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

The bearded man stood there stunned for a long time before reacting. He suddenly turned around and was about to kneel down to Ye Qingfeng again.

Ye Qingfeng waved his hand:

"No need."

He tossed the wine flask back to Lü Yang and looked down at Ya Ya.

Ya Ya looked up at him, her eyes shining like two stars.

Ye Qingfeng reached out and gently patted her head again.

"The candy is delicious."

Ya Ya grinned, revealing two gaps in her mouth where her front teeth were missing.

It won't take long.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the door.

The bearded man looked puzzled.

He opened the door and looked outside, only to find a huge crowd of people.

......

At the eastern end of Huxiao Town, there lived a family surnamed Zhou.

The homeowner's name is Zhou Dashan, one of the hunters who went up the mountain to hunt tigers with the bearded man last night.

His home was located on the very edge of town, right next to the bamboo grove. It consisted of three mud-brick houses and a small courtyard with a few chickens and some farm tools piled up in the corner.

He got home late last night.

The room was dark and quiet.

He gently pushed open the courtyard gate and then gently closed it again, afraid of waking the people inside.

As I approached the entrance to the main room and was about to push the door open, it opened by itself.

A woman, dressed in a robe, stood inside the doorway, holding an oil lamp in her hand. The dim light illuminated her face, which showed a hint of worry.

"Husband?" the woman asked in a low voice. "Back so late? Is something wrong?"

Zhou Dashan quickly waved his hand:

"It's okay, it's okay, you go to sleep first, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

The woman looked him up and down, and seeing that he was perfectly fine, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a low voice:

"That tiger..."

Zhou Dashan waved his hand and pushed her inside:

"Go to sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

He pushed the woman into the house. She wanted to ask more questions, but she saw that he had already taken off his shoes, lay down on the bed, and started snoring soon after.

The woman sighed, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down.

The next morning, Zhou Dashan was awakened by a fragrant aroma.

He opened his eyes and saw his wife busy at the stove, cooking something in a pot, steaming away.

The son squatted by the stove adding firewood, glancing into the pot every now and then and swallowing hard.

"Awake?" The woman asked without turning her head. "If you're awake, get up and eat."

Zhou Dashan sat up and stretched.

I slept soundly and felt incredibly comfortable all over.

He stretched his limbs and suddenly paused for a moment.

Not right.

His back aches from being hit by a wild boar when he was young, and it hurts whenever it's rainy.

Why doesn't my back hurt today?

He looked down at his hands.

His hands were covered in calluses, but today they looked... a bit younger?

The woman came over carrying a bowl and shoved it into his hands:

"What are you daydreaming about? Eat!"

Zhou Dashan took the bowl, looked down, and saw that it was thick white rice porridge with a poached egg on top.

He chuckled twice, picked up the bowl, and drank.

After taking a few sips, he suddenly remembered something, put down the bowl, and looked at the woman:

"Honey, I have something to tell you."

The woman was serving porridge to her son without turning her head.

"explain."

Zhou Dashan leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said mysteriously:

"That tiger, except..."

The woman paused, her spoon still in her hand, and turned to look at him:

"Apart from?"

Zhou Dashan nodded, a hint of smugness on his face:

"Except for! You don't know, that wasn't a tiger at all, it was a tiger demon!"

The woman paused for a moment, put the spoon into the pot, and turned around:

"What tiger demon? Explain yourself."

Zhou Dashan squatted down by the stove and began to speak.

He talked about camping in the mountains last night, about meeting the young Taoist priest, about how the priest saw through the evil spirits at a glance, and about how the priest drew a circle to protect them.

It tells how the tiger demon was swatted away by the Taoist priest with a single palm strike, and how the Taoist priest used flames to condense into a spear and kill the vengeful spirit...

He spoke vividly, gesturing wildly, and when he got to the exciting parts, he couldn't help but stand up and show them.

The son was so engrossed in listening that he didn't even notice the firewood falling out.

The woman remained silent for a long while after hearing this.

Then she spoke, her tone somewhat complicated:

"You just said that the Taoist priest gave you wine?"

Zhou Dashan nodded repeatedly:

"Drink up! The Taoist priest refined the tiger demon's inner core into the wine and gave each of us a cup."

That wine, wow, the taste! Drinking it warms you up all over, it's so comforting!

As he spoke, he patted his waist again:

"Look at my back! It used to hurt every time it was rainy, but it doesn't hurt at all today! It must be thanks to that wine!"

The woman looked at him, her gaze becoming even more complicated.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly pointed to the stone mill in the corner of the yard and said:

"Didn't you say that wine transformed you? Then go and move that millstone so I can see."

Zhou Dashan was taken aback and looked at the stone mill.

That's the stone mill his family uses to grind flour; it weighs at least two hundred pounds.

It usually takes two people to lift it; he can't lift it by himself at all.

"Well..." He scratched his head, "That wine is supposed to improve your health, not make you stronger..."

The woman gave a cold laugh:

"Just move it when I tell you to, why are you asking so many questions?"

Zhou Dashan had no choice but to stand up and walk to the stone mill after being persuaded by her.

He bent down, hugged the millstone with both hands, took a deep breath, and lifted it upwards with all his might.

The millstone started moving.

Zhou Dashan was stunned.

Before he could exert much force, the millstone was lifted off the ground.

With a single effort, he actually lifted the entire 200-pound millstone above his head!

The son opened his mouth wide, and the bowl fell to the ground.

The woman opened her mouth, unable to speak for a long time.

Zhou Dashan stood in the courtyard, holding the stone mill, dumbfounded.

He stood there stunned for a while before putting the millstone down, slamming it onto the ground with a loud thud, making the ground tremble.

He looked down at his hands, then at the millstone, and murmured:

"This...this is me?"

The woman walked over quickly, looked him up and down, and then reached out and pinched his arm. The muscles on his arm were as hard as iron.

She withdrew her hand, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly slapped Zhou Dashan on the back of the head.

"Ouch!" Zhou Dashan clutched his head. "Why did you hit me?"

The woman gritted her teeth, looking utterly disappointed in him.

"You idiot! That Taoist priest offered you a chance at immortality, and what did you do? You came back after drinking? Didn't you even think about asking the priest for some guidance? Didn't you think about letting your son benefit from it too?"

Zhou Dashan covered his head and said aggrievedly:

"I... I didn't think that much..."

The woman patted him again:

"What's wrong with your brain? That Taoist priest could protect you with a simple circle and kill tiger demons with ease. You met such a deity, and all you do is drink?"

Zhou Dashan was speechless.

The son whispered beside him:

"Mother, what... what do we do now?"

The woman glared at him, then at Zhou Dashan, pondered for a moment, and then slapped her thigh:

"Walk!"

Zhou Dashan was taken aback:

"Where to?"