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

A cool mountain breeze blew, and forest birds chirped.

Ye Qingfeng walked briskly along the mountain path not far from the village, his green robe brushing against the dew-covered grass, making a soft rustling sound.

The morning light filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on him. He was in a good mood.

Having accomplished his task, he left without a trace, concealing his achievements and fame. He even casually gave himself a seemingly classy yet unassuming background: "Qingwei Palace of Biyou in the East Sea." He felt this was quite appropriate.

This air of a "master" is becoming increasingly skillful.

He was pondering which direction to take next...

"Gurgle~~~~"

A long, loud rumbling sound came from his abdomen, quite out of place, breaking the tranquility of the forest and interrupting his wandering thoughts.

Ye Qingfeng paused, his detached and indifferent expression freezing instantly.

He slowly lowered his head, looking at his flat stomach, his eyes filled with disbelief and a belated sense of bewilderment.

Hungry?

Yes... I haven't eaten anything properly since this morning.

They were too busy maintaining their image of being otherworldly and ethereal, and leaving gracefully!

They completely forgot that their own body was still a mortal being that needed grains and could get hungry and thirsty!

It's a far cry from the legendary "abstinence" state!

A strong sense of weakness, mixed with physical needs and psychological embarrassment, instantly overwhelmed Ye Qingfeng.

"Damn it!" he couldn't help but mutter, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"What are you pretending to be so high and mighty for! In TV shows... no, in those supernatural tales, after a master helps someone exorcise a demon, isn't the host always extremely grateful and offer them gold, silver, rice, wine, and meat?"

Why is it that when it's my turn, all I get is kowtowing and saying "respectfully sending off the immortal"? Did I appear too detached from worldly affairs? Or is Xiahe Village simply too poor to offer a decent gift?

"What a blunder!" Ye Qingfeng clutched his rumbling stomach, looking miserable.

If I had known this would happen, I should have given a hint before leaving, or even better, I could have learned from Ji Gong and said, "This humble Taoist is traveling and my purse is empty. Could you please provide me with some vegetarian food?"

What to do now? Go back and demand it back? Wouldn't that instantly destroy the image of the newly established "Immortal Qingwei"? Where would we put our faces then?

But if we don't go back... this desolate mountain wilderness, with no village in sight, are we supposed to go digging for wild vegetables and hunting for wild game?

It's not that it's impossible, but digging for wild vegetables and hunting game always takes time.

Hunger, like a persistent, lingering ailment, came in waves, making his limbs feel weak.

Yesterday's energy expenditure was too great, and we urgently need to replenish it now.

Ye Qingfeng stood there, his expression shifting constantly, a fierce internal struggle raging within him.

His ethereal, otherworldly appearance and his rumbling stomach were locked in a fierce battle.

finally……

"Image is valuable, but moral character is even more precious; if it's for the sake of hunger, both... can be abandoned!"

Ye Qingfeng gritted his teeth and made a difficult decision.

He glanced around furtively to make sure no one was around, not even a bird was paying attention to him.

Then, take a deep breath, let the Qi in your body flow, and focus your mind on the folded feeling of space between your feet and the familiar path in front of you.

"Shrink the earth to an inch!"

With a slight sway, he took a step and was already more than ten feet away.

He didn't go far; instead, he followed the route he came from, silently and at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, and made his way back towards Xiahe Village!

Jungling is never as easy or fast as it seems!

Of course, you can't go through the main entrance, and you can't disturb anyone.

He went around to the back side of the village, where the trees were denser, near the back wall of Wang Dashan's house.

He knew Wang Dashan's family well; he had even drunk water from their well not long ago.

More importantly, he remembered that under the eaves of Wang Dashan's house, there seemed to be several strings of dark, salty-looking fish that looked extremely salty but could fill him up!

It's it!

Like a thief, Ye Qingfeng crouched low and, using the shadows of the trees and earthen walls, made his way to the outside of Wang Dashan's low mud-brick courtyard wall.

It was quiet inside. Wang Dashan was probably still on the riverbank discussing things with the villagers, and his wife was probably there too.

He used the Shrinking Earth technique again, this time covering an extremely short distance, silently crossing the wall.

It landed lightly next to the woodpile in the corner of the yard, barely stirring up any dust.

