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

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and dewdrops clung to the wild grass along the official road.

Ye Qingfeng and Lü Yang walked one after the other on the official road leading to Jingyang Prefecture.

Lu Yang carried a blue cloth bundle on his back, inside which were a few changes of clothes and the Autumn Water Sword.

The two have been away from Wen'an County for three days.

They didn't travel very fast over the past three days. Ye Qingfeng intentionally slowed down, firstly to observe the local customs and people along the way, and secondly to let Lü Yang get used to this kind of spiritual journey.

At first, Lü Yang was still a bit spoiled like a young master. He got blisters on his feet and complained of soreness at night, but he gritted his teeth and endured it without uttering a single complaint.

This slightly changed Ye Qingfeng's opinion of him—at least, he wasn't completely without perseverance.

"Immortal Master, the Jing River is just ahead." Lü Yang pointed to the faint glimmer of water in the distance.

"After crossing the river, it's another thirty li to the prefectural city. Shall we cross the river today, or rest on the bank for the night?"

Ye Qingfeng looked up.

The Jing River is the largest river within the territory of Jingyang Prefecture. It is wide and has a gentle current.

It was just after the autumn floods, and the water level had receded slightly, revealing large stretches of riverbanks covered with reeds, a vast expanse of white.

There are several black dots in the distance, which look like ferries.

"Let's cross the river," Ye Qingfeng said. "We'll rest on the other side today."

Lü Yang responded and quickened his pace.

The two walked for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before arriving at a ferry crossing.

The ferry crossing was small, with only a dilapidated wooden boardwalk extending into the river, at the end of which were two small wooden boats.

There was a thatched shed on the bank, and an old man sitting under it smoking a pipe. When he saw someone coming, he raised his eyelids and glanced at them.

"Crossing the river?" the old man asked in a hoarse voice.

"I'll trouble you, sir." Lü Yang stepped forward. "The two of you, go to the other side."

The old man held up three fingers: "Three coins for one person, six coins for two people."

Lü Yang nodded and reached into his pocket to touch his money pouch—it was a temporary one he had exchanged in Wen'an County, containing some loose silver and copper coins.

But after touching it a few times, his face suddenly turned embarrassed.

The purse... is gone.

Lu Yang thought carefully and realized that he might have forgotten it on the table when packing his luggage.

He hurriedly turned to Ye Qingfeng and whispered, "Immortal Master...this disciple...this disciple has lost his purse..."

Ye Qingfeng's expression remained unchanged, and he also touched his sleeve.

There was a gold ingot there.

Is it just a matter of paying six coins for the boat fare with a gold ingot?

Ye Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then looked at the old man: "Sir, do you have any change?"

The old man glanced at the gleaming gold ingot and rolled his eyes.

"Young man, are you making fun of this old man? This ingot of gold is enough to buy my boat; where am I supposed to get change?"

The atmosphere became awkward for a moment.

Lu Yang's face flushed red, and he was about to speak when a timid voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Old man...we...we also need to cross the river."

Looking back, I saw a young couple.

Both of them were dressed in coarse cloth clothes, faded from washing, but clean and tidy.

The man was in his early twenties, sturdy, and dark-skinned; he was clearly a farmer who worked the land year-round.

The woman was slightly younger, around eighteen or nineteen years old, with delicate features, but her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying.

They held hands tightly, their fingers interlocked, their knuckles white, as if afraid that if they let go, they would lose each other.

The old man glanced at the two men: "Six coins as well."

The man hurriedly took out an old cloth bag from his pocket, carefully opened it, and inside were a few copper coins.

He counted out six coins, handed them to the old man, then looked at Ye Qingfeng and Lü Yang, hesitated for a moment, and said softly:

"Gentlemen... let's pay for the boat fare together."

As he spoke, he counted out six copper coins from the cloth bag, his movements somewhat laborious—there were only a dozen or so coins in the bag in total.

Lu Yang was taken aback, and quickly waved his hand: "How can this be? We..."

"Yes, it is." The woman suddenly spoke, her voice soft yet carrying a certain resolve, "Money... is just an external thing."

