Officially Moving Forward

Having been summoned, Guo Jing hurriedly returned to the Qingnü Temple, abandoning her work. Upon entering, she witnessed a rather peculiar scene.

Surrounded by several believers, they saw a large-tailed red fox standing inside the main hall, its fur bristling and trembling.

Even bystanders could see that it was terrified, yet it pretended to be, trying its best to make a grimacing face towards the statue.

At first glance, Guo Jing was a little puzzled. Why would a fox be so agitated towards the statue of the Lady Qingnü?

Upon closer inspection, Guo Jing realized...

It turned out that, at some point, a huge tiger had appeared behind the statue of the Lady Qingnü.

This is a giant tiger that is over two meters tall, nearly three meters tall, even when it is crouching.

Moreover, this giant tiger also has a pair of white wings on its back.

White wings and a fierce tiger—things that should seem mismatched—create a perfect harmony in this tiger.

At this moment, the white-feathered tiger was gazing at the statue of the Qingnü in front of it.

In an instant, Guo Jing understood why the fox had bristled.

After all, seeing such a lifelike tiger as soon as you enter the door would give Guo Jing a fright.

As Guo Jing took a few steps closer, intending to comfort the fox, she noticed something amiss.

Because it was gathered together, Guo Jing had initially thought that the fox simply had a large tail.

Upon closer inspection, Guo Jing realized that it was actually an illusion created by the three tails huddling together out of fear.

Guo Jing knew only one three-tailed spirit fox.

"Sister Xuan'er?"

Upon discovering that the Red Fox's true form was a little fox girl, Guo Jing immediately sensed something was wrong.

After all, even if the little fox girl is something else, she shouldn't be scared by a tiger statue.

Turning her gaze back to the white-feathered giant tiger, Guo Jing noticed that the tiger was now also casting its light upon her.

There was no malice in his eyes, only a childlike curiosity.

However, even so, Guo Jing felt immense pressure.

This pressure stems not only from the blood-related fear of tigers, but also from a genuine sense of each other's strength.

Even though he was already a Ghost King at the Golden Core Stage, Guo Jing didn't have the confidence to truly defeat this white-feathered giant tiger.

So, what's going on with this tiger?

As she was thinking this to herself, the next moment, Guo Jing felt a blur before her eyes.

The white-feathered giant tiger in front of them disappeared, replaced by a Nine-Tailed Fox -eared girl leaning against an ice and snow bench.

"Your Majesty!"

The three-tailed red fox in front of Guo Jing immediately reverted to its girlish form and ran towards Yin Yunze.

Crouching down beside Yin Yunze's chair, the little fox girl, still shaken, asked, "Um, why is that Lord of Du Mountain here!?"

Guo Jing, who had just walked up to Yin Yunze, heard the little fox girl's words and subconsciously asked, "Xuan'er, who is this Lord of Du Mountain?"

In ancient times, information dissemination was relatively isolated, especially since Lord of Du Mountain was the mountain god of a neighboring county and spent most of his time holed up in Du Mountain. Even when he did come out, he mostly robbed and coerced other Land God and didn't interact much with mortals.

So, let alone Guo Jing, who is separated by a county.

Apart from a few villages not far from Du Mountain, people in other villages in the same county know very little about Lord of Du Mountain.

"Didn't you just see that? That stinking tiger that desecrated the statue of the Goddess!"

Upon hearing Guo Jing's question, the little fox spirit instinctively replied.

But then he realized Guo Jing wasn't asking about that, and quickly added, "Lord of Du Mountain is a rare breed of tiger! Very powerful, the really powerful kind!"

As she spoke, the little fox spirit's face took on a pitiful look again as she said to Yin Yunze, "Your Majesty, it's not that Xuan'er doesn't want to help you drive it away—it's just that Xuan'er is too useless—and besides, Xuan'er is afraid of accidentally damaging Your Majesty's sacred temple—"

Hearing the little fox girl's words, and recalling Lord of Du Mountain's winged tiger appearance and the subtle strength he hinted at, Guo Jing nodded and said, "Indeed. Lord of Du Mountain doesn't seem to have any ill intentions yet, so it's really inappropriate to attack rashly. Sister Xuan'er, you did the right thing."

Actually, there was something Guo Jing didn't say: since Yin Yunze was also there and didn't drive away Lord of Du Mountain, it was clear that their relationship was at least not that of enemies.

Reaching out to pat the little fox girl's head, Yin Yunze said softly, "Don't worry about Lord of Du Mountain, she's not our enemy."

With that oath as a guarantee, Lord of Du Mountain could even be directly categorized as a friend, not an enemy.

