The fluttering yellow paper fell onto the water surface, spinning with the current, as if responding to Tan Xiao.

Pan Longxiang, who originally felt it was extremely dangerous, let out a long sigh of relief. Hearing Tan Xiao's words, he couldn't help but laugh. Tan Xiao's performance just now almost made him forget that Tan Xiao was here for extracurricular practice.

Hearing Pan Longxiang's laughter, Tan Xiao thought he had said something wrong. "What's the matter, Dao Gong? Is it too late, will everyone have objections?"

"How could that be?" Pan Longxiang patted Tan Xiao's shoulder and looked at the water surface, as if seeing the gradually fading figures of those releasing the raft in his memories again. "We Chinese people love to encourage learning the most. If you say anything else, forget it, but preparing for exams? They would be more than happy to!"

At this time, Lei Yong and Pan Jianjun also ran to the shore. Pan Jianjun shouted until his voice was hoarse, "Dad! Dad! Little classmate, are you all right?"

Lei Yong stepped forward with trembling hands, looking at the huge strange fish on the beach that was unknown whether it was dead or alive, and then at his son whose face was pale but still had a faint rise and fall in his chest. With tears streaming down his face, he said, "Thank you, thank you, really thank you both."

At this moment, he didn't know what language to use to express his gratitude, only the most primitive two words. It was visible to the naked eye that after the two went down, they encountered life-threatening danger and were almost dragged into the dangerous shoal by the water monster.

And their judgment was so accurate - Lei Zijun was indeed not on the mountain, but at the bottom of the water!

If Lei Yong hadn't come with them, Lei Zijun would have been dead for sure.

"This was divined by the Little Snake Shaman, thank him." After such a round of activity, the old man's body was also tired. Pan Longxiang said wearily, "Also, your son needs to be sent to the hospital. And tell the people on the mountain, no need to keep searching."

Lei Yong tightly grasped Tan Xiao's hand, his throat choked up, unable to express himself. He had wanted to go down in place of Tan Xiao earlier. What Pan Longxiang said turned out to not be an exaggeration. It's just that before he said it, Lei Yong didn't quite dare to believe that this young man had such abilities.

"It's okay, actually we also have to thank..." Tan Xiao glanced at the water surface, "the predecessors of Qiyun Ridge, it was with their chants that we could win."

He seemed to understand more and more in his heart why Mu Fei complained about being tired from working overtime every day, yet didn't change careers.

Lei Yong and the others were all on the shore and couldn't see the specific struggle clearly, let alone the tug-of-war under the water. Just recalling the faintly heard chanting of the raft release earlier, and looking at that huge fish head, they understood in an instant.

At this moment, there was no sense of horror from seeing a ghost at all. They also solemnly bowed towards the river. He didn't say anything, but in his heart, he had already decided that in the future, he would not only pay respects, but also contribute more to his hometown.

"You should make the call quickly." Tan Xiao said softly, after all, Lei Yong's son was still unconscious.

"Okay, okay." Lei Yong hurriedly called his family. The few of them lifted Lei Zijun into the back of the truck. The life raft would be left behind for now. The extra space was used to place that water monster tied up with ropes. This wasn't a concern, as Tan Xiao and Pan Longxiang were also escorting the truck in the back.

The two still sat together, just much more disheveled.

"When we get back, I'm going to get a jar to contain it. As for the iron turtle, another auspicious day needs to be chosen to release it back to the bottom of the river." Pan Longxiang spoke of his plans. Tan Xiao knew what jar he was referring to.

It was said that the Yao family's master used jars and pots to capture ghosts, monsters and demons. After sealing them, he would bury them. If the mouth broke, the seal would be broken.

Generally, the other party wouldn't be completely killed. Some people thought it couldn't be done, but Pan Longxiang believed this was the virtue of the ancestral master.

