"Oh my, you're so serious, still discussing the questions. Let's eat first, look at this, my specialty dish, winter bamboo shoots with cured meat." Seeing Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan still studying so diligently, Pan Jianjun couldn't help but feel touched, thinking if only his own kids were this serious about their studies.

The cured meat at the Pan family is all homemade. In Qiyun Ridge, anything can be made into a cured meat, but Pan Jianjun especially likes to use pork hind leg or pork belly with three layers. The secret recipe of his family is to add some tangerine peel to the smoking ingredients, which makes it exceptionally fragrant.

He used the big iron pot at home, high heat, lard, stir-frying the sliced cured meat and winter bamboo shoots together, releasing a rich aroma, glistening with oil. The green onions bring a hint of freshness. The ingredients are simple, but guests who have tried it at his inn all say it's deliciously fragrant and tastes so good.

"It's the subtropical monsoon climate!" Tan Xiao sighed, then scooped a bowl of rice for Kong Xuan, teaching him a guessing method, "Even if you don't know which number it is, just guess one out of one, two, three, four, five."

Kong Xuan nodded weakly and took a big bite.

Pan Longxiang: "......"

Shocking, too shocking. Is he not awake? Why would he see the little snake shaman tutoring the family god? No, it should be said, why would he see a god who is a poor student...!

Tan Xiao took a bite of the cured meat. The fresh and crisp winter bamboo shoots pair best with meat, absorbing the salty fragrance while also balancing out its oiliness. Moreover, Pan Jianjun used wild bamboo shoots from the high mountains of Qiyun Ridge, which are the most delicious.

"Remember to bring some bamboo shoots home later." Seeing that Tan Xiao liked it, Pan Jianjun called out.

Pan Longxiang also said with some pride, "I went to pick all the bamboo shoots. Let me tell you, ordinary people can't find this many."

Don't forget that Pan Longxiang is skilled in making Yao medicine and is more familiar with high mountain forests and plants than others.

"Thank you, Dao Gong!" Tan Xiao was overjoyed.

Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan had a delicious meal at Qiyun Ridge. Just in time, Lei Yong was heading back to the city and gave them a ride home. Tan Xiao returned fully loaded with a bunch of local specialties.

On the way, Lei Yong remembered the recent news. Knowing Tan Xiao was capable, he curiously inquired, "Spirit Master classmate, there were too many people at the inn earlier so I didn't ask, but do you think there are dragons in this world?"

Dragons? This question made Tan Xiao ponder for a few seconds.

Although he had never witnessed one with his own eyes, looking at Kong Xuan beside him, there must still be some, right?

"Do you think the mysterious images at Yunmeng Marsh are related to dragons?" Tan Xiao asked in return.

"Didn't the experts say it was made by people fishing?" Lei Yong said with a smile, "I was just listening to those big brothers chatting at the inn, talking about those rumors related to dragons. I figured it might really be the case. Every few years, someone claims to have photographed a dragon, with pictures and videos. Maybe dragons are really some kind of higher-dimensional creatures?"

Tan Xiao said conservatively, "Makes sense."

Seeing that his viewpoint seemed to be recognized, Lei Yong said excitedly, "Right? I think this dragon may be a kind of amphibious creature that can live at the bottom of the sea and also fly into the sky."

"Hey, in that case, it should be called triphibian, right? It can fly into the sky, dive into the sea, and surely walk on land too. How should it be classified, vertebrates? Saurian?" Tan Xiao also started imagining along with his words and looked at Kong Xuan, possibly wanting to ask if Kong Xuan knew. Kong Xuan directly turned his head away.

Lei Yong: "......"

The main reason Lei Yong chatted with the shaman classmate about this was that he thought the shaman was from the mystical world. But he didn't expect Tan Xiao to start talking about biological content as soon as he opened his mouth. He had graduated for so many years and had long forgotten all of this. His interest diminished quite a bit.

"Anyway, I think dragons exist. As for phoenixes, it's hard to say." Lei Yong pondered.

"Huh?"

Kong Xuan also turned his head back at once.

Lei Yong was completely unaware, "Think about it, dragons have been witnessed by many people. When has anyone ever witnessed a phoenix? So the phoenix may really just be an ancient people's imagination based on birds like pheasants and peacocks."

Kong Xuan: "......"

Tan Xiao couldn't help but laugh. Depicting the mom based on the son, huh?

"What do you think?" Lei Yong asked.

Tan Xiao paused for a moment, "What do I think? About peacocks? I think peacocks look pretty good and do resemble phoenixes."

"Ahem." Kong Xuan shifted his body and said under Lei Yong's puzzled gaze, "Feeling a bit car sick."

......

After returning, Tan Xiao paid a little more attention - actually it wasn't that he actively paid attention, but the news about the mysterious symbols at Yunmeng Marsh had been hyped up so much recently, especially in cities surrounding Yunmeng Marsh like Nanchu Province, where Yunmeng Marsh was more familiar to them.

Despite official refutation messages coming out, it did not hinder the enthusiasm of netizens. Quite a few people even ran to the vicinity to livestream. There were even some conspiracy theorists who inexplicably claimed there must be an underwater ancient tomb below, hiding rare treasures.

It was also at this time that the final exam results came out.

