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

The fourth strike is a backhand slash.

"clang!"

The fifth strike is a diagonal slash.

"clang!"

"I've come to—"

"fart!"

The sixth strike is a straight stab.

Ye Qingfeng turned to the side and flicked the side of the blade with his index finger.

"Buzz—"

The blade trembled violently, and Shen Zhaoyue felt a numbness in her hand, almost losing her grip on the knife.

She gritted her teeth and steadied her sword, then slashed out with her seventh strike.

"You filthy Taoist priests, you're in cahoots with the monks!"

"clang!"

"Playing tricks!"

"clang!"

"Bullying a woman!"

"clang!"

"I'll kill you!"

"clang!"

Ye Qingfeng, while blocking the way, said, "This humble Taoist really is—"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"That auntie—"

"Shut up!"

"If you don't—"

"I won't listen! I won't listen!"

Shen Zhaoyue unleashed more than a dozen slashes in one go, each aimed at a vital point, but each slash was steadily caught by that index finger.

She kept talking nonstop, not giving Ye Qingfeng a chance to say a complete sentence.

Ye Qingfeng was helpless.

This woman is a bit too shrewish.

He seized the opportunity when she slashed again, bent his index finger, and flicked the blade hard.

"clang--!!!"

This time the sound was louder than ever before, and the blade trembled so much that it almost slipped from my hand.

Shen Zhaoyue was knocked back three steps, her hand holding the knife split open, and blood flowed down the hilt.

She was panting heavily, staring at Ye Qingfeng with a mixture of shock and anger in her eyes.

Ye Qingfeng withdrew his hand, stood with his hands behind his back, and said helplessly:

"Such a commotion could easily attract attention."

Shen Zhaoyue was taken aback.

Ye Qingfeng turned his head and gestured towards the other end of the corridor: "Listen."

Shen Zhaoyue held her breath and concentrated.

At the end of the corridor, the faint sound of hurried footsteps could be heard.

It's far away, but it's coming this way.

Her expression changed slightly.

Ye Qingfeng looked at her and said calmly:

"May I explain now?"

Shen Zhaoyue gritted her teeth, her grip on the knife tightening even more.

After a moment, she squeezed out a single word through clenched teeth:

"……explain."

Ye Qingfeng nodded slightly: "I am Qingweizi, a wandering Taoist. I have rescued the village girl and she is in a safe place. I have come here, like you, to investigate Jinguang Temple."

Shen Zhaoyue stared at him, her eyes still full of suspicion: "How can you prove it?"

"I dealt with those five monks earlier. The bodies have been destroyed and the bloodstains have been cleaned up. You may go and check on them at any time."

Shen Zhaoyue looked somewhat suspicious and took a quick step to look into the room.

Sure enough! There were no corpses to be seen in the room anymore, and not even the smell of blood could be detected.

Her brow furrowed even more: "What methods did you use?"

They managed to clean it up so thoroughly in such a short time; even the Six Doors couldn't do that.

Ye Qingfeng did not answer.

The footsteps grew closer.

Shen Zhaoyue took a deep breath, suppressing the various questions in her mind, and said in a deep voice:

"No matter what, let's deal with these wicked monks first!"

She gripped the knife tightly and turned towards the direction from which the footsteps were coming.

At both ends of the corridor, the torches lit up simultaneously.

Grey-robed monks surged out from both ends, wielding clubs and knives, numbering at least twenty or thirty, completely surrounding the two men.

The torchlight illuminated the corridor brightly.

The crowd parted, and a large, fat monk wearing a kasaya (Buddhist robe) stepped out.

It was Huiming.

He stood in the torchlight, looking at Ye Qingfeng and Shen Zhaoyue with a half-smile on his face:

"Gentlemen, you've trespassed into our humble temple at night, and you're already leaving?"

Shen Zhaoyue gripped the hilt of the knife tightly.

She glanced at Ye Qingfeng quickly.

Can this Taoist priest be trusted?

She had no answer.

......

Outside the mountain gate, the moonlight was obscured by clouds, with only a few pale rays of light showing through.

Lu Yang had been squatting behind a rock for two whole hours.

He didn't know how he got through it.

There are too many mosquitoes.

The mosquitoes in these mountains are like monsters; they only swarm around people.

His face, neck, hands—everywhere that exposed skin was covered in red bumps.

He scratched some of the bumps until they were bloody and sticky on his face, causing itching and pain.

He dared not move.

The immortal master told him to stand guard outside and come to the rescue when he saw flames shooting into the sky from the temple.

But now, not only is there no flame, but not even a single spark has been seen.

The temple was unusually quiet.

Occasionally, a few bells would ring, but they were languid, as if the monks on night duty were tired and just tapped the bell a couple of times to get by.

Lu Yang stared at the mountain gate, his eyes almost bloodshot.

How long has the immortal master been inside?

He calculated that almost an hour had passed since Shenshi (3-5 PM).

One hour.

The immortal master transformed into the appearance of Cui Gu and was carried inside in the small sedan chair.

He watched the sedan chair enter the mountain gate, watched the two women who had accompanied the bride come out, and watched the mountain gate slowly close in front of him.

Then came the long wait.

He waited anxiously, restlessly, until he was bitten all over by mosquitoes.

What exactly is the immortal master doing inside?

Why is there no sound at all?

Will something bad happen?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Lü Yang slapped himself hard.

What are you thinking! The immortal master is incredibly powerful, how could anything happen to him!

But then he thought, what if?

What if there's something strange about that temple? What if those monks have some shady dealings? What if the immortal master is trapped...?

He slapped himself again.

The slap was so forceful that it made me see stars and half of my face went numb.

He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

Can't wait any longer.

The immortal master said that one could only enter if they saw flames shooting into the sky, but there is no light at all now.

What if the immortal master encounters trouble inside and can't send a signal?

What if the fire signal is just one of the possibilities?

He thought about it again and again, and the more he thought about it, the more restless he became.

After another incense stick's time, he finally made up his mind.

Go and take a look.

Just take a look.

Instead of going into the temple, I just walked around the entrance to see if there was anything unusual.

He stood up, his legs were numb, and he grimaced as he moved them a few times. He crouched down, pressed himself against the wall, and made his way towards the mountain gate.

The mountain path was flanked by dark forests, and when the wind blew, the leaves rustled, as if something was moving inside.

Lu Yang gripped the Autumn Water Sword at his waist, his palms sweating profusely.

He walked very slowly, taking each step carefully, afraid of stepping on the dry branches and making a sound.

It took him almost the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to walk that distance of twenty-odd zhang.

We finally reached the outside of the mountain gate.

He pressed himself against the wall, peering towards the mountain gate.

Then he froze.

The mountain gate was wide open.

There was no one at the entrance.

The two monks guarding the gate had disappeared.

Lu Yang rubbed his eyes, thinking he must have seen wrong.

It was indeed completely deserted.

It was pitch black inside the mountain gate, and nothing could be seen except for a faint, fishy smell wafting out.

Bloody smell.

Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat.

He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, drew his Autumn Water Sword, crouched low, and slipped into the mountain gate.