Xuan? Kong Xuan hesitated.

Calling someone by just their first name seemed to be a more intimate behavior nowadays, but Kong Xuan thought about it and felt that if Lin Yang sometimes called him "Xiao", why couldn't Tan Xiao justifiably call him Xuan.

In two seconds, Kong Xuan's mind raced through many thoughts. He turned his head and said, "What do you want..."

Tan Xiao: "..."

Tan Xiao also realized that he seemed to be calling Kong Xuan by his nickname. Feeling a bit flustered for some unknown reason, he pointed outside and said, "I mean..."

At this time, Xiong Hui had already happily swam in.

Because the space was not enough, their bodies also shrank to a smaller form.

"Spirit Master, we're here to accompany you..." Xiong Hui said as he entered, but as soon as he came in, he saw Kong Xuan at a glance.

They even slid forward a bit before reacting in their minds. Although this person was wearing a school uniform, the face was the one they had seen at Spirit Master's house before!

"Ah!" Xiong Hui let out an unexpected cry of pain, his body suddenly stopping and urgently turning back.

Because he turned too abruptly, his body twisted tightly like a twisted dough stick.

But Kong Xuan reacted, realizing Tan Xiao was not calling him. He thought for half a second and angrily confronted Xiong Hui, "What did this long worm just say about accompanying?"

Xiong Hui: "..."

Kong Xuan had a vague impression of Xiong Hui. After all, in the Chu emperor's tomb, Tan Xiao had a spiritual connection with him to deal with Xiong Hui. He stepped forward, stomping on the head of Xiong Hui who was trying to escape, picked him up with his bare hands and interrogated, "What accompanying? Explain carefully."

As everyone knows, there may be many deities enshrined on a shaman's altar, including some wild gods and yin gods. Moreover, in ancient times, shamans acted as an exorcist to drive away evil spirits and perform nuo rituals, which was to drive the twelve fierce beasts to devour ghosts, demons and plagues.

So shamans also had a tradition of commanding spirits. Although Kong Xuan didn't know Xiong Hui was just a workaholic, he was very clear about these rules and keenly sensed Xiong Hui's intentions.

After all, the main deity occupies the "main" position. What status does this long worm have to also want to enter Tan Xiao's altar under his watch?

Xiong Hui's mind went blank, not much better than when controlled by the snake dance. He stammered, "I wanted to say there's a half, half price sale at the supermarket today."

Kong Xuan sneered.

"Peacock God...!" Liu Qingquan floated in and hurriedly signaled to Tan Xiao with his eyes. This can't be beaten. Xiong Hui is now a special consultant to the archaeology team. Let alone killing, even beating him silly would be a huge loss.

Tan Xiao understood and persuaded, "No need, no need. In this day and age, birds and snakes are not so hostile anymore. Your goals are actually quite similar, both hoping I'll be the provincial governor in the future."

Xiong Hui felt a chill in their heart. Only after hearing Liu Qingquan reveal it did he realize this was actually the Peacock God. His position on the altar was different from what they were pursuing.

Facing their natural enemy, they went limp and made excuses, "We just heard the Spirit Master encountered danger today and were afraid the Spirit Master would pass away."

Tan Xiao: "..."

...Thank you, you even used the term "pass away".

Kong Xuan looked at Xiong Hui making excuses with disdain, sneered, and said to Tan Xiao, "Anyway, this kind definitely can't be accepted. It crawls on the ground every day, not hygienic."

Xiong Hui who lay on the cold floor: "..."

He didn't dare to refute and sighed after a long while, "Does the Spirit Master still have relatives?"

Tan Xiao: "Huh?"

Xiong Hui muttered to himself, "You should be too young to have children at this age, but you have parents." Xiong Hui thought and said, "Do your parents want to be king... provincial governor?"

"No, my mom doesn't have political ambitions either." Tan Xiao thought to himself, why is he trying to find a spiritual shaman to recognize as a master, and Tan Chunying is not the same as him. It's unlikely she would be the great shaman master that Xiong Hui would be satisfied with, more like a great swindler master.

