"Is it about the Daoist temple?" Leng Xiang asked after a moment of thought.
"Yes, the temple needs some help from the local City God!"
"Will the City God help us?"
"He will," Su Qing said with a faint smile and a certain nod.
Among the documents Taishang Laojun had given her, there were some messages from the Jade Emperor, as well as his guidance.
Regarding the construction of the Daoist temple, the Jade Emperor's guidance was for her to seek help from the local City God.
Therefore, Su Qing was not worried that the City God would refuse to help.
Upon hearing this, Leng Xiang stopped asking further questions. No matter why her master was so confident, as long as she was, it meant she was certain of the outcome.
Seeing this, Su Qing smiled slightly and then told Ao Ying about her plan to go into the city.
However, Su Qing was merely informing Ao Ying; she did not intend to take Ao Ying with her.
After all, she was going to the city for official business this time, not for leisure.
Ao Ying expressed her understanding and did not insist on going. In any case, there would be plenty of opportunities to go down the mountain to play in the future.
"In that case, I'll stay behind to help Gongsun Zhixue repair the house. If it's all left to her, I'm afraid it will be hard to finish today."
Su Qing said with a hint of apology, "Sorry, I'll take you with me next time."
"Sister Xiao Qing... I'm not a child, so don't act like you're coaxing one, okay?" Ao Ying said, pouting.
"Alright, alright. Then Leng Xiang and I will head down the mountain first."
"Okay, have a safe trip."
Su Qing nodded slightly at her words.
Then, she performed a hand seal and recited a True Word Incantation, conjuring a cloud of auspicious mist to fly toward the nearest town to the Changbai Mountains with Leng Xiang.
After Su Qing left, Ao Ying looked at the busy Gongsun Zhixue and said, "I'll help you too."
Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zhixue said stubbornly, "No need, I can do it by myself."
"..." Ao Ying smiled helplessly at her response.
Then, ignoring Gongsun Zhixue's words, she stepped forward and started to help.
Although she hadn't known Gongsun Zhixue for long, she understood the little girl's personality.
Her nature was good; she was just a bit dishonest with her feelings and somewhat stubborn.
She often found it hard to ask for help, and it was equally hard for her to help others quietly without making a fuss. She was truly quite awkward...
"Stubborn children don't get any candy," Ao Ying reminded her.
"Who's stubborn? Not me! Also, I'm over two hundred—no, three hundred years old. I stopped being a child a long time ago." Gongsun Zhixue actually couldn't remember exactly how many hundreds of years old she was.
But she was certain she was definitely not a child anymore.
After all, where could one find a two or three-hundred-year-old child?
"But I'm already over seven hundred years old. In my eyes, you are a child," Ao Ying countered with a smile. "Besides, you look like a child too."
Gongsun Zhixue: "..."
How hateful. Why didn't she transform into someone with a figure like Su Qing's back then?
If she had that kind of figure, she wouldn't be treated like a child all the time.
"Forget it, I can't be bothered with you! Watch your own horns; don't let them get snagged on the branches in the forest." Gongsun Zhixue pouted, turned around, and dove into the dense woods.
Ao Ying couldn't help but smile at her words, and then she followed her.
For Ao Ying, interacting with Gongsun Zhixue was just like looking after a stubborn child.
Since she would have to raise children sooner or later anyway, getting used to it early was a good thing.
Meanwhile.
Su Qing had already arrived near a neighboring county town on her cloud.
However, she did not fly directly into the city on the cloud.
Instead, she intended to transform into a mortal and enter the city along with the common people.
This was to avoid unnecessary risks and trouble as much as possible.
Walking to the city gate, Su Qing looked up at the iron plaque above. She saw two large characters, "Long County," written in a bold, flowing script.
Seeing this, Su Qing nodded slightly and thought to herself, "Long County? It seems I'm in the right place."
Entering the city was naturally without any obstacles; the soldiers guarding the gate could not see anything special about Su Qing.
After entering the city, Su Qing did not wander around.
She simply calculated the location of the City God Temple and went straight there.
The City God Temple in Long County was not large, but the number of people coming here to burn incense and worship the deity was by no means small, making it appear exceptionally bustling.
"It's quite lively here," Su Qing remarked as she took several sticks of incense from a Daoist boy.
