The Weasel Spirit

Su Qing naturally had no idea what the leader of the thugs was up to, nor did she care.

Even if she did know, she wouldn't have paid it much mind. After all, a minor spirit wasn't worth much of her concern.

On this day, the workers and materials were all in place. Construction on Su Qing’s temple could officially begin.

Su Qing was present at the site on the day work started. She offered some encouragement to the workers and craftsmen, and even handed out some early New Year's money to make them work more diligently.

Of course, she also painted a rather large and promising picture for them... ensuring they would work hard for the sake of that vision.

However, unlike the empty promises of other bosses, the future Su Qing described was one she could certainly fulfill. After all, she was not lacking in money—or rather, she had never been troubled by it.

"By the way, Miss, are you planning to build this temple for some Immortal Grandpa?" one of the workers asked.

Though they were just hired hands and didn't necessarily need to ask such things, they couldn't help their curiosity. Seeing that Su Qing was easy to talk to, he decided to inquire.

Su Qing didn't refuse to answer. Instead, she said with a beaming smile, "It’s not an Immortal Grandpa; it’s an Immortal Lady."

"My mistake, my mistake. And how should we address this Lady?" the worker asked with a chuckle.

"Azure Spirit Sovereign. She is a very powerful female immortal. It is said that praying to her for marriage, children, or safety is very effective... Once the temple is finished, you all should come and try for yourselves," Su Qing said, adopting the air of a devout believer with a graceful smile.

However, despite her calm and composed demeanor, she was actually feeling a bit embarrassed in her heart from praising herself so much.

She was only shameless on the surface; deep down, she knew how cringeworthy such self-praise was.

Unfortunately, she was the only one who knew exactly how to play this part. If someone else tried, they might not be able to perform it so naturally.

After all, others couldn't maintain the same level of casual composure as Su Qing. Even Jin Xin would struggle... she would likely overdo it.

Upon hearing Su Qing's words, the worker’s eyes lit up. "Is this Lady Azure Spirit Sovereign truly that effective?"

Su Qing nodded with a smile. "She is indeed! Why else would I travel around fulfilling vows and building temples? If you were willing to travel a bit, perhaps to the vicinity of the Changbai Mountains, you would hear of this Lady’s great fame! She is truly extraordinary!"

As Su Qing spoke, she glanced at Ao Yiyi beside her. Seeing that the girl remained calm, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

As long as these companions could hold back their laughter, she could continue her performance... otherwise, it would be mortifying. Even with her thick skin, she still had some sense of dignity!

Upon hearing this, the worker nodded hurriedly. "Heh, once this temple is built, I’ll definitely bring my wife to pay our respects... and try to have a chubby baby soon."

Su Qing chuckled and nodded. "Then you’ll have to finish the temple quickly."

"We’re on it, we’re on it!" The worker laughed and hurried back to help.

Seeing the worker leave, Su Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air. She had truly made herself feel quite awkward just now.

"Let's go. There’s basically nothing left to see here!" Su Qing didn't plan to stay and supervise the work personally. There would naturally be suitable people to handle the supervision.

Since Su Qing had spoken, Ao Yiyi naturally had no objections and followed her back.

On the way, Su Qing said, "By the way, we still need to get a statue... I’ll leave that to the locals. Although everyone’s skill varies, those whose families have been in the trade for generations won't be bad. Besides, if they make it themselves, it’ll be easier for faith to take root later."

Su Qing had long since gained experience in these matters; she knew exactly how to better gather incense power.

Hearing this, Ao Yiyi nodded and said, "Then I’ll help you contact them, Sister Xiao Qing. I don't have much to do during the day anyway!"

Ao Yiyi volunteered, and Su Qing naturally didn't refuse. It was indeed a bit inappropriate for her to do such things herself, so leaving it to her was a better choice.

"Then I’ll leave it to you. Remember to find me a good craftsman!" Su Qing said with a smile.