But Yin Yunze felt that if he really treated Lord of Du Mountain as a friend, he would only give Lord of Du Mountain the opportunity to take advantage of him.

After all, without saying a word, Lord of Du Mountain came to Yin Yunze's Qingnü Temple and occupied such a large piece of land.

If you really give her a hard time, she'll probably bring up that awful topic of having children again.

Although he was in a bad mood, Yin Yunze was not the type of person who liked to vent his negative emotions on his subordinates.

After adjusting his mindset, Yin Yunze looked at Guo Jing and said, "Guo Jing, how's the matter I asked you to handle?"

"Your subordinate is incompetent—"

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's question, Guo Jing, as if prepared, took out a book that had been bound but was somewhat rough.

"I contacted a friend I knew before, and together we compiled the fifty-seven charges against the City God into a story over several days—this is my first draft, and I humbly request Your Majesty's review and corrections—"

"That's enough, you did a good job----"

Guo Jing's efficiency exceeded Yin Yunze's expectations. Yin Yunze did not expect that Guo Jing would be able to produce concrete results in just a few days.

After all, with only a few days, someone with slower efficiency would be lucky to even find someone to gather some dirt on them.

Guo Jing had even compiled a first draft.

This efficiency is enough to make those authors who spend one or two months gathering material, only to be unable to produce even a few thousand words, feel ashamed.

However, Guo Jing was, after all, an Asura at the Golden Core Stage, and with his three heads and six arms, his efficiency was three times that of an ordinary person, which was normal.

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's praise, Guo Jing humbly replied, "This subordinate only did a small part, all thanks to Her Majesty's grace. If it weren't for the silver and food bestowed by Her Majesty, it would have been difficult for this subordinate to accomplish such a thing on his own."

Stopping his hand from turning the page, Yin Yunze looked at Guo Jing and chuckled, "That's right. Who taught you that?"

If Guo Jing had been as eloquent as before, she would have long ago assembled a rebellious alliance against the City God. Why has she fallen so low that only Peng Shulan remembers her and offers her incense?

"Her Majesty saw through me—" Guo Jing touched her nose upon hearing this, not bothering to hide it, and said softly, "I knew it, such words could never fool Her Majesty! It's just that my classmates advised me that saying it this way would be better—"

Seeing Guo Jing's nonchalant attitude when mentioning her classmates, Yin Yunze asked curiously, "Don't you hate those classmates? When you needed help the most, they didn't even bother to pay their respects?"

What does this have to do with them?

Guo Jing, with clear eyes, looked at Yin Yunze and shook her head with a smile, "Your Majesty, you probably don't like me holding grudges against innocent people, do you? The culprit is that City God! They are just pitiful people struggling to survive under the City God's tyranny! All the blame should be placed on the City God— "

"It's good that you think that way."

Nodding again, Yin Yunze stopped investigating the details and reached out to open the collection of stories about the City God's crimes.

However, upon seeing the first page of the main text, Yin Yunze couldn't help but frown.

Although Yin Yunze requested that it be written in vernacular Chinese, what one sees is still an extremely condensed classical Chinese sentence structure.

"Your Majesty?" Seeing Yin Yunze frown, Guo Jing quickly asked, "Is there anything wrong with what I compiled?"

"It's not your problem."

Yin Yunze shook his head slightly, knowing that this was probably what Guo Jing considered a vernacular novel.

It's simply that Yin Yunze, being a modern person, is somewhat unable to adapt to this level of classical and vernacular Chinese.

After trying my best to understand it, I found it extremely difficult.

Yin Yunze had to admit that he was actually semi-literate in this world, and then closed the book.

After all, cultivation is one thing, but you can't exactly use the Power of Incense Offerings to aid your understanding when reading a collection of stories.

Given Guo Jing's hatred for the City God, this book, if not embellished, will certainly not contain anything positive.

After sending the book into the real world and awakening her mortal body, Yin Yunze instructed her to quickly go to the company to have it scanned and printed. Then, looking at Guo Jing, he said, "I believe in your talent. If you think it's possible, then it's possible!"

"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty!"

Guo Jing was very happy to hear Yin Yunze's words.

After all, for a young woman who is now a literary enthusiast, having her literary skills acknowledged by a deity is something to be very happy about.

Seeing those classmates again afterward was a beautiful story.

Seeing Guo Jing's happy expression, Yin Yunze shook his head and said, "Guo Jing, you need to put aside the matter of collecting and compiling the evil deeds of the City God for now. Now, we need to move on to the next stage."

Over the next three days, I need you to find people with good speaking skills. Then, have them spread your fabricated story, using more conversational language, to various villages in Qingling County.

