"What kind of monster is this? So terrifying!"

"My God! Is the Mountain God we've been worshipping actually this monster? It's too scary, isn't it?"

"It seems that the rumors of man-eating are not entirely false; they might indeed be true."

"Devil! This is definitely a devil! It looks like we were too naive and fell for its trick!"

.......

Some of the villagers, suddenly coming to their senses, whispered among themselves, their hearts shocked to the utmost extent.

In their minds, the Mountain God was supposed to be saintly and benevolent, righteous and moral; but in reality, the Mountain God was dark and evil, bloodthirsty and brutal, cold and heartless. This frightened them to the point of shaking and scattering their souls; at the same time, they felt incredibly foolish for their past actions.

Seeing this, the Town Chief, either with a guilty conscience or involved in improper dealings with the Mountain God, hastily spoke up to defend the deity: "Everyone, don't let your thoughts run wild. The Mountain God is our Guardian God, surely not some monster. This creature must be something that little scoundrel brought here to fool us, the common folk who haven't seen the world, so don't be duped by him!"

"Humph! As a Town Chief, if you don't seek truth from facts, if you don't guide the people toward a prosperous, democratic, and scientific modern life, but instead indulge in these feudal superstitions and deceive the whole town, you don't deserve to be a Town Chief," Lin Yifan rebuked angrily.

"Who are you to judge whether I qualify or not, you brat? I'm telling you, you're spreading rumors to deceive the people and slander officials, I can fully have the police arrest you," the Town Chief threatened.

"Great! Then call them quickly! I want to see whether it's me spreading rumors or you," Yifan said, his arms crossed over his chest, an unfazed look on his face, unafraid of the Town Chief's threats.

Seeing this, the Town Chief, burning with rage, immediately shouted, "Chief Zheng! Arrest him quickly! He's confusing and deceiving the public!"

However, Chief Zheng, who was not far away, did not move an inch or show any intention of arresting Lin Yifan; he had just suffered a setback a few days ago and did not want to experience another.

The Town Chief felt utterly humiliated, then questioned, "Chief Zheng, why aren't you arresting him?"

Normally, Chief Zheng would have immediately followed his order upon hearing it; not because the Town Chief was his superior, but because the two often covered for each other. If one needed help, the other would go all out to assist.

Now, Chief Zheng had turned his back on him and stood opposite him no longer lending support, which infuriated him.

Chief Zheng was also in a tough spot, like a mute person who has eaten bitter herb, unable to voice his troubles. He then walked over and whispered in the Town Chief's ear, "Town Chief, we can't touch this young man, he has a backer at the department level or above."

"What? Department level or above!"

Hearing this rank, the Town Chief was terrified, unaware of Lin Yifan's powerful connections. No wonder Chief Zheng arrested the young man a few days ago and then quickly released him; so that was the story.

The Town Chief finally understood; now he had no way to deal with Lin Yifan. Faced with his personal affairs on one side and his career on the other, he was at a loss for what to do.

Seeing the Town Chief's scared expression, Yifan roughly guessed what Chief Zheng had just told him and thus asked with a sneer, "Town Chief, now who is spreading deceptive rumors?"

"It's you!" the Town Chief responded.

He couldn't stand Lin Yifan's face, full of mockery toward him. Even if it meant losing his official cap, he was determined to compete with Lin Yifan to the end.

"Hmph! Even Director Zheng didn't arrest me, yet you say I am spreading falsehoods and causing confusion. Aren't you just slapping your own face?" Lin Yifan sneered and asked.

"Hmph! So what if you know a high-ranking official? What's so great about that? Today, even if I lose my official cap, I will restore the reputation of the Mountain God!" the Town Chief retorted, revealing Lin Yifan's secret.

At this moment, all the people in the audience gasped. They hadn't expected Lin Yifan to be so brazen in fighting the mafia and eradicating the Mountain God in Qingshi Town, and it turned out he had the support of a high-ranking official behind him. It seemed Lin Yifan was right, the Mountain God was likely a devil that had been exploiting them.

Thinking about the sacrifices of these past years, they felt pain in their hearts. Those were the domestic animals they had raised over many years, given away for nothing to feed the Mountain God. What a total loss. Most importantly, they had received nothing of real substance in return—it was pitiful.

Now, more and more people were starting to believe that the monster on the Altar was indeed the Mountain God.

"Restore the reputation? With what will you do that? With the past deeds of the Mountain God benefiting Qingshi Town? Then by all means, bring them up. Today, I will confront them one by one in front of everyone," Lin Yifan declared fearlessly, facing off with the Town Chief in a public debate.

The Town Chief wasted no words, immediately listing the good things the Mountain God had done for Qingshi Town over the years to see how Lin Yifan would retort.

These good deeds were much the same as those Lin's mother had mentioned, and Lin's father had already refuted them one by one before; so Lin Yifan went with the flow and repeated the same words, rebutting the Town Chief's view.

After this debate, the majority of the town's citizens finally understood that in the face of great disaster, the Mountain God was also helpless. It had only been leveraging its slight abilities to help the common folk through difficulties in exchange for corresponding rewards.

However, despite this, it didn't prove that the Mountain God was evil. At most, it might have tricked them out of some premium offerings.

Seizing on this point, the Town Chief counterargued, "You keep saying that the Mountain God is a devil. What evidence do you have to prove it?"

"If the sacrifices are not enough evidence, then everyone can observe the cave. The scenes inside are guaranteed to scare you to death," Lin Yifan replied.

"The cave is a forbidden place. Those who enter the cave without permission will be cursed by the Mountain God. Do you want to kill all the people in the town?" the Town Chief rebuked angrily.

"You keep saying there will be a curse. Then why, from four days ago until now, have I not been cursed? How do you explain that!" Lin Yifan pointed at the Town Chief, asking powerfully and confidently.

"The Mountain God has just ascended to heaven. When it returns, it will surely deal with you, you deceptive bastard!" the Town Chief answered with a red face and burning ears, truly at the end of his patience.

For many years, he had never been put in such a stifling situation, being rebuffed so that he could only retaliate with words.

"Damn it, even heaven! I'm about to make you, you old fool, wake up!" Having said that, Lin Yifan walked toward the Town Chief, who was sitting in a wheelchair.

Seeing Lin Yifan approaching with a ferocious expression, the Town Chief asked tremblingly, "What... what are you going to do?"

Then he turned to Director Zheng for help, "Director Zheng, he wants to murder a government official; arrest him quickly!"

However, Director Zheng showed no intention of taking action.

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