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

As the morning mist dissipated, A Niu led Ye Qingfeng into the village entrance.

The first person to see them was Aunt Qian, who was squatting by the well drawing water.

The wooden spoon in her hand clattered into the bucket, splashing water that soaked half of her trouser leg. But she didn't bother wiping it off; instead, she shouted at the top of her lungs:

"They're back! Ah Niu and Cui Gu are back!"

That shout was like a pebble thrown into a pond, ripples spreading outwards from the edge of the pond.

Several women sitting under the eaves sewing shoe soles looked up, put down their work, and peered towards the village entrance.

The men carrying hoes on the ridge stopped, exchanged a glance, and turned to walk back.

Even the old yellow dog lying in the sun by the wall perked up its ears and let out a low whimper.

Ye Qingfeng lowered his head, glancing around out of the corner of his eye.

In no time, more than twenty people had gathered at the village entrance.

There were men and women, old and young, but no one spoke. They just surrounded them in circles, trapping them in the middle.

An old man with a cane squeezed to the front; he was the village's most senior third uncle.

He raised his hand tremblingly, pointing at Ah Niu:

"Where...where did you two go last night?"

Ah Niu opened his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbed, but no sound came out.

He was a farmer who had never lied in his life, but now, with dozens of eyes staring at him, the coarse cloth shirt on his back was soaked with sweat.

"Speak!" someone in the crowd urged. "Do you know that Uncle Cui searched all night last night?! The village chief was so worried he didn't sleep either!"

"The monks from Jinguang Temple came yesterday to ask if anything went wrong when they went up the mountain today..."

"If we really run away, how will we explain it to the village...?"

They all spoke at once, keeping their voices very low, as if afraid of being overheard by someone.

Ye Qingfeng raised his head.

He was in the form of Cui Gu at this moment, with his eyes lowered and his expression gentle.

When she spoke, her voice was soft and slightly timid, just like Cui Gu's.

"We didn't run away."

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

"Aniu came to pick me up last night. I wasn't feeling well, so he accompanied me to town to get medicine. It was too late on the way back, so we stayed at a relative's house at the entrance of town for the night."

He paused, then lowered his eyes and said, "Since we're going up the mountain today, we need to... gather some things."

He turned to the side, revealing the coarse cloth bundle on Ah Niu's back behind him.

Ah Niu then came to his senses, hurriedly unloaded the bundle, and tore open a corner of it.

Inside was a red cloth, two packets of pastries, and several feet of indigo cloth, which the escort agency had prepared before Ye Qingfeng left.

This is perfect for providing cover.

The gazes in the crowd softened somewhat.

Third Uncle stared at the bundle for a long time, then sighed heavily:

"It's good that you didn't run away, it's good that you didn't run away..."

He poked his cane on the ground, turned and squeezed out, his hunched back disappearing into the crowd.

The crowd gradually dispersed, each returning home to their own work.

No one asked anything more, and no one said anything like "It's good that you're back."

They were satisfied once they confirmed that the young couple had not run away and that the wrath of the Golden Light Temple would not befall them.

Ye Qingfeng withdrew his gaze and walked towards Cui Gu's house.

Ah Niu followed behind, his steps heavy.

Before they had taken more than a few steps, a figure suddenly rushed towards them on the dirt road ahead.

He is Cui Gu's father.

The old man was running fast, slipping on his cloth shoes. One of his shoes had fallen off at some point, and his foot landed on the rough dirt road without him even noticing.

He ran to Ye Qingfeng, bent his knees, and knelt down with a thud.

"Cui Gu..." The old man opened his mouth, as if a stone was stuck in his throat, "Cui Gu, I beg you..."

He reached out to grab Ye Qingfeng's clothes, but his fingers trembled in mid-air before he withdrew them, clenched them into a fist, and pressed them against his forehead.

"Stop running...stop running..."

His back was hunched over, and his forehead kept hitting the dirt road.

"Your brother is only twelve years old...he doesn't know anything...those people...those people are very vicious..."

Ye Qingfeng looked down at the man kneeling in front of him.

Cui Gu's father was not yet sixty, but he looked like he was over seventy. His hair was gray and his face was deeply lined with wrinkles, etched by poverty and fear.

He knelt on the ground, his thin shoulders shrugging, and suppressed sobs squeezed out of his throat, like a wounded old beast.

Those who hadn't gone far stopped and watched from a distance, but no one went forward.

Ye Qingfeng bent down and held the old man's arms with both hands:

"stand up."

His voice was calm, without trembling or tears.

But the joints were bluish.

There was a burning anger inside me that I wanted to vent.

The old man was helped to his feet, and turbid tears streamed down his face, flowing into the corners of his mouth, but he didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Cui Gu...you...you're not running away anymore?"

"I'm not running anymore."

The old man stood there for a long time, then suddenly gripped Ye Qingfeng's wrist tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Then...then let's go up the mountain today. Let's go up today. Let's not delay any longer...let's not delay any longer..."

He seemed to be speaking to Ye Qingfeng, but also to himself, and also to the Jin Guang Temple, which was nowhere to be found, pleading for mercy.

Ye Qingfeng looked at his wrist, which was being gripped, but did not pull it away.

"Okay," he said.

The news spread very quickly.

Less than half an hour later, the village chief arrived at the door with two middle-aged women.

The village chief's surname was Niu. He was in his fifties, short and stout, and always had the obsequious smile of a businessman on his face.

He entered carrying two packets of pastries wrapped in red paper, placed them on the table, and said with a smile:

"Is Cui Gu feeling better? Good, good! Today is an auspicious day to go up the mountain. Master Huiming at the temple was just talking about it yesterday..."

He kept talking on and on, but Ye Qingfeng just kept his head down and didn't say a word.

Two women were waiting at the door; they were Aunt Wang and Aunt Li.

They had all escorted many girls up the mountain and knew what to do.

Aunt Wang held a wooden tray in her hands, inside which was a red cover with copper coins at the four corners, the stitches of which were fine and dense, indicating that it had been used for many years.

Aunt Li was carrying an old bundle, saying it was "clothes to wear up the mountain."

After the village chief left, Aunt Wang placed the red veil on the table, hesitated for a moment, and whispered:

"Cuigu, you...don't blame your father."

Ye Qingfeng looked up.

Aunt Wang avoided her gaze, staring at the red cloth on the table:

"He had no choice. Your younger brother is still young, and your mother passed away early... If he were to be stubborn, the whole family would not survive."

Aunt Li sighed heavily beside her and didn't say anything.

Ye Qingfeng looked down at the red veil.

The copper coins had turned green with rust, the fabric around the stitches was washed white, and the edges were frayed.

He didn't know how many girls had been covered by this veil.

He spoke softly:

"understood."

Aunt Wang and Aunt Li exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and left, closing the door behind them.

Ye Qingfeng was the only one left in the room.

He reached out and picked up the red veil.

The fabric was rough, carrying the scent of years of wear and tear.

He lifted the veil and examined himself for a moment in the sunlight filtering through the window cracks.

Then put it down.

He lowered his eyes, made a hand gesture with his left hand, and slowly moved his thumb between the joints of his four fingers.

This is the method of divination that he figured out that night in Wen'an County.

At that time, the location of the Painted Skin Goddess was calculated accurately, and her soul was pursued for thousands of miles.