Tan Xiao nodded, "After sealing it, can you let me take it back to register it." This thing obviously needed to be registered and put on record. "Dao Gong, actually I have a partnership with a unit called Bureau 404 on my side."

He explained the matter of the "Non-Human Management Work Responsibility List" to Pan Longxiang, and also recommended to him that the Bureau 404 was currently short-staffed.

In addition to those mainstream religions, they had also begun to absorb folk shamans like them. If it weren't for Pan Longxiang's Dao Gong robe still not being unsealed, he would have wanted to recommend Pan Longxiang to help out as well.

Pan Longxiang had also vaguely heard of this office, it's just that he usually stayed in the countryside and didn't "mix in circles".

"Okay, you take it."  This was something Tan Xiao had put in a lot of effort for in the first place.

Pan Longxiang thought for a moment and took out another item, "Take this too."

Tan Xiao took a look, and what he took out turned out to be that handwritten copy of the Pai Sect's spiritual arts. He didn't immediately take it, "Dao Gong?"

"Don't worry, you won't be missing out on the single copy either, I had my son make a copy." Pan Longxiang stuffed it into his hands and said, "You are a shaman of the Tan family, you can't take over my altar, but this, you can take it. I think it wouldn't be disgracing that old Dao Gong master either."

Although they hadn't known each other for long, after cooperating with Tan Xiao today, their true hearts were revealed in the face of adversity. Pan Longxiang hadn't specifically looked for an owner for this booklet, but after encountering it, this idea arose, feeling it was extremely suitable.

Tan Xiao only hesitated for a moment before saying, "Thank you, I will study it well."

"Study better and better!" Pan Longxiang replied with a meaningful smile.

......

"Ugh... Puh..."

Groaning sounds came from beside them, but they weren't coming out of Lei Zijun's mouth, but that big fish. Its front had been chopped until it flipped onto its belly, probably heavily injured. It woke up with a painful cry, its voice hoarse and eerie.

Tan Xiao remembered something, took out his phone and imitated Mu Fei's appearance to take a photo of it. Who knows, it might be needed for registration later. He remembered the Bureau 404 had quite a lot of procedures.

The water monster clawed at the air with its short limbs, looking at Tan Xiao with both hatred and fear.

Tan Xiao took the opportunity to record while asking, "You can talk, right? Do you have a name, what is it called?"

As the loser, it didn't struggle for long before answering in a gruff voice, "Houjiang Long."

Tan Xiao looked at it speechlessly, "...What race?"

Water monster: "Mermaid."

Tan Xiao: "Do you believe I'll hit you?"

The water monster immediately dodged to the side, very afraid of him, and then said dejectedly, "I resemble a human with four limbs, how am I not beautiful."

It felt that its imitation of humans was quite good, why should it be hit?

"I'll ask again, you measure your own chances." Tan Xiao threatened. Sure enough, evil spirits don't like to tell the truth. After experiencing it a few times, he had trained his negotiation skills. "What name?"

Water monster: "Houjiang."

Tan Xiao: "What race?"

Houjiang: "Fish."

Seeing Tan Xiao's expression clearly saying what fish could be like you, it supplemented, "I was originally a black carp at the water inlet of Yunmeng Marsh. I became a demon by swallowing human bones, my form all red. Back then, I swam upstream to Qiyun Ridge, who knew I would be trapped here by the Pai Sect's Taoist master for several decades."

"Is it really this time? My partner organization will investigate, and if you're lying, you're done for." Tan Xiao thought this was a new type of hybrid demon, half-demon and half-enchantress, still worth noting.

Hmm, shouldn't this demon get a new name, like Blood Carp? Human Bone Carp?

Hearing this, Pan Longxiang felt something was off. "People aim high, and you're right at the water entrance, not going to Yunmeng Marsh but coming to Qiyun Ridge instead? The burning dragon boats here still need to be sent to Yunmeng Marsh."

