The male supporting character was actually myself.

The light was much dimmer in the deep forest than elsewhere. The setting sun could only cast dappled patterns of light through the dense foliage. Even Li Erge, who was anxious and an old hunter who used to hunt in the mountains a few years ago, quieted down.

"Ever since the rumors of spirits in the mountains started, apart from that cowherd who went into the mountains to herd cattle, everyone else just stayed on the edge of the forest. We don't know what he was thinking, preferring to run into the mountains to herd cattle rather than find a proper job."

The old hunter tucked his pipe into his waistband and held his homemade bow and arrows, remaining vigilant as he walked, examining the tracks on the ground. "It's fortunate that no one else has gone into the mountains. The mule's hoofprints and wheel tracks on the ground are very clear. If we follow them, we should be able to find him."

Upon hearing that there was still hope, Li Erge breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking up at the increasingly dark sky, he silently prayed that he could find the cowherd and get the mule cart back!

"Hey, isn't that the old ox up ahead?" After walking for a while, someone with sharp eyes suddenly spotted the old ox nestled in the grass far away halfway up the mountain and shouted excitedly, "The cowherd and his ox are inseparable, finding it will make things much easier!"

As the villagers saw the old ox, the Golden Ox God also sensed that something was wrong.

The group consisted of dozens of people, all familiar faces from the village. They carried bows and arrows, torches, and led dogs, suggesting that their group was more than just hunting in the mountains.

"That Cowherd is such a worry! He borrowed something and didn't return it, causing the villagers to come looking for him?" It easily overheard the commotion with its magic and frowned. "What should we do? What if they find the Weaver Girl..."

The main reason why the Weaver Girl couldn't escape was that she was kept under guard and given no chance. In addition, she was unfamiliar with the mortal world and didn't dare to act rashly without sufficient preparation.

But what if so many people discover her and the Weaver Girl takes the opportunity to leave the deep mountains with the crowd?

My magic power is enough to take down these dozens of people, but doing so would cause too much of a commotion and be very detrimental to the plan!

What should we do? What should we do?

As the crowd drew closer, the Weaver Girl heard the commotion and came out of the cave. In his desperation, the old ox suddenly had an idea—since the villagers were all clamoring to see if the Cowherd had really encountered a fox spirit who had turned into a beautiful woman, and since there were rumors that monsters roamed the deep mountains of Peach Blossom Mountain, why not go all the way and let the villagers think that the Weaver Girl, with her golden hair and jade ornaments, was a monster!

In this way, she could use his identity as a spirit to deceive everyone by having her go to the young man.

After making up his mind, the old ox kept a close watch on the Weaver Girl's every move.

She is unaware that she is the "mastermind" and is therefore unprepared, which makes the Weaver Girl bear the blame for the monster and cuts off her chance to escape to a mortal village for help.

At this moment, she only had protective spells and no other abilities. How could a delicate and weak girl have any say in the conversation with a strong country man?

"Oh my, there really is a beauty like a fairy!" As soon as he got closer, Li Erge saw a beautiful woman emerge from the cave. She was dressed in silk and satin, had a beautiful hairstyle, and wore gold, silver and jade ornaments. She had a slender figure.

How could there be such a gorgeously dressed and beautiful girl in the deep mountains and forests? Could she really be a fox spirit?

The Weaver Girl also saw the crowd of villagers and felt that she finally had a chance to fight back and restrain the old ox. She waved to the crowd and shouted loudly, "Help! I am a young lady from a wealthy family who has been imprisoned here by the Cowherd. Please save me!"

Her plan was simple: expose the Cowherd's illicit behavior and then, under the pretext of going home, try to take the old ox away from Peach Blossom Village to find outside help. Presumably, the ox wouldn't dare to use magic openly, especially in front of so many people, as it would be risky if it were exposed.

Given Taurus Star Lord's cautious nature in refusing to reveal itself before me, I certainly won't act rashly unless absolutely necessary.

Even if you seek the protection of the local earth god at a temple, you can still turn the tide!

"boom!"