Actually, at this stage, Yin Yunze originally wanted to wait until there was definite news about Zhang Liuyun's situation before pushing forward.

However, the fact that Judge Li gouged out her eyes served as a wake-up call for Yin Yunze.

This City God isn't some dungeon boss; he won't stop bothering you just because you ignore him.

In fact, quite the opposite.

In every interaction between Yin Yunze and the City God, it was always the City God who initiated the conversation by finding someone to pick a fight.

In comparison, Yin Yunze was always on the defensive, launching counterattacks.

Although, in terms of degree, the City God only caused Yin Yunze some trouble, Yin Yunze was prepared to completely eradicate the City God.

However, on the surface, the City God's methods are becoming increasingly unreasonable.

Who knows, the City God's next move might be to kill Yin Yunze.

Therefore, Yin Yunze will need to actively cause trouble for the City God to distract him.

Furthermore, as relations between the two sides become increasingly tense, Yin Yunze needs to accelerate this thorough investigation.

After all, any plan can go awry, so it's better to let Guo Jing act ahead of time.

Anyway, there's something I have to do anyway, so there's no need to wait until everything is perfect before taking action.

After instructing Guo Jing on her next steps, Yin Yunze turned to the little fox girl and asked, "Xuan'er, how are things going with you and Rui'er?"

"About 30%..."

Facing Yin Yunze's questioning gaze, the little fox girl lowered her head, drooping her ears as she whispered, "My great-grandmother and I have only managed to persuade 30% of the little demons to believe in the Goddess—the other 70% have started avoiding our fox clan these days—"

"Xuan'er, you did very well----"

Yin Yunze's words were not meant to comfort the little fox girl.

After all, Yin Yunze couldn't possibly accept all the little monsters indiscriminately.

At least, those lesser demons that could be considered evil were blacklisted by Yin Yunze from the start.

Moreover, after joining Yin Yunze's tutelage, Yin Yunze was willing to share some of the offerings and ensure they had enough to eat and wear.

However, in return, they must obey Yin Yunze's orders and abide by various rules.

The most important rule is that retaliation is acceptable, but one must no longer actively injure or cannibalize others.

But for these wild beasts that have become spirits, this is a bit more difficult.

Putting aside everything else, of the nearly two hundred Land God that Yin Yunze has encountered in the past few days, half of them are evil gods who feel no psychological pressure at all after killing them.

Twenty percent of them had consumed blood offerings, but their sins were not too grave.

The remaining 30% are the truly benevolent deities.

These Land God are the elite of the elite, having emerged from among the lesser demons and evil spirits.

Even the Land God, whom the villagers acknowledge and worship, is of this caliber; the quality of ordinary lesser demons must be even lower.

To be honest, even a 30% success rate was somewhat beyond Yin Yunze's expectations.

Originally, Yin Yunze thought it would be good if even 20% of the lesser demons were willing to submit.

Of course, Yin Yunze was unaware that the extra layer was largely due to the fact that she had killed so many Land God in the past few days that their corpses littered the ground.

It can be said that initially, only a little over one level were willing to submit.

After learning of Yin Yunze's massacre, the lesser demons who were still wavering finally submitted.

The remaining 70% were either truly guilty of heinous crimes, knowing that surrendering would only lead to their deaths.

They were either hoping for the best, thinking that Yin Yunze wouldn't really bother with these little demons.

Others, however, simply cannot resist the temptation of blood and goat food.

And so, when he discovered that most of the other lesser demons around him were also unwilling to submit, and that he himself was the majority, he realized that...

These lesser demons might also have the misconception that the law doesn't punish everyone.

Even the City God can't control them, so Qingnü is nothing but a village god.

Many times, even when real-world examples have already emerged.

But the knife was not actually placed on the neck, it was just a matter of luck.

Even knowing that Yin Yunze had killed those hundred or so Land God, they would still think about it.

The Qingnü was targeting the Land God, but these creatures weren't Land God, so how could they have offended the Qingnü?

Such misjudgments are common among humans, let alone these little demons who come from wild beasts.

The common thought among the lesser demons is probably, "If I can't afford to mess with them, can't I at least avoid them?"

To reiterate, they believe that even the City God cannot subdue them, let alone a mere Qingnü like you.

But they are unaware that, on many occasions, they can exist.

It's not that those in power are helpless against them, but rather that they intentionally turn a blind eye.

Upon hearing Yin Yunze's praise, the little fox girl couldn't help but raise her head happily, her three tails wagging excitedly.

"Really! Xuan'er did a pretty good job?!"

"Real."

Reaching out, Yin Yunze scratched the little fox girl's chin, and began to ponder the next step in his plan.

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