Chapter 37: Ghost Beach
Is this the altar I set up after all?! Where are the gods in our family?
Panlongxiang was completely confused, and his expression was about to crack. The strange god on the altar angrily said to Tan Xiao: "You didn't go home after school...what are you doing here!" Although he was angry, he actually had a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he couldn't reveal it. After all, he was recognized as soon as he showed up and even before he spoke!
Panlongxiang: “…”
Ah, which god does this little snake witch worship? He is so willful and he has to control him even if he doesn't go home after school.
Panlongxiang has been in this business for most of his life and has never encountered such a thing. He even wanted to teach this little snake witch a few tricks, but he never thought that this guy is good at summoning spirits... Let's put it this way, he and most of his colleagues he has met are performing rituals to summon spirits, but this guy is being summoned by the gods!
But what else could he do? Of course he had to make way and let them perform on the altar...
Looking again, the deity had walked up to Tan Xiao. He looked at him with dissatisfaction and continued to ask, "Why are you staying here?" He was forced to wait in the car for a long time before he learned from Lin Yang that Tan Xiao was not going back. He thought of an excuse to get off the car and come here.
Tan Xiao was also embarrassed, and pointed at Panlongxiang and said, "I'm taking an extra class, Master, what can I do for you?"
He learned Daogong's methods and moves.
Fortunately, it is not about taking over other people’s altars and suzerain gods.
Kong Xuan said unhappily, "It's okay. So what if it's okay? Can't I just look for it if it's okay?"
Tan Xiao: "..."
Panlongxiang: “…”
The old Taoist fell into deep thought, touching upon knowledge that even this old man did not understand. Whose sect leader is so... sticky.
"I'm still busy. I'll come back to you after the Taoist priest finishes work." Tan Xiao thought that there was still a victim waiting to be found, so he should ask Peacock God to give up the altar first. What's the point of occupying it? I didn't invite you...
"I don't deserve it." Panlongxiang didn't want to continue chanting witch words. The altar had been robbed! Is there any place for Qiyun to stand?
And no matter how he looked at it, he never thought that Tan Chunying could have such a child!
Forget it...
"Little snake wizard, why didn't you tell me earlier about this spiritual response? Now that the spirit has descended, why not send it to the west?"
Did this mean that he had to take action? Tan Xiao was caught off guard: "I... I haven't prepared anything. Daogong, aren't you going to do it yourself?"
"I'm afraid of angering the ancestor gods if I come here alone! The less angry the ancestor gods, the better. I will have to serve the ancestor gods in a few years, and they will make things difficult for me then." Panlongxiang's words made Tan Xiao burst out laughing. He thought to himself that he would not break the rules if he could. "If I had known you had this skill earlier..."
Although it doesn't mean that I won't go up to get the robes, having a capable partner will at least reduce the psychological pressure.
Tan Xiao thought about it and agreed. They said that they would take risks and ask the ancestors to forgive their sins afterwards. Since the Peacock God had come, he would not be hypocritical. "Okay, since I don't understand the Yao family's magic, I'm afraid that there are taboos. Please give me some advice."
Panlongxiang spread his hands and said, "Please." If it were usual, Tan Xiao would still be wearing a school uniform and had no magic weapon, then everything he did would feel wrong. But now that the gods have descended, naturally nothing else matters.
The boy in school uniform picked up the photo of his son provided by Lei Yong, with his birth date written on the back. He walked to the altar, picked up a stack of paper money, pinched it, and divided it into four parts. He lit the incense and candles and chanted: "Disciple Tan Xiao prays on behalf of the believer Lei Yong. Lei Yong's son Lei Zijun disappeared in Xiaqi Village, Qiyunling today and ran into the mountains. I pray that the divine light will shine on him and clear his whereabouts. Witness him with the wind!"
He threw the four stacks of paper money into the four corners respectively.
Kong Xuan followed the voice and walked to Tan Xiao's side. His aura enveloped Tan Xiao, and he held his hand and made a gesture, "Everything is illuminated."