Ao Yiyi nodded. "Don't worry, Sister Xiao Qing. Don't I know what you’re thinking? I’ll definitely find you a skilled artisan."

Su Qing couldn't help but laugh at that. "Good!"

Since Ao Yiyi had agreed, Su Qing said no more, and the two of them headed home.

Meanwhile.

The thug leader had arrived at a small wooded hill outside the town.

After performing some strange rituals, he walked up to a tree hollow and respectfully inquired about his brothers.

Although he had been aggressive before coming here, he became incredibly timid once he was in front of Huang Sanniang.

There was no helping it; she was a demon, and he was a mortal. She could eat him in a single bite!

Even if he suspected her of eating his brothers, he couldn't exactly march up and demand answers aggressively.

The thug leader might not be brilliant, but he wasn't a fool; he understood that much.

After he finished speaking, a woman's voice drifted from within the tree hollow.

"You cur, do you suspect I ate your brothers? Hmph, I’m still counting on you lot to lure people here for me; why would I eat them? Besides, you lot smell foul; I’d find it disgusting to eat you!"

The voice spoke harshly:

"Use that pig brain of yours. Did your brothers offend someone? Have any strangers arrived in town? Perhaps those brothers of yours couldn't read the situation and provoked someone they shouldn't have, and got themselves killed!"

Although Huang Sanniang was annoyed by the thug leader’s questioning, she remembered that these guys had helped her with many tasks. It would be a waste if they died, so she said a few more words.

"This... a family of strangers did arrive in town. They’re very wealthy... Could they have captured my brothers?" Although the thug leader was a bit slow, he realized it once she pointed it out.

"Hahaha! It seems your brothers really did run into some tough characters!"

Hearing the thug's words, Huang Sanniang couldn't help but burst into laughter, sounding quite gleeful at his misfortune.

Seeing her gloating, the thug felt angry but didn't dare speak out. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth.

He pleaded with Huang Sanniang, "Huang Sanniang, I want to ask a favor of you!"

Inside the tree hollow, Huang Sanniang continued to giggle, her laughter sounding rather eerie.

"I know what you want to ask. I can help you, but afterward, you must prepare twenty young boys and girls for me! I won't push you to your death; just gather them for me within a year."

Huang Sanniang spoke in a jovial tone, as if she were being very reasonable.

Hearing this, the thug was momentarily stunned. Twenty young boys and girls was not a small number! It wouldn't be easy to find them all...

But then he thought that if he refused, his brothers would likely be doomed. His sense of loyalty flared up, and he finally gritted his teeth and agreed. "Fine, twenty it is! I’ll find them for you!"

"Hahaha! I knew you’d agree! Hmph, tell me where those strangers live, and I’ll go deal with them for you! However, I don't guarantee I can save your brothers. After all, they might already be dead," Huang Sanniang said.

The thug nodded. "I understand. As long as you can kill those strangers for me, Sanniang, it’ll be enough to avenge my brothers."

"Good, good, good! When you go back today, use dog blood to smear the town's Land Temple... do you understand?" Seeing he had no objections, Huang Sanniang gave him his instructions.

The thug naturally had no objections; this was a trivial matter. It was nothing more than helping Huang Sanniang blind the eyes of the old Land God. It wasn't the first time they had done such a thing.

"Understood!" the thug nodded.

"If there are no problems, then get lost!" Huang Sanniang said impatiently.

The thug hurriedly nodded and left.

After he was gone, a yellow weasel crawled out of the tree hollow, a half-chewed human bone still in its mouth.

She watched the direction the thug had left, a grotesque smile appearing on her face.

"Interesting. A few strangers actually managed to take out those thugs. But... you’ve targeted the wrong people!"

On the other side.

After the thug returned to town and evening fell, he slaughtered a stolen black dog and quietly ran to drench the town's Land Temple in dog blood.

After finishing this, the thug looked toward where the strangers were staying and gritted his teeth.

No matter what, these strangers had to die this time.

