A Severed Fortuitous Opportunity

"I merely offered my words; I am unworthy of such a generous gift!"

Upon seeing that the other person was about to kneel down, Fang Zelin quickly helped him up.

Despite this, the woman insisted on bowing, Fang Zelin could not refuse, so he could only watch as the woman knelt down in front of him.

After the other party finished kneeling, she asked Fang Zelin to stay at their house that night before leaving with her husband and child.

The crowd by the river quickly dispersed, leaving only Fang Zelin and Zhenke.

Zhenke also retrieved her flying sword at this moment.

Just as he was about to say something, he saw Fang Zelin turn around, cup his hands in a gesture of respect towards the river, and say, "Friend, would you mind coming out for a chat?"

The water ghost at the bottom of the river groaned upon hearing this, its face turning gloomy.

You did the good deed and saved the substitute, but I still have to endure the agony of drowning.

They're actually inviting me out for a meeting? What's there to meet?

The water ghost didn't want to pay attention to Fang Zelin; anyone in this situation would be filled with rage.

Fang Zelin's gaze pierced through the water's surface, and seeing that the water ghost below showed no intention of coming out, he sighed softly.

He knew that what he had just done was indeed somewhat unfair to the other party.

Now that he had seen them, Fang Zelin couldn't bring himself to let them drown there.

We've already put the other person in a difficult position once, so it's not appropriate to force them to come out for another meeting now.

Thinking of this, Fang Zelin took the gourd from his waist and poured out the fine wine inside.

When the wine from the gourd was poured into the river, it did not mix with the surrounding water; instead, it appeared as if a layer of oil was floating on top, which was quite miraculous.

"I was somewhat inappropriate just now. This little bit of wine is my apology. I hope you will accept it."

After saying this, Fang Zelin cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the water ghost rising from the bottom of the river before turning and leaving.

Seeing this, Zhenke quickly followed.

Seeing the two stride away without stopping, the water ghost was still seething with anger. "A mere little bit of wine and you think you can calm me down? It's like giving me a slap and then a treat. Do you really think I'm stupid?"

"Huh?"

The water ghost glanced at the wine on the river surface, intending not to pay any attention to it. However, the next moment, when the rich aroma of the wine still wafted into its nose across the river, the water ghost was suddenly startled.

I felt an intense craving for this drink throughout my entire body.

At this moment, all the other fish and shrimp in the river were also attracted, flocking together to try and get a bite.

Upon seeing this, the water ghost panicked and quickly floated to the shore, where it drank all the fine wine in one gulp.

After the wine was consumed, a refreshing sensation spread throughout the body.

The water ghost felt a sudden lightness all over its body; the agony of drowning had completely vanished at that moment.

"This... this is some kind of celestial brew?!"

The water ghost sensed the changes within its body and shuddered instantly. It quickly leaped onto the river surface, trying to find the scholar from before.

But when he looked into the distance, the other person had already vanished.

In just a moment, the water ghost felt a sense of emptiness in his heart.

In the Unseen, he felt as if he had missed something important.

Thinking about this, he felt like slapping himself a few times.

Upon seeing that flying sword, you should have realized the other party's unusual identity. How come you've lost this ability to discern things after being in the water for so long?

Is all you can think about is finding a substitute? You've completely ruined this fortuitous opportunity!

The water ghost pondered this, then looked into the distance again, but still could not find any trace of the other party, and could only feel deep regret.

"Senior, why didn't you just unleash your flying sword to threaten them into handing over the person and then beg them to let them go?"

Zhenke and Fang Zelin walked towards the village together, with Zhenke asking a question that seemed a little puzzled.

In her opinion, her actions just now seemed somewhat inappropriate, since the water ghost clearly had no intention of letting her go.

Even so, we should give them a chance. What if they suddenly change their mind and are willing to let them go? If they do, that's Yin Merit on their part. Even if we just lift a finger, we can forcibly bring them back.

"But this would be unfair to the water ghost."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zelin softly explained, "That water ghost was able to enter reincarnation by finding a substitute, which is in accordance with the Heavenly Dao."

Zhenke was taken aback upon hearing this. "Is it necessary to find a substitute in order to enter reincarnation?"

She knew very little about the water ghost.

"There are other ways, but that's a secret," Fang Zelin paused, glanced at Zhenke, and shook his head.

Ultimately, Zhenke hadn't explained the secrets of heaven to the other party in detail; her cultivation time was still too short.

Since even Yunyi hasn't mentioned it to the other party, it must be because he's worried that the other party might inadvertently reveal heavenly secrets.

With the opponent's level of cultivation, revealing heavenly secrets is a serious matter; they might very well perish under the wrath of lightning.

Zhenke wasn't surprised that her senior hadn't explained things clearly.

Her master would deliberately conceal things when they involved heavenly secrets, and she knew the reason for this, so she never asked.

As for matters involving celestial secrets, it seems that she will only be able to know them when her cultivation level is higher.

"So, the reason you invited that water ghost up here just now was to offer some guidance so that it could break free from its water ghost form?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhenke guessed what her senior had meant.

Fang Zelin nodded. "Yes, we did ruin their chance to be reincarnated, so it wouldn't be right to just leave without doing anything. But they didn't want to, so we can't force them."

"I could only leave some fine wine to alleviate their suffering from drowning, as an apology."

Upon hearing this, Zhenke pursed her lips, her eyes flashing as she looked at Senior Fang. "If that water ghost heard these words, it would probably regret it to the core, wouldn't it?"

Fang Zelin smiled upon hearing this, "It's not that exaggerated."

As the two talked, they arrived in the village.

It was almost dark by now, and Fang Zelin thought he could stay here for the night.

"My benefactor, this way please!"

Fang Zelin looked up, wondering where he could find a place to stay for the night, when the woman from before was waving at him.

Upon seeing this, Fang Zelin hesitated for a moment before striding over.

The woman looked at Fang Zelin with gratitude, "Please come in, my benefactor."

As he spoke, he led Fang Zelin into the house.

Fang Zelin glanced at the table in front of him and saw that the food on it was extremely plentiful.

White steamed buns, cured meat, dumpling soup, and fresh green vegetables—the aroma was irresistible.

Before coming in, Fang Zelin had checked the situation at this place and thought it was unlikely that the food was this good.

When Fang Zelin took a closer look, he realized that most of the bowls on the table were different, and then it dawned on him.

Perhaps the family borrowed food from other households and put together such a lavish meal?