Chapter 38 Roaring River
The fluttering yellow paper fell onto the water, swirling with the current, as if in response to Tan Xiao.
Panlong Xiang felt it was extremely thrilling and heaved a long sigh of relief. When he heard what Tan Xiao said, he couldn't help laughing. His previous performance almost made him forget that Tan Xiao came here for extracurricular practice.
When Tan Xiao heard Panlongxiang laugh, he thought he had said something wrong. "What's wrong, Daogong? Is it too late? Will everyone have any objections?"
"How could that be?" Panlong Xiang patted Tan Xiao's shoulder and looked toward the water, as if he saw those rafting figures in his gradually fading memories again. "We Chinese people love to encourage learning. If you said something else, it would be fine. But are you busy preparing for the exam? They would be so happy!"
"Dad! Dad! Little classmates, are you okay?" At this time, Lei Yong and Pan Jianjun also ran to the beach, and Pan Jianjun's voice became hoarse from shouting.
Lei Yong stepped forward with shaking hands, looked at the huge fish on the beach that didn't know whether it was dead or alive, then looked at his son whose face was pale but whose chest was still rising and falling slightly, and said with tears in his eyes: "Thank you, thank you, thank you very much."
At this moment, he didn't know what words to use to express his gratitude, only the most primitive two words. It was obvious to the naked eye that the two were in danger of their lives after going down, and were almost dragged into the dangerous shoal by the water monster.
And their judgment was so accurate, Lei Zijun was really not on the mountain, but under the water!
If Lei Yong hadn't come with them, Lei Zijun would have been dead.
"This was predicted by the little snake wizard. You should thank him." After such an exercise, the old man was tired. Panlongxiang said tiredly, "Also, your son needs to be sent to the hospital. Tell the people on the mountain not to look for him anymore."
Lei Yong tightly grasped Tan Xiao's hand, his throat choked, unable to express himself. He had wanted to replace Tan Xiao before, and Panlongxiang's words were not exaggerated, but before he said it, he didn't dare to believe that this young man had such ability.
"It's okay. In fact, I have to thank..." Tan Xiao looked at the water surface, "The seniors from Qiyunling, it's their trumpets that helped us win."
He seemed to understand more and more that Mu Fei was tired from working overtime every day, but he did not change his career.
Lei Yong and his companions were on the shore, and could not see the fight clearly, let alone the struggle under the water. He just remembered the faint sound of the rafting call he had heard before, and then looked at the huge fish, and understood it all at once. At this moment, he lost all his fear of seeing a ghost, and bowed solemnly to the river. He didn't say anything, but he had already decided in his heart that he would not only pay tribute to the deceased in the future, but also make more contributions to his hometown.
"Please call quickly." Tan Xiao said softly. After all, Lei Yong's son was still unconscious.
"Okay, okay." Lei Yong quickly called his family, and several people carried Lei Zijun to the back of the truck. They did not take away the life raft for the time being, and used the extra space to put down the water monster tied with ropes. They were not afraid of this, as Tan Xiao and Panlong Xiang were also guarding the truck at the back.
The two of them still sat together, but they looked much more embarrassed.
"When we get back, I'm going to get a jar to put it in. As for the iron turtle, we have to choose another auspicious day to put it back to the bottom of the river." Panlongxiang talked about his plan, and Tan Xiao knew what the jar he was talking about was.
It is said that the Yao family master collects ghosts and evil spirits in jars and pots, and buries them after collecting. If the mouth is broken, the restriction is broken, and the opponent is usually not completely killed. Some people think that it is impossible to do it, but Panlongxiang believes that this is the virtue of the ancestor.
Tan Xiao nodded, "After it's installed, can I take it back to register it?" This thing obviously needs to be registered. "Daogong, I actually have a cooperation with an organization called 404 Office."
He told them about the "Non-Human Management Work Responsibility List" and recommended it to Panlong Xiang. The 404 Office was short of staff now, and in addition to those mainstream religions, it also began to absorb folk wizards like them. If Panlong Xiang's robes had not been released yet, he would have wanted to recommend Panlong Xiang to help.