However, the Weaver Girl never expected that when she waved her hand, a ball of flame would suddenly appear out of thin air and explode at the feet of the villagers, startling them so much that they scattered in all directions, shouting, "There's a monster!" "The demon is killing people!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Both Sides' Schemes Were Successful

"Where did this monster come from? It doesn't even dare to show its face, it just hides behind the scenes and does shady things." The clever Weaver Girl immediately understood that Taurus Star Lord didn't want her to come into contact with the villagers, and she was both angry and furious.

But she still pretended not to know the old ox's true identity, and looked around angrily, saying: "You dare to steal fairy clothes and imprison a fairy, but you don't dare to show your face? Ha, you are indeed afraid of violating the heavenly rules and being struck by lightning, aren't you? Since you are afraid, why do such a wicked thing!"

The forest was quiet, except for the flames that stood between her and the villagers, which were being blown by the wind and burned even more fiercely, forcing both sides to retreat again and again.

"Whoosh!" After fleeing a distance, the old hunter steadied himself, nocked an arrow, and fired it at the "fox spirit."

Taurus Star Lord didn't make a move; it was just a simple retaliation from a mortal. Weaver Girl's protective spell would definitely be able to block it, and it might even backfire on the old hunter. In this way, the two sides officially confirmed their hatred, and she could never ask the nearby mortals for help again!

Sure enough, the arrow pierced through the flames at incredible speed and struck the Weaver Girl with perfect accuracy.

She is now no different from an ordinary person. Jiang Chen realized that something was wrong immediately, but he didn't have time to stop it before it escalated into a fight between the two. In desperation, he could only protect the Weaver Girl from harm.

So, under everyone's watchful eyes, the arrow exploded as soon as it approached the Weaver Girl, falling to the ground without harming her in the slightest.

"Oh my god!" Li Erge's legs went weak. The thought that Niulang had married such a formidable wife meant he probably wouldn't get his mule cart back. He plopped down on the ground and wailed, "Why am I so unlucky? I kindly lent the cart to Niulang, and now it's all over!"

Flames soared into the sky, dogs barked and people shouted. The Weaver Girl couldn't hear what the other party was crying and shouting, fearing that the Golden Ox Star Lord had set fire to the people and hurt them. Therefore, she anxiously scolded, "Although I don't know who you are or why you helped the Cowherd steal my fairy clothes and imprison me here, please open your eyes and see that those are all mortals without any magic power, all pitiful poor people!"

It is no easy feat for you to cultivate to this level. Why can't you do some good deeds and let them off the hook?

Aren't you worried that when the common people burn incense and pray to the gods for their protection, their prayers will reach the heavens and uncover your misdeeds?

Even the old ox has a headache.

He didn't want to involve mortals, especially since the original form of the old ox hadn't yet regained the divine consciousness of the Golden Ox Star Lord. The ox had received a lot of care from the villagers, and it was neither morally nor logically right for him to harm them.

So he secretly cast a spell, just to scare the villagers without harming a single hair on their heads.

The Weaver Girl misunderstood because she couldn't hear clearly. She had magical powers and could hear everything clearly. The Second Brother Li, who was sitting on the ground wailing, was clearly cursing the Cowherd for borrowing things and not returning them. What did that have to do with the old ox setting fire?

"Moo~" it sighed softly, looking very annoyed.

Cowherd, oh Cowherd, you're good for nothing, always hungry, and number one at causing trouble!

The old hunter was stunned for a few moments before he came to his senses. He dragged the young man, who was still unaware of what was happening, backward, saying, "Stop yelling! This demon is too powerful for us to handle!"

"Oh dear, what should we do? She lives so close to Peach Blossom Village, and we've angered a monster. The village is in for trouble!"

"Go home and quickly burn incense and pray to Buddha, asking for protection and peace for the village!"

"Burning incense won't do any good. Let's go to Nanlang Mountain and ask a Taoist priest to exorcise the demon. I've heard the Taoist priests there are incredibly powerful..."

…………

The villagers chattered amongst themselves, and the old ox, which had sprung out to intercept them, was engulfed in flames, creating quite a commotion.

The moment Jiang Chen observed the dramatic change through the Soul Artifact, he rushed over, ready to make his presence felt once more.

