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

Riverbank.

Ye Qingfeng withdrew his transformation, reverted to his original form, and remained calm.

That seemingly casual turn and retraction left the three people present speechless for a long time.

Ah Niu knelt on the ground, his forehead pressed against the pebbles on the riverbank, his voice trembling.

"God...you truly possess such supernatural powers...Cuigu is saved! Our whole village is saved!"

Cui Gu covered her face, tears seeping through her fingers, but they were no longer tears of despair.

Ye Qingfeng lifted his sleeve, and a gentle force lifted A Niu: "No need for formalities. Now that the plan is set, let's talk about how to proceed tomorrow."

He looked at Ah Niu: "Don't go back to the village tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will disguise myself as Cui Gu and go home with you."

"I'll do whatever the gods say." Ah Niu wiped his face and nodded excitedly.

Suddenly, the old man who was rowing the boat spoke up, rubbing his rough hands and speaking cautiously.

"Immortal...where has that Miss Cui Gu been hiding these past few days? There is indeed an empty room in my old man's house."

My deceased parents used to live here; if we clean it up, it would still be habitable. It's just... a bit shabby.

As if afraid Ye Qingfeng would find it distasteful, he quickly added, "My wife is at home and can take care of the young lady."

It's close to the ferry crossing; if anything happens, the old man can row her away overnight!

Ye Qingfeng looked at the old man.

This old boatman had spent his whole life rowing boats; his finger joints were thick, his back was somewhat hunched, and his face was dark from years of wind and sun exposure.

He didn't dare look at Ye Qingfeng when he spoke, keeping his head down as if afraid of being rejected.

Ye Qingfeng said, "It is Cui Gu's good fortune that the old man is willing to take her in."

The old man finally breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hands repeatedly: "You flatter me! The fairy saved that girl; I merely left an empty house. It's nothing..."

Cui Gu had stopped crying and bowed deeply to the old man: "Thank you, sir."

The old man hurriedly helped her up, saying, "No, no, you mustn't!"

The matter has been agreed upon.

The old man first rowed the boat to the fishing village on the other side and settled Cui Gu in.

Just before boarding the boat, Cui Gu turned back to look at A Niu, without crying, and simply said softly, "Brother A Niu, I'll wait for you."

Ah Niu stood on the shore, clenched his fists, and nodded emphatically.

The boat left the shore, the bamboo pole skimming the water, and gradually sailed away.

Lu Yang watched the boat disappear into the twilight, then turned to Ye Qingfeng and said solemnly.

"Immortal Master, I request permission—after you enter the village with A Niu tomorrow, I will wait around Jin Guang Temple."

"Once you enter the temple to investigate, I will be waiting outside. If there is any unusual activity, I will risk my life to rush in and assist you, Immortal Master!"

He spoke solemnly, his right hand pressing on the hilt of the Autumn Water Sword, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Ye Qingfeng glanced at him and said calmly.

"You don't need to risk your life. Just stay outside the temple and stop any monks who try to escape."

Lu Yang was taken aback, then realized that the immortal master was afraid that his strength was not high enough and that entering the temple would only be a burden.

But this was said tactfully; he was only assigned the job of a gatekeeper, thus saving face for the man.

He felt both grateful and ashamed, and bowed his head, saying, "Disciple obeys."

Ye Qingfeng added, "Remember this: if you see golden-red flames shooting into the sky from the temple, it means I have already made my move. At that time, you just need to guard the mountain gate and not let a single person escape."

Lü Yang solemnly replied, "This disciple has remembered!"

......

It was afternoon when Pu Songlin led his horse into Wen'an County.

He came from Heishan Town, having traveled for three days, covered in dust and grime. His two satchels on horseback were filled with notes and scraps of paper he had collected along the way.

Along the way, he collected several strange and unusual stories, but to his surprise, these stories were all related to that Taoist Master Qingwei.

After much deliberation, he started a separate notebook, which, although still part of the book "Strange Tales and Amazing Things," had its own independent section.

He also gave this unit a name.

The Biography of Master Qingwei.

He had a feeling that there would be many stories about this Taoist priest Qingwei.

The west gate of Wen'an County was no different from many other county towns he had visited, with its blue bricks and gray tiles, and an old gatekeeper squinting in the sun.

He led his horse into the city, intending to first sit in a teahouse and inquire about some interesting things, when he suddenly heard a commotion ahead.

It wasn't noisy, but rather a joyful and lively atmosphere.

He looked up and saw a long line of people standing under the locust tree at the west end of the street.