The paper money was completely burned, and the ashes in the southwest corner were blown into long and thin lines, winding like a river without wind.
"Thank you, great god." Tan Xiao felt that Peacock God's hand had not been put down for a long time. After waiting for a while, he let go. Perhaps because it was a soul body, it was effortless.
He walked to the ashes and felt quite surprised, because the ashes should have shown the traces of Lei Yong's son, the missing young man Lei Zijun. They said he ran into the mountains, but the southwest corner was in the opposite direction to the mountains.
And the paper ash is shaped like a river...
Tan Xiao interpreted hesitantly: "Does this mean that it's not on the mountain, but downstream, under the water?"
"Not good, not good, he must have jumped into the river and flowed down." Panlong Xiang also took a look and could tell at a glance that the river was indeed the same as the Nanxi River. "No wonder we can't find anyone in the mountains. It's dangerous."
He carefully brushed the ashes away and murmured, "There is still hope. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Panlongxiang called out three times in a row, and Tan Xiao was startled. He jumped up and said, "Shall we hurry up?" He was about to go out in a hurry, but was stopped by Panlongxiang, who pointed at the Peacock God.
Oh, and we have to send off the gods.
Tan Xiao looked at Peacock with pity.
Kong Xuan looked at the altar and found that there was nothing he liked to eat. They were all raw and tasted terrible. "Hmph, I'll wait for you to come back."
"Thank you, great god." Tan Xiao clasped his hands together and bowed to him like a little hamster, then ran out.
"Thank you very much." Panlong Xiang also bowed randomly. He still didn't know who this person was. This altar was so chaotic, so he didn't need to worry about so many details.
As soon as the two of them came out, Lei Yong, who was waiting anxiously outside, stood up and said, "Master, the people on the mountain just called and said they still haven't found him. Have you figured out where he is?"
"It's not on the mountain!" Panlong Xiang said firmly, "Now hurry up and prepare the car and rubber boat, let's go to the lower reaches to look for it."
"What?" Lei Yong exclaimed. He originally thought that Old Man Pan not only knew some metaphysical tricks, but was also a herbalist and was familiar with the mountain roads. Now Old Man Pan directly said that he was not on the mountain.
Pan Longxiang said it so confidently. If Lei Zijun was really at the foot of the mountain, and in the river, then they would never be able to find him even if they tried to find him on the mountain. And when he thought of the river, his mind was buzzing, and he could only think of the worst possible outcome. "Did my son drown? Father Pan, do you want me to fish him out?!"
"Uncle, you're not dead yet, go drive the car quickly!" Tan Xiao shook Lei Yong and woke him up.
Lei Yong weighed the pros and cons in his mind. He had found dozens of people on the mountain but still couldn't find them... so he decided to follow Pan Lao Di to check. He quickly borrowed a light truck. Since they had rafting activities here, rubber boats were not difficult to find. They quickly loaded the necessary things into the truck, and several people got in the truck, including Pan Jianjun who came to help.
Now everyone in the village has known about Lei Zijun's disappearance, and many of them are helping to look for him, but they are all heading up the mountain, while they are the only ones heading downstream.
It was already dusk, and the truck was driving on the country road, as if slowly driving into the darkening night.
Tan Xiao and Pan Longxiang were both sitting in the back of the truck. Pan Longxiang checked the rubber boat, then took out a yellowed handwritten booklet and turned on the flashlight. He saw a few words written on the cover: "Eight hundred miles of Yunmeng, the grace spread to Chu, thousands of years of true teaching, the great way leads to heaven."
"This was passed down to my father by an old Paijiao master in Qiyunling when there was no successor. Then it was passed down to me. I have read it myself, but I don't have many opportunities to use it." Panlongxiang laughed twice. "I used to think that this old Paijiao master didn't have any disciples. Later, my own children didn't take over the altar. Alas, it's a good thing, but also a bad thing."
Tan Xiao didn't know what to say. The situation was different when he was born, but he knew that if Tan Chunying had not sought transformation back then, the Tan family might have been in a similar situation.
