My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Ye Qingfeng suddenly looked up and glanced at him.

That calm and unwavering gaze sent a chill down Zhou Wenchang's spine, and the rest of his words caught in his throat.

In that instant, Ye Qingfeng raised his right hand—not to draw his sword, nor to form a hand seal, but simply, as if brushing away insects, he made a light tap in the air towards Zhou Wenchang's direction.

He bent his index finger, aimed the knuckle at Zhou Wenchang's forehead, and gently tapped it.

The two were more than three zhang apart.

But Zhou Wenchang suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forehead!

It felt as if an invisible stick had struck him squarely on the forehead.

The force wasn't strong enough to break his skull, but it was enough to make him see stars, hear a ringing in his ears, and stagger back three steps before collapsing to the ground.

"Ouch!"

Zhou Wenchang screamed and covered his forehead with both hands.

There was no blood or swelling on the tentacles, but the excruciating pain was incredibly real, like being hit by an iron hammer.

Everyone around was stunned.

The constables stopped and looked at each other in bewilderment—they hadn't seen Ye Qingfeng touch the magistrate at all, so how could the magistrate have fallen down?

Sun, the foreman, reacted the fastest, shouting, "You sorcerer! What kind of sorcery have you used?!"

Ye Qingfeng ignored him, his gaze remaining fixed on Zhou Wenchang, and uttered two words indifferently:

"Ignorant and foolish, he deserves to be punished!"

The sound wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

Zhou Wenchang was both shocked and furious. He struggled to his feet, pointed at Ye Qingfeng, and his voice trembled.

"You...you dare to hit me?! This is rebellion! Rebellion!"

Before he finished speaking, Ye Qingfeng tapped his index finger again.

This time, it was a tap on the back of the head.

"Thump!"

Another muffled thud—a thud that only Zhou Wenchang could hear.

He felt as if he had been struck hard on the back of the head with a stick, and he fell forward, face down on the bluestone slab. His nose hit the ground, and blood immediately flowed from his nose, and his front teeth became loose.

"Ouch—!" Zhou Wenchang cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face, and rolled on the ground with his hands covering his face.

Ye Qingfeng remained expressionless and raised his hand for the third time.

Tap lightly with your index finger, this time tapping your left temple.

Zhou Wenchang had just propped himself up halfway when a dull pain shot through his left forehead, his vision went black, and he fell back to the ground.

"He deserves a beating." Ye Qingfeng's voice remained calm.

The fourth tap is light, on the right temple.

Zhou Wenchang rolled on the ground, screaming in agony.

The fifth time, at the Baihui acupoint on the top of the head.

The sixth time, at the Fengfu acupoint on the back of the neck.

The seventh time, at the Yintang acupoint between the eyebrows.

Each time they made a feigned knock, they were three zhang apart.

Each tap precisely hits the vital points.

Each time he landed, Zhou Wenchang screamed and rolled on the ground.

His official hat had long since rolled off his head, his official robes were covered in dust, and his face was streaked with blood and tears, making him look utterly disheveled.

At first, he angrily denounced the "wicked Taoist" and said "he's rebelled," but later all he could do was cry and beg for mercy.

"Stop hitting me...stop hitting me...ouch..."

The streets were completely silent.

Everyone was stunned.

The constables, holding their fire and water sticks, were caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

Sun, the head of the squad, turned pale and his hand gripping the knife hilt trembled. He had been handling cases for many years and had seen ruthless bandits and criminals, but he had never seen such a method of striking someone from a distance!

The onlookers were also dumbfounded.

They knew this Taoist priest was powerful, capable of slaying demons and monsters, yet he could knock the county magistrate to the ground in a throes of despair from afar... It was just like a fairy tale told by a storyteller!

Lu Yang stood beside Ye Qingfeng, his eyes wide open, his breathing rapid.

Looking at Zhou Wenchang's disheveled appearance and Ye Qingfeng's calm and composed demeanor, his desire to become his disciple grew even more fervent—this was true supernatural power!

This is the immortal technique he has always dreamed of!