As she spoke, she glanced at the man, her eyes brimming with tears.

The man looked back at her and squeezed her hand tightly.

Ye Qingfeng looked at the couple, his gaze lingering for a moment on their tightly clasped hands, and nodded slightly: "Thank you both."

The old man took the money, got up and walked towards the plank road: "Get on the boat, it can only carry four people at a time, that's just right."

There were two boats; the old man rowed one, and the other was empty.

The four men boarded the same boat—the boat was small, no more than two zhang long and five chi wide, with a bamboo shed in the middle and two rows of benches under the shed for sitting opposite each other.

Ye Qingfeng and Lü Yang sat on one side, while the couple sat opposite them.

The old man untied the rope, tapped the bank with his bamboo pole, and the small boat swayed away from the boardwalk, heading towards the center of the river.

The boat sailed smoothly, with the sound of flowing water.

Lu Yang was someone who couldn't hold back his words, and seeing the dull atmosphere, he spoke up.

"My name is Lü Yang, and this is Daoist Qingwei. May I ask how you two are addressed? And what is the route to the other side...?"

The man hurriedly said, "My name is A Niu, and this is Cui Gu. We...we are from Niujia Village nearby. We've come to town today to take care of some business."

He spoke vaguely, his eyes darting around.

Cui Gu lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and remained silent.

Ye Qingfeng glanced at the two of them but said nothing.

As the boat reached the middle of the river, the current became increasingly rapid.

The old man was struggling to pole the boat, and it swayed slightly.

Lu Yang was a little nervous, gripping the gunwale with both hands, while Ye Qingfeng sat as still as a rock, not even the hem of his clothes fluttering.

Ah Niu suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse:

"Cui-gu...have you thought it through?"

Cui Gu trembled, raised her head, and her eyes welled up with tears: "Brother A Niu... I... I don't want to..."

"I didn't want to either!" Ah Niu suddenly raised his voice, then realized he had lost his composure and lowered it.

"But...but what about the village rules...what can we do?"

As he spoke, he clutched his head with both hands, his fingers digging into his hair as he painfully pulled at it.

Hearing this with confusion, Lü Yang couldn't help but ask, "What rules?"

Ah Niu and Cui Gu glanced at him at the same time, then quickly lowered their heads and remained silent.

Ye Qingfeng's gaze swept across the two faces, and he spoke slowly, his voice calm yet carrying a reassuring power:

"If you two are in any difficulty, please feel free to speak frankly. I am a wandering Taoist priest, and perhaps I can offer some assistance."

A glimmer of hope flickered in Ah Niu's eyes, but then he seemed to remember something and his head gradually drooped.

He slowly released Cui Gu's hand, lowered his head, and spoke in a hollow voice:

"Cui Gu...it's my fault...I couldn't protect you..."

Suddenly, Cui Gu grabbed his hand and smiled through her tears.

"Brother Aniu, don't say that. I'm content to have been friends with you for so long."

She paused, her voice as soft as a sigh:

"In the next life... let's meet earlier... let's find a place without these sordid rules... and be husband and wife with dignity..."

Ah Niu trembled violently and looked at her abruptly.

Cui Gu looked at him, her eyes filled with a tender farewell.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then suddenly stood up at the same time!

"Cui Gu!"

"Brother Ah Niu!"

They embraced tightly, and then—to everyone's astonishment—they leaped into the raging river!

"Splash!" "Splash!"

Splashes of water!

"Oh no! Someone jumped into the river!" the old man exclaimed in alarm.

Lu Yang was also startled and stood up: "Immortal Master! They—"

Before he finished speaking, Ye Qingfeng had already made his move.

He didn't even get up; he simply raised his right hand, joined his index and middle fingers together, and lightly touched the surface of the river.

"Certainly."

The voice was calm, yet it seemed to carry an invisible decree.

The swift river suddenly stopped where Ah Niu and Cui Gu fell in!

The water flowed as if held back by an invisible hand, parting to form a calm body of water about ten feet in diameter.