The burning dragon boats Pan Longxiang mentioned were a kind of ritual in the Chu region. The water-rich Chu had a tradition of welcoming deities with dragon boats and sending away various demons, ghosts, and plague gods through the developed waterways.

Burning dragon boats symbolized this. Generally, the shamans would also praise in their chants how great the destination was to trick these demons into leaving willingly.

For a while, since everyone knew the former Eastern Chu and Wuyue regions were economically developed, they often falsely claimed to send you to Wuyue...

The Yunmeng Marsh pier gathered merchant guilds and was also a major destination for sending off.

Houjiang muttered gloomily, "Yunmeng Marsh is too hard to get by in."

Tan Xiao instantly understood. "Just like workers fleeing first-tier cities, the pressure is too much, right?"

Pan Longxiang: "..." He seemed to get it a little.

Yunmeng Marsh was one of the largest freshwater lakes and the confluence of many water systems in the Chu region before flowing into the Yangtze River. In ancient times, Yunmeng Marsh was also the secondary capital of the Chu State. Lord Yunzhong in the "Nine Songs" was also said to be the water deity of Yunmeng Marsh.

Such an important place was naturally not easy to mix in. Not only were there many powerful local demons, but also many passing Dao Gongs. His escape from Yunmeng Marsh was precisely to avoid the pressure.

But he didn't expect that the indigenous people of the Nanchu mountains were also fierce, leading to his defeat!

So the first thing it did after breaking free was to make a big scene locally to vent, and since the Dao Gongs who subdued it were long gone, it just grabbed whoever it could to harass. Then it wanted to leave along the waterways.

Now subdued again, Houjiang, who had only enjoyed a brief moment of freedom, couldn't help but feel like a dead fish, staring at the sky with a pair of dead fish eyes.

Tan Xiao took a look and felt that its face was really unbearable to examine closely. Its hands were also quite scary, so he wrapped it up well with bags from the truck.

By this time, the car had reached the village entrance. Pan Jianjun jumped down from the front, and the three of them worked together to get the fish down. Lei Yong also hurriedly carried the child and changed to another car to rush to the hospital. "I'll thank you all properly another day. See you again!"

Standing at the village entrance, they saw the iron turtle still quietly in its original spot, with no one daring to touch it.

"Let's go, let's carry this guy back and put it in a jar." Pan Longxiang rubbed his hands, ready to lift Houjiang together. They had only been carrying it for a while when they heard a loud shout from the originally quiet village entrance.

"Is that a fish you're carrying?!"

Tan Xiao was startled and looked over, only to see a few people standing up in the darkness, running this way, enthusiastically saying, "Let me see, why does it feel especially big?"

Upon closer look, it turned out to be the fishing enthusiasts who had been sitting there during the day, actually still fishing at night.

Seven or eight fishing enthusiasts crowded around Tan Xiao. Standing closer, they saw that the object wrapped in their bag was bulging and the length was even more astonishing. They all nearly shouted their voices hoarse.

"Such a big fish?!"

"Who caught it! Where did you catch it?!"

"What is this, oh my, oh my! Awesome!"

Pan Jianjun, who was standing closest to them, was dumbfounded by the questions and nervously looked at his father and Tan Xiao. What should they do now?

Pan Longxiang was quite calm and pointed at Tan Xiao, "He caught it, a carp."

The group all looked at Tan Xiao with a mixture of envy, jealousy, and hatred. So young, how did he catch such a big fish? Are you trying to defy the heavens? The largest known carp caught was only a little over a hundred pounds, and this one looked like it was also over a hundred pounds based on its size.

"What did you use for ground bait?"

"Is this real? Open it up and let's see."

Tan Xiao was momentarily embarrassed. Seeing that they were not backing down, he forcefully kicked Houjiang, then slowly opened the bag. This water monster was quite smart and sure enough retracted its hands and feet, looking much more normal. In the night, it was just an ordinary big fish.

The fishing enthusiasts were excited before, but after seeing the fish, they actually fell silent. Their eyes were turning red one by one...

