddenly opened the door, she couldn't just pass by, so she quickly clasped her hands: "Young benefactor, could your lady be knowledgeable in medicine?"
Lin Miao understood at once — it had to relate to the cries earlier, but he didn't want to meddle: "My lady is not knowledgeable in medicine."
"I saw you traveling with a medicine box and herbs..."
"My lady has been frail since childhood and needs daily medication, hence, she travels with a medicine box and herbs," Lin Miao explained.
"Ah..." Jingxin cried out in distress, "Jinghui, is this fate?"
"Sorry!" Lin Miao slightly bowed and clasped his hands.
This matter, he couldn't interference.
...
Jingxin left in despair.
"Junior brother, why did you say that? We study medicine; even if we can't practice, we shouldn't lie." Inside, the lantern was lit, Yun opened the door, Lin Miao entered, and Sun Youwei sat on the bed, puzzled.
She had heard Lin Miao's exchange with Jingxin from inside.
"Senior sister, we are just travelers sheltering from the rain at the temple, we don't know who these people are or what the illness is, it's better not to intervene rashly," Lin Miao explained, although since their stay at Heaven-Reaching Temple, the prickling sensation on their back seemed to have vanished.
"But..."
"Weiwei, Mr. Lin is right, we are unfamiliar with this place, and it's best not to meddle in Heaven-Reaching Temple's affairs," Yun also urged.
Kindness is a noble virtue, but at times, kindness can lead to devastation, Sun Simiao had protected her too well.
"But we've been given shelter from the rain, and they could have refused us," Sun Youwei slowly said.
Lin Miao felt a slight tremor in his heart, perhaps because he had seen too much betrayal and deceit. His heart had long been closed off, becoming entirely self-centered.
But his senior sister's innocence and kindness were like a clear spring, pristine and flawless, stirring the goodness deep in his heart.
Forget it.
To live without shame in one's heart is the way to go.
"Senior sister, I'll take a look. If I can help, I will; if not, it won't be our fault." Lin Miao decided.
"Thank you, junior brother." Sun Youwei showed a faint smile of relief.
The junior brother was still the pure and kind one she knew.
...
Following the sound, Lin Miao arrived outside a meditation room. After listening to the sounds from within, he understood what was happening.
A pregnant woman was having a difficult labor.
In a nunnery, in the middle of the night, a pregnant woman was giving birth!
Today, there were only the three of them sheltering from the rain in the nunnery, and the residents should all be nuns. For such a place to harbor such impurity, for pure-minded nuns to be pregnant and give birth, it was too absurd. He almost couldn't hold back from leaving immediately.
However, he reconsidered. Was he being too judgmental? A nun giving birth was the greatest taboo for the Buddhist world, especially in this nunnery. If word got out, their reputation would be ruined. Even if giving birth, it wouldn't be arranged directly in the nunnery...
He had observed that the nuns in the nunnery wore simple robes and none bore flirtatious or frivolous expressions, and most were not young.
Perhaps he had misunderstood.
"Young benefactor, why are you here?" The nun Jingxin, who had come to find Sun Youwei earlier, came out with a basin of water, and upon seeing Lin Miao, was greatly surprised. She, somewhat flusteredly, tried to hide the basin behind her, but she could not hide it at all.
"Is there a woman in difficult labor inside?" Lin Miao asked calmly.
"Young benefactor, how... how did you know?" Jingxin was astonished. She had not spoken earlier, and the other party had directly said they couldn't help, so naturally, she hadn't informed them.
"If the master trusts me, perhaps I could give it a try!" Lin Miao said slowly. The situation inside was extremely urgent, and if he didn't take action, there might be two lives lost.
Human life was at stake, and he couldn't really have a heart of stone.
"Young benefactor, what are you talking about?" Jingxin the nun was taken aback. Midwives were traditionally women; it was unheard of for a man to deliver a baby.
"When you asked if my lady knew medicine, she indeed does not, but I do." Lin Miao explained, "The pregnant woman inside has a difficult labor. It's probably not just because of the wrong fetal position, and you didn't call a midwife because you didn't want outsiders to know, right?"
"But you are a man."
"Does Buddha have a gender?" Lin Miao retorted.
Jingxin was stumped, not knowing how to reply.
"Amitabha, well said, Buddha is beyond gender, young benefactor, you truly understand Buddhist teachings, I admire that." Stated Dingxian the elderly nun as she emerged, chanting a Buddha phrase in low tones and answering the question.
"Master."
"You may go." Dingxian gestured to Jingxin with a wave.
"Time is of the essence, Master, shall we save the person?"
"Young benefactor, please." Dingxian clasped her hands together, bowing deeply.
Lin Miao didn't waste any more words and quickly entered the room.
The two young nuns in the room almost screamed in surprise upon seeing a young man enter, but the pregnant woman lying on the bed remained very calm.
Lin Miao walked over, reached out to the belly, and after touching a few places, understood why the woman was having a difficult birth.
"Find a silver needle, if not, a sewing needle will do."
The fetus had grabbed the umbilical cord and wouldn't let go. No matter how hard the mother tried, the baby couldn't be born. He didn't expect to encounter such a rare case in this other world.
It was not difficult; in the vast Heaven-Reaching Temple, a steel needle could be found easily.
Lin Miao heated the needle over the fire, wiped it with a clean cloth, and swiftly pierced it into a certain part of Jinghui the nun's belly.
"What are you doing..."
"Madam, push." Lin Miao, seeing the pregnant woman's long black hair, assumed she wasn't a nun from the nunnery, so he addressed her differently.
Jinghui nodded, mustering the last bit of strength to push the fetus out.
"It...it's out," the waiting midwife nun shouted with joy.
Lin Miao gave a gentle push on the belly, and just like that, with the added push, a baby boy came out smoothly.
The child did not cry.
This frightened everyone; could it be that the child was stillborn?
Lin Miao walked over, looked at the baby, and lifted it upside down, patting its back lightly three times, and then the baby let out a loud cry.
"Little guy, you're really lucky. Live well." Lin Miao handed the baby to the nun, cleaned the blood off his hands with water, and prepared to leave.
"Benefactor, you saved my child, please grant him a name!"
"Me, name your child? Isn't that inappropriate?" Lin Miao said in surprise.
"Amitabha, this child is born thanks to the benefactor, which means the benefactor is his savior. For the benefactor to give him a name fulfills this karma."
The mother on the bed, Jinghui, and all the nuns in the room looked at Lin Miao.
"Very well, since meeting is a kind of fate, let the child be named 'Yuan' (Fate)."
Fate?
Isn't that a bit too casual?