Panlongxiang asked Tan Xiao to light a flashlight for him and draw a spell on the inside of the rubber boat. Then he stood up and looked at the road with the little light from the sky. When he reached a place similar to the ashes on the paper, he knocked on the car window and said, "Stop!"
Lei Yong braked and opened the door. This place was quite far from the village. It was hard to imagine how Lei Zijun ran to the deep mountains and was washed down again. Looking around, the river was dark and there was no human figure. He was worried. While watching the water flow, he was thinking about the deep mountains at night. It was really tormenting. He couldn't help but shouting: "Zijun!"
There were echoes, but no response.
Lei Yong had long since moved to the city to live permanently, so Pan Jianjun was more familiar with the place. He hissed and said, "A little further down, you'll reach Shangmaotan!"
Behind Shangmaotan, there is Xiamaotan, which is a famous dangerous beach in the local area. It becomes more dangerous during the dry season. The rafting projects in Qiyunling exclude this section of the river.
Even if you are rafting and there are safety guards watching, you will still get injured if the boat capsizes, especially in an area like this.
Wen Tianxiang mentioned the word "Huangkong Beach" when writing about it because it was easy for boats to capsize when passing through the dangerous beach, and the rocks and undercurrents could be life-threatening.
Panlongxiang took a look and pushed the rubber boat down directly. "It has a rope. We only need to search in this section."
He wasn't trying to kill himself, so he wouldn't rush into dangerous waters in the middle of the night.
Several people pulled the rubber boat to the riverside, went back to get a bag of rice, put it in the rubber boat, and also put bowls, incense, life jackets, ropes, etc. A rope held the rubber boat, and the other end was tied to the truck, ready for action.
"You two stay on the shore, the little snake wizard and I will go down." said Panlong Xiang.
"Dad Pan, I should go down with you. The child is still young." Lei Yong objected subconsciously. Tan Xiao was still wearing the school uniform of No. 1 Middle School and was not very old. How could he feel at ease?
"You asked him to stay on the shore, what should I do? Who can I rely on?" Panlong Xiang said unhappily. He went to the little snake wizard to save his life.
Lei Yong: “…Ah?”
Pan Jianjun pushed him and said, "Stop talking. Just do as the victim asks. Don't have your own opinion."
Lei Yong had no choice but to shut up and watched Pan Longxiang and Tan Xiao step into the rubber boat. The Nanxi River became much wider here, and the two of them rowed the rubber boat diagonally into the river.
"The magic of Paijiao is mainly based on talismans and water." Panlongxiang said to Tan Xiao. When they are on the water, the magic of Yao family witch religion is not as effective as that of Paijiao.
Tan Xiao listened carefully and looked around. Even though he had good eyesight, he couldn't see any figure on the river bank, so he looked towards the river.
Panlong Xiang also started to wonder: "With such a rushing water, where are the people?"
The water here is much faster, and there is a sharp turn down to Shangmaotan. However, the instructions given by the Peacock God clearly indicate that there is no movement here, and it only shows the bottom of the water. Could it be stuck on a reef?
When the rubber boat reached the middle of the river, Panlong Xiang picked up an old porcelain bowl, scooped up some river water and poured it into the center, calling Lei Zijun's name: "Lei Zijun - come ashore -"
He shouted nine times, but there was no response.
You can’t shout anymore at this point, nine is the extreme number.
"Ya ...
In the darkness, a deep and powerful singing voice could be heard faintly from somewhere.
Lei Yong and Pan Jianjun on the shore looked at each other and trembled all over. They immediately recognized that this was clearly the sound of a raft launching!
There is no one rafting anymore, but everyone who rides in Yunling has heard the rafting songs. People of their age, even if they have not heard the old rafting workers sing it, they have heard it in folk songs.
The horn sounded at this time and place, making Lei Yong dizzy.
Chu is rich in water and minerals, which gave rise to two professions with the highest risk factors: miners and raft workers. As the old saying goes, coal miners are buried alive, while raft workers are dead but not buried.