The two did not sink after falling into the water; instead, they were lifted up by a gentle force and slowly floated to the surface!

Even more strangely, the river water around them was receding rapidly, and their clothes were drying at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they had never been wet.

"This...this..." The old man's eyes widened, and his lips trembled.

Ah Niu and Cui Gu were also stunned. They were lying on the water, with the soft yet firm current beneath them. They could see the sky above, but they felt no sense of suffocation from drowning.

Ye Qingfeng lightly hooked his finger.

The water carried the two people slowly back to the side of the boat, and gently pushed them back into the cabin.

It took no more than three breaths.

Ah Niu and Cui Gu slumped on the deck, trembling, staring blankly at Ye Qingfeng as if they were looking up to a god.

"This...this..." The old man's eyes widened, and the bamboo pole fell onto the boat with a "clatter".

He then knelt directly at the stern of the boat, repeatedly kowtowing: "A living deity! A living deity has appeared!"

Although Lü Yang knew that Ye Qingfeng was incredibly powerful, he was still deeply shocked to witness Ye Qingfeng's ability to control water and save people.

He rushed forward to help Ah Niu and Cui Gu up: "Gentlemen, why do this to yourselves!"

Ah Niu then realized what was happening and rushed to Ye Qingfeng, kowtowing repeatedly: "God! God, save us! Save Cui Gu! Save us!"

Cui Gu also knelt to the side, sobbing uncontrollably.

Ye Qingfeng lifted his whisk, supporting the two men: "Get up and speak. What is it that forces you to take this desperate path?"

Ah Niu and Cui Gu then explained the whole story in detail.

A bad habit in Niujia Village has persisted for more than ten years.

Initially, it was Abbot Huiming of Jinguang Temple who said that the women in the village were born with evil spirits and that if they were not baptized by the Buddha's light, they would bring misfortune to their husbands' families and the whole village after they got married.

The so-called baptism is when a woman is sent by her family to a temple in the mountains on the night before her wedding, where the abbot performs a consecration ceremony in a secret room.

If a woman refuses to comply, or her family resists, the monks of the temple will come down the mountain to punish her, ranging from injuring her to wiping out her entire family.

Several families in the village tried to resist, but the men were maimed and the women were forcibly abducted and never heard from again.

The government had tried to intervene, but because Jinguang Temple received ample donations and had close ties with certain individuals in the county government, the matter was always dropped.

Over time, the villagers had no choice but to swallow their anger.

"Cui Gu and I originally planned to elope," Ah Niu said painfully.

"But last night, Cui Gu's father knelt down and begged us, saying that if we left, the village would take its anger out on their family."

Her younger brother is only twelve years old... We... We really have no other choice..."

Cui Gu cried, "Brother A Niu said he would take me with him in death, so we'd have company on the road to the underworld... and be husband and wife again in the next life..."

The two embraced and wept bitterly.

Lü Yang's eyes widened in fury as he heard this, and he slammed his fist on the gunwale.

"Outrageous! In broad daylight, under the clear sky, how could such a lewd temple and wicked monks exist! Immortal Master, this matter cannot be ignored!"

Ye Qingfeng remained calm, pondered for a moment, and then asked:

"Has anyone in your village seen those monks make a move? How skilled were they?"

Ah Niu hurriedly replied, "I've seen it! The year before last, Old Man Li from the east end of the village was dissatisfied and brought his three sons up the mountain to argue with him, but in the end... there was only one monk."

He was empty-handed against four machetes, and in less than ten moves, he defeated Old Man Li and his son.

Old Man Li broke three ribs and lay in bed for three months. After that… he never dared to mention it again.

"Could you see clearly what kind of technique he used?"

"It's just...just ordinary punches and kicks, but it's incredibly fast and the strength is terrifying."

Ah Niu recalled, "By the way, when he was hitting people, there seemed to be a faint golden light on his body, which even a knife couldn't cut through."

A knowing glint flashed in Ye Qingfeng's eyes.

These monks are indeed extraordinary; I wonder if there's someone behind them.