Sure enough, three or four dried salted fish, stiff as rock, hung under the eaves, glistening with oil in the sunlight.

Ye Qingfeng swallowed hard, quickly stepped forward, and used both hands to tear off two relatively "plump" salted fish as fast as he could, ignoring the strong salty and fishy smell that rushed into his nostrils.

succeed!

He dared not delay, and once again activated the Shrinking Earth technique. In a flash, he appeared outside the courtyard wall with two salted fish.

The whole process was swift and swift, taking only a few breaths.

Only when he stepped back onto the muddy ground in the mountains, with two hard, salty "trophies" in his arms, did Ye Qingfeng finally let out a long sigh of relief, feeling an absurd sense of exhaustion.

Imagine how majestic he, "Immortal Master Qingwei," was, having just slain demons, divided waterways, and delivered souls to the afterlife.

In the blink of an eye, he sneaked back to the village to steal two salted fish like a true thief... The contrast is just too great.

"I'm so sorry, I really had no choice... If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely repay you tenfold."

He looked towards Xiahe Village and muttered something to himself, whether to comfort himself or to feel genuine remorse was unclear.

He dared not linger, so he checked his direction and hurried toward the depths of the mountains, in the opposite direction from the village.

I'm going to find a quiet place to deal with this morbid hunger problem first.

Salted fish may be rough, but it's still better than starving to death in the wilderness.

……

About half an hour later.

Filled with reverence and excitement at building a shrine for the immortal, Wang Dashan returned to his own courtyard.

He still had a smile on his face as he calculated how much timber he should use and which stonemason to find to carve the tombstone.

As soon as he pushed open the courtyard gate, he habitually looked up at the eaves—that was where his wife gathered and dried the clothes.

"Hmm?" He frowned and stopped walking.

Those strings of salted fish hanging under the eaves... seem to be missing?

He counted carefully. One, two... there were fewer! There were originally four, but now only two remained!

"Woman! Woman!" Wang Dashan shouted into the house, "Did you touch the salted fish under the eaves?"

His wife poked her head out from the kitchen, her hands still wet.

"Salted fish? No, aren't they all hanging there? I was thinking of letting them dry in the sun some more today since the sun is nice."

Wang Dashan scratched his head and walked under the eaves to take a closer look.

The hemp rope used to hang the fish was still there, with a clean break, not like it had been broken by the wind or fallen off on its own. There were no signs of it falling on the ground.

"That's strange..." he muttered, then wandered around the yard again, but didn't find anything else unusual. Nothing else was missing from the house either.

Wild cats? There are quite a few wild cats in the mountains, and sometimes they steal dried fish and meat hanging outside.

But that rope was quite sturdy; how could a stray cat have chewed it so neatly? And even stolen two at once?

Wang Dashan couldn't figure it out, but two salted fish weren't a big deal. Maybe it was just some mischievous kid playing a prank.

But just now, everyone in the village was on the riverbank; there was no way they would have come to steal salted fish.

After thinking it over, it seems that only stray cats are the most likely candidate.

"That damn stray cat!" Wang Dashan cursed angrily towards the outside of the courtyard wall.

"You're getting bolder and bolder! If you dare come again, I'll break your legs!"

He dusted off his hands and decided to stop worrying about this trivial matter.

Compared to the immortal's kindness and the important matter of building the shrine, what are two salted fish? Consider it an act of merit to feed the stray cat.

……

Meanwhile, they had already walked several miles and were squatting by a clear stream.

They painstakingly smashed the hard salted fish with stones and ate it with the cold stream water.

Ye Qingfeng, who was taking small bites and grimacing as he gnawed, suddenly—without warning—

"Achoo! Achoo!"

He sneezed twice in a row, so loudly that the salted fish in his hand almost fell into the stream.

He rubbed his slightly itchy nose, looked up with a puzzled expression, and looked around.

The mountain breeze was cool, and the forest was quiet and deserted.

"That's strange...who's talking about me?"

He muttered something under his breath, then looked down at the dried fish in his hand, which was smashed to pieces and tasted so salty it made him grimace.

Recalling his earlier "gentlemanly" behavior, he couldn't help but feel a little hot-faced.

"It must be that salted fish was too salty, that made me choke," he consoled himself, and continued to fight against the "hard-won" "divine food" in his hand.