"Why don't they want to either?" Xiong Hui didn't understand. He had also taken some lessons. Women can be kings too, so is the Spirit Master's family so indifferent to fame and fortune?

Tan Xiao thought Xiong Hui's understanding was still a bit superficial. He euphemistically said, "It's not for that reason. Mainly, if you follow my mom, you can't be a provincial governor's lackey, only engage in some controversial activities."

Xiong Hui was puzzled, "What activities?"

Tan Xiao: "Animal performances."

Xiong Hui: "..."

Mu Fei chuckled without turning his head, "Please understand, Comrade Xiong Hui still has a lot of room for improvement in his thinking."

The Rice Guardian sitting blankly on the side was also stimulated by the scene before him. Looking at Kong Xuan, he said softly to Big Beard Zhong, "I originally thought Lord Peacock just looked down on me, a rice guardian, but with Xiong Hui's combat power so strong... it seems the lord just doesn't tolerate people."

Big Beard Zhong deeply agreed.

The two enemies who shared life and death today developed a different kind of tacit understanding.

Xiong Hui saw Big Beard Zhong gossiping and felt so sad that he wanted to swallow Big Beard Zhong in one bite again, but Mu Fei stepped on his tail, "Hey, what are you doing?"

In the so-called food chain, birds bully snakes, and snakes bully mice. Xiong Hui said, "Nothing, isn't that a rat?"

Biting a rat is just as normal as Kong Xuan stepping on him.

"You can recite the urban living regulations again." Mu Fei tapped the keyboard and finally updated the information. "Tan Xiao, look at what you caught."

Kong Xuan raised his hand and released the thing they wiped away at the school. However, the huge black shadow behind it and the flames attached to its body were nowhere to be seen.

What appeared was only a black and white spotted beagle, timidly looking at them with big eyes, showing a flattering and fawning expression. Looking closely, its paws were still shaking.

"A beagle?" Tan Xiao also only saw its true form now. He only saw the shadow before. "Wait, it looks really familiar."

"It started a fire at the school!" The Rice Guardian hated it so much that his teeth itched when he saw it. He rushed up and jumped to hit it, accidentally hitting its ear.

He was almost killed by the stench. The dog smell permeated the sky. The Rice Guardian, who had just recovered not long ago, fell backwards. Tan Xiao forked him under the armpits with two fingers, and he stood up weakly.

"Thank you, Shaman."

Tan Xiao nodded and continued to examine the beagle, somewhat hesitant.

Mu Fei looked at the flames dripping from its butt and sprayed it with a fire extinguisher. He suspected, "Is this a... Huodou? Oh my, there have been frequent fires in the urban area recently. We were all wondering if it was an unnatural case. Could it be caused by it?!"

A Huodou looks like a dog. Wherever it goes, there are fires. It can both eat and excrete fire.

But Mu Fei was also a bit puzzled, "But if you say it's a Huodou, it doesn't look like one from its appearance. Aren't Huodou big black dogs? Did they expand recruitment?"

This Beagle is a black and white spotted dog, not like the legendary Huodou. Because Huodou is not actually a natural-born spirit, but is formed under specific conditions.

Legend has it that if a meteor hits a black dog, there is a chance it will become a Huodou. Moreover, Huodou is not a naturally fierce beast.

Although there are fires wherever it goes, because it is rare and has an innate ability to control fire, it is usually recruited as a subordinate of the Fire God and given a position.

Mu Fei has never seen a Huodou with her own eyes, only illustrations in materials. The probability of being hit by a meteorite is already small, and with modern dog breeds mixed, there are fewer native black dogs, so Mu Fei said it was an expanded recruitment.

Tan Xiao also understood what Mu Fei meant by expanded recruitment. He hadn't seen a Huodou before, "But if it is a Huodou, no wonder it's so afraid of him."

This "him" refers to Kong Xuan.

Tan Xiao is quite familiar with various myths of Chu. Zhurong, the ancestor of Chu people, was the Righteous Fire, later revered as the Fire God. It is also said that Zhurong's essence transformed into the Luan bird. Luan is a subspecies of the phoenix, and the primordial phoenix itself is also an old god of Chu... Look, these are all layer upon layer of relationships.

