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

The crescent moon hung like a hook in the southeast corner of the inky sky, casting a cold and thin light that barely outlined the shadowy trees on both sides of the official road.

As the night deepened and the dew grew heavy, the night wind swept through the woods, carrying a mournful sound, as if countless people were weeping softly in the distance.

Ye Qingfeng walked alone on the official road.

He walked slowly, even leisurely.

The hem of the blue Taoist robe fluttered slightly with each step, and the cloth shoes with their thousand-layer soles made a very soft "rustling" sound on the official road covered with fine gravel, almost swallowed up by the wind.

He neither lit a torch nor carried a lantern.

With the Qi Observation Technique activated, the nighttime scenery appeared layered to him.

The earthy yellow glow of the ground, the faint green lingering from the remaining vegetation, the warm, cozy atmosphere of human life emanating from the sleeping villages in the distance, and... a certain sinister, lurking presence hidden in the depths of darkness.

But he didn't care.

We have been traveling west for half a day since leaving Wild Boar Forest.

Nothing much happened along the way. When he saw people, he used the Shrinking Earth technique to get past them, and ordinary people would just think it was a gust of wind.

"The mortal world is vast and bustling, filled with the warmth and life of humankind." Ye Qingfeng suddenly murmured to himself, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night, "But within this world of warmth and life, there is more than just comfort."

He raised his head, looking at the dark bend in the official road ahead, a very faint smile playing on his lips.

"Where there is greed, anger, ignorance, and resentment, evil spirits will arise. This principle remains unchanged throughout the ages."

Before he finished speaking, two dark figures suddenly leaped out from the shadows around the bend ahead!

"stop!"

A harsh, loud shout shattered the tranquility of the night.

They were two burly men. One was massive, with a face full of scars, and a centipede-like scar on his left cheek that stretched from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, looking ferocious and terrifying in the dim moonlight.

The other one was taller and thinner, with a sinister look in his eyes, and he was weighing a chipped ghost-head knife in his hand.

The two men blocked the main road from both sides, obscuring most of the meager moonlight.

Scarface looked Ye Qingfeng up and down, and seeing that he was wearing an ordinary blue Taoist robe and had nothing of value, he couldn't help but grin, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Oh, a poor Taoist priest."

The tall, thin man slung his ghost-head knife over his shoulder, swaggered forward, and began to sing the most clichéd martial arts slang at the top of his lungs.

"This road is mine, these trees are mine! If you want to pass, leave your toll!"

After he finished singing, he chuckled and then pretended to point the tip of his knife at Ye Qingfeng.

"Did you hear me? Little Taoist priest, if you know what's good for you, hand over all your valuables! Forget about the Taoist robe; looking at your shabby appearance, you probably wouldn't even get a copy even if you pawned it!"

Ye Qingfeng stopped and quietly watched the two of them.

His eyes were too calm, so calm that they didn't look like the eyes of someone walking alone late at night who had suddenly been robbed.

There was no fear, no panic, not even the slightest ripple, as if looking at two stones by the roadside.

Scarface felt a little uneasy under that gaze, but quickly became enraged: "What are you looking at? Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me?"

Ye Qingfeng finally spoke, his voice steady and devoid of emotion: "My two heroes, I have nothing of value but a few coins for travel expenses, which I need to save for begging for alms on the way."

"Enough nonsense!" The tall, thin man waved his hand impatiently. "If you have money, take it; if not... well, look at your delicate skin, chop off your right hand. Consider it a lucky charm for us!"

As he spoke, the ghost-head knife flashed with a cold light, as if he were about to strike.

Ye Qingfeng shook his head and sighed softly, "This blade can kill ordinary mortals, but it cannot kill this humble Taoist."

These words were spoken in a plain tone, yet they conveyed an indescribable sense of certainty.

The two robbers were taken aback, glanced at each other, and then burst into exaggerated laughter.

"Hahaha! Did you hear that? This poor Taoist priest says our swords can't kill him!"

Scarface laughed so hard he almost fell over, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I've traveled all over the country for over a decade, and I've done plenty of murder and robbery, but this is the first time I've heard someone boast like this!"

The tall, thin man was laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight, slapping his thigh with the back of his knife.

"My goodness! Has this Taoist priest gone mad with fear and started talking nonsense? Does he think he's a god? Invulnerable to swords and spears?"

Ye Qingfeng remained silent, simply standing there, his gaze passing over the two men and looking into the darkness behind them, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

Just as the two robbers were laughing so hard they were breathless, preparing to teach this "nonsense" Taoist priest a lesson—

"Help...help me..."

A weak, trembling female voice, tinged with sobs, suddenly came from the woods beside the official road.

Her voice was soft and melodious, exceptionally clear in the quiet night, and exceptionally... alluring.

The two robbers' laughter stopped abruptly.

The scarred man and the tall, thin man turned their heads at the same time to look in the direction of the sound.

At the edge of the woods, a slender figure was seen staggering out.

The moonlight was dim, obscuring her face; all that could be discerned was that she was a woman with a beautiful figure. Her clothes appeared somewhat disheveled, and her fair skin was faintly visible as she ran.

The woman ran to the main road, seemingly exhausted, and collapsed softly a few steps away from the robbers, covering her face and sobbing softly.

"Two...two heroes, I...I'm lost..." She raised her head, revealing a face streaked with tears.

Just then, a few rays of moonlight pierced through the clouds and shone on her face.

It was an extremely beautiful face.

With willow-leaf eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a delicate nose, cherry lips, and skin as white as snow, her eyes were now brimming with tears and slightly red, adding to her pitiful and charming appearance.

She was wearing a light red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), made of thin fabric. The neckline was slightly open, perhaps because it had been scratched by a tree branch, revealing a section of her snow-white neck and delicate collarbone.

The two robbers' eyes widened instantly.

They had traveled far and wide and had seen many women, but this woman, with such beauty and charm, was alone at night, frail and helpless...

Scarface's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

The tall, thin man forgot to raise the ghost-head knife in his hand, his eyes fixed on the dazzling white patch at the woman's neckline.

"Young lady... why are you here all alone?" Scarface's voice softened a bit, but the lewdness in his eyes was still undisguised.

The woman seemed startled, shrank back, and said timidly.

"I...I'm from Wen'an County. I was visiting relatives in a neighboring county when I got separated from my family...It got dark, and I couldn't find my way. I wandered around in the woods for a long time...that's when I heard voices over here..."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again: "I'm so scared in this desolate wilderness... Just now, I saw a dilapidated house over there, and it seemed... it seemed like there were paper dolls moving inside, it terrified me..."

She pointed in a certain direction in the darkness, and as she raised her arm, her wide sleeve slipped down, revealing half of her forearm, which resembled a lotus root segment.

Paper dolls?

Ye Qingfeng raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.

The scarred man and the tall, thin man paid no attention to the woman's last sentence; their attention was entirely focused on her arm and collar.

"Wen'an County... that's quite far from here." The tall, thin man licked his lips and took two steps forward.

"It's too dangerous for a young lady to be alone. How about... we brothers give you a ride?"