The male supporting character was actually myself.

If one could settle there, buy a garden to quietly observe the bustling, sleepless city, then one's journey to the mortal realm would not have been in vain. When the Third Holy Mother longed for the mortal world, she traveled the world hand in hand with Liu Yanchang, talking about love and everything else, leaving everything else to the omnipotent magic.

Poor us, abandoned in this deep mountain forest, we can only sleep on dry grass and don't even have a decent bed.

I weave until late at night every day, and what about you? You shuttle between the mountains and the small town every day, wasting all your precious time!

Luoyang, the capital of China?

When Mu Jiuxiu heard her mention this word, he immediately felt a longing. It's no wonder that he only found out now. That cowherd had never been to a town more than a few times and was illiterate. How could he know how big the outside world was?

Mu Jiuxiu didn't know which dynasty the Cowherd and Weaver Girl story took place in, but since there was a capital city called Luoyang, it must have been close to the Tang Dynasty's golden age. Just thinking about the magnificent, luxurious, and beautiful women depicted in TV dramas made his lips dry with excitement.

"What do you want to say?" Mu Jiuxiu frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.

Could it be that this young woman has had enough of her hard life and really longs for a life in a bustling big city?

Perhaps she worked diligently in the Heavenly Palace every day, weaving clouds and mist without rest, and after being forced to stay in the mortal world for two days, she discovered that not working was the most enjoyable thing, so she was being passive-aggressive and verbally probing.

"What I'm trying to say is—in the mortal realm, knowing magic means you can do whatever you want!" The Weaver Girl left her true intentions unsaid, then changed the subject, saying, "If you can help me find the celestial robes, I will have magic to ensure you enjoy endless wealth and glory. Even if you want to sit on the dragon throne and become emperor, with the celestial robes in hand, I can easily help you fulfill your wish."

Mu Jiuxiu's lips twitched, revealing a disdainful expression. "Do you think I'm stupid? If I give you back the immortal robe, you can just put it on and fly back to heaven. Do you think I'm still the emperor? You wish!"

He looked the Weaver Girl up and down, chuckling, "If you take off your bracelet and serve me willingly, and give me a son or daughter, I'll believe you and help you get your fairy robe back. Then our family can enjoy wealth and luxury. With a child to hold us together, I won't be afraid you'll run away."

Having achieved her goal, the Weaver Girl rolled her eyes at him, snorted coldly, and took the cotton thread to get busy at the loom.

Seeing that her schemes had been exposed, Mu Jiuxiu was not too smug. The words of the Weaver Girl kept swirling in his mind—that in the mortal world, one could do whatever one wanted if one knew magic.

That's absolutely right. If the old ox were even slightly sensible and could lend a hand, he could conjure up some gold, silver, or jewels, and I wouldn't need to be so careful with my money.

When Lady White Snake repays a debt of gratitude, she can even go directly to the government office and steal silver from the treasury.

That's just a snake demon, you're the Golden Bull Star Lord from heaven! Who would believe that a dignified immortal can't even conjure up some gold and silver treasures?

After he started having wicked thoughts, he looked down on the few taels of silver he earned selling cloth. Even though Pearl was just a woman in a brothel in a small town, he still longed for her day and night. What if she were a famous courtesan from Suzhou or Hangzhou?

Isn't it even more delicious than the taste of heaven?

As for fairies, Mu Jiuxiu had seen through them. They were just pretty vases with a bit more aloof and detached air than ordinary people. These proud girls weren't necessarily better at serving men in bed than other girls.

Moreover, while it's fine to admire a fairy's aloofness, the feel of her might not be as good as that of Pearl Girl's large and beautiful hands.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the busy Weaver Girl, and sure enough, she was flat-chested. But Pearl Girl, her life was full of twists and turns—that was truly exciting!

It's absolutely impossible for her to return the fairy robe to the Weaver Girl, so she should just give up on that idea.

But the ox can still grind its teeth a little longer. Just like when it tried to turn into cotton thread, didn't it initially refuse outright but eventually obediently turn it into thread?

"Brother Niu," Mu Jiuxiu hesitated for a moment, then walked to the big tree and lowered his voice to the old ox that was grazing with its head down, "Can we talk about something?"

The old ox was very annoyed, raised its eyes and glanced at him without replying.

Mu Jiuxiu gave the cowherd his signature silly grin, scratched his head and lowered his voice even more, "Look how poor we are. Even the Weaver Girl gets tired of weaving every day, but if she doesn't weave, we won't have any money to spend and we won't even be able to eat!"