If we could take advantage of the chaos to rescue the Weaver Girl, that would be the best outcome!

Even if they can't be rescued, it's much better to wade into the muddy waters and find an opportunity to intimidate the timid and fearful Taurus Star Lord than to remain inactive and watch the situation unfold.

"What happened? Why is it on fire?" The young man emerged from the bushes and was about to extinguish the raging fire when he heard the Weaver Girl, who was pretending not to recognize him, calling out urgently.

She hadn't expected the little tree spirit to appear at this critical moment. Fearing that the Taurus Star Lord might poison him, and also worried that a slow reaction would arouse his suspicion, she turned around in a panic and said, "Brother, hurry up and leave! There are monsters lurking here that could kill people!"

"A monster?" Jiang Chen, his acting skills impeccable, immediately became alert. He looked around and used his divine sense to investigate, but found nothing unusual. Turning around, he saw the old ox still tied to the tree and hurriedly went forward to untie the reins. "Old ox, old ox, our reunion is fraught with danger. I don't have time to groom you. Hurry up and run for your life!"

The old ox was moved to tears.

It never expected that the young man with weak magic power would still remember to save an old and frail ox upon hearing that a monster had appeared. This made him stand out from the greedy cowherd and it confirmed once again that it had not misjudged the man.

"Moo~" After the old ox was untied, it did not run away, but gently nudged the young man with its horns to bring him closer to the Weaver Girl.

The Weaver Girl was completely dumbfounded.

She knew the little tree spirit had pretended not to know and had gotten close to Taurus Star Lord, but when did their relationship become so intimate? Not only did she not harm him, but she also allowed the little tree spirit to get close to her?

Isn't Taurus Star Lord afraid that he might ask the little tree spirit for help and reveal his true identity to it?

“Young lady, you have a delicate aura and are dressed in gorgeous clothes. You must be a lady from a good family. Why would you come to this deep mountain forest?” Jiang Chen was being pushed close to the Weaver Girl by the ox’s horns. He bowed and said politely, “Please, young lady, step aside for a while. This wildfire is raging and could easily cause a disaster. If it spreads, all the creatures in the mountains will suffer.”

"I'm facing some inconveniences while fighting the fire. Could you please lead the old ox deeper into the valley? There's a stream there where we can rest."

The Weaver Girl's expression was somewhat conflicted. She looked at the old ox and then at Jiang Chen, fearing that the other party might get involved and suffer.

"Please move to a safe area for now, young lady." Jiang Chen bowed again and winked at her, indicating that he could handle the situation.

The Horcrux overheard the old ox and the magpie spirit discussing kicking the Cowherd out of the game. After gaining some favor, it's unlikely that the Taurus Star Lord would rashly kill it.

What they're after now is the important matter of revising the Heavenly Laws; what's the point of killing a little tree spirit with whom they have no stake?

Taurus was so cautious that he didn't even dare to speak to the Weaver Girl. It was reasonable for him to only have occasional contact with her and to have met the Cowherd beforehand. He had no reason to make things difficult for himself.

"Then I'll take the old ox away first. Be careful." Seeing this, the Weaver Girl had no choice but to nod in agreement and led the old ox by its reins into the ravine.

The flames burned fiercely like a wall of fire. The villagers on the other side, frightened, had already scattered and fled. Jiang Chen used his magic to control the fire to prevent it from spreading. Only when he could no longer see the Weaver Girl and the old ox did he use hand seals to extinguish the flames little by little.

Even though the Weaver Girl knew perfectly well that the old ox was none other than the Golden Ox Star Lord, one of the culprits, she still pretended to be completely unaware. Leading it to drink water by the mountain spring, she sighed and said, "You poor old ox, you have such a bad life, stuck with such a selfish and self-serving master as the Cowherd. You must have suffered a lot these years following him, haven't you?"

"Although I have no magic power, I still have some insight. That young man just now was probably not human. I'm really worried that the mastermind behind the conspiracy with the cowherd might harm him. I hope that person isn't a bastard who indiscriminately kills innocent people."

"Alas... I am the seventh princess of the Heavenly Palace, yet I have fallen to this state. If the young man were to come looking for me unharmed, I would not dare to reveal my identity to him, lest I implicate him and harm him?"