Pan Longxiang had vaguely heard of this office, but he usually stayed in the countryside and didn't "mingle in circles". "Okay, you can take it away." This was originally something that Tan Xiao had made great efforts for.
Panlongxiang thought for a moment, then took out another object, "And this, you can take it too."
Tan Xiao took a look and saw that what he took out was actually the Paijiao magic manuscript. He did not take it immediately, "Daogong?"
"Don't worry, yours is also indispensable for the recipe. I asked my son to copy it down." Pan Longxiang stuffed it into his hand and said, "You are the spiritual master of the Tan family, so you cannot take my altar, but you can take this. I don't think it will be an insult to the old magician."
Although we have known each other for a short time, and today we are working together, we can see the sincerity in times of trouble. Panlongxiang did not specifically look for the owner of this book, but he came up with this idea after meeting him and felt that it was extremely suitable.
Tan Xiao hesitated for only a moment, then said, "Thank you, I will study hard."
"Keep improving every day!" Panlongxiang continued with a meaningful smile.
…
“Uh…Pfft…”
A groaning sound came from the side, but it did not come from Lei Zijun's mouth, but from the big fish. The front of the fish was chopped and its belly was turned upside down. It was probably seriously injured and woke up screaming in pain. The sound was hoarse and weird.
Tan Xiao remembered something and took out his cell phone to take a picture of it like Mu Fei did, in case he needed to register. He remembered that there were quite a lot of procedures for 404 application.
The water monster scratched the air with its short limbs and looked at Tan Xiao with hatred and fear.
Tan Xiao took the opportunity to record and asked, "Can you speak? Do you have a name? What is it?"
As a defeated opponent, it did not hesitate for long and replied in a rough voice: "Roaring River Dragon."
Tan Xiao looked at him speechlessly, "...What race?"
Water Monster: "Mermaid."
Tan Xiao: "Do you believe me if I hit you?"
The water monster immediately dodged to the side, fearing him very much, and then said angrily: "I look like a human but I have four limbs, how can I not be beautiful?"
It feels that it can imitate humans very well, so why should it hit him?
"Ask again, and think for yourself." Tan Xiao threatened. As expected, evil spirits don't like to tell the truth. He has experienced it several times and has honed his negotiation skills. "What's the name?"
Water Monster: "Roaring River."
Tan Xiao: "What race?"
Hou Jiang: "Fish."
Tan Xiao's eyes clearly asked, what kind of fish can be like you? He added, "I was originally a black carp at the entrance of Yunmeng Lake. I swallowed human bones and became a monster. My body is all red. I came upstream to Qiyun Ridge, but I was trapped here by the Pai Sect magician for decades."
"Is it true this time? My cooperative unit will investigate. If you lie, you're done for." Tan Xiao thought it was a newly achieved hybrid monster. It could be said to be half monster and half spirit. It was still worth remembering.
Hmm, should this monster be given a new name? Blood carp? Human bone carp?
Panlongxiang felt something was wrong after hearing this. "People tend to go to higher places. You are at the water inlet. Why don't you go to Yunmengze, but come to Qiyunling? The dragon boats we burn here will also be sent to Yunmengze."
The burning of dragon boats mentioned in Panlongxiang is a ritual in Chu. Chu, with its well-developed water system, has the tradition of welcoming gods with dragon boats, and also of sending away various ghosts and plague gods through the well-developed waterways. Burning dragon boats is such a symbol. Generally speaking, wizards will also praise the goodness of the place they are sending to in their witch words, in order to trick these ghosts and monsters into leaving voluntarily.
For a while, because everyone knew that the economy of the former Dongchu, Wu and Yue was developed, they often pretended to send you to Wu and Yue...
Yunmengze Wharf is where merchants gather and is also a popular place for seeing each other off.
Hou Jiang said sullenly, "It's too difficult to survive in Yunmengze."
Tan Xiao understood immediately, "Just like workers fleeing first-tier cities, the pressure is too great, right?"
