Suddenly blocked on her way, Ye Wanmian was startled at first. Then, full of vigilance, she took a step back and reached for her waist, pressing her hand on the dagger she had put there when she left home in the morning.
The one who blocked her was a wandering Taoist priest in a gray Taoist robe, wearing a silk cap and sporting a moustache. In his hand, he held a banner with the words "Divine by Characters, Solve Problems, and Avoid Disasters" written on it.
"Lady, lady, please stop for a moment," the Taoist priest said to her with a smile, seemingly oblivious to the wariness on Ye Wanmian's face.
Ye Wanmian frowned tightly and asked, "What do you want?"
The Taoist priest pointed at his banner. "Divine by characters, solve problems, and avoid disasters. Naturally, I tell fortunes and predict people's fates. Lady, I see that you..."
Ye Wanmian's heart tightened. She said coldly, "I'm busy. Get out of the way. Dahuang, let's go."
Ye Wanmian tried to bypass the Taoist priest and leave. Xiao Jingcheng gave the Taoist priest a warning glance and followed her.
Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest immediately caught up again. "Hey, hey, lady, don't go! Your dog, your dog looks a bit strange!"
The footsteps of the woman and the dog suddenly stopped.
Ye Wanmian turned around, looking surprised. "What's wrong with my dog?"
Xiao Jingcheng narrowed his eyes and sized up the Taoist priest in front of him.
He remembered the words "Your Highness", "Immortal Master", and "Soul Summoning" he had heard when his soul left his body at night. Could it be that this stinky Taoist priest really knew something?
Seeing that she finally stopped, the Taoist priest secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Stroking his beard, he said with a smile, "Don't be in a hurry. Let me take a closer look."
The Taoist priest bent down slightly. His bearded face suddenly loomed large in front of Xiao Jingcheng. Xiao Jingcheng dodged behind Ye Wanmian and let out a threatening growl from his throat.
The Taoist priest didn't pay any attention to the fierce look on the yellow dog's face at all. He scanned the dog from head to toe with his eyes.
"Amazing! Truly amazing!"
Ye Wanmian's curiosity was piqued. "Reverend, what do you mean?"
"It should have gone through a disaster yesterday. After that, its personality changed greatly, right?" the Taoist priest asked.
So accurate! Ye Wanmian nodded vigorously. "Yes. It was poisoned yesterday and almost died. After we saved it, it seemed to have become a different dog."
Xiao Jingcheng felt a sudden sense of unease.
He thought he had camouflaged himself well, but was he going to be recognized after just one day?
If this village woman asked this Taoist priest to exorcise evil spirits and drive away the soul, all that awaited him would probably be soul dissipation.
"That's right!" The Taoist priest became excited. "Lady, look. Your yellow dog has strong limbs, deep and unruly eyes. Especially when it was walking just now, it looked so proud and imposing. It's obviously different from ordinary yellow dogs!"
"It must be—"
Both Ye Wanmian and Xiao Jingcheng couldn't help but hold their breaths.
"It must be the Heavenly Hound beside Erlang Zhenjun who has descended to the mortal world!"
Ye Wanmian, who had been expecting an explanation: "..."
The Crown Prince, who had thought his identity had been exposed: "???"
"And you, lady!" The Taoist priest turned his gaze to Ye Wanmian, his eyes shining.
"You have a high and full forehead, purple aura between your eyebrows, and thick earlobes. This is a rare appearance of wealth and honor!"
"Your opportunity lies in the east. If you can meet a noble person coming from the east, you will surely have a happy marriage, enter the position of the phoenix, rise to the top in one step, and be envied by all the women in the world."
A noble person from the east, entering the position of the phoenix, and rising to the top in one step...
Putting these together, a figure appeared in Ye Wanmian's mind.
A figure that had been appearing in her dreams day after day, looking down on her with a cold and proud gaze, spewing malicious words at her, making her the laughingstock of the whole city, and forcing her to flee.
What a joke! She and the dog Crown Prince Xiao Jingcheng were sworn enemies for life!
At this moment, Xiao Jingcheng, who was possessed in the body of the yellow dog, also understood the Taoist priest's implication.
The noble guest from the east was none other than him, the master of the Eastern Palace!
A happy marriage and entering the position of the phoenix meant that he would have a marriage with this village woman and even marry her in the future?!
This was impossible!
Even if he was beaten to death, he would never take a fancy to this village woman!
"However..."
As soon as the Taoist priest opened his mouth, he immediately attracted the attention of Ye Wanmian and the yellow dog.
"Not everything goes smoothly. There may be some twists and turns and hardships in the middle. If you're not careful, it may backfire and lead to a fatal disaster. If you're willing, I can find a way to resolve some of them for you."
Saying that, the Taoist priest made a gesture of rubbing his fingers at Ye Wanmian.
Just thinking about having a connection with that dog Crown Prince made Ye Wanmian filled with anger. She secretly clenched her fists and asked with a smile,
"Then, Reverend, how can I resolve this disaster?"
Xiao Jingcheng stared at Ye Wanmian with wide eyes.
Was this village woman blind and couldn't see that this was just a swindler?
Did she really have the intention to climb up the social ladder and become his Crown Princess?!
The Taoist priest didn't sense the danger approaching him. He let out a "heh heh" laugh and said,
"It's not much. Lady, just give me two taels of silver as a good start for me today. I'll set up a formation for you to resolve the disaster right away!"
A vein on Ye Wanmian's forehead twitched, but she put on a pitiful look on her face. "Two taels of silver is really too much. I don't have that much money."
Too much? The Taoist priest hesitated for a moment but still insisted. "Young lady, two taels of silver for a lifetime of wealth and honor is nothing. When you meet the noble person from the east in the future and have a happy marriage with him, standing second only to the emperor, you'll naturally have countless gold, silver, and jewels. By then, young lady, you'll surely... Ouch, ouch, what are you doing!"
"You swindling quack! I'll teach you a lesson for deceiving people!" Ye Wanmian grabbed the Taoist priest's goatee and pounced on him.
A moment later, the Taoist priest was tied to a pillar. His hat was askew, there was a handful of dry herbs in his mouth, his Taoist robe had a tear in it, and there were several footprints on his body.
Ye Wanmian walked forward angrily.
What a lousy Taoist priest! What a lousy fortune-telling! The one in the Eastern Palace was missing now. He might even be dead. What happy marriage?
Bah, bah, bah!
Even if he wasn't dead, there was absolutely no possibility between them!
Xiao Jingcheng stared blankly at Ye Wanmian's retreating back. Recalling the scene of her grabbing and beating the Taoist priest in the street just now, he couldn't believe that a woman could do such a thing.
However... she was quite smart. She saw through the Taoist priest's deception and didn't give out the silver for the so-called "glory and wealth". She was still somewhat commendable.
Looking back at the wailing Taoist priest, Xiao Jingcheng gritted his back teeth.
The world was really going downhill. A stinky Taoist priest from the countryside dared to arrange his marriage.
He controlled his body, leaped up, and rushed to the Taoist priest's side. He bit hard on the priest's leg!
Amidst the Taoist priest's increasingly shrill wails, the yellow dog walked proudly and caught up with the young girl. Their figures disappeared into the crowd.
"I'm not lying! Why doesn't anyone believe me? If the disaster isn't resolved, it will cost lives!"