I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

Dong Qing was dumbfounded. He had never seen magma used for forging in his life, and this magma didn't seem to be ordinary magma.

She was also feeling bitter inside. Why did Senior Brother Li have to make her come to a place like this to meet him?

"Um, senior brother, have you seen Senior Brother Li Wujiang?" Dong Qing asked timidly.

The blacksmith's apprentice pointed in a direction, "Over there, you'll see it when you get there."

"Okay, thank you, senior brother."

You're welcome, you're welcome.

They were being very polite, as everyone knew that Peak Master Fengyuan had taken on a closed-door disciple, and that they had all met this junior sister named Bai Dongqing after the last mountain gate ceremony.

After bypassing the lava lake and the lava transport equipment, Dong Qing found herself surrounded by disciples who were much stronger and more robust than an ox. She couldn't help but swallow, not out of greed but out of fear. These disciples' forearms were much thicker than her thighs, which was truly frightening.

After bypassing the lava lake and arriving at the next level, amidst the creaking and groaning of machinery, Bai Dongqing finally met Senior Brother Li, who had inexplicably sought her out and insisted on meeting her in this place.

Li Wujiang, the senior disciple of Wentian Peak, and the eldest disciple of Yunru, the peak master of Wentian Peak.

This wasn't the first time Dongqing had seen this person; he had met him before in the valley.

"Senior Brother Li."

Li Wujiang was standing on the high platform at this moment. After hearing Dong Qing's shout, he turned around, nodded slightly when he saw Dong Qing, then took something and appeared in front of Dong Qing in a flash.

He was holding a large seal, which was also a weapon. Unlike a sword, this was used to throw it around and hit people. Occasionally, it could also be used as a sealing array. It was widely used in the cultivation world.

"Junior Sister Bai, I heard that you have come up the mountain, so I prepared a gift for you. I originally planned to give it to you at the ceremony ten days ago, but I was delayed by a demon. I have strengthened this seal these past two days, so please accept it."

Li Wujiang was also tongue-tied. Apart from giving gifts to Lin Yimiao, he had never given anything to anyone else. Today, he had brought all the gifts to Dong Qing and suddenly couldn't speak.

"No need, no need, my master has already given me a powerful sword." Dongqing waved his hands awkwardly.

"Please accept this, Junior Sister Bai. This is a token of my appreciation as your senior brother." Li Wujiang said sternly. After several attempts to refuse, Dong Qing reluctantly accepted the seal.

She didn't think much about it, let alone whether Li Wujiang had taken a liking to her.

She is only thirteen years old this year, while Li Wujiang looks to be nineteen, and his actual age is unknown.

After Dongqing put away the seal, Li Wujiang hesitated for a while before finally speaking, "Junior Sister Bai, after you left, did your aunt return to the Ten Thousand Mountains?"

"My aunt?" Dongqing asked, puzzled. Why was he suddenly asking about his aunt?

"I do not know."

"Well... alright then, I won't bother you any longer. I wish Junior Sister Bai all the best in her future endeavors."

Li Wujiang left, his back view showing a hint of loneliness. Dongqing was completely bewildered and had no idea what had happened.

I feel like I said something that might have hurt him, but I didn't.

Dongqing was completely confused. Her polite refusal was perfectly normal; who would accept a gift right away?

"I don't understand the adult world, so never mind."

On the other side, Li Wujiang had just come out when he received a telepathic message from Lin Yimiao: "Senior brother, where are you hiding? I can't find you anywhere. Come back quickly, Master needs to talk to you."

Upon receiving the telepathic message, Li Wujiang quickly returned to Wentian Peak.

At Jian Ge, Yun Ru stood with her hands behind her back, gazing down the mountain. Behind her, Li Wujiang hurriedly arrived, entered the room, and bowed, saying, "Master."

"Yes, Wujiang, three years from now, Bai Dongqing will come down the mountain to visit her family. You will go down the mountain with her and protect her safety along the way."

Yun Ru spoke calmly. Because her back was turned, Li Wujiang couldn't see her expression and was somewhat puzzled by her words, but he still immediately agreed, "Yes."

"Go and cultivate; your state of mind has been rather unstable lately."

Upon hearing this, Li Wujiang's heart trembled slightly. "I...disciple understands."

Li Wujiang already had the answer to why his mind was unstable. He himself didn't quite understand why. He didn't consider himself a person who only looked at appearances. He had only met Bai Qingyu's aunt once, so why did he have this feeling?

