The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Qi Zhouwang had Shangyuan Daoist standing behind him, but even the latter would probably find it difficult to act recklessly within the territory of the River God, let alone a Qi Refining cultivator like him.

Although we were unable to pay our respects to the River God, we still received His message, which was enough to report back to the mountain.

Zhang Junyi, the senior junior brother, finally took his leave.

She went back into the house to pick up the envelope, when she suddenly saw Xiaoqing emerge from the river, staring at her with a half-smile.

"As a disciple of Qishan, how could you secretly contact the spirits of the Water Palace? Is it for the sake of your many shrimp soldiers and crab generals, or are you worried about your husband's two hundred acres of fertile land?"

Zhang Junyi's cheeks flushed slightly. "River God, please don't make fun of my daughter. I still have to go to the village to deliver a message."

Xiaoqing flicked the snake's tail in front of her, "Let me see it."

"These are all trivial matters; why would the River God, a deity of the land, be curious about such things?"

Zhang Junyi wrinkled her nose, tucked the envelope into her pocket, and strode uphill.

The green snake clicked its tongue twice, suppressing its playful nature, and burrowed back into its core.

He stayed in the river all day long, and all the spirits and monsters in the water bowed down and worshipped him with utmost respect.

On the contrary, this woman and Li Yi met by chance and had an encounter when he first became a god. They became closer, and with Zhang Junyi living nearby these days, they often teased each other and became much more familiar with each other.

After returning to the mountain, Qi Zhouwang immediately sought an audience with his master to explain the situation.

The Taoist priest was not surprised and simply let the matter drop.

Leaving aside the cultivation level of the Earth Deities themselves, if the Great Zhou Immortal Sect has a dispute with gods in various places, especially within the territory of the gods, there is no need for the Earth Deities to take action; the Conferred Gods Office will step in to resolve it.

If the Investiture of the Gods Office is not enough, there is also the Ministry of Rites and the Heavenly Official above.

If the Ministry of Rites' officials are not enough—no similar incident has occurred within the Great Zhou territory.

Therefore, when the Immortal Sect negotiates with the Earth Deity, hoping to recruit them as worshippers or even guardian deities, they must show sufficient sincerity and provide them with astronomical sums of resources each year.

As for the conditions of this negotiation, the River God wouldn't even listen, clearly belonging to the stubborn type, so there's no need to elaborate further.

……

At present, many villagers in Lijia Village know Zhang Junyi and know that she is a fairy who can talk to the river god. When they see her, they are naturally respectful, but they dare not disturb her and only greet her from a distance.

Zhang Junyi passed by Li Ertu's house and delivered his letter to him first.

When Er Tu's father saw Zhang Junyi, he immediately tried to kneel down, but was stopped by an invisible force.

"Yi-ge'er and Er-tu are good friends. Since my uncle is Er-tu's father, he is my daughter's elder and we should not disregard etiquette."

The villagers were well aware of Zhang Junyi's relationship with Li Yi, and she never tried to hide it.

At first, some villagers thought Li Yi had gotten incredibly lucky and won the favor of a fairy.

However, as the civil officials in the six departments of the prefecture kept reporting good news, the public opinion gradually turned to "a perfect match, a match made in heaven".

Upon hearing this, Er Tu's father still dared not act as an elder, so he called Er Tu over and hurriedly hid in the inner room.

Li Ertu stopped five steps away from Zhang Junyi, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"What brings you here, sister-in-law? I'd love to welcome you, but the food at home is too simple and doesn't do justice to your meal..."

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly looked surprised and waved his hands repeatedly.

Zhang Junyi curled the corners of his lips, silently released his water qi, and nodded.

After receiving treatment from Li Yi, Li Ertu regained his confidence, and his spirit and will returned to his heart and lungs to take control, allowing the five elements to circulate. Even without praying to the River God, he slowly recovered.

She pulled a sheet of paper from the envelope; it contained about half a page of writing, making it the shortest of the three letters.

"This was written to you by Yi-ge'er. Do you recognize the Great Zhou script?"

Li Ertu was overjoyed, but still dared not look up at anyone. He could only focus his gaze on Zhang Junyi's sleeve and take the letter.

"After the village opened a school and hired a teacher, I often went there, but unfortunately I was slow-witted and learned slowly."

"No one learns to read quickly; it takes hard work. You can't just dodge it with a simple 'stupid' label." Zhang Junyi smiled. "Or should I read it to you?"

"Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law!" Li Ertu said hurriedly.

Zhang Junyi smiled and unfolded the letter, reading it aloud word by word.

[Ertu, it's been a long time. I suppose you're no longer that miserable, sickly person you used to be?]

I thought about how you looked when you were in your prime; you were quite handsome, no less so than one of the young men under my command.

With the River God protecting the village, I have no worries about your food, clothing, shelter, or transportation. I only have one thing to tell you.

Next year you will be sent to the garrison. I will find a way to transfer you to the garrison as a soldier for a year. You can spend that year peacefully and have a stable job in the future. Whether you stay in the garrison to farm or live in the village, it all depends on your aspirations.

May all be well.

Li Yi…

Zhang Junyi put down the letter and saw that Li Ertu was secretly wiping away tears, so he couldn't help but tease him:

"Why don't you look like a man?"

"Sister-in-law, please don't make fun of me."

Li Ertu blushed as he took back the letter, then looked up and asked, "May I reply to Yi-ge'er?"

Zhang Junyi immediately stopped smiling and shook his head, saying:

"The post stations don't send letters home to the battlefield; those are only for urgent military intelligence. Perhaps there will be an opportunity once Manxing County is completely stable."

Li Ertu was puzzled by "Manxing County" when he heard his sister-in-law vividly recount Li Yi's military career. He was immediately captivated and his mind drifted to the magnificent world beyond the mountains in his imagination.

When Zhang Junyi arrived at Li Dashan's residence, he was naturally warmly welcomed by the two elders.

Although the two sides did not interact much, they had met a few times, and the two elders were no longer as reserved as before.

Li Dashan sat on one side of the main room, dressed in a silk cotton coat and wearing a brocade hat, making him look nothing like a hunter.

After he and his wife Li Erni finished reading Zhang Junyi's letter, they were filled with emotion.

More than a year ago, he picked up Li Yi from the deep mountains, never imagining that things would turn out this way.

However, seeing that he was about the same age as his deceased biological son, and harboring a strong desire to carry on the family line, he registered the child in the household register. Unexpectedly, he ended up adopting a celestial being as his son.

"When our own child died young, we didn't report it to the county government, so we were able to get Yi Ge'er's household registration done smoothly. Looking back now, it was truly the greatest blessing of our lives."

Li Erni lamented:

"That poor child wasn't even registered in the household register, no wonder the process didn't go smoothly."

In such a remote and impoverished place, county officials rarely visit, even once every ten years or so. For the villagers, registering someone's household registration is incredibly easy.

No wonder women are sold to this place year after year. Whenever the villagers come down the mountain, they just take the opportunity to register the women's place of origin.

The two elders kept praising Li Yi, and suddenly brought up his marriage to Zhang Junyi, saying that the previous marriage was too hasty and not worthy of their status. They then began to discuss and prepare for it with great interest.

Zhang Junyi, who had been listening with a smile, was now finding it difficult to keep up and hurriedly returned to the foot of Luohu Cliff to devote himself to cultivation.

"Yi-ge'er's cultivation is progressing by leaps and bounds, so I should also work hard; lest he remain handsome and dashing while I am already old and faded..."

"It's time to make some preparations for Foundation Establishment. It seems I need to go back to the mountain."