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

Ye Qingfeng smiled and shook his head.

He naturally knew what these people were thinking, so he spoke up as well.

"There is no need to be afraid. There are no evil spirits among you. If there were, I would not have allowed them to live until now."

After hearing Ye Qingfeng's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Lin Zhenyuan looked puzzled.

Fortunately, Zhao Damang explained to him what had happened at the temple.

After hearing this, Lin Zhenyuan finally understood the seriousness of the matter.

If the painted-skin demon they're talking about has this ability to deceive people, doesn't that mean the entire Wen'an County has already been completely infiltrated by it?

Lin Zhenyuan frowned, stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist and said in a deep voice.

"Master, just now I heard Yunfeng say that he met that paper ghost at the 'Moon-Viewing Pavilion' in Liuhua Lane, Wen'an County..."

Adding to what Da Mang just said about the painted-skin ghost, could Wen'an County already be a den of demons?

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Zhao Damang also realized what was happening, and his face turned extremely ugly.

"If there are truly so many evil creatures lurking in the shadows, using beauty to bewitch people and drain their vital energy and blood... I wonder how many people have already suffered!"

They might not all be as lucky as Yunfeng to be saved by the Taoist priest…

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became. Wen'an County was the base of the Weiyuan Escort Agency, and many of the escorts' families lived there.

Moreover, as a martial artist, one should draw one's sword when one sees injustice, let alone when evil spirits harm people.

Lin Zhenyuan turned around abruptly and knelt down again without hesitation in front of Ye Qingfeng.

"Master!" Lin Zhenyuan's voice was sorrowful yet firm.

"I know this request is abrupt, but Wen'an County may have become a den of demons. Ordinary martial artists or even government officials would be powerless against such evil spirits. Going there would only be suicide!"

I, Lin, humbly request the Taoist priest to have mercy and travel to Wen'an County to sweep away the evil influence and save the people from suffering!

"I, Lin, am willing to lead the entire Weiyuan Escort Agency to serve you, Master, even unto death!"

Zhao Damang and his group of bodyguards also knelt down, clasped their hands, and pleaded, "We beg the Daoist Master for mercy!"

Lin Yunfeng struggled to get up and kneel down, but was stopped by a look from Ye Qingfeng.

A gentle breeze blew as the Taoist priest in blue stood alone before the kneeling crowd.

He tilted his head slightly and looked eastward, towards Wen'an County.

After a long while, he slowly lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and a faint yet meaningful smile suddenly appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Chief镖师 Lin, everyone, please rise."

His voice remained calm.

"Exorcising demons and protecting the righteous path, and purging evil influences, is the duty of those of us who cultivate the Tao."

Even if you all hadn't said anything, I... would still have gone to Wen'an County.

He paused, his gaze seemingly piercing through the distant mountains, landing on the county town shrouded in gloom. His tone was calm, yet every word was clear:

"not to mention……"

He turned his gaze away and looked at Lin Yunfeng, who was staring at him expectantly from the ground.

The faint smile on his face deepened slightly, and a meaningful glint flashed in his eyes.

He lightly brushed away non-existent dust from his sleeves, his movements elegant and composed, his tone nonchalant:

"That demon just now, it seems, also called me a 'stinking Taoist priest'?"

He blinked, his eyes clear and innocent, as if he were simply asking for a fact.

Lin Zhenyuan: "..."

Zhao Damang: "..."

The bodyguards: "..."

Lin Yunfeng: "!!!"

Everyone was stunned.

Just now...didn't the Taoist priest say he didn't mind?

Didn't they say there were "excusable circumstances"?

Didn't you still smile so gently and tolerantly?

Why...why are we bringing this up again all of a sudden?!

Ye Qingfeng seemed oblivious to the amusement of the crowd, continuing on his own in a relaxed and casual tone, even tinged with a hint of teasing:

"I cultivate tranquility and non-action, and I consider myself to have a fairly broad mind. I shouldn't hold grudges over a few words."

He abruptly changed the subject, his smile remaining unchanged, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked towards Wen'an County:

"But that monster cursed, and your son cursed too..."

"I've heard the phrase 'stinky old man' far too often today."

He sighed softly, as if he were quite helpless:

"If we don't go find the source and talk to them, and get this anger out of our chest..."

Ye Qingfeng turned his face to the stunned crowd and gave them an extremely "kind" and extremely "ethereal" smile:

"I'm afraid my mind is not clear."

"A lack of clear thinking hinders spiritual practice."

"so--"

He flicked his sleeves, stood with his hands behind his back, his blue robe fluttering slightly in the morning breeze, and spoke in a clear, resonant voice:

"This matter is one that I absolutely must attend to."

"Moreover, it must be managed thoroughly, completely, and effectively..."

He paused, then smiled and uttered the last few words:

"Heart, emotions, comfort, and ease."

After he finished speaking, the entire mass grave fell silent.

Everyone was petrified.

Lin Zhenyuan's mouth was slightly open, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Zhao Damang and the others looked at each other, wanting to laugh but not daring to, their expressions extremely strange.

As for Lin Yunfeng... Lin Yunfeng's face was already scrunched up like a bitter gourd, he wanted to cry but had no tears, and wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Or it would be better to be whipped for another hour than to be stared at by the Taoist priest with such "kind" eyes!

So... when the Taoist priest said "I don't mind" and "it's understandable," were they just being polite?

So... it might not be an accident that the Jade Heart Bamboo Whip hurt so much?!

This Taoist priest looks gentle and refined, with an ethereal air, but he seems... to hold a grudge?

......

At 3:45 PM, underground in Liuhua Lane, Wen'an County

The clamor of singing and dancing from the Moonlit Pavilion, transmitted through the thick floor and soil, became blurred and distorted as it reached this deep underground, like an echo from another world.

However, the master of this underground space had no time to listen to the false prosperity.

On the paper lotus altar, the cold aura surrounding the paper doll in palace attire—the Paper Goddess—had not yet completely subsided.

Behind the beaded curtain, a scarlet gaze was fixed on the two green lanterns on either side of the altar, now extinguished and reduced to cold, lifeless paper.

Inside the lantern, the soul imprints of Su Wan'er and Mei'er had completely dissipated, leaving not even a trace of resentment that could be traced and used against them.

Clean, neat, carrying a sense of purification that made her instinctively tremble with fear, a sense of grandeur and righteousness.

"They're not those useless government officials...they're genuine cultivators, and...their cultivation is quite profound."

The Paper Goddess's cold, hoarse voice echoed in the underground paper mansion, carrying suppressed anger and a hint of barely perceptible fear.

The opponent was no ordinary person; they could kill her two capable paper dolls so easily.

Her scarlet gaze swept over the other dozen or so eerily burning green lanterns around the altar.

The lights representing the other paper figures seemed to sense the annihilation of their kind and the unease of their master.

The flickering flames cast countless paper effigies' shadows onto the stark white wall, their menacing forms adding to the eerie atmosphere.