The Nanxi River is now frequented by tourists, but countless rowers have lost their lives on reefs, water monsters, or dangerous rapids, leaving countless innocent souls behind.
So Lei Zijun was haunted by a water ghost transformed by a worker?
Everyone knows that a water ghost looking for a substitute is as vicious as a hanged ghost looking for a substitute!
Tan Xiao also heard it. He and Panlong Xiang looked at each other vaguely under the light of the flashlight, but neither spoke. The iron turtle of the Pai Sect was meant to subdue the water ghost?
"Master, doesn't the Pai Sect have the technique of floating bodies and driving away corpses?" Tan Xiao could only ignore the singing and asked, "Can you change it so that Lei Zijun floats up?"
Tan Xiao himself would change the spell from time to time. For him, it was just like flexibly applying formulas when solving a problem. Sometimes he would combine them with others.
Panlongxiang hesitated for a moment, then continued to scoop water and asked Tan Xiao to light three incense sticks. He used the three incense sticks to draw talismans on the water surface and silently chanted a spell: "Rise!"
I saw that the water surface in front of me was indeed rolling, and a black shadow that looked like a human figure was moving.
Lei Yong had been watching from the shore, and he was not afraid at all when he saw this, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "Zijun, is that you?"
Panlongxiang made a gesture.
Pan Jianjun quickly said, "Keep shouting, call him by his name."
By this time, it was already dark. The flashlight shone on the fluttering black shadows on the water's surface. Lei Yong's hoarse voice could be heard from far away. His tone was still trembling, and the last sentence was broken.
The two rowed the boat closer and threw down a swimming ring tied with a rope: "Lei Zijun? Lei Zijun?"
The dark shadow at the bottom of the water suddenly flipped upwards and clung to the swimming ring, and a strong smell of water came.
Tan Xiao's heart skipped a beat as he looked straight at a pale face. It was the Lei Zijun in the photo. His eyes were covered with gray shadows, which slid from time to time like a lizard. Looking further down, he saw a skin covered with reddish-brown stripes, which was wet and slippery, a bit like the body of a giant salamander, with short human-like limbs.
The half-man, half-fish creature grinned at Tan Xiao, then suddenly sank into the water again, still holding the rope in his hand, as if he wanted to capsize the rubber boat.
It’s not a water ghost, what is this!
"Hold on tight!" Panlongxiang saw it and shouted. He quickly filled a bowl with water and placed a stick of incense in the bowl. At the moment he did all this, the rubber boat shook violently and was about to capsize, but it miraculously stabilized as the incense stick stood firm.
Tan Xiao held onto the rubber boat, thinking for a moment, and instead of summoning Kong Xuan, he reached into the water and chanted: "Clear and spiritual, there are soldiers below, slay the water monsters, and bring peace to humanity!"
With his other hand, he punctured the rice bag that Panlong Xiang had placed in the rubber boat and threw down a few handfuls of rice.
All things have spirits. Tan Xiao saw clearly that it was an evil spirit under the water. Thinking of the shouting sound just now, he suddenly had an inspiration and decided to recite the summoning spell to try.
"Dad!" Pan Jianjun on the shore was so scared when he saw this that he pulled the rope back. He couldn't see Lei Zijun's face clearly from a distance, he only saw a figure that was almost two meters long and looked like a human but not a human emerging.
Lei Yong was so anxious that he jumped up and down. What was going on?
Pan Jianjun and his team pulled the rope back, but the rope was taut, as if it encountered great resistance.
Pan Longxiang and Tan Xiao also noticed it. The rubber boat had been pulled to that side by Pan Jianjun and Lei Yong, but it stopped again, as if a heavy weight had fallen on it.
Is it "Lei Zijun"?
Panlong Xiang looked under the water vigilantly.
Pan Jianjun asked Lei Yong to work with him, and they tried their best to make the boat move a little, but it immediately stopped again. At this moment, the monster with a human head and a fish body that was nearly two meters long, jumped high in front of the rubber boat, and suddenly reached upwards with its sharp claws!