Kong Xuan looked at the Beagle and asked, "Are you a Huodou?"

In this day and age, it's possible for this Beagle to have formed into a Huodou.

The Beagle nodded vigorously, but couldn't speak, bowing its head in front of Kong Xuan, looking like it didn't dare to provoke him.

Kong Xuan gave a cold laugh, "Huodou, can you devour lunar energy?"

"That's right, that's right!" Big Beard Zhong, who had been holding back, jumped up, "This guy has been wanting to eat me! I escaped with great difficulty, boo hoo..." Until he was rescued, he didn't know if he had survived this deadly ordeal, scaring him to death.

Tan Xiao also remembered that during the school performance, the stage lights, moonlight, and even people's energy dimmed. In theory, Huodou is not so brutal by nature, otherwise it wouldn't have become a civil servant reserve. Could it have merged with the Beagle's personality?

The Beagle stared at them with wide eyes, shaking its head non-stop. Although it couldn't speak, its expressiveness was strong and could convey its rich emotions: I don't know, I don't understand, I'm scared.

"Devour lunar energy? My god, isn't that a Tiangou?" Mu Fei exclaimed, "What exactly is it?"

A Tiangou? It does match up to some extent. Tan Xiao suddenly remembered that many in their grade this year have Tiangou in their fate. Could it really have come true? But compared to the legendary Tiangou, this little Beagle is a bit weaker...

- Solar and lunar eclipses are also known as Tiangou eating the sun and Tiangou eating the moon. The Tiangou here refers to the fierce god in the moon, Tiangou Star. Because the Tiangou Star violates lunar energy, every lunar eclipse is called Tiangou eating the moon, but it's not always Tiangou infringing on the moon. Compared to the lunar eclipse in celestial phenomena, its more important sign is eroding lunar energy, making the essence of the moon unable to descend to the human world.

It is said that when Tiangou Star falls to the earth, it will also give birth to canine creatures, which is an ominous sign. Ancient books record: the Tiangou Star fell to the earth, starting in Chu and ending in Wu... when it feeds on blood in the human world for five thousand days.

It is rumored that Tiangou has a fondness for devouring, and even once tore off a head of a nine-headed phoenix of the Phoenix Clan. So Kong Xuan also doesn't think highly of Tiangou, disdainfully saying, "Combining the characteristics of two clans, weak."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Could it be a Huodou formed by a fragment of Tiangou Star hitting it? The probability of that must be so small!" Mu Fei thought that if this was true, she would have to frantically publish internal papers again.

"Huh? Then what is this called? Tiandou? Huogou?" Tan Xiao squatted down to look at the Beagle, suddenly pointing at it, "Wait, I remember now, I knew it looked familiar. A few months ago, it was wandering around our house!"

At that time, Tan Chunying had just returned, and Ah Jin was still living at home. Tan Xiao saw a Beagle wandering outside from a distance and drove it away, because he hadn't seen anyone nearby raising a Beagle.

He still had a bit of an impression. Maybe because of face blindness, his corresponding visual memory was quite good, and he managed to remember it.

"It's definitely this one, no mistake." Tan Xiao took another look, "Wow, you were outside my house at that time, could it be that you originally wanted to devour Ah Jin?!"

The Beagle let out a whimper, trembling, not expecting Tan Xiao to still be able to remember. It looked at them in horror.

"We need to conduct another census of the spirits right away." Mu Fei became anxious, "Damn, this guy has already been lurking for several months. Who knows if it has harmed other spirits? There have been so many ignorant new spirits in the past few months!"

Due to the special nature of non-human creatures, if there are disappearances, it's very difficult for the Bureau 404 to grasp the situation in time. Even if they haven't shown up for a long time, who knows if they're hibernating or in closed-door cultivation?

Like Big Beard Zhong, if he hadn't escaped to Nanchu No. 1 Middle School, being devoured by it, he might have just been recorded as missing or absconding.

"Right, right, Sister Mu, you handle this on your side. I'll head back first. Call me if you need anything." Tan Xiao said pitifully, "It's late now, and I still have classes tomorrow."