"Immortal Master!" Lü Yang exclaimed urgently, "Let's go up the mountain right now and smash that lewd temple!"

Ye Qingfeng shook his head: "No rush. This matter needs to be discussed at length."

He looked at A Niu and Cui Gu: "Cui Gu, you should not go back to the village today."

Ah Niu was taken aback: "Immortal...you want..."

"On your wedding day, I will accompany you up the mountain to explore the temple," Ye Qingfeng said calmly.

Everyone was stunned by these words.

Lü Yang was the first to react: "Immortal Master, you...you want to disguise yourself as Cui Gu?"

"Exactly."

"But...but what if that monk Huiming does something improper..."

Ye Qingfeng smiled slightly: "If he makes a move, he will be courting death."

When Ah Niu and Cui Gu heard Ye Qingfeng say that he wanted to disguise himself as Cui Gu and go up the mountain, the two looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ah Niu hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Immortal... your figure is quite different from Cui Gu's. Although you are wearing a veil, you will have to remove it once you enter the temple, and then..."

Cui Gu also whispered.

"Moreover, everyone in the village knows me. When I go up the mountain tomorrow, there will definitely be village women watching over me and seeing me off to the temple gate."

Even if you, a deity, were to cover your face, your gait and posture would still be impossible to conceal.

Lu Yang listened from the side and frowned as well.

This was indeed a problem, but she quickly relaxed her brow. The immortal master was all-powerful; since he had raised the issue, he must have a solution.

Ye Qingfeng smiled.

The smile was faint, yet it conveyed a sense of ease.

"A few tricks of transformation," he said casually, "I still know them."

These words, spoken so casually, left both of them stunned.

Ah Niu and Cui Gu exchanged a glance, recalling the miraculous water control that had saved people from drowning earlier. Though still doubtful, they nodded emphatically: "We believe in gods!"

Lü Yang took a deep breath and said, "This disciple believes in the Immortal Master!"

The moment he finished speaking, Ye Qingfeng smiled.

He looked at Lü Yang and smiled slightly: "Watch closely."

There were no hand gestures, no incantations, and nothing was taken out.

Ye Qingfeng simply stood there, then suddenly turned slightly.

The sleeves of the gray-blue Taoist robe fluttered in an arc.

In that very turn—

Ah Niu and Cui Gu exclaimed "Ah!"

Lu Yang's eyes widened, and he even forgot to breathe.

The one standing there was no longer the young Taoist priest in his gray robe.

Instead, she was a peasant woman dressed in coarse cloth.

She was eighteen or nineteen years old, about five feet two inches tall, with shoulders about a foot wide and a slender waist, just like Cui Gu.

Looking at their faces again—their eyebrows and eyes were delicate, their skin was slightly dark, their noses were straight, their lips were of moderate thickness, and even the small mole on their earlobes was exactly the same.

That's Cui Gu.

No, she's more like Cui Gu than Cui Gu herself.

Because at this moment, even the skin texture that is slightly rough due to years of hard work, unique to a farm woman, is exactly as described on that face.

Standing here, Ah Niu couldn't even tell which one was the real Cui Gu.

"Cui Gu" spoke, her voice clear yet tinged with a hint of timidity, just like Cui Gu's usual tone:

"Do you think it looks like that?"

Ah Niu opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time, only nodding frantically.

Cui Gu herself covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief.

The person in front of me is just like myself in a mirror!

Lu Yang's throat bobbed, his voice dry: "Immortal Master...this...this has changed?"

Ye Qingfeng—or rather, the transformed Cui Gu—smiled gently.

With that smile, Ye Qingfeng's composure and calmness were revealed, a stark contrast to Cui Gu's usual timid demeanor.

But their figures, faces, and voices are exactly the same.

"It's just a trick of transformation, nothing to be too surprised about."

Ye Qingfeng turned around again.

The coarse cloth dress rippled like waves, instantly transforming back into a gray-blue Taoist robe.

His handsome face returned to normal, and his height returned to six feet; all of this happened in the blink of an eye.