Obviously, if the ship had not been stationary, it would have been hit by it.
Pan Jianjun was so scared that his hands went numb.
The human-headed fish floated in place and looked at them twice. Suddenly, it bypassed the rubber boat, swam downstream, and bit the rope in one bite. The rubber boat, which had lost its power, drifted rapidly downwards!
Further down is Shangmaotan, which is full of reefs. It is an almost U-shaped turn, and countless ships have capsized here.
Pan Jianjun and Lei Yong shouted while running downstream. If they wanted to get up safely in this place, they had to rely on being pulled up by the beach. Even if they asked the trackers to pull together, there were only two of them and the rope was broken, so they were completely helpless.
The rubber boat rushed down at high speed, the water was surging, and it was extremely dangerous.
The human-headed fish swam in front, rushing left and right, as if avoiding something.
Tan Xiao only felt that after the violent vibration, the rubber boat was like being pushed by something, quickly moving towards the human-headed fish, bypassing the reefs and undercurrents in the night, and approaching the beach steadily.
He had a feeling.
In the darkness, whether it was from the sky, underwater, or in the distance, a faint call was heard again, "Ya-ya-ya-zhi-hey, it's time to go to the beach--"
Tan Xiao immediately confirmed his guess that the people he had invited were none other than the workers who had died in the Nanxi River. They were water ghosts, but they did not come to take his life, but to help those who had been haunted by the water monster like him.
It was also at this moment that Tan Xiao and Panlong Xiang knew why the Peacock God pointed the way here. The water route was changeable, and it was not because he wanted to wait here for something to happen, nor was it because Lei Zijun was stuck on the reef, but because there were water ghosts blocking him along the way, and finally the human-headed fish was intercepted here!
They died at the bottom of the water, their souls trapped there, day after day, year after year, their souls would slowly become smaller and wear away, and compared to the power of the fish monster with a human head, they were insignificant. But when they gathered together, they became one, and in the sound of the call, just like in life, they exerted their strength in unison to the rhythm, and they were able to stop the fish with a human head.
Tan Xiao suddenly recalled the beach song he had sung when he was a child when Tan Chunying talked about the origins of rafting and rafting: "Give away your blood and flesh to feed the fish, break your bones and row the boat again."
The people underwater were shouting slogans, and the wizard on the water was making golden knife gestures.
Panlongxiang shouted, "Everyone, hook it!"
“Oh—ha!”
With the cooperation of upper and lower parts, the nearly two-meter-long human-head fish was pushed to the surface of the water.
"The five-colored divine light combines to suppress the disaster!" Tan Xiao and his crew's rubber boat was right next to them. With one slash of the knife, Lei Zijun's body was separated from the fish body, and he was grabbed and pulled up by the Panlong Elephant!
The small rubber boat was supported by an invisible force, broke through the rapids and anchored steadily on the beach.
Panlong Xiang held Lei Zijun's body tightly throughout the whole process. After it stopped, it couldn't help but exhale, and lowered its head to make sure that he was still breathing, then it felt relieved.
The separated human-headed fish was also washed up on the beach. Its head still resembled a human head, but it was rougher and weirder, with reddish-brown stripes and no hair. It had gills on its face, and its limbs were like those of a human, but they were shorter and thicker.
Tan Xiao used a flashlight to shine on the upside-down human-headed fish. The monstrous appearance made people feel uncomfortable. "What the hell is this..."
Is it the water monster from the teacher's town in the front row? How to record it? He looked at the half-man, half-fish creature and suspected it was the legendary Lingyu, but Lingyu lives in the sea.
Never mind for the moment. Tan Xiao threw out a rope, tied up the human-headed fish, and dragged it over. Then he scattered paper money onto the river, and it looked like yellow butterflies flying in the night sky.
A mature wizard should not make any promises to unnatural creatures, but at this moment Tan Xiao couldn't help but say: "In the future... after I finish the final exam, I will come to pay tribute to you all!"
