Having traveled the world for many years, Qingqiu had never encountered such a thorny problem.

The main gate of Qingyun Temple... calling it Qingyun [gate] doesn't seem wrong, does it?

She thought it would be a simple matter—just show herself, and the fake Taoist priest on the other side would flee in panic, and she would be happy to have some peace and quiet.

But to her surprise, she was stumped by the question, and it seemed she no longer had a reason to hit someone.

After a moment of contemplation, her eyes lit up.

I can hit someone without needing a reason.

His gaze turned cold: "As a disciple of the Qingyun Sect, what I despise most in the martial world are people like you who cheat others out of money and sex. Since you've encountered this today, you can either leave on your own or wait for me to make my move. You can choose one!"

"..."

When a woman gets angry, there's really no reason to talk about it.

The fat Taoist priest tried to remain calm, "I wonder what you mean by 'cheating for money and sex'? There are indeed some women staying in the back rooms, but they are all there voluntarily. If you don't believe me, you can ask them!"

In Qingqiu's eyes, those young women were even more despicable than the women in brothels. She had no intention of lowering herself to have any dealings with them, so she changed her tune and said, "They might cheat you out of your body, but they'll definitely cheat you out of your money!"

"A scam?"

The fat Taoist priest laughed heartily: "The Qingyun Bodhisattva enshrined in our Taoist temple has the power to reach the heavens. It is entirely voluntary for ordinary people to come and burn incense, worship Buddha, and make offerings. How can you say that we are cheating them out of their money?"

Then she pointed to Jing Zhe behind her and said, "I think you know this Master Han, heroine. You can ask him if our Bodhisattva can grow? Does the Bodhisattva in the main hall shake its head? Can such extraordinary abilities be faked?"

"It's all just a smokescreen!"

After Qingqiu finished speaking, she pointed at Jing Zhe: "It was him who said it!"

It's so hard to reason with people, it's much easier to just beat them up!

Qingqiu thought to herself, "I finally managed to shift the blame onto Jing Zhe."

"Master Han, are you saying this is a smokescreen?"

"Isn't that right?"

Jing Zhe took a few steps forward and came to the lotus body under the seat of the Qingyun Bodhisattva. He pointed to the scattered soybeans that had sprouted half a finger's height on the edge of the pit and said disdainfully, "Before placing the statue, scatter soybeans on the ground. After placing the statue, sprinkle water on it every day. The soybeans will sprout and naturally be able to support the statue, right?"

"..."

The fat Taoist priest remained silent, seemingly wondering how he had seen through their trick, while Qingqiu curiously took two steps forward and looked into the pit, confirming that it was indeed so.

The look in Jing Zhe's eyes changed slightly.

"this…"

The fat Taoist priest paused for a moment, then said angrily, "Even if this is fake, surely the bodhisattva in the main hall who nods and shakes his head can't be fake, right?"

"That makes it even simpler!"

After saying that, Jing Zhe strode into the main hall, with Qing Qiu following closely behind, her curiosity never having been stronger than it was now.

He picked up the iron rod next to the Bodhisattva and said, "If I'm not mistaken, one end of this iron rod is iron and the other end is a magnet, right? And the Bodhisattva is cast from iron and stone, so his head can shake. Since iron and magnet attract each other, it can naturally be controlled to nod or shake his head!"

Upon hearing this, Qingqiu took the iron rod and waved it in front of the Bodhisattva's head. Wherever the iron rod was, the Bodhisattva nodded in that direction. If it got too close, it would be directly attracted to it. Changing the other end had no effect. Overjoyed, he exclaimed, "Just as I thought!"

This time, his eyes were brighter, and he seemed to be a little confused.

From the moment Jing Zhe entered the Taoist temple, she secretly observed him. He didn't seem to kneel or touch the statues, so how could she know so much about them?

If he hadn't also been dedicated to eliminating these fake Taoist priests, one would have truly thought they were accomplices!

It seems that what Qiu Qianqian said wasn't entirely true. He's not completely without ability... he must have at least a little bit!

...

When Jing Zhe pointed out the secret, the fat Taoist priest turned ashen-faced.

But considering how much I've invested, from building the Taoist temple to transporting the statues, and the preparation work alone took more than a year, and the money I was about to get was about to slip away, I was really unwilling!

He winked at the young Taoist priests behind him, who immediately understood and scattered, each producing a large knife from who-knows-where, and surrounded the two.

The fat Taoist priest sneered, "If you don't let me take the silver with me today, even if you're from the Qingyun Sect, you won't be leaving this door!"

Wealth and lust can dazzle the eyes and breed evil in the heart.

The fat Taoist knew the power of the Qingyun Sect, but considering that they were currently in the middle of nowhere and the Qingyun Sect's headquarters was far away in Jiangling, he felt powerless to intervene.

Even if I kill both of them and bury them, who would know?

As for Qingqiu's fighting ability—he didn't take that into account. With so many of them, how could they not be able to do anything to a woman?

"I was going to spare your life, but—"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qingqiu's figure disappeared from the spot. Jing Zhe only felt a blur before his eyes and saw her appear next to the fat Taoist priest.

He clearly heard the sound of a sword being drawn, but Qingqiu's sword was still safely sheathed in its scabbard.

However… there was a thin crack on the fat Taoist's neck, and blood was flowing down his neck!

Jing Zhe felt a chill run down his spine. For the first time, he realized that the seemingly simple-minded Qing Qiu could be so terrifying!

"thump!"

The next moment, the fat Taoist priest collapsed in front of the Bodhisattva.

Qingqiu glanced at the others, "You still intend to ask for money?"

"thump!"

Everyone dropped their broadswords, knelt down, and cried out, "Heroine, spare our lives!"

This is not even in the same league as the opponent, how can we fight?

Qingqiu's expression remained unchanged. "Take him away and leave this place immediately. If I ever see you doing such heinous things again, I will show no mercy!"

"Thank you, heroine!"

The young Taoist priests hurriedly kowtowed in gratitude, then dragged the fat Taoist's corpse away in a panic.

"Actually, I didn't want to kill him."

Qingqiu sighed, seemingly talking to herself, yet also explaining to Jingzhe: "But considering that he was able to drug that young girl, if it weren't for you, that girl's life would probably be ruined. Keeping such a person around is just a disaster; it's better to kill him."

"Good riddance."

Jing Zhe nodded, but his face instantly turned sour: "But we shouldn't have let them leave so quickly! Who's going to fill the huge pit outside?"

"Why fill in the hole?"

"Since we want those who come here to make offerings to have faith, we can't let them discover anything about the statue. We definitely need to fill this hole properly!"

"Hmm, that seems to be the way it should be."

Qingqiu glanced at him, pursed her lips, and said indifferently, "Whoever dug the hole should fill it!"

"..."

————