She's clearly a demon...

Li Wujiang didn't understand, and Yunru couldn't understand either. Her eldest disciple was clearly caught in a love tribulation. She couldn't figure out who it was before. She had looked at all the women who were even slightly close to Li Wujiang, but none of them seemed to be the one.

She couldn't see things too clearly, only a general outline, but her intuition told her that it wasn't one of these female disciples, much less Lin Yimiao.

It wasn't until today, after noticing Li Wujiang's subtle actions, that she instantly realized who it was.

That Guhuoniao!

I just can't understand why this happened. I can only say that fate is cruel, and Li Wujiang was destined to suffer this calamity.

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Volume 1: Chapter 78 Poison

Life was uneventful, and the days passed by in a hurry. After Bai Qingyu successfully rented a small courtyard, her daily routine became setting up a fortune-telling stall in the morning to earn money, returning home at noon to eat and rest, and passing on some demonic power to the little snake so that she could grow up quickly. In the afternoon, she would do some handicrafts in the courtyard while teaching Xiaodie to read and write.

Three months passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Bai Qingyu stood in the courtyard with a bad feeling.

Under the old tree in the courtyard, Xiaodie held a book and quietly read a poem from it. A white snake coiled around the tree trunk, its head raised high, gazing at the sky, seemingly absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. A thin mist hung over the courtyard, its contractions and expansions all contained in the snake's breath.

Zhentian sat in the pavilion, her bird-claw-like hands gently tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear—a small gesture so tender and gentle—before continuing to concentrate on weaving the wooden umbrella in her hands.

"Strange, very strange, could it be another drought?"

Standing in the courtyard, Bai Qingyu pretended to be calculating with her hands, but in reality, it was all based on a vague feeling.

Droughts have occurred in previous years, but they were rare. In recent years, it seems that they occur every year. However, they are not all droughts; there are also floods and locust plagues. It's strange that all kinds of disasters are happening one after another. Does nature not want people to live a good life?

After all this trouble, how many people will be exhausted?

"It's probably what they call the harbinger of chaos."

As a demon, these disasters naturally wouldn't befall her, but that doesn't mean she wants to see them. When disaster strikes, the streets are filled with refugees, and people sell their children with straw stuck in their bodies.

"Zhentian, please look after Xiaodie for me. I'm going out to buy something."

Without further thought, Bai Qingyu called out and walked out of the courtyard towards the market. Having earned a considerable amount of money from fortune telling for two more months, Bai Qingyu had no intention of continuing. It was a classic case of "open for business for two months and live off it for a year," and once that was done, she'd open for business again.

The market was bustling. Bai Qingyu wanted to buy some ingredients to eat in the next couple of days. If possible, she wanted to store more easily stored items and prepare more food so that she could get through the drought safely.

As soon as she arrived at the market, Bai Qingyu noticed a large crowd gathered ahead. Driven by curiosity, she peeked over and saw two bald men dressed as monks chanting some kind of incantation in the middle of the crowd. Suddenly, she saw a pale-faced, weak old man at their feet touch his head and stand up.

He had previously looked terminally ill, but after a few words from these two bald old men in tattered robes, he not only recovered but could also walk and jump again, exclaiming with delight that a master had saved his life.

Humans in the mortal world are subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death. Living a hard life and struggling to even fill their stomachs, they are particularly afraid of these four words. It's not that they are optimistic, but rather that they are simply terrified of death. The sight of these two monks saving a person who was about to die in the blink of an eye is too shocking for them.

Bai Qingyu could tell at a glance what trick the two were playing. To put it simply, the old man who had been cured was a shill, acting in cahoots with the two of them.

Moreover, Bai Qingyu felt that these two people were not monks, but just dressed like monks.

She had only ever met one real monk, the disciple of the old Taoist priest who had asked her to ward off disaster in Peach Blossom Town, though she didn't know why a Taoist priest's disciple was a monk.

Feeling bored, Bai Qingyu figured it was nothing more than a scheme to swindle money from him, and turned to leave.

Among the crowd, two fake monks spotted Bai Qingyu at a glance, their eyes lighting up. They quickly walked over, and the crowd on both sides spontaneously dispersed. From a distance, the two monks shouted to Bai Qingyu's back, "Esteemed benefactor, please wait!"

Bai Qingyu looked back and realized that the two people had already caught up.

"Please wait, please wait."

Seeing her stop, two monks quickly approached. "Esteemed benefactor, I see you have an affinity with Buddhism. May I ask..."