"Daring to lay a hand on our brothers... I don't care if you’re heavenly fairies, you’re all going to die!" The man was a scoundrel, yet he acted as if he were a paragon of loyalty.

At the same time.

In Su Qing’s home, she had invited the local Land God over as a guest.

Interestingly, the Land God here... was not an old man, but an old woman. Rather than Land Grandpa, it was more accurate to call her Land Grandmother.

"Greetings, Sovereign. I have long heard of your great name. Seeing you today, your grace is even more magnificent than the legends say," the Land Grandmother said with a beaming smile after bowing to Su Qing.

Su Qing waved her hand and helped the Land Grandmother up. "There’s no need for such formality, Land Grandmother. I’m not someone who cares about such things. I’ve invited you here as a guest not to make things difficult for you, but simply because I have a few things I wanted to ask."

Su Qing’s purpose in calling the Land Grandmother wasn't for anything else; it was mainly about her statue, and also to greet the local deity. After all, she planned to live here for a year or two!

"The Sovereign can just call me Ruan Yue. Calling me grandmother... this old one truly cannot accept it," the Land Grandmother said, waving her hands hurriedly. "If the Sovereign has any matters, just give me your orders. Why go through the trouble of inviting me as a guest?"

She said this, but the Land Grandmother was actually very happy. After all, being noticed by such a high-ranking person was an honor, wasn't it?

One must know that the position of a Land deity was, for the most part, the most lowly. Only those in famous mountains or lands with great scenery could bask in the fame of the local mountain or water gods.

"This... very well, then I shall call you Sister Ruan," Su Qing said with a helpless smile.

After all, the grandmother before her not only looked old but was indeed older than her. This Land Grandmother had held her post for thousands of years; calling her 'Sister' was perfectly fine. Moreover, Su Qing didn't want to use her status to pressure others.

Seeing Su Qing speak this way, the Land Grandmother nodded helplessly. "Then we shall each address the other as we please! Sovereign, what exactly is the matter?"

Su Qing nodded and said, "I just wanted to ask if there are any good craftsmen in this town."

"There are... naturally." The Land Grandmother began to tell Su Qing about them. However, as she spoke, her brow began to furrow.

Seeing this, Su Qing asked, "Is something wrong, Sister Ruan? Did you think of something unpleasant?"

"Thank you for your concern, Sovereign. It’s not exactly something unpleasant, it’s just that I feel someone has smeared black dog blood on my statue again, which makes me a bit annoyed," the Land Grandmother sighed as she spoke to Su Qing.

"What? Who is so bold as to deface a Land deity’s statue? Are they not afraid of their harvest being affected next year?" Su Qing’s brow also furrowed as she asked.

"Sigh, it’s a local thug. He has land but doesn't farm it, spending his time on petty theft instead. Unfortunately, my power as a Land deity is meager; even if I want to teach him a lesson, I can only frighten him a bit in his dreams. At most, I could make his harvest poor... but since he doesn't farm, even that can't touch him," the Land Grandmother sighed deeply.

After all, a Land deity was the lowest divine rank, and unlike Su Qing, they were not unrestrained. Although they had magic and could indeed use a spell or two to kill such a scoundrel, if they did so, their superiors would surely find out. Given their status, punishment would be inevitable. At best, it would be a loss of merit and incense power; at worst, they could be dismissed from their post.

Therefore, these Land deities really had no way to deal with such thugs.

Upon hearing this, Su Qing said, "That is indeed a bit of a nuisance... No matter, I’ll help you teach him a lesson when the time comes."

The Land deity feared punishment and loss of merit, but Su Qing did not.

If someone provoked her, she would strike when necessary without much hesitation. Although she was also subject to the constraints of the Heavenly Court, she wasn't as timid as this Land Grandmother, who didn't even dare to kill a single person. For her, as long as it wasn't an egregious violation, basically no one would call her to account. Thus, she could naturally make such a promise.