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

Where are the exquisite mansions, pavilions and towers now?

They were clearly standing in the middle of a desolate and dilapidated mass grave!

Beneath our feet lay uneven, muddy ground, mixed with gravel and fragments of dry bones, overgrown with weeds that reached above our ankles.

All around were undulating, disorderly mounds of graves, many of which had collapsed, revealing dark, gaping holes, like the earth's grotesque wounds.

Tilted and broken wooden tablets, shattered pottery jars, and paper money rolling in the wind are scattered among the weeds and graves.

The "courtyard" where they had just fought is now just a roughly square frame made of bamboo strips, about two zhang in size.

The thick paper covering the outside, painted with brick wall patterns and garden scenery, had long been tattered and torn by the previous flames and its current "revealing," hanging limply in pieces.

Those "maids," "servants," and "guards" were actually paper figures of varying sizes lying on the ground.

The face paint looked particularly eerie and lifeless under the moonlight, having lost all "liveliness" and becoming a completely inanimate object.

The entire captivating "Wan Residence" was actually just a huge, meticulously arranged paper illusion!

"Good heavens..." Zhang Kui gasped, his voice trembling.

"Big brother! Where is the young master?!" Zhao Damang suddenly remembered and asked urgently.

"Father... Uncle Zhao... I'm here..."

A weak, tearful voice came from behind a relatively large, still intact grave mound.

Ye Qingfeng looked towards the grave mound: "Your son is still there, go."

Lin Zhenyuan snapped out of his daze and scrambled over there.

Zhao Damang and the others wanted to go too, but then they heard Ye Qingfeng say something.

"You all wait here. Chief Escort Lin can go alone; too many people will clash with his yang energy, which will be detrimental to him."

Everyone immediately stopped.

Ye Qingfeng remained silent and stood with his hands behind his back.

A gentle breeze blew, causing the Taoist robe to flutter lightly.

That scene is deeply etched in everyone's heart—

Dressed in pristine blue, her silhouette was ethereal.

True immortals should be like this.

The group walked around the grave mound, and from a few steps away, they saw Lin Yunfeng leaning against the cold tombstone, slumped on the damp mud.

Wearing only a thin nightgown, her lips were purple from the cold, and she was shivering all over.

His face was deathly pale, his eyes were unfocused, and he was filled with lingering fear.

He suddenly started coughing violently, coughing so hard it was excruciating, and it took him a while to catch his breath.

However, her complexion regained some color at a visible speed, and her eyes became much clearer.

"Father... Uncle Zhao... I... I am..." He struggled to stand up, but his body was too weak.

"You unfilial son! How dare you ask!" Lin Zhenyuan was relieved to see that his son had finally regained consciousness and was out of danger.

Anger and subsequent fear surged up, and while quickly putting thick clothes on her son, she couldn't help but curse.

"Look at this place! Look at all those things around you!"

Paper figures! They're all paper figures! You...you were so bewitched by a paper figure that you almost lost your life! You..."

He was so angry he couldn't speak, his face turning bright red.

Lin Yunfeng flinched, looking at the glaring women's dress and hairpin beside him.

Recalling the tender and intimate moments of those days, my stomach churned, and I almost vomited.

His face was pale, and he whispered in protest, "Father... I... I didn't know it was... a paper figure... on the pleasure boat..."

She...she's so beautiful, so gentle, has such a lovely voice, and knows poetry...I...I truly love her.

She said her home was in a quiet place in the west of the city, and invited me to come over for tea and to discuss poetry, so I...so I came along...

"Flower boat? What flower boat?!" Lin Zhenyuan caught the key words.

Lin Yunfeng lowered his head, his voice even softer: "It's...it's that new 'Orchid Fragrance Boat' that came to Willow Flower Lane...about half a month ago,

I went drinking with some classmates, and on that painted boat, I met a courtesan named Su Wan'er...

She was different from other women; she possessed an ethereal气质 (qi zhi, a refined and elegant demeanor), and was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting… Later…

Later, she privately contacted me, saying she was tired of the noise of the pleasure boats and had a quiet house in the west of the city…”

"Willow Flower Lane? Painted Boat? Courtesans?" Lin Zhenyuan was so angry he almost fainted.

"Oh, you! Is that a place for respectable people?! No wonder I've been saying you've been acting strange lately. You used to get a headache whenever you picked up a pen, but now you're suddenly saying you're going out to read with some scholars!"

So you went to Willow Flower Lane, huh?! There's even such a godforsaken place?! Such a remote location, and a luxurious residence appears! Don't you have even the slightest suspicion?!

"I...I was bewitched..." Lin Yunfeng muttered, feeling wronged and still scared.

"Besides, with her looks and talent, and her gentle and considerate nature towards me, how could I have imagined she was... this kind of thing..."

He seemed unable to utter the words "paper doll," his face turning red and then pale.

Lin Zhenyuan pointed at him, his fingers trembling: "You...you really are...you even...you could go down to a paper doll...you're amazing!"

He was so angry that he blurted out a vulgarity, which he immediately realized was absurd. He was filled with hatred, anger, and a strange urge to laugh, his expression contorted.

The bodyguards wanted to laugh but dared not, struggling to hold it in.

Zhao Damang coughed and tried to smooth things over.

"Brother, please calm down. Yunfeng is young and inexperienced. Those evil spirits are best at bewitching people and bewitching their minds. Yunfeng has also fallen for their tricks."

At this moment, Ye Qingfeng's cold voice came.

"The illusion technique of this thing is indeed somewhat similar to that of the painted-skin demon that I eliminated in a dilapidated temple before. Both are adept at bewitching people's minds and leading them to become addicted. Your son is young and impetuous, and his mind is not firm. It is quite normal for him to be bewitched by it."

His voice was calm, without blame, simply stating the facts.

But Lin Yunfeng couldn't help but frown upon hearing this, and subconsciously looked towards the person who had spoken.

Uncle Zhao is his elder, so he can lecture him. But who is this person?

What gives you the right to call yourself that? And why do you even refer to yourself as "this humble Taoist priest"?

He immediately looked up and saw a young Taoist priest dressed in a blue robe standing in the moonlight, with a calm face and an otherworldly air.

Lin Yunfeng was still not quite clear-headed at the moment, and he didn't notice that his father and Uncle Zhao were all very respectful to this person.

The arrogance of a spoiled brat and his long-standing prejudice against "quacks" unexpectedly surfaced in his mind.

He frowned, and blurted out instinctively, "Who is this stinking old man? And what gives him the right to lecture me..."

However, the atmosphere at the scene froze instantly after these words were spoken.

"You bastard!!!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Lin Zhenyuan's furious shout!

Lin Zhenyuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and cold sweat immediately poured down his forehead.

He looked at Ye Qingfeng in horror, only to see that the Taoist priest remained calm, with even a faint smile on his lips.

But Lin Zhenyuan felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head!

Zhao Damang and the others were terrified!