Scholar!

As a famous old traitor of the Great Desolation, how powerful would his disciple be?

A Golden Immortal at the very least.

The system actually wanted him, a mere Heavenly Immortal, to fight a Golden Immortal! It really thought highly of him.

No! He had to lie low! He needed to develop his strength first.

In any case, to be precise, Yang Chan's tribulation was still centuries away. Journey to the West would be over by then, so delaying a little longer wouldn't be a problem.

He needed to think this through carefully.

"Is that the grotto-dwelling where Cousin lives now? It looks so lively." Weaver Girl leaned against Jiang Zhe's shoulder, looking up and down at the town of Mount Hua below.

"Let's take a look." After a moment's thought, Jiang Zhe made a snap decision.

The most pressing matter was to find the so-called Joyful Boy.

Joyful Boy had already been reborn into his third life, and he should be eighteen by now.

Most importantly, the system had indicated that he had already left an impression on the Goddess of Mount Hua.

What kind of impression?

With all these reincarnations, could it be that once he finally reached the life where he was named Liu Yanchang, it would mean the plan had succeeded?

As he pondered, Jiang Zhe slowly restrained his presence. Of course, though he could restrain his presence, there was no way to change his bearing.

Especially with the enormous gap between Innate Living Beings and acquired beings.

"You should hide yours too," Jiang Zhe said, glancing at Weaver Girl beside him.

"Oh, okay. By the way, what did we come to see Cousin for?" Weaver Girl nodded, then asked in some confusion.

"I never said we were here to see the Goddess of Mount Hua. We're just here to have a look." Jiang Zhe shook his head. From beginning to end, he had only said they were coming to Mount Hua, not that they were looking for Yang Chan.

"All right, but you mustn't go looking for Cousin. Otherwise, if her brother hears about it, he might jump straight down from heaven," Weaver Girl whispered to Jiang Zhe.

A siscon? Who cared? He wasn't interested in Yang Chan anyway. His goal had been merit from beginning to end.

The two chatted as they headed toward the street. By the time they had fully entered the bustling thoroughfare, Weaver Girl had forgotten all about why they had come. Her eyes shone as she looked at the vendors lining the street.

One moment she touched a mask, the next she examined a puppet.

She looked just like a curious kitten.

It made him want to reach out and tousle her hair thoroughly a few times.

"Hall of the Third Holy Mother!"

Before they knew it, the two had reached the end of the street. They stopped before a temple wreathed in incense smoke.

The temple stood at the foot of the mountain. Once past it, one could reach the entrance to Mount Hua in no time.

Yet the moment the two arrived at the temple gates, they froze.

Beside the Third Holy Mother's temple, a scholar was kneeling and refusing to rise. Next to him, the temple keeper wore a helpless expression.

"What's this?" Jiang Zhe was a little bewildered. He looked the scholar up and down.

The scholar had delicate features and a deathly pale face, and he carried several books worn from repeated reading.

"He's so pitiful," Weaver Girl couldn't help saying as she stood beside Jiang Zhe and saw the scene.

"Pitiful? What's pitiful about him?" Jiang Zhe was taken aback. Wait, the man had all his limbs, so what was pitiful about him?

"He's in such a sorry state, but he still hasn't put down his books. He must be a diligent, hardworking student, and he's kneeling so devoutly before Cousin. He must be her most loyal devotee. Maybe he could even become the new temple keeper someday," Weaver Girl whispered into Jiang Zhe's ear.

"Do you fairies have some kind of special filter for scholars?" Jiang Zhe looked at the scholar for quite a while, but couldn't see anything odd about him.

"What special filter? Don't you think he's pitiful? And judging by how pale he is right now, he must be injured."

"Cousin's Precious Lotus Lantern is a famous sacred treasure for healing. Maybe this scholar came to have his injuries treated, so it would be easier for him to study," Weaver Girl said with utter confidence.

"So that's what you think." Jiang Zhe nodded, then walked up to the temple keeper and asked him directly.

"Temple keeper, may I ask what's going on here?"

"Well, I don't know the details, but according to this scholar, he was bitten on the leg by a vicious tiger while saving a naughty child. He came here to beg the Third Lady of Mount Hua to show him mercy and heal him, but I've told him many times that the Third Lady of Mount Hua isn't on Mount Hua right now."

"Is that so? Brother, I'm a physician myself. Perhaps I could take a look at you." As Jiang Zhe spoke, he came up to the scholar and crouched down.

"Where did this quack come from? I don't trust you. I have heard that the Third Lady of Mount Hua possesses powers spanning heaven and earth. I beg you, my lady, to come down from the mountain and heal my wound. I was injured for the sake of the people of Mount Hua Town, my lady. You can't just stand by and do nothing." The scholar shoved away Jiang Zhe's outstretched hand, then bowed again to Yang Chan's statue.

Wasn't this just moral blackmail?

What did he mean, "for the sake of the people of Mount Hua Town"?

Oh, screw you!

Damn it!

I was giving you face, and you still refused to let me treat you.

I'd like to see whether you're Joyful Boy or not.

Jiang Zhe snorted coldly, and the muscles beneath his sleeve suddenly tensed.

Jiang Zhe then placed his hand on the scholar's hand again. The scholar was startled, and his expression grew even angrier.

How can you be so tactless?

I already told you to leave me alone.

Yet just as he was about to struggle again, he found that Jiang Zhe's strength was like Mount Tai. No matter how he struggled, Jiang Zhe's arm didn't budge.

There was even a smile in Jiang Zhe's eyes as he looked at him. Then Jiang Zhe roughly tore open the clothing over the scholar's leg.

Sure enough, a wound inflicted by a tiger pouncing on him came into view.

The scholar before him had not lied.

Jiang Zhe frowned slightly. Since things had already come to this, he might as well treat him.

With that thought, Jiang Zhe circulated the magical power within his body and gathered it in his hand. It contained the breath of creation inherent in Divine Lightning of Creation.

He gently brushed his palm over the wound, and the injury caused by the tiger's claws healed instantly, visibly closing before their eyes.

The temple keeper beside them and the scholar in front of him both watched the scene in shock.

"Y-you, could you be an immortal?" the temple keeper asked, staring at Jiang Zhe in shock.

"Please don't misunderstand, temple keeper. This is merely a physician's method," Jiang Zhe said without blushing or batting an eye. Then he grabbed the scholar.

"All right, you've recovered. Now, don't block the people of Mount Hua Town from offering incense to the Third Lady." With that, Jiang Zhe picked him up like a chick and tossed him out of the temple.