"You, this, cough you..." Pan Longxiang couldn't get the words out for a long time. He glanced at Lei Zijun, afraid of scaring the kid. After being possessed, he was already weak. His lips moved, "You are also, too grand."

"No, no, then let's go to the beach?" Tan Xiao thought, what else can I do, forcefully make Kong Xuan stay at home and do winter vacation homework?

Pan Jianjun looked at them playing dumb with a depressed face, still not understanding why he was hit, and why Tan Xiao was described as very grand...

Lei Yong drove everyone to Shang Mao Shoal. The dry season's beach looked even more desolate in the daytime. They set up the altar table and according to the old customs of Qiyun Ridge, offered chicken, fish, cakes and other items. The incense sticks were tied with red paper, forming an arch shape in front of the altar.

Both Pan Longxiang and Tan Xiao changed into ritual robes, with Tan Xiao still taking the lead. Pan Longxiang only blew the ox horn and beat the drum for him. The old man's voice echoed desolately over the Nanxi River, "Beating the drum and offering incense, crossing over the dead souls--"

Tan Xiao danced the shaman dance while stepping the Yu steps, "The moon of Tan flows around Jianzhang like a meteor, the immortal wind blows down the incense from the imperial censer..."

He lit the paper money and sprinkled it towards the beach. The dots of flames were like the jade blood and sweat that had once dripped here.

Kong Xuan tapped the wine on the altar table with his fingertips and flicked it towards the river. He was not wearing a ritual robe, participating in the ceremony so naturally, only because Tan Xiao and Pan Longxiang didn't say anything, and Pan Jianjun and Lei Yong also kept their mouths shut.

Kong Xuan flicked three splashes of wine and said, "Accumulating good deeds and merits, saving the dead souls."

A cold wind suddenly rose on the river, blowing the paper ashes that had not yet fallen to the ground high up. Lei Zijun, who was beside them, felt that he smelled a faint goat smell. He couldn't help but say, "Dad, do you smell a goat odor?"

But among the offerings they prepared today, there was clearly no goat.

Lei Yong shivered. There was an old saying that the ghosts who died on the shore had the smell of paper ashes, while those who died in the water had the smell of goat...

He pressed down on Lei Zijun's shoulder, "It's okay, it's okay, they are all our ancestors protecting us."

Lei Zijun was stunned for a second before reacting to what it meant. Originally, fear had risen in his heart, but as long as he thought about it, he was the one they had saved, and the feeling of fear disappeared. He nodded vigorously.

The shaman dance, incense, candles and offerings crossed over the dead. Tan Xiao made the final hand seal and stopped, saying to Lei Zijun, "Come, burn your things too."

Lei Zijun quickly stepped forward and burned his photocopied grade reports, school activity awards, certificates and other items on the incense candles for the ancestors to see, making them even more gratified.

Lei Zijun closed his eyes and silently prayed, asking the ancestors to leave in peace, and that he would inherit their courage and perseverance...

He felt the wind blowing the burnt paper ashes onto his forehead, as if someone had gently stroked his head.

......

"Spirit Master, please stay for a meal?" After the ceremony was over, Pan Longxiang politely said. Because Kong Xuan was watching beside him, he didn't dare to call him the more playful "Snake Shaman".

Lei Yong, not understanding, warmly invited, "You must stay and have a meal. Last time we were busy going to the hospital. Later, I heard you were also busy with your studies, so I waited until today to treat you to a meal. You must give me this opportunity."

"Alright, it's no trouble. Let's just eat at Uncle Pan's inn." Tan Xiao also knew that if they didn't eat together, Lei Yong would always remember it. Besides, at this time, were they going to go hungry instead of eating? He turned his head and asked Kong Xuan, "Is that okay?"

Pan Longxiang couldn't help but eavesdrop a little, very curious about how Tan Xiao got along with this great god of his family.

He saw that Kong Xuan had an expressionless face, not looking very happy. After all, Tan Xiao had originally agreed to return home early today and cook him spicy hot pot, which Kong Xuan had not eaten before.

"We didn't get a chance to try the Yao ethnic specialty dishes at Qiyun Ridge before, like pickled meat, dried beef, and such..." Tan Xiao said, "They also have free-range mountain chickens here. I'll buy a couple before we leave and make you some soup when we get back. I learned a new recipe."

Kong Xuan melted like ice and snow, "Okay."

Pan Longxiang: "..."

Returning to Pan Jianjun's inn, the group sat in the main hall. Pan Jianjun went to cook while the others sat at the table, snacking and chatting, with the TV on in the background.

"Oh, so you two are both from Nanchu No. 1 Middle School, classmates?" Lei Yong chatted with Tan Xiao. Learning that he and Kong Xuan were classmates, he already figured Kong Xuan was some sort of assistant to Tan Xiao. It wasn't strange for shamans to have a few assistants or disciples, and developing them from classmates seemed to make sense.

"Not bad, No. 1 Middle is a good school. With your skills, you'll do well no matter what you do in the future."

Pan Longxiang listened in a daze, unable to tell if what Tan Xiao said was true or false...

Who would take their family's deity to school?

"...According to our station's news, due to the continued drop in water levels during the dry season at Yunmeng Marsh, parts of the riverbed have been exposed. Recently, some locals discovered large mysterious patterns on the dry riverbeds, sparking heated discussion."

Huh?

The lively TV news suddenly grabbed everyone's attention with that one line. Gradually, it quieted down. Large mysterious patterns?