"It's a pity you didn't develop sentience, otherwise you would have learned quite a few secrets by spending every day with the Cowherd..."

…………

The Weaver Girl sat beside the old ox, talking to herself as she tried to pave the way for the little tree spirit so that he wouldn't be killed by the Golden Ox Star Lord at the slightest disagreement.

"Moo~" the old ox pretended to be simple-minded and made a silly sound, but couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.

So what if she's the seventh princess of the Heavenly Palace?

They were completely kept in the dark and had no idea that I was the "mastermind" behind it all!

The Seventh Princess's kindness and concern for the young man clearly stemmed from a very good first impression. Upon reflection, this is understandable; the young man is handsome, refined, and cultured, and the Weaver Girl's gaze upon him at first glance was distinctly different from her own.

As for male prostitutes, they are incomparable. They have no class, are dressed in tattered and dirty clothes, and have a rude and arrogant attitude. It is not surprising that the proud fairy would not be interested in them.

The first meeting was dangerous, with raging fires in front and behind and an unknown mastermind behind it. A girl with no magic and no strength must have been terrified. At this time, a handsome young man who cared about all living beings in the forest and was polite appeared. How could the Weaver Girl, who had been suffering torment one after another, not be moved?

The young man's kind heart and selfless act of rescuing the elderly, weak, sick cattle, and innocent girls from the fire and putting it out is truly moving.

Having experienced so much in such a short time, the Weaver Girl was already exhausted, both physically and mentally. It just so happened that such a suitable young man appeared. If given enough time, even a celestial being would be moved by his mortal heart and willing to stay with him forever!

"Why hasn't he come yet?" After waiting for a long time, the Weaver Girl stood on tiptoe, peering out with undisguised worry. "Oh no, could he have been targeted by the mastermind? In my haste, I told him there was a demon, but the boy's magic was clearly too weak to detect it..."

Seeing her worried expression, the old ox was secretly delighted, but at the same time, he remembered something amiss—how could he make the "mastermind" give up his murderous intent towards the young man in a logical way?

According to the logic presented to the Weaver Girl so far, the mastermind's goal is to imprison her and force her to become the Cowherd's wife, thus causing her to fall to the mortal realm. That's why they personally set fire to the village to prevent her from interacting with the villagers.

How could they possibly allow the Weaver Girl to escape and be with a weak spirit from the mountains?

"Moo~" The old ox swished its tail and slowly licked its lips to drink water. After thinking for a moment, it decided to persuade the magpie spirit to "sacrifice" itself for the sake of their great cause and play the role of the mastermind behind the scenes.

When the time comes, all we need to do is have it come to our door demanding its return, and explain why it suddenly left after setting the fire as a deterrent; then everything will make sense.

From the Weaver Girl's perspective, the mastermind behind it all was a magpie spirit. It had been lurking around her, watching over her. But when the villagers came looking for her, her enemies also came looking for her. The magpie spirit had no choice but to set fire to intimidate the villagers and fight her enemies. As a result, she was injured and could only rely on the tiger's might, and she couldn't even beat the young man.

By giving them some alone time and adding a sense of urgency, and having the magpie spirit put on a show to make things difficult for the young man, giving the Weaver Girl a chance to care for and love him, wouldn't things naturally fall into place?

If he weren't just a bull in his true form, Taurus Star Lord would really want to applaud himself.

It takes an incredibly brilliant mind to come up with a plan to replace someone in such a short time, and to do so so smoothly that the Weaver Girl wouldn't notice anything amiss and fall into the trap!

The Heavenly Court banished me to the mortal realm, depriving me of my most powerful brain. That was truly a great loss for the Heavenly Court!

Having figured out all the plans, the old ox leisurely swayed its tail and drank water. The young man was naturally not in any danger. The flames it released were just ordinary flames, not the Samadhi True Fire or the Six Ding Divine Fire from heaven. How could they possibly harm him?

It's just that the young man's cultivation is still short, and he can only transform into human form with weak magic power. It will take him a while to extinguish the fire. With his kind nature, he would never let the delicate girl and the old ox spend the night in these deep mountains.