"Young brother, you don't mind if we take a photo, right?"

"Can we weigh it?"

The group surrounded Houjiang, taking photos, weighing it, and even reaching out to touch it. They also had Tan Xiao take pictures with them.

Tan Xiao helplessly took the photos, then carried the fish away under their envious gazes.

"When you go back, send some mugwort to the inn where they're staying," Pan Longxiang said in a low voice as soon as they turned around.

Pan Jianjun nodded. These people had touched Houjiang, and evil things were very unlucky. Giving them some mugwort to dispel the bad energy, otherwise they would probably have bad luck for a while.

After returning home, Pan Longxiang took out a jar, chanted incantations, and like most demons, Houjiang's body that had evolved over time, with a human head and a huge fish body, crawled into the jar. Pan Longxiang tied the mouth of the jar with five-colored thread, then handed it to Tan Xiao.

After checking the talismans, he had Pan Jianjun send Tan Xiao back.

......

On the way, Tan Xiao sent a message to Mu Fei, informing her of what he encountered today and asking if Houjiang needed to be registered first.

Mu Fei replied with a few crying laughing emojis. [Of course! Little bro, I'm busy here. Could you do me a favor and send the water monster to our office? I'll have my colleagues verify it.]

It was just a matter of going himself. Tan Xiao immediately said, [Sure, no problem.]

He also asked, [What are you busy with? Need any help?]

Mu Fei took a while to reply, [It's fine, don't need any for now!] Their Bureau 404 had an internal understanding not to use this little weapon unless absolutely necessary. The guy was still in school after all.

[By the way, did you take any pictures of that water monster?] Mu Fei was also a bit curious after hearing it was half-fish.

Tan Xiao opened the camera and sent a few photos to her, accidentally including the photo of him with the fishing enthusiasts.

Mu Fei was fine with the first few and was even considering whether this could be written into internal materials. But when she swiped to the last photo, she nearly spat out her drink!

The photo clearly showed Tan Xiao with a few tanned people wearing outdoor jackets, and in front of them was the slightly altered water monster. Tan Xiao had a shy smile, while those people all had their thumbs up, obviously having no idea what kind of fierce, vengeful monster was in front of them...

Mu Fei nearly spat out her coffee again. [What are you doing...!]

Tan Xiao: [Uh, well, they saw it. I had no choice, so I just said it was a fish I caught.]

Mu Fei wanted to say something but was at a loss for words, not knowing what to say...

Being able to do it openly without giving anything away was also a skill!

Mu Fei: [Strong] [Fist Bump]

Tan Xiao: [Laughing and crying emoji]

Tan Xiao told Pan Jianjun to first send him to a location that Mu Fei had sent, which was the Bureau 404 in Nanchu, operating out of a religious site called Laomei Temple. Tan Xiao had seen their people arguing with Duan Yang about tasks in the group chat before.

Although this was a religious site, it was located in a bustling area, and its vegetarian meals were said to be very popular. It was already closed at this time. Inside the shrine were red walls and green tiles, with old plum branches reaching out, making it a great place of tranquility amidst the bustle.

When Tan Xiao arrived, he saw that the office was quite busy. The person specifically responsible for relaying orders was not there. A young monk took the jar and said, "Please wait a moment, I'll ask the elder."

The young monk ran to the wall where an elder monk with white eyebrows was sweeping the floor. An orange cat by his feet was lazily batting at the falling leaves. The old monk chuckled lightly and stroked the cat's back a couple of times, looking very lively - a true cat lover elder.

The young monk said a few words to him. Seeing the elder nod, he placed the jar on the ground beside him. The cat circled it a couple of times, seeming to smell the fishy scent on the jar.

The old monk looked over from afar and made eye contact with Tan Xiao, nodding in acknowledgment.

Tan Xiao also hurriedly waved his hand politely.