I think the Weaver Girl is right. Without a decent house and bed, even if she wasn't a celestial being, she wouldn't want to sleep with me in a haystack.

"What did the Weaver Girl say to you again?" The old ox sighed deeply, feeling that he was truly beyond help. "Don't fall for her schemes to sow discord. Trust me, I won't harm you!"

Peering into the cave entrance but not finding any sign of the Weaver Girl, Mu Jiuxiu quickly leaned closer and whispered, "Why don't you use your magic to conjure up some gold and silver treasures? Then we can immediately live a good life!"

Seeing that the other party was unmoved and even turned the bull's head to eat grass, he became anxious and moved to the side. "If you think you can't do it with your magic, I won't make things difficult for you. Take out the Weaver Girl's fairy robe! Didn't you say that she can only use her magic because of that fairy robe? Since the magic contained in the fairy robe can make her fly to the sky, it can help us conjure up inexhaustible gold and silver treasures!"

The Cowherd actually dared to covet the Weaver Girl's fairy clothes?

The old ox's inner alarm bells rang. The fairy robes that a fairy could only bring when she descended to earth naturally contained extraordinary fairy power, which was why he put them away immediately—if they were not carefully put into the hands of others, they might become magical artifacts that would cause chaos in the mortal world.

Her goal was to help the Third Holy Mother and others force the Jade Emperor to amend the Heavenly Laws and return to Heaven, rather than to allow the power of immortals to wreak havoc on the human world so as not to attract the attention of Erlang Shen.

The magpie spirit said that in order to hunt down Liu Chenxiang, the son of the Third Holy Mother, Erlang Shen has been sending troops to appear in the mortal world from time to time.

If they were to actually sense the aura of the fairy robe and come to investigate, wouldn't that ruin everything?

"Don't even think about getting your hands on the fairy robes." The old ox said sullenly, "Do you really think you can do whatever you want in the mortal world just because you know a little magic? How can things in this world be conjured up out of thin air? I transformed hemp into cotton thread and had it woven by the celestial weaver girl herself, so I don't have to worry about it returning to its original state after the magic power disappears."

Besides, it's just cotton thread, not some valuable item. The magic it contains is weak, so it can last for decades without being detected.

"While it's possible to transform precious items like gold and silver into stone, it would require a great deal of magical power and wouldn't last long. Once a cultivator notices, they'll definitely track us down."

The old ox glared at the cowherd with its huge eyes and said coldly, "You just want a few taels of silver to live a better life. You don't want to work. With the Weaver Girl helping you weave cloth to sell, you can start a small business and become rich in no time. Why take the risk?"

Chapter Twenty-One: Catching Demons

"Since you can't turn gold and silver into jewels, just find me any rat or pumpkin and turn it into a carriage for a couple of days, that will do." Mu Jiuxiu refused to give up and pointed at the mule cart, saying, "Look at yourself, I have you, a reincarnated deity with magic and the ability to speak, but I can't even use my own carriage and have to borrow someone else's mule cart."

"We've been friends for over a decade, so let's not forget each other when we become rich and powerful!"

"Brother Niu, you're being really unfair. You hear about other spirits and monsters in the stories? They all try to settle their own people first when they have the ability..."

The old ox was thoroughly annoyed, and all remaining affection and goodwill vanished completely. It simply lay down in the grass, closed its eyes, and pretended to sleep.

Mu Jiuxiu rambled on for a while, his mouth dry from talking, but he couldn't get any benefit out of it. He had no choice but to drive the mule cart back to the town in a huff.

In Taoyuan Village, Brother Li stood at his doorstep, looking until his eyes were sore, but he still couldn't see any sign of his mule cart.

"Tell me, why did you lend the cart to the cowherd?" His wife, dressed in coarse cloth with a dark blue headscarf wrapped around her head, sat at the doorway sewing shoe soles and grumbling. "He has no home or business, and we haven't seen him in the last two days. He doesn't even sleep in the cowshed anymore. You just lent him the cart without thinking. What if he gets kicked out and sold off, and the cowherd runs off with the money? Who can we complain to then?"

The mule was bought and raised by our family from a puppy;

Although the cart was made by a carpenter in the village and wasn't as expensive as those bought outside, this mule and cart represented all of Li Erge's earnings from his "transportation" business.