Before she could finish speaking, Bai Qingyu turned and left, unwilling to stay and say another word. In her opinion, it was all a waste of time. Coming up with "You have a connection with my Buddhist sect, and I wonder if you would like to learn more about my Buddhist sect" was just nonsense.

She already suspected these two were fake monks, and their disgusting looks just now only confirmed her suspicions.

I've never seen a monk stare at someone with such an offensive and direct look, as if he wanted to devour them whole.

"Hey, please wait a moment, benefactor."

Bai Qingyu hadn't gone far when she heard the two people shouting again, but this time it didn't seem to be calling her.

It would have been better not to call her. A guy who shaved his head and pretended to be a monk to cheat people out of money and sex is disgusting.

Bai Qingyu left without even turning his head, unaware that a green-clad, white-haired girl was being stopped by two monks behind him. The two monks were about to continue chasing Bai Qingyu, thinking that it would be a waste of this bald man if they didn't manage to seduce him. But as soon as they turned around, they saw a girl who was as beautiful as an angel.

Unlike Bai Qingyu, this girl looked to be only thirteen or fourteen years old. She was graceful, delicate, and refined. At such a young age, she had a stunning appearance. The key was that she was young and easy to fool.

Bai Qingyu had an aloof expression, keeping everyone at arm's length without saying a word, making her seem unapproachable.

The green-clad girl's expression was no gentler than Bai Qingyu's; her pretty face seemed frosty, and her eyes held a hint of disgust and defensiveness.

"Don't come near me, it's dangerous," the girl said, her voice clear and melodious like a nightingale's song.

“Young benefactor, we are two eminent monks of Buddhism. We happened to be passing by today and saw that you were surrounded by dark energy. You will soon face a calamity that will kill you and destroy your family. The Buddha said that before attaining Buddhahood, one should first cultivate good karma. As members of Buddhism, we cannot stand by and watch someone die.”

"I suspect that you, young benefactor, have been experiencing restlessness and difficulty sleeping lately. This is a sign that you are about to be plagued by bad luck and face impending doom."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another person reached out to grab the green-clad girl's hand, saying, "May Buddha have mercy, how can we stand by and watch her die?"

The girl in green easily dodged, and the fake monk's hand only touched the girl's clothes.

His expression froze, his face changed drastically, and he stumbled back a few steps, landing on his backside with a thud. He clutched his neck tightly with both hands, and his expression began to contort.

Everything happened too fast. The monk next to him turned around and saw that his lips had turned purple and his skin was gradually swelling. White foam kept coming out of his mouth, which was extremely creepy. He was saving the world just now, but now he could not save himself.

The fake monk stared at the girl in green, his eyes filled with terror. His mouth was agape, his whole body trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Didn't I tell you from the beginning?" The girl in green looked at him quietly. "These brightly colored feathers are dangerous."

The man's gaze became unfocused, his pupils began to dilate, and he made no further sound.

The people around were still hoping the master could cure their illnesses, but as soon as they saw the master lying dead on the ground, the crowd began to panic. No one knew what had happened; they only knew that the master had tried to forcibly dispel the bad luck from the pretty young woman before collapsing to the ground and falling silent.

In fact, these two monks had never failed in their scams. They discovered that people were often foolish. As long as they exaggerated the symptoms and mentioned symptoms that everyone had, making it seem like they had seen through everything, their targets would be tempted. Then, they would lure them into the trap step by step.

For example, they might say, "This female benefactor, the lingering yin energy within you will surely attract evil spirits. Fortunately, we Buddhists are all of pure yang constitution, and we can help you dispel the yin energy within you." After this indescribable process is over, they will pretend that they have committed a great sin, because monks cannot do such things; they have made a huge sacrifice.

In the end, after deceiving someone for their body, they can also swindle money for travel expenses.

This approach had worked several times before, but this time it failed.

Chaos gradually broke out around them, and the girl in green turned and left.

·

On the other side, Bai Qingyu had returned after buying groceries and passed by the market entrance again. This time, she saw even more people, and it seemed like something had happened. It was so chaotic that she couldn't hear any useful information, only things like the master had died.

Bai Qingyu, who had intended to leave, suddenly had a change of heart after hearing those words.

What did this master do? He died so suddenly. And isn't he supposed to be able to bring the dead back to life? What happened? A doctor can't heal himself?

Standing at the back of the crowd, Bai Qingyu tiptoed and peeked inside.