Sending a Dream Part 2

Tan Chunying's ceremonies rarely used the Taiyin Bow anymore, but to present "Chu Nuo" more comprehensively, how could the peach wood bow from "drumming and shooting" be left out? During rehearsals, Tan Chunying usually used a peach wood stick as a substitute. Now that the performance was approaching, the dance troupe had custom-made a batch of prop bows.

Tan Chunying weighed it in her hand. She hadn't drawn a bow in a long time. Now, as she raised the bow and pulled the string, aiming with one eye, the door opened in her line of sight, and Tan Xiao walked in carrying his schoolbag.

Seeing her drawing the bow, Tan Xiao symbolically raised his hands, "I surrender."

"Whoosh." The prop bow had no arrow, so Tan Chunying used her mouth to mimic the sound effect. She and her son laughed foolishly together for a moment before she put away the bow, and they all went inside.

This was a high school Chu shaman descendant. The director of "The Great Shaman", Zhu Yixin, deliberately followed Tan Xiao upstairs and filmed his homework, as well as the peacock mask on his desk.

Zhu Yixin asked, "Tan Xiao isn't participating in the gala this time?"

"He has started his senior year of high school, so we're not letting him participate in anything right now," Tan Chunying said, "But he knows the entire dance drama, after all, he will have to carry on the tradition in the future."

Zhu Yixin nodded. They also wanted to film some scenes of Tan Xiao studying, as well as the attitudes of his teachers and classmates towards Chu shamanism, to use as a side portrayal. But there was no rush for that, as the documentary filming would take a long time.

"Your classmates at school should all know that you are a Chu shaman, right?" Zhu Yixin asked, "Last time during the Dragon Boat Festival, we also filmed your classmates helping out, right?"

The documentary not only includes their daily scenes but also needs some expressions, which require the director's guidance.

"Yes, since elementary school, my classmates have all known that I am a shaman. I even helped out at my classmates' homes, lending a hand at funerals," Tan Xiao said. He also knew that the director team had long requested the video tapes of his performances when he was young.

"Oh?" Lending a hand at funerals was something even Tan Chunying didn't know about, let alone Zhu Yixin.

Tan Xiao simply mentioned the time with Lin Yang's uncle's troupe, "Their team still had some doubts about me because we often only perform nowadays."

Tan Chunying also nodded. Everyone's paths had long diverged.

"Do other Chu shamans believe that the Tan family shamans have violated some tradition?" Zhu Yixin asked.

"To develop, there must be innovation. Our scriptures state that if casually passed on to outsiders, one will never prosper. But the reality is, if you don't go out, even if you want to teach, no one wants to learn," Tan Chunying rubbed her head.

"So now, when your teachers and classmates like Tan Xiao invite you to perform rituals, what kind of attitude do they have?"

"It's not about believing, but rather following a certain folk custom. Many people holding funerals don't even understand and just find a company that provides a one-stop service," Tan Xiao gave a few examples, "Sometimes my classmates also joke around, asking me to draw a talisman or perform a ritual."

"What do you say?"

"I say the class teacher doesn't allow me to perform rituals," Tan Xiao joked, and everyone laughed.

"Actually, your skills are quite good, since you practice often. Last time, I even saw you levitating, but that belongs to the spiritual aspect, right?" Zhu Yixin recalled Tan Xiao's "magic trick" from before, "You also have some physical skills, right?"

"Overall, it's still mainly focused on the spiritual aspect..." As Tan Xiao spoke, there was a knock on the door. It was a delivery.

Tan Chunying ran downstairs and went to the door to receive the delivery. After signing for it, she noticed a cute corgi at the door and played with it for a bit, "Oh, is this your dog?"

The delivery person was puzzled, "I thought it was your family's newly adopted dog. Why leave the dog outside?"

Judging from its appearance, it didn't look cheap. It was round and chubby, with smooth fur.

"No, it's not. It must be lost then. Why isn't it on a leash?" Tan Chunying squatted down and reached out to try and pet the corgi's head.

The corgi seemed very friendly and didn't resist at all. Instead, it carefully sniffed Tan Chunying's hand, making soft whimpering sounds.

The delivery man also reached out and touched it a couple of times. It was really cute, but he had other deliveries to make. "I'm off, Sister Tan. This one probably has an owner, so help look for them."

"Mm-hmm."

"...We don't have rituals like walking on knives or through fire, but tourists do find those very entertaining to watch, so..." As Tan Xiao was speaking, he heard a dog barking. He couldn't help walking a couple of steps to the window, and the camera followed his movement, turning with him.