Ye Qingfeng, however, acted as if he had done something insignificant, slowly lowering his hand and glancing at the stunned constables:

"Who else wants to take this from me?"

The constables all took a step back, none of them daring to respond.

Sun, the head constable, gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "You heretic! You...you dare to assault an official of the imperial court! This is a capital offense!"

Ye Qingfeng looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Then tell me, this Magistrate Zhou, as the local official in charge of the county, instead of protecting the people and eliminating evil, he shields the wicked and falsely accuses the innocent. Doesn't he deserve to be beaten?"

This question was directed at Sun Debiao, but also at everyone present.

Sun Debiao opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.

The surrounding guests, however, started chattering amongst themselves:

"He deserves to be hit! He deserves to be hit!"

"That corrupt official frequents the Lan Yue Fang (a pleasure boat), mingling with those paper figures; he probably already knows the inside story!"

"Well done, Immortal Master!"

Hearing these words, Zhou Wenchang was filled with shame and anger. He struggled to sit up and hissed, "You...you dare to insult me, an official..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Qingfeng tapped his index finger again.

This time, they hit him on the mouth.

Zhou Wenchang felt a sharp pain in his lips, as if he had been hit with a stick. His upper and lower lips swelled up instantly, turning into a pig's snout, and he could no longer speak clearly.

"Waaah..." He covered his mouth, tears streaming down his face.

Ye Qingfeng then said calmly, "Magistrate Zhou, would you be willing to listen to what this humble Taoist has to say?"

Zhou Wenchang dared not refuse, nodding repeatedly and mumbling through his swollen lips, "Listen...listen..."

"The Moon-Embracing Pavilion is a den of evil spirits. Eight or nine out of ten of the maids, dancers, and pimps inside are paper effigies of evil beings who use illusions to bewitch living people and drain their yang energy and blood essence."

Ye Qingfeng's voice was calm, yet every word was clear.

"I have come here tonight to exorcise the demon. The burning of the building is true, but it was the demon's lair that was burned; what was saved were human lives."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the still-shaken guests:

"These people can all testify. If you don't..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Wenchang suddenly let out a strange cry, jumped up from the ground, pointed at Ye Qingfeng, and roared with swollen lips:

"Stop...stop listening to this sorcerer's nonsense! Seize him...seize him!!"

He was clearly furious—having been publicly humiliated and beaten to the ground, he now only wanted to tear Ye Qingfeng to pieces, and didn't care about any evil spirits at all.

Sun Debiao hesitated for a moment, but seeing the magistrate's reaction, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and wave his hand: "Take him down!"

The constables surrounded them again.

Upon seeing this, Lin Zhenyuan and Zhao Damang immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Ye Qingfeng.

"Your Excellency!" Lin Zhenyuan bowed, his voice steady.

"There are other hidden circumstances in this matter, and we urge you, Your Excellency, to investigate thoroughly! This Taoist priest was indeed exorcising demons and saving people; we can testify to that!"

"Who are you people?" Zhou Wenchang glanced at him.

"I am Lin Zhenyuan, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort) of Weiyuan镖局 (escort agency), and this is Zhao Damang, the second-in-command of the agency."

Lin Zhenyuan introduced himself, hoping the other party would give him some face out of consideration for the reputation of the escort agency.

Zhou Wenchang merely sneered: "A security escort agency? That's just江湖草莽 (jianghu caomang, meaning outlaws or scoundrels). What you say counts? You might even be accomplices! Take them all down!"

Upon hearing this, the guards no longer hesitated and rushed forward.

Lin Zhenyuan and Zhao Damang exchanged a glance, knowing that things couldn't end well today.

The two men drew their swords simultaneously, and with a flash of light, they deflected the first two chains that charged at them.

"Clang! Clang!"

The sound of gold and iron clashing sounded.

The guards were taken aback by the fact that the two men actually dared to resist, and four more rushed forward.

Lin Zhenyuan and Zhao Damang stood back to back, their blades flashing like lightning, protecting Ye Qingfeng in the middle.