A startled cry rang out from beside the stream, immediately drawing both groups' attention.
"What happened?"
The deacon responsible for gathering wild fruit in the woods drew the sword at his waist and rushed over with his men. But when he saw the scene before him, he froze just like the deacon in charge of fishing.
An illusory figure flickered above the stream.
A faint radiance reflected the silvery moonlight, draping the graceful body like sheer gauze. Even so, the fishtail beneath the figure remained strikingly visible, especially with its dazzling array of coral-like colors.
Only the face was impossible to make out amid the light.
"Th-this..."
The dozen or so temple deacons stared, dumbfounded, at the illusory figure floating above the stream, shimmering with faint light.
They did not know what to do.
The commoners were even more at a loss.
The priest who hurried over from farther away, however, wore a solemn expression.
"Are you the deity of this stream?"
The priest responsible for cooking asked cautiously.
The mermaid-like figure nodded slightly.
Although the light concealed the face, the gesture was still clearly visible.
The priest immediately fell to his knees and bowed.
"Please forgive our ignorance."
"Please forgive us."
Behind the priest, the deacons and commoners all knelt and bowed in turn.
In a world where gods walked among mortals, everyone knew how to behave before a deity.
Yet after sweeping a gaze over the kneeling crowd, the "Stream God" looked toward the back of the gathering.
Qin Ran had appeared there.
He strode past the crowd and stood at its head, calmly looking at the "Stream God" before him.
The kneeling priest's heart leaped into his throat.
He was terribly nervous.
Nervous that an entirely avoidable battle would break out just like that.
And judging by