His gaze fell on the courtyard, and as Tan Xiao frowned, his heart started pounding wildly.

It couldn't be... impossible, was it a corgi?

Faced with this adorable dog, Tan Xiao's instincts were ringing alarm bells. He immediately stopped talking and called down, "Mom, don't play with that dog. What if it hasn't had its rabies shots?"

"I know, I know." Tan Chunying originally wanted to say this corgi didn't seem like a rabid dog, but then she saw it glance at her, a flash of fire seeming to pass through its eyes, as it bared its teeth and lunged to bite her!

Tan Chunying reacted swiftly, rolling to the side and dodging it. "Goodness, it's a mad dog!"

She didn't hold back either, immediately kicking out at it, but who knew what this chubby corgi had eaten - it was actually quite nimble, dodging Tan Chunying's fierce kick.

Tan Xiao's face changed drastically as many thoughts flashed through his mind.

This familiar feeling...

Was it a Huodou?!

Tan Xiao could confirm the previous twelve Huodous had already been captured and brought to justice. He could even be certain that among those twelve, there were no corgis.

Was it a statistical error, or...

The meteor that had fallen some days ago surfaced in his mind. The ancients couldn't distinguish between meteors and comet debris, believing they were all Tiangou stars.

But with so many meteors hitting Earth, only a coincidental strike on a black dog could form a Huodou. And only true fragments of a Tiangou star striking a dog could create the new type of Huodou they had captured before, possessing the dual characteristics of devouring like both Huodous and Tiangou.

If this corgi had recently transformed, what were the odds of a second such Huodou forming in the short span of a year?

All of this flashed through Tan Xiao's mind in an instant. The more pressing danger before his eyes was that this Huodou was attacking Tan Chunying.

Zhu Yixin beside them had no idea about the dog's identity. She just thought it was a rabid dog gone mad and shouted, "Little Luo, Little Luo!"

--There were still people from their film crew on the first floor living room. Zhu Yixin quickly called for someone nearby to help. The crew members on the first floor indeed promptly grabbed nearby household items like brooms and went to drive off the corgi.

Tan Xiao also had no time to think too much. Amid the crew's cries of alarm, he shouted, "Shorty, look here!" as if to draw its attention, which was still a plausible action.

Tan Xiao had captured three Huodous before. In his view, this one was definitely here for revenge.

He silently called for Kong Xuan. Kong Xuan raised his hand, about to banish the Huodou. "Seeking death."

At the same time, Little Luo from the film crew also swung his broom, sweeping it horizontally at the corgi.

No one expected that the Huodou would lunge forward, barely dodging it!

Even Kong Xuan paused, his face darkening.

The five-colored divine light corresponded to the five elements, capturing all and breaking all. Unless the opponent was not within the five elements--a corgi was naturally born within the five elements.

Then besides that, there was one other possibility: if the speed was fast enough to escape, it could not be banished as the light would not reach it.

Beings in the mortal realm with escape techniques exquisite enough to evade the five-colored divine light were exceedingly rare to begin with.

Little Luo from the film crew let out an "eh?" He had barely seen how the corgi dodged his broom. He figured since corgis were originally herding dogs, they still had some agility.

The corgi met Tan Xiao's gaze from a distance, its eyes conveying an extremely human-like mockery. Even though it saw Tan Xiao, it did not attack him. Instead, after avoiding the dual attacks of the divine light and broom, it fiercely charged and leapt at Tan Chunying, who had taken the chance to back away--

Almost simultaneously, Tan Xiao took out the Taiyin slingshot, raised his hand and fired a shot at the corgi!

He then directly flipped and jumped down. With Kong Xuan's support, he leapt from the second floor to the first floor eaves, steadily landing on the ground and running towards the person and dog.

"!!" The film crew's camera shook violently. Zhu Yixin, seeing Tan Xiao suddenly jump off the building, was even more terrified than when she saw the dog go berserk! Fortunately, Tan Xiao landed steadily.

Her face naturally paled again: Why didn't you say earlier that your family is all skilled like this?

The corgi deviated slightly to dodge Tan Xiao's shot, but still tenaciously sank its teeth into Tan Chunying's wrist. Blood immediately gushed out like a fountain.

"This..." Even though Tan Chunying was bitten on the wrist, after blood poured out, her legs also went weak. She staggered and sat down on the ground, as if about to faint from blood loss. After swaying a couple of times, she passed out.

"Mom!" Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan only had time to support Tan Chunying. The corgi, after biting the person, didn't linger either. In one fluid motion, it charged outward!