Looking up, the TV was showing footage taken by a reporter using a drone. On the dry riverbed of Yunmeng Marsh, there were actually many mounds of earth. These mounds were of various shapes but all appeared within a square frame, covering an extremely wide area, hundreds of meters long and wide, like a giant seal, with some smaller squares scattered to the side.

It was difficult to believe that such a sight could form naturally.

"In a short time, this image has already attracted a lot of attention. Some speculate it's the remains of an ancient civilization, others think it's an alien civilization. Some netizens even joked, could it be the Dragon King's QR code?" The anchor read out the netizens' comments with a laugh.

"Hey, this really does look a bit like a giant QR code!" Other guests at the inn in the main hall also started discussing.

"It's made to look like those crop circles. What do you call this, Yunmeng Crop Circles?"

"Hmm, it could be the remains of some large-scale ancient sacrificial ritual. Haven't they always said there are dragons in Yunmeng Marsh?"

This saying was more or less heard by the Chu people. The stories of the dragon clan in Yunmeng Marsh could be traced back a long time, like in "Liu Yi Delivers a Letter" where the scholar Liu Yi delivers a message for the dragon maiden.

"That's right. Hey, do you know that last century, they even fished out several tons of iron lumps from there? It's said the Japanese wanted to haul them back but couldn't move them. Those iron lumps were supposedly used to suppress the flood dragons." Someone said with a mysterious look.

Pan Longxiang couldn't help but interject, "They're not iron lumps, they're called swallow-tailed iron shackles."

He once had a book from the Pai sect priests. The Pai craftsmen would travel along the Nanxi River downstream all the way to the docks at Yunmeng Marsh to trade. The book cover even clearly stated: Eight hundred li of Yunmeng, grace reaching Chu, thousands of years of the true sect, the great Dao connects to heaven.

Tan Xiao nodded. He had also read through the book and saw the relevant records.

It's said that flood dragons fear iron and like swallows. The purpose of these swallow-tailed iron shackles was similar to the iron turtles in the Nanxi River, a type of suppressive object.

It's just that since Yunmeng Marsh was much larger than the Nanxi River, the iron shackles were made bigger and in greater numbers.

"Oh, the elders really know more. Anyway, that's the gist. The old folks used to say there were flood dragons inside. This pattern must have some connection." A certain guest at the inn stated with certainty, "When there were floods, flood dragon corpses would wash ashore there. I have a relative who lives there. He said many old people have seen it!"

The story of the swallow-tailed iron shackles might be too ancient, but the incident of people seeing flood dragon remains washed out by floods in Yunmeng Marsh at the end of last century was a well-known urban legend to practically every household.

As soon as the legends of Yunmeng Marsh were brought up, most of the Chu people present chattered on endlessly.

Some younger ones argued, "It must be some large underwater creature."

"Large underwater creature? Isn't that still a dragon."

"...It could also be a water monster!"

Looking at the exceptionally regular patterns, Tan Xiao also grew suspicious. Could this really be some unnatural remains? After all, Yunmeng Marsh was indeed no simple matter. A beast at Houjiang's level could only barely escape. Wasn't that because competition was fierce in Yunmeng Marsh?

He looked at Kong Xuan. Kong Xuan glanced over and said, "Doesn't look like runes, but they could be encrypted."

The news anchor was heard saying after a video segment, "But actually, according to the reporter's investigation, this so-called mysterious pattern is neither some ancient civilization nor alien civilization. This area is relatively close to the center of Yunmeng Marsh, so it's impossible for a civilization to exist there.

"In fact, these are short dams built by fishermen in the past to catch fish. They can only be seen during the extremely rare times when the water level is at its lowest. They are man-made, machinery was used, so they are very neat and smooth..."

Built by fishermen? There hasn't been such a dry period for a long time, so they were never seen before? Tan Xiao was still digesting this answer when he heard the anchor say:

"...The above is the professional explanation our reporter obtained after consulting ancient history and folklore experts from the Chu Province Bureau 404."

Tan Xiao: "..."

Good job, you...

At this time, Pan Jianjun brought out the dishes all at once. Tan Xiao exchanged a speechless glance with Pan Longxiang and said, "Forget it, let's eat."

Seeing Tan Xiao's exasperation, Kong Xuan thought it was amusing, like a Q-style character he saw on his phone. He sat closer and said, "Why don't you come with me to investigate?"

"Why should I go? I haven't finished my winter break homework." Tan Xiao said dejectedly, "Besides, that news just now hurt my feelings. I almost believed it." The Bureau 404 really made a good show, a whole "Approaching Science". This also showed that no matter what the unusual phenomenon at the bottom of the marsh represented, the Bureau 404 was already handling it.

Kong Xuan muttered, "It's the holidays, and you only know homework, homework..."

Tan Xiao directly moved his chair away. "I don't care. I want to finish my homework before doing side jobs..."

Before he could finish, Kong Xuan directly grabbed the chair and pulled it towards himself, easily moving Tan Xiao along with the chair back.

Tan Xiao: "..."

Kong Xuan leaned his elbow on the back of his chair, "Do you know what Yunmeng means in ancient Chu language? There is work to be found in Yunmeng Marsh too!"

"I know. In ancient Chu language, 'Marsh' means cloudy dream, so Yunmeng already carries the meaning of cloudy marshes. Later, another character was added, and it became Yunmeng Marsh," Tan Xiao said.

"Hey, tell me, what's the ranking of Yunmeng Marsh among China's freshwater lakes? And what climate type does it belong to?"

Kong Xuan: "..."

Forget it, I don't really want to go to Yunmeng Marsh anymore.