The people queuing were mostly the elderly, women, and children. Some carried bamboo baskets, while others held earthenware bowls, their faces showing a long-lost, reassuring anticipation.

At the end of the line was a simple cloth tent with three large pots under it, steaming hot, and people were using long ladles to scoop porridge and distribute it.

Pu Songlin was stunned.

Distributing porridge has always been done by government officials or well-known local gentry and wealthy households, in order to gain a reputation for being charitable.

But this shed in front of him... He squinted and looked closely. A faded old flag hung on the shed, with the character "威" (wei, meaning prestige) embroidered on it.

Although the handwriting was somewhat blurry, he could recognize it—it was the banner of the Weiyuan Escort Agency.

A security escort agency is distributing porridge?

He found it strange, so he led his horse closer.

The men working under the cloth tent were all strong and muscular, each dressed in short, fitted clothing with a short knife at their waist.

Although he was making a living distributing food, his eyes still held the wariness of someone from the martial arts world.

Several large wooden crates were piled up beside the shed, their lids half-open, revealing neatly arranged white steamed buns and pickled vegetables wrapped in oil paper inside.

Among the people queuing, an old woman shakily received the porridge and then took two steamed buns from the wooden box, expressing her gratitude profusely.

The man distributing the porridge waved his hand and said in a loud voice, "Auntie, don't be shy. The Taoist priest instructed us to eat well!"

Pu Songlin's heart stirred when he heard the words "Taoist Master".

He led his horse forward, cupped his hands in greeting to the man, and said, "Brave sir, I am Pu Songlin, a storyteller from the downstream region. I have just arrived in your county and have come across the porridge provided by the escort agency. May I ask who you are...?"

The man looked up at him and saw that he was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar with a kind face. He said, "You must be from out of town. This is a long story."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, told the young man next to him to continue distributing the porridge, and walked to the edge of the shed, saying to Pu Songlin.

"We are from the Wen'an County branch of the Weiyuan Escort Agency. We have been distributing porridge these past few days to accumulate merit for a Taoist priest."

Pu Songlin thought to himself, "As expected," and asked again, "May I ask if you are Daoist Qingwei?"

The man's eyes lit up: "You also know about immortal masters?"

"I've heard of a few of your deeds," Pu Songlin said with a smile. "I wonder if the Immortal Master is currently in the county? I have long admired you and would like to pay you a visit in person."

The man shook his head: "The immortal master left long ago! Just a few days ago, he stayed at our escort agency for one night, and set off before dawn the next day. I don't know where he went."

As he spoke, a hint of pride and smugness in his voice, he pointed to the steaming pot by the shed.

"This porridge is what the immortal master instructed me to prepare before he left."

Pu Songlin was taken aback: "Confess?"

"Yes," the man said.

"The immortal master said that although the government has closed the case of the Moon-Viewing Boat, the victims—those whose yang energy was drained by the paper figures and those who were cheated out of their money by the demons—are still suffering."

There are also families where someone died unjustly and there is no way to seek justice; the government's meager compensation is not even enough to satisfy their needs.

He left some gold and silver, instructing our security escort agency to distribute porridge daily for a month.

Pu Songlin nodded in agreement, then asked, "Why not just give them money directly? Wouldn't it be more convenient for the affected families to use their own funds?"

The man chuckled and lowered his voice, "You don't know, the Immortal Master is very thorough in his considerations!"

He looked around and saw that although everyone was queuing up for porridge and there were no strangers, he still lowered his voice.

"The Immortal Master's original words were: 'If we give money directly, firstly, we're afraid that bad people will take advantage of it, and secondly, if everyone has money in their hands, rice merchants and vegetable vendors might take the opportunity to raise prices.'"

In the end, the benefits don't reach the people's pockets, but instead enrich unscrupulous merchants.

He pointed to the large pots.

"It's different when it comes to food. Our escort agency handles the procurement, and rice, flour, and cooking oil are purchased directly from major merchants in the prefectural city. How dare those local vendors raise prices?"

Rice that costs one coin a pound, you're selling it for two? Do you think our镖局's (security escort agency's) swords are just for show?

Ye Qingfeng: ? ? ? Did I say that?

Pu Songlin sighed inwardly upon hearing this.

This Taoist priest, Qingwei, was ruthless and merciless when slaying demons and evil spirits.

When it came to resettling the people and distributing donations, they thought of everything so meticulously and thoroughly.

Giving money is not as good as giving grain, and giving grain is not as good as gathering it yourself—this is not condescending charity, but truly thinking of others.