Hearing this, the Daoist boy scratched his head and said, "You might not know, miss, but our City God in Long County has always been quite efficacious, so there are always many people coming to worship him."
"Oh? How efficacious is he?" Su Qing asked curiously.
"In short, he is very efficacious. As long as your heart is sincere enough, he will surely answer your prayers."
The Daoist boy looked at Su Qing, wiped his nose, and said with a silly grin:
"My master told me that when I was little, I had a high fever, and even the doctor said I couldn't be saved. But after my mother brought me to this City God Temple, my illness was completely gone the next day."
"So, the City God is very efficacious!"
Hearing this, Su Qing looked at the Daoist boy, thoughtfully stroked her chin, and smiled. "It seems he truly is efficacious."
"Mhm, very efficacious, very efficacious. Please go inside quickly, miss!" the Daoist boy said hurriedly. "As long as your heart is sincere, your prayers will be answered."
Su Qing smiled and nodded, then walked into the temple holding the incense.
Inside the temple, Su Qing looked up at the statue of the City God.
She saw the statue clad in armor, holding a large blade, with eyes wide and a fierce expression staring at the temple door. He truly looked majestic and imposing.
Looking at the appearance of the City God statue, Su Qing couldn't help but think:
"It seems this City God must have been a general with great military achievements during his life. After his death, he was enshrined here by the imperial court as the City God, and then he received recognition from the Heavenly Court, becoming an official City God with both a government seal and a celestial seal."
"Having such a City God in this county is truly a blessing for this town."
As she was thinking, Su Qing suddenly felt something.
Subconsciously, she turned her head to look in a certain direction...
She saw an old man standing there, calmly observing her.
The old man had a white beard and eyebrows, was dressed simply, and looked aged, yet he stood tall and straight, like a highly respected general, giving off a sense of majesty.
Seeing this old man, Su Qing subconsciously linked him to the City God statue.
Although the old man was not wearing armor and did not have a fierce expression, Su Qing could clearly sense the similarities between him and the statue.
Seeing that Su Qing had discovered him, the old man no longer hid himself and instead cupped his hands slightly in greeting.
"There are too many ears around here. Please follow me to the back to talk," the old man said via telepathy.
Seeing this, Su Qing was even more certain that this person was the City God in disguise. She nodded slightly and followed the old man to the backyard of the City God Temple.
The backyard of the City God Temple was quite secluded and simple. In the entire courtyard, there was only one tree, one table, and two stone stools, with nothing else besides those.
"This place is humble; please do not mind it, Immortal," the City God said with a faint smile as he sat down on his own. "Please, feel free to sit."
Su Qing smiled faintly, nodded, and sat down accordingly.
Seeing this, the City God took out a tea set and said while pouring tea:
"I have always been a straightforward person and do not like beating around the bush."
"So, please tell me directly, Immortal, what business brings you here to see me."
"If it is something I can help with, I will certainly do my utmost. If it is something I cannot help with, I ask for your understanding."
Although the City God had already shed the murderous aura of the battlefield.
He was, after all, born a soldier and had always disliked the hesitant and indirect ways of the civil officials in the court, preferring to be direct.
That was why, after only a few words of greeting with Su Qing, he couldn't help but directly ask about her purpose for coming to find him.
Upon hearing this, Su Qing also stopped exchanging pleasantries.
Instead, she performed a hand seal and dispelled her transformation technique.
At the same time, she took out her Celestial Official Seal, placed it on the table, and said:
"I have come to seek you, Senior City God, mainly regarding the matter of the Daoist temple."
After chatting with the City God for a few moments, Su Qing had naturally noticed his wariness toward her.
She also saw that the City God had not been able to recognize who she was.
Therefore, she directly produced the Celestial Official Seal to prove her identity.
After all, compared to a verbal explanation, this seal was much more direct and could save a lot of breath.
When the City God saw the Celestial Official Seal, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he stared at Su Qing, saying in surprise:
"So you are the Azure Spirit Sovereign! I have truly been disrespectful. I thought the Azure Spirit Sovereign would be around my age; I didn't expect you to be so young."
After seeing the seal, the worry in the City God's heart immediately vanished into thin air.
His attitude naturally changed quite a bit as well.
Even his previously somewhat tense face now relaxed.
"I am also several hundred years old; I can't really be considered young anymore," Su Qing said, shaking her head slightly.
