I'm just an ornamental fish in the water.

Jiang Li's expression was somewhat blank.

He sat blankly behind the desk, his brush saturated with ink, but the brush did not fall onto the white paper until the ink dripped onto it.

He simply looked at the line that had just been swiped across the sky, representing the prayer of a believer.

Although the Goddess of Luoshui is merely the water deity of the Luoshui River, the problem is that in Luoyang City, the Goddess of Luoshui is associated with many auspicious wishes by her believers.

Whether you seek wealth, official position, children, disaster relief, or even exorcism and blessings, you can come to the Luoshui Temple to offer incense.

This is not a big problem.

The issue is……

You should ask me to exorcise the evil spirit!

What do you mean by your old ox suddenly being able to talk? What do you mean by your name being Gong Ji?

What do you mean by saying that you and an old ox are the only ones in your family who depend on each other for survival?

Jiang Li was in a state of utter confusion.

They're so familiar, too familiar. "How could this possibly happen..."

Jiang Li couldn't help but swear, then looked around and realized she was all alone.

Alone...

Grass……

Jiang Li felt a terrible headache.

If his memories from his past life were correct, he knew all too well just how outrageous things this guy named Gong Ji could do.

"Does the timing match up?"

Jiang Li tried her best to dig out her memories from her past life.

After becoming a cultivator, his mind became clear, and even his memories of his past life became clearer.

Even a fleeting memory can be easily retrieved.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Li realized with despair that if she didn't consider any particular perspective, the timeline really didn't have any major problems.

If we relax the requirements a bit, it's perfectly possible to match. The question now is, how should we deal with this?

Ignore it?

No.

If we fail to take the potential demons involved seriously and deal with them, it would be a dereliction of duty.

Moreover, if Gong Ji really did do such a thing, and the Luoshui Temple had already noticed the signs but did not take any action?

That would be an even greater crime of negligence and dereliction of duty.

But if we were to deal with it, how should we do it?

Jiang Li couldn't very well go and tell the Empress that he had memories of his past life, that he was a person in his past life, and that he was a person from the future, although not from the same future, but that he knew this guy named Gong Ji would cause a major event that would shake the Three Realms.

no no no...

It now seems that we can only treat it as a common, suspected demonic sighting.

Jiang Li took a deep breath and slowly wrote down Gong Ji's prayer on the white paper.

But then he frowned. In his memory, the old ox was very mysterious and single-mindedly helped Gong Ji, even sacrificing itself in the end to give Gong Ji a glimmer of hope.

There's even a saying that this old ox is a celestial star deity who committed a sin and was reincarnated on earth to atone for it...

Never mind that for now, we have to report it no matter what.

Looking at the freshly completed document in his hand, Jiang Li had a sudden thought and left this small world of divine office.

He affixed a concealment talisman and an invisibility talisman, then used his shrinking-the-ground-to-an-inch escape technique to head straight for the Luo River.

Upon entering the Luo River, he revealed his true form and harnessed the omnipresent water energy, arriving at the Luo River Divine Palace in a short time.

"Hey? Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Li was stopped in front of the Luoshui Divine Palace.

Liu Qing, fully armored, strolled over and asked curiously, "The Cloud-Driving Envoy just returned and said you were replacing her at the Luoshui Temple. How come you're back so soon?"

Jiang Li caught his breath, cupped his hands, and said, "So it's Brother Liu. Is it your turn to be on duty today?"

"Yes, it's quite a coincidence; neither of us brothers is idle today."

Liu Qing smiled and nodded, then asked again, "You rushed back so urgently, did something happen?" Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "A mortal was praying at the Luoshui Temple, saying that his family's old ox, which was plowing the fields, suddenly started speaking human language, but it didn't harm him. He was afraid that the old ox was a monster in disguise, so he went to the temple to pray."

"We pray that Your Majesty can distinguish between good and evil for him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing raised an eyebrow, seemingly lost in thought, and said, "Why did you suddenly speak?"

After repeating it over, Liu Qing guessed, "The area around Luoshui has always been a land of outstanding people and abundant resources. It's not unheard of for ordinary creatures to eat some rare flowers and herbs, refine their Adam's apples, and develop intelligence, becoming able to speak human language..."

"Regardless, we definitely need to take this seriously."

Liu Qing explained in detail: "Oxen used for plowing are usually honest and simple-minded. Even if they were to develop intelligence, they would probably not be capable of killing or harming living beings. This also matches what you said, brother."

"It's better to be safe than sorry; honest people are the ones you shouldn't mess with."

"Alright then, since that's the case, I'll go with you, brother, and see what's going on with that old ox."

Liu Qing stretched. Standing guard was incredibly boring, and since he finally had a chance to go out, he naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.

"It would be best to inform Her Majesty."

Jiang Li shook her head slightly and said, "After all, they are believers praying at the Luoshui Temple. Logically speaking, we should report to the Goddess first."

"Brother, didn't you know? Her Majesty is not in the palace now."

Liu Qing countered with a question, then suddenly realized, "I remember now, you also went to the Luoshui Temple when the Empress left."

"Is Her Majesty not here?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat, and she pressed on, "Your Highness has always lived a secluded life, why did you suddenly leave the Luoshui Divine Palace? Do you know where Your Highness went?"

"I didn't know that. This time, Her Highness is acting strangely. She didn't even inform Luo Shuicheng, and she didn't bring any of the girls, including Miss Chi. She just left a note and disappeared."

Liu Qing was also a little puzzled, but he didn't care much. He smiled and said, "With Your Majesty's supernatural abilities, although the Three Realms are vast, there are really not many places Your Majesty cannot go. Brother Jiang, don't worry."

This is the main reason why no one in the Luoshui Divine Palace was nervous when the Empress suddenly left without saying a word.

Although it's not quite the same as the Empress's usual personality, it's not a big problem.

"Is that so...?"

Jiang Li lowered her head, her eyes filled with contemplation.

An unexpected incident had just occurred here, and the Empress turned around and left the Luoshui Divine Palace...

Is it really a coincidence? Jiang Li felt a sense of familiarity with this situation.

"However, it is indeed appropriate to inform him. Brother Jiang, you can go to the Luoshui official's office to report this. I will wait for you here."

Seeing Jiang Li's reaction, Liu Qing assumed it was because he was encountering this kind of thing for the first time and wanted to be cautious.

"Alright."

Jiang Li nodded, entered the Luoshui Divine Palace, and headed straight for the office where the Luoshui Chancellor was located.

Upon meeting Luo Shuicheng, Jiang Li recounted the entire matter in detail.

"Your Excellency, I have a feeling that this matter is not simple. At present, the land of China is in turmoil due to war and the change of dynasties, which makes it most likely for evil spirits to emerge."

Jiang Li said in a deep voice.

Looking at the document Jiang Li had given him, Luo Shuicheng nodded in agreement, "That's right. Here's what we'll do: you take my warrant and order Liu Qing to bring a hundred patrol envoys, along with Xingfeng and Quyun, to go and take a look with you."

"If the old ox has indeed gained some insight, developed intelligence, and entered into cultivation, and has never done anything to harm people, then explain the situation to the ox's owner, release the old ox, and let it cultivate as it pleases."

"If someone has already committed a sin, they may be killed on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li felt somewhat relieved. With a hundred skilled warriors from the Luoshui Divine Palace, plus the two legitimate water gods who controlled clouds and rain, that should be more than enough…

Right?