"Okay, okay. Thank you all." The subsequent interrogation, investigation, and filing of the case would be handled by Mu Fei's side. As for Xiong Hui and the Rice Guardian, they each returned to their own homes, while Big Beard Zhong returned to his newly customized prison.

Seeing the Rice Guardian disappear in the direction of the Bureau 404's small cafeteria, Tan Xiao casually asked Kong Xuan, "Did you finish your homework today?"

Kong Xuan raised his eyebrows, "Homework, homework, is that all you know? What should be your top priority now?"

Tan Xiao: "Preparing for the college entrance exam."

Kong Xuan: "..."

Kong Xuan: "It's writing the sequel to the Classic of Mountains and Seas! The college entrance exam is just for the sake of writing the book better."

"Well then," Tan Xiao thought that he couldn't possibly drop out of school to write the book, "Writing the book will take a long time. The Classic of Mountains and Seas took several generations to compile. If I don't study hard, not only will I lack the knowledge to write, I won't even have money for food. Inheriting the family business also requires academic qualifications, right? The other Celestial Masters are all..."

He asked Mu Fei, "Sister, what's your education level?"

Mu Fei: "Uh, graduate degree."

Liu Qingquan also raised his hand, "I was born earlier, but I also got an on-the-job graduate degree... um, when I was alive."

See?

Tan Xiao nodded to Kong Xuan, indicating that you see, they all have graduate degrees, while we haven't even gotten into undergraduate studies here.

However, Mu Fei had a strange expression and hesitantly interrupted them, asking, "Wait a minute, I don't understand something. What's the deal with the homework? Don't tell me this school uniform is the Peacock God's own?"

Speaking of this, Tan Xiao...

"Not only is the school uniform the Peacock God's own, even the student registration is his own." Tan Xiao said gloomily, "Isn't it outrageous? He's my classmate."

Mu Fei & Liu Qingquan: "???"

Mu Fei was shocked to the core, "What? When did this happen?!"

When did it happen? Tan Xiao hadn't told her either!

Kong Xuan also sneered at Mu Fei, "Ridiculous, he was my classmate for several months and didn't recognize me. He only found out about two hours earlier than you."

Mu Fei: "..."

Tan Xiao: "..."

Tan Xiao said, a bit unconvinced, "I had my suspicions early on."

Mu Fei said, quite exasperated, "Don't argue, it's all quite absurd." She rubbed her hair, feeling at a loss, "Teacher Liu made me not look forward to the world after death at all, and you, sir, have made me not really look forward to the heavenly realm either. You're already an immortal, yet you still have to do homework."

From the tone of Tan Xiao's voice, it even sounded like Lord Peacock wasn't a good student, making her really want to go check the god's grades!

Kong Xuan still spoke in that tone, "To perfect the mortal section of the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas', I naturally had to enter the world to understand the workings of modern rules."

Tan Xiao glanced at Kong Xuan, thinking that he definitely didn't expect to fail before coming down. The mortal world has progressed, and the mortal curriculum has progressed even more...

"Wait, then this, I'm really sorry, you should... you should also register." Liu Qingquan said dumbly, he was also a bit confused, just expressing based on his many years of work instinct.

A spirit descending was one thing, but Kong Xuan actually coming down in his true form was another matter.

"Oh, is that so?" Tan Xiao walked over curiously, "Then according to what you're saying, should he be written in the sequel to the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'?"

"He probably should..." Liu Qingquan said, after all, there were still so many mythical beasts in the 'Classic of Mountains and Seas'. Kong Xuan guiding the compilation of the sequel, the first thing is to trouble him to include himself as an entry.

He had Mu Fei pull up the registration form, then felt a bit troubled looking at the classification item.

Damn, he had registered spirits and ghosts before, but never an immortal. There was no such option.

"Put it under unclassified for now." Mu Fei scratched her head, "Teacher Liu, do we also need to write up materials for this?"

Liu Qingquan looked at her with pity, "Of course." You have to explain that the Peacock is not a spirit descending, but the true form coming to Nanchu. This involves many regulations of Bureau 404 that need to be looked up and distinguished one by one.

Mu Fei vomited blood, "First, first register the basic information. Your current address is?"