The head teacher first posted the link to the mini-program announcing the grades in the parent group chat. Tan Chunying, who was washing rice, glanced at the message notification and said to Tan Xiao, "Looks like the grades are out. Click and check yourself, see how you did."

Tan Xiao's self-discipline in studying and academic performance were not something Tan Chunying needed to worry about, so she was quite at ease.

Kong Xuan on the side, upon hearing these words, stiffened. He was wearing splendid robes, a golden crown on his head, with feathered hair ornaments, sitting upright at the table with an extraordinary bearing. But between his brows, there was a hint of undetectable unease.

This was a novelty even for Kong Xuan.

Not to mention him, even the Primordial Phoenix, if she saw this, would have to sigh that this was the first time since the beginning of the world - note that when the Primordial Phoenix says the beginning of the world, it really means that primordial era after the separation of heaven and earth.

After clicking on the link, Tan Xiao first saw his own grades, which were as expected. Then he scrolled down to find Kong Xuan's. After finding it, he raised his hand to show Kong Xuan, carefully observing his expression.

Kong Xuan was still sitting upright, glancing over. The 72 points under the physics column was simply dazzling.

He had studied hard for a semester and reviewed day and night for so long, yet still failed to reach the goal he had agreed upon with Tan Xiao. He didn't even want to eat a single vegetable now!

Tan Xiao saw Kong Xuan's eyes dim like a blown-out candle, turning his face and muttering resentfully about "demons" and "karmic ashes"...

Tan Xiao had never seen the usually confident Kong Xuan suffer such a heavy blow... Oh wait, no, the first heavy blow seemed to be dealt by Tan Xiao himself, only at that time he didn't know it.

Besides, they weren't that close back then.

Tan Xiao wanted to comfort Kong Xuan. In his view, Kong Xuan had already done very well, making such progress with no foundation. Moreover, for Kong Xuan, physics was the subject that violated his worldview.

"Tan Xiao, go buy me a bottle of soy sauce," Tan Chunying called out, poking her head from the kitchen.

"Oh, okay." Tan Xiao put down his phone and got up to get the soy sauce first.

When checking out at the supermarket, Tan Xiao noticed that the claw machine here actually had various birds, including a peacock, realistically made, and quite rare - it was a green peacock.

On a whim, Tan Xiao walked over to the claw machine, scanned 10 yuan, held the soy sauce bottle in one hand and the joystick in the other. After taking aim, he forcefully hit the button. The mechanical claw grabbed a palm-sized plush green peacock toy and dropped it into the chute.

For a moment, Tan Xiao almost couldn't believe it - he got it on the first try?

Picking up the toy, Tan Xiao thought this must be fate. He would bring the toy back to cheer up Kong Xuan. Tan Xiao really didn't have much experience comforting peers, but Kong Xuan happened to be unhappy, and he happened to see a peacock toy, so bringing it to him seemed like the natural thing to do.

After returning, Tan Xiao first gave the soy sauce to Tan Chunying. Kong Xuan was no longer on the first floor. Tan Xiao went upstairs and saw Kong Xuan sitting at the desk, looking a bit depressed.

"Master?" Tan Xiao called out to him.

Kong Xuan slowly turned his head. That depressed look seemed to be Tan Xiao's illusion again. He said energetically, "What is it, time to eat?"

"...No." Tan Xiao took out the toy from behind his back. "Look at this."

Kong Xuan stared at the cute version of the peacock, his eyes flashing. His lips moved, and after a long while, he said in disbelief and even indignation, "I only missed by three points, and you want to curse me with a voodoo doll?!"

Tan Xiao's expression froze on his face: "???"

And Kong Xuan was still sitting at the desk, looking up at Tan Xiao with an incredulous gaze.

Tan Xiao: "............"

I freaking...

Tan Xiao held up the toy, almost spitting blood. "Haven't you seen people catching dolls as gifts?"

"It's not some kind of voodoo simulation?" Kong Xuan asked suspiciously. He had seen claw machines a few times, but seeing something like this, his first thought was naturally witchcraft.

And since he didn't reach the goal, he didn't think it would be a reward. Who gets a fake body for scoring in the seventies... Oh, this is a plush body.

"I didn't stick any needles in it either, kept it safe in my pocket the whole way back." Tan Xiao thought Kong Xuan's mind was a bit dark. "What curse, even if you think it's childish?"

Kong Xuan's mind turned. So this wasn't a curse, not only was it not a curse, it was a gift. And Kong Xuan remembered seeing other people catching dolls and being very happy.

Kong Xuan stared at the toy, which had a few cowlicks on its head: "...Giving a gift even though I didn't score seventy-five points?"

Maybe because Kong Xuan was sitting and looking up, the angle made him look a bit pitiful, like some kind of animal, possibly a bird pecking at the door after being locked out.

Tan Xiao looked at his silky smooth long hair and couldn't help reaching out to ruffle it. "Because the Great God has already performed very well! Scoring so much in one semester with no foundation, and in a subject completely contrary to your common sense."

"Then give it to me." Kong Xuan didn't bother with Tan Xiao's presumptuous action and snatched the toy over. After examining it for a few moments, he said haughtily, "Physics, nothing special."

Tan Xiao: "............"