He married and had two sons and a daughter in quick succession. The family relied on a few acres of meager land, which was hardly enough to cover their expenses.

He was quick-witted and always looking for ways out. He tightened his belt, bought a mule, raised it to adulthood, and made a living by driving carts and hauling goods to support his family and still have some left over.

The mule cart was Li Erge's prized possession. Yesterday, the Cowherd had showered him with sweet words and promised he wouldn't lend it for nothing. For some reason, Li Erge impulsively agreed, thinking he had to work in the fields today and wouldn't be hauling goods. Normally, he wouldn't be happy to borrow it from anyone, afraid that someone might not take good care of it and damage it.

Li Erge's brows furrowed as if his abs had reached his forehead. Feeling uncertain and afraid of being right, he replied without any confidence, "Niulang has grown up in the village since he was a child. We've all watched him grow up. He's a very honest and kind boy. How could he have borrowed our cart to sell?"

"Who can say for sure about these things!" Li Ersao tugged at the thread of her shoe sole with her teeth and said, slightly slurring her words, "Look at the behavior of his elder brother and sister-in-law, who in the village dares to do anything with them?"

Don't forget that Niulang and his elder brother came from the same mother. It's a good thing his father died early, otherwise who knows how many people he would have harmed.

As the saying goes, dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat's son knows how to dig a hole; a child born into the womb of a deity is born a deity!

Niu Lang and his brother Niu Da, born of the same parents and raised in the same way, why is it that one is wicked and dissolute while the other is good and praised by the whole village? If you ask me, Niu Lang is just pretending to be honest and simple to gain everyone's sympathy.

Seeing that her husband was silent, she deftly poked the sole of her shoe with an awl and said in a low voice, "Think carefully about when Niu Da and Niu Lang had a dispute over dividing the family property. Niu Da took over the house and land. Who in the village didn't stand up for Niu Lang?"

An ordinary person would have seized the opportunity to demand that the village chief uphold justice and reclaim what was rightfully theirs. But what did the cowherd do? He kept saying that brothers should value harmony and not fight or grab, yet he constantly complained about his brother and sister-in-law abusing him.

Over the years, who in the village hasn't pitied him? They've given him plenty of benefits, both openly and secretly! Whenever someone has work to do, they give him priority, and even if he doesn't do it well, they don't say anything because they pity him.

Even if the Cowherd had a house and land, he'd still have to do farm work himself. Where could he find such a comfortable life, being taken care of at every turn?

She was unaware that the Cowherd had come to borrow the cart. She only found out when she returned from the fields and couldn't find the precious mule cart. Li Ersao immediately urged him to go and get it back so that the Cowherd wouldn't borrow it.

But her husband wouldn't listen, saying things like the Cowherd was honest and simple and wouldn't lie.

Li Ersao didn't believe it!

A few days ago, Wangzi from the east end of the village got married. She saw with her own eyes the cowherd staring at the bride with a drooling look on his face. His eyes and appearance seemed to want to swallow the bride whole.

The cowherd was old, lazy, and poor. His husband advised him to go to town to do odd jobs, but he refused. He spent his days either lying in the fields waiting for the old ox to plow the land and earn money, or wandering around in the mountains, claiming to be herding cattle.

A bachelor who hasn't saved any money but still wants women is the most likely to cause trouble!

"You should hurry up and go to the village to ask if anyone has seen him. He said he was supposed to return the car this morning, but we haven't heard from him yet. How are we supposed to do our delivery business?" Li Ersao suggested while sewing shoe soles.

Feeling even more uncertain after being talked about, Li Erge remembered that the villagers said they saw the Cowherd passing through the village with a high spirit, looking like he had made a fortune. After thinking for a moment, he slapped his thigh and decided to ask around and go into the mountains to find the Cowherd!

"The Cowherd? I saw him yesterday afternoon. He was dressed in new clothes and shoes, looking quite respectable, and was heading into the mountains with a bunch of new things. He said he had married a woman as beautiful as a fairy."

"Pah! Don't listen to his nonsense. Is the fairy stupid enough to want to live with someone who doesn't even have a place to stay? I heard Grandma Hu say that the Cowherd probably encountered a monster in the mountains!"

"Those foxes and snakes in the mountains, once they cultivate to a certain level, will ask someone for a title and borrow human energy. Maybe a cowherd who's almost gone crazy for a wife will meet one and say she looks like a celestial beauty, and he'll get a wife for free?"