"I live in the left bedroom on the second floor of No. 78 Huaxi Road!" Kong Xuan declared.

Liu Qingquan and Mu Fei thought for a moment. They had both been to Tan Xiao's house before and reacted in their minds. That was Tan Xiao's bedroom. Lord Peacock was also quite frugal, not even having his own room.

"Contact information?" Mu Fei looked at Kong Xuan, "Do you have a phone number?"

Kong Xuan didn't even have a cell phone, how could he have a phone number.

Speaking of this, Kong Xuan was getting restless. Right, a cell phone, it was time. How should he bring up to Tan Xiao that he wanted a cell phone?

"Fill in mine." Tan Xiao took the initiative.

"Then the emergency contact will also be you." Mu Fei filled in the information with a swoosh, basically all needing Tan Xiao's prompts.

Kong Xuan calmly said on the side, "Is there also a QQ number to fill in?"

"...Also, also fill it in, we'll figure out a way to make it real for you." Mu Fei was just saying how Lord Peacock attended school, afraid that the first thing he did when descending to the mortal realm was to forge documents.

After filling out the information, Mu Fei finally drove them back, lest such a great god had to ride a bicycle home. She watched the two get out of the car and slowly said, "Take it easy... make progress in your studies."

Kong Xuan's back paused for a moment.

......

Sitting in his own room, it felt completely different now.

Before, he was always running around outside and didn't really have much time to carefully think about this matter. Now Tan Xiao looked at Kong Xuan, then at the mask on the wall in front of his desk, "You usually live in here? School uniforms, schoolbags... all crammed inside?"

Kong Xuan glared at him.

Tan Xiao covered his face, wanting to laugh a little but also feeling a bit embarrassed, his ears flushed red, "I'm really sorry I truly didn't recognize you!"

For the hundredth time, he sighed in admiration.

You really, really have a lot of patience.

Tan Xiao opened the cabinet and started organizing his books.

"What are you doing?" Kong Xuan was a bit dissatisfied that he only comforted him with one sentence.

"Ah, I'm clearing out a drawer for you. You can put your things in this drawer." Tan Xiao looked up and said, a bit apologetically, "The bed isn't big enough. I'll clean out the study for you another day and put in a bed."

"...No need, it will only make your mom suspicious. I'll just live in the divine altar." Kong Xuan looked around on his own. A whole drawer of walnut wood! Tidied up neat and clean, he felt quite happy in his heart, "Mm, there are clothes too."

"Oh, clothes can also go in the wardrobe. I don't have many clothes." Tan Xiao's room had a lot of cabinets made by a carpenter hired by Tan Chunying at the time. The storage space was more than enough for one person.

But putting in Kong Xuan's things, it might be just about right, or even a bit lacking...

Obviously there was no way to read books again tonight. By the time they were done tidying, it was about time. Tan Xiao yawned, washed up, and lay down on the bed. Kong Xuan, as usual, resided in the wall.

"..." Tan Xiao looked at the quiet room and thought for a moment, "Kong Xuan?"

If it were usually, Tan Xiao definitely wouldn't think to call out to Lord Peacock in the room for no reason, and even felt that the Peacock appeared and disappeared unpredictably. But now that he knew the Peacock was also his classmate Kong Xuan, it suddenly felt very different.

After a moment, Kong Xuan's faint voice responded, "Hm?"

"It feels like I suddenly gained a bunkmate roommate." Tan Xiao savored the feeling. He had never stayed in a dorm from childhood to adulthood and was an only child. The feeling of having a roommate was too amazing.

Tan Xiao was even inexplicably excited. If he was willing, he could also chat with Kong Xuan about school life. Before this, he basically had no friends at school that he could talk about anything with. Even with Lin Yang, he often had trouble chatting when it came to gossip due to his poor recognition of people, and couldn't keep the conversation going.

"A bit excited, can't fall asleep right away." Tan Xiao turned to face Kong Xuan's side.

Kong Xuan coughed.

Tan Xiao: "Haha, why don't I take this time to explain an exam question to you."

Kong Xuan: "..."

Just before Kong Xuan was about to lose his temper, Tan Xiao pulled up the covers, "I'm just joking, good night!"