The City God laughed heartily and said, "Several hundred years is still young for an immortal. Among mortals, it's only like being sixteen! However, for you to achieve such a Dao fruit at your age, Immortal, is truly something I envy!"
The City God was very honest; if he was envious, he admitted it.
After all, achieving the Earthly Immortal Dao fruit at several hundred years old—how could an ordinary immortal manage that?
"You overpraise me, Senior City God. I am but a newcomer to cultivation; I still have much to ask you regarding the path of incense!"
"Regarding the path of incense, you may come and ask whenever you wish, Immortal. I will certainly tell you everything I know," the City God said with a smile.
For the City God, being able to guide such a genius was also a rare opportunity, so he naturally wouldn't refuse.
Besides, how could he pass up such a good chance to do someone a favor?
After all, Su Qing would be his neighbor in Long County in the future.
If Long County encountered trouble that he couldn't handle later on, he would have to rely on Su Qing!
Although the City God was a military man, it didn't mean he truly didn't understand the ways of officialdom and human relations.
On the contrary, he understood them very well.
It was simply a matter of who he was dealing with and whether he felt like bothering with it.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you in the future, Senior," Su Qing said. "By the way, about the Daoist temple."
Although the conversation had drifted off-topic, Su Qing had not forgotten her purpose for coming here.
"You don't need to worry too much about the temple, Immortal. I have already sent a Divine Dream to the Emperor. I expect the imperial decree is already on its way and will reach the county magistrate in some time."
The City God always liked to get his work done early and disliked procrastinating.
Therefore, after receiving the decree from the Heavenly Court, he had immediately begun the work.
So, even if Su Qing hadn't made this trip, the City God had already handled the matter of the temple properly.
"In that case, I must thank you, Senior City God, for your hard work."
Su Qing's expression remained unchanged.
She simply stood up, bowed, and offered her thanks.
Now that the matter of the temple had a conclusion, they could talk about other things.
"This is my duty after all; no thanks are necessary."
The City God shook his head with a chuckle and said:
"However, if you don't have a place to stay these days, Immortal, you can stay here in the county! Although the county town is small, it is complete. You certainly won't be at a disadvantage staying here."
"That won't be necessary. I've already built a house in the mountains, so I'll just live there from now on," Su Qing said, shaking her head. "Living in the mountains is also better for cultivation."
"You truly are hardworking, Immortal. No wonder you could achieve such success at such a young age."
The City God couldn't help but sigh with admiration upon hearing this:
"But since you are unwilling to stay in the county town, I won't insist."
"If you ever get bored staying in the mountains in the future, you can always come down to play!"
"After all, only by interacting more with mortals can one better understand the people of this world."
As he spoke, the City God suddenly remembered something and said:
"By the way, Immortal. When the construction of your temple begins, remember to manifest miracles once in a while."
"That way, once the temple is built, there will be more incense guests."
"After all, the common people have always been very practical. If you never manifest miracles, it might be difficult to accumulate incense power."
"However, I still have to mention one thing: you must never manifest miracles for unrealistic wishes, nor should you manifest for every little thing."
"This might attract more incense guests, but doing so is no different from drinking poison to quench thirst."
The City God's words served as a reminder to Su Qing.
As a deity, if one wanted to accumulate incense power, one not only had to manifest miracles but also had to be selective about them and not do it constantly.
As for the logic and reasons behind this, Su Qing could actually understand them if she thought about it.
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior. I will keep this in mind," Su Qing nodded and answered seriously.
The City God smiled and said, "That's good, then."
Now that the official business was finished, Su Qing asked for advice on some other knowledge regarding incense deities.
The City God was naturally willing to share everything he knew.
He soon emptied out his small store of knowledge completely.
There was nothing left for him to teach Su Qing.
There weren't many things an incense deity needed to pay attention to in the first place, so naturally, there wasn't too much to teach, and he ran out of things to say in no time.
"Alright, that's everything. That's all I can tell you," the City God said helplessly after taking a sip of tea.
Seeing this, Su Qing said, "I must thank you for your guidance this time, Senior."
"It can't really be called guidance, just sharing some experience."
The City God shook his head and said:
"Even if I hadn't said anything, it wouldn't have taken you long to figure it out on your own, Immortal."
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