The young monk came back and said, "Thank you for your trouble, just leave it here." He looked at Tan Xiao curiously, probably having never seen a 404 external member still wearing a high school uniform, and was very curious as to who this was in the group.

"Thank you, I won't disturb you further." Tan Xiao said goodbye politely. It was very late now and he was really in a hurry to get back.

By the time Tan Xiao got home, it was almost eleven o'clock. Tan Chunying was sleepy to death waiting for him in the living room. "You're finally back. Are you hungry? I made you some fried rice cakes."

Come to think of it, he was really hungry. Tan Xiao hadn't had time to eat anything in the evening, only casually grabbing a bite at Pan Jianjun's place. Luckily tomorrow was the weekend.

Tan Xiao handed the recipe to Tan Chunying and saw her eyes light up instantly. He went to the kitchen to check on the still-hot rice cakes and then opened the fridge.

Tan Chunying looked over in puzzlement.

Tan Xiao: "...Not enough to eat." Coming back so late, he naturally had to give some consolation to the Great God Peacock as well.

Tan Chunying shook her head at his appetite. "Impressive."

According to Chu legends, rice cakes were made to commemorate the great Chu general Wu Zixu, but the peacock probably didn't know who that was either.

Rice cakes were nothing more than steaming and mashing, with the key being hot water and kneading so that the rice cakes would be more chewy. The rice cakes made by the Tan family were a specialty of Nanchu. They had fillings inside, adding a salty fragrance to the original soft, sticky sweetness, with the flavors blending without clashing.

Tan Xiao fried the rice cakes over low heat until the snow-white surface expanded and gradually became plump and turned golden brown, forming an enticing granular texture. One look and you'd know the outer skin must be crispy but not dry, while the inside was soft and chewy. Poking it, a crisp "click" sound indicated the heat was just right. He sprinkled some soybean powder on top.

Bringing the rice cakes back to his room, Tan Xiao knocked seven times to summon the Great God Peacock. The Peacock appeared and looked coldly at the rice cakes, seeming completely unsatisfied. He crossed his arms and said, "You're back so late."

Tan Xiao immediately said, "The Dao Gong at Qiyun Ridge is so envious of me. He said my patron god treats me way too well."

"At least he has some insight." Kong Xuan put down his hands proudly and picked up a rice cake to take a bite.

The crispy outer skin coated with sweet soybean powder was bitten open, revealing an extremely soft and sticky interior, a texture that hadn't been invented in ancient times. It made Kong Xuan feel like... it reminded him of the feeling of lying on Tan Xiao's lap.

It was a strange feeling. Although one was a taste and the other a tactile sensation, they were inexplicably linked together.

Tan Xiao also picked up a piece to eat. The rich aroma burst in his mouth, with crispiness and stickiness coexisting, quite like the explosive personality of the Great God Peacock.

As Tan Xiao ate, he couldn't help but flip open an exercise book.

Kong Xuan, who had been fantasizing while eating deliciously, saw him wanting to do practice problems and couldn't help but have a slightly twisted expression.

Why do such a buzz-killing thing while someone else is eating! Wasn't he tortured enough by school work on a regular basis?!

Tan Xiao saw the Peacock looking at his questions and misunderstood for a moment. He covered his homework and said cautiously, "For the exam... I won't trouble you. I'll review it myself."

Kong Xuan: "..."

Hmph.

Kong Xuan felt an itch in his heart.

He wanted to compete, to see when Tan Xiao could recognize him, but he was also worried about how long it would take. His resentment almost materialized. He felt like he was about to burst at any moment!!

Especially, especially...

He really wanted a cell phone!

Although he could find a way, things used by a patron god should be gifted by the acting shaman, which was an honor for the acting shaman! He felt the model Tan Xiao used himself was quite good...

Kong Xuan secretly glanced at Tan Xiao, crunching on the rice cakes. More troubling to him than physics was his spiritual shaman.

Author's note:

Tan Xiao: In the end, gifted a smartwatch