"He must have been bewitched by a demon. I saw the Cowherd with my own eyes yesterday. The way he acted and spoke, tsk tsk, it was completely different from his usual honest and simple self, like he had become a different person!"

As evening approached, villagers sat on the street enjoying the cool air, busy with their work and chatting amongst themselves, which made Li Erge even more uncertain.

He slapped his thigh, filled with regret. "How could I be so heartless? I thought he was just an honest, kind kid, and he said a lot of nice things to me, so I lent him my mule cart. We agreed to return it today, but now the sun is setting and there's not a soul in sight. What am I going to do if I don't have a cart to haul goods?!"

Taoyuan Village is not large. If you go back a few generations, you can still find relatives and friends. For hundreds of years, people have lived here and everyone knows each other's situation.

The story of Brother Li lending his mule cart to the cowherd quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys.

"He said so many nice things back then, and even said he would definitely give me a thank-you gift after selling the goods, asking me to help him out of consideration for our years of friendship. He promised to return the car first thing this morning, but what am I going to do?" The tall man stood helplessly at the village entrance with a sorrowful expression, which was truly pitiful.

Suddenly, someone suggested, "You can run away, but you can't hide. The Cowherd cheated us out of our mule cart and won't return it. Let's go find his brother, Niu Da!"

"Can you recognize Niu Da's character?" The old hunter in the village took a puff of his pipe and said in a deep voice, "Why don't we go into the mountains to look for traces of Niu Lang first?"

Li Erge, overwhelmed by the cacophony of voices, hurriedly pleaded, "Sir, no one knows this Peach Blossom Mountain better than you. Please have some mercy and take me there. If we can find the Cowherd and get the mule cart back, I'll treat you to a good meal!"

The rumors of spirits and monsters in the mountains have been around for a long time. Usually, the honest and kind cowherd goes to the deep mountains and forests to graze his cattle, saying that the grass in the deep mountains is tender and the spring water is sweet, which is good for the old yellow cattle's stomach.

As a result, he often walked by the river and got his shoes wet, and he started acting strangely. The villagers decided to go find the Cowherd together to see what he was up to in the deep mountains and forests.

"Everyone, bring your torches, and don't fall behind."

“I brought my big black dog with me. The old folks always say that dogs can spot unusual things. If the Cowherd is really fooled by a monster, I can find a way to save him.”

"The carpenter's ink line can ward off evil spirits, and peach wood branches are also useful. Take them with you!"

"Let's hurry and set off before it gets dark! Yesterday I saw the Cowherd heading west along that road; that's the road he uses to herd his cattle..."

…………

The villagers responded enthusiastically, some carrying farm tools, some leading dogs, and others carrying all sorts of strange and legendary items believed to ward off evil, and set off in a grand procession into the mountains.

Meanwhile, Mu Jiuxiu was slowly driving his mule cart through the town. As dusk approached, he thought of Zhu'er again, and felt a strange itch in his heart.

But today there are only ten bolts of cloth in total. Even if we can sell them for one or two taels of silver per bolt, it will only be enough to cover the girl's overnight expenses, not even enough for the cheapest meal.

"A poor man has little ambition, a thin horse has long hair!" he sighed, cracking his whip as he hurried toward the brothel.

At this time, the sun was setting and the girls were at their busiest welcoming guests. Mu Jiuxiu successfully sold the fabric and took the heavy sum of ten taels of silver. He listened with longing to their sweet chatter and smelled the fragrance of cosmetics in the air. He left, turning back every few steps, to buy the necessities.

He first ate a bowl of noodles with meat at the stall to fill his stomach, and then bought a lot of steamed buns and sesame cakes to prepare for the next two days' meals; finally, Mu Jiuxiu inquired and ran to the place that sells silkworm silk, and spent three taels of silver to buy high-quality silkworm silk.

"Money really doesn't last long. I bought so little stuff and now I only have six taels of silver left." Mu Jiuxiu slowly drove the mule cart back, looking up at the sky and sighing, "Even a hero can be brought down by a penny."

With such meager earnings, when will I ever be able to live a life of great wealth and luxury?

He's supposed to be the protagonist, the creator god, and a celestial being, and the reincarnation of the Golden Bull Star Lord, so why is his treatment so different from that of the protagonist in the novel?

The setting sun cast a long shadow of the mule cart behind it, which moved slowly along the mountain road like a splash of ink on the ground.