Panlongxiang: “… ” It seemed like he understood a little.
Yunmeng Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes and the place where many water systems in Chu converge and flow into the Yangtze River. In ancient times, Yunmeng Lake was also the secondary capital of Chu State. The Lord of the Clouds in "Nine Songs" is also said to be the water god of Yunmeng Lake.
It is certainly not easy to survive in such an important place. Not only are there many powerful local monsters, but there are also many mages coming and going. He fled from Yunmengze just to escape the pressure.
But I didn't expect that the natives in the Nanchu mountain area were also very fierce, and we were defeated!
So the first thing it did after escaping was to make a big fuss in the local area to vent its anger. Since the Paijiao magician was long gone, it just made trouble for whoever it caught, and then tried to leave by water.
Now he was brought to justice again. Hou Jiang, who had been at large for a short while, felt as dead as a fish and stared at the sky with a pair of dead fish eyes.
Tan Xiao took a look and felt that its face was too ugly to look at closely and its hands looked scary, so he wrapped it in the bag on the truck.
At this time, the car had arrived at the village entrance. Pan Jianjun jumped out from the front. The three of them worked together to get the fish down. Lei Yong also quickly carried the child on his back and changed cars to rush to the hospital. "Thank you again in the future. See you later!"
Standing at the entrance of the village, I saw the iron turtle still quietly staying in the same place, and no one dared to touch it.
"Let's go, carry this guy back and put it in a can." Panlongxiang rubbed his hands and was about to lift Houjiang together. After they had lifted him up for a while, they heard a loud shout coming from the entrance of the village which had been quiet.
"Are you carrying fish?!"
Tan Xiao was startled, and when he looked over, he saw several people standing up in the darkness and running towards him. He said enthusiastically, "Look, why does it feel so big?"
Upon closer inspection, I saw that the anglers who had been sitting there during the day were still fishing at night.
Seven or eight anglers rushed forward and surrounded Tan Xiao. When they got closer, they could see that the objects wrapped in their bags were bulging and of astonishing length. They all almost shouted until their voices broke.
"Such a big fish?!"
"Who fished it! Where did you fish it?!"
"What the hell is this? Oh my god! This is awesome!"
Pan Jianjun was standing closest to them and was confused by the questions. He looked at his father and Tan Xiao nervously, wondering what to do.
Panlongxiang pointed at Tan Xiao calmly and said, "He fished for silver carp and bighead carp."
Several people looked at Tan Xiao with envy and jealousy. How could he catch such a big fish at such a young age? Are you trying to defy fate? The largest silver carp caught so far weighs only about 100 jin. Judging from the size of this one, it might also weigh more than 100 jin.
"What do you use to make the nest?"
"Is it true? Open it and take a look."
Tan Xiao was embarrassed for a moment, and seeing that they were not going to give in, he kicked Hou Jiang hard, and then slowly opened his mouth. This water monster was quite smart, and really put its hands and feet back, and its image became much more normal. In the night, it was just an ordinary big fish.
The anglers were excited before, but after seeing the fish, they became silent, and their eyes were red...
"Little bro, do you mind taking a picture?"
"Can you weigh it?"
Several people surrounded Hou Jiang, taking pictures, weighing him, and touching him. They also asked Tan Xiao to take a photo with them.
Tan Xiao took a photo with them, feeling both amused and helpless, before carrying the fish away under their longing gazes.
"Go back and take some mugwort to the homestay they are staying in." Panlongxiang whispered as he turned around.
Pan Jianjun nodded. These people had touched the roaring river, and the evil spirits were very unlucky. He gave them some mugwort to drive away the evil, otherwise they would be unlucky for a while.
After returning home, Panlongxiang took out the jar and chanted an incantation. Like most evil spirits, his body turned into gas over time, and the huge body of a human-headed fish crawled into the jar. He tied the mouth of the jar with five-colored thread and then handed it to Tan Xiao.
After checking the two documents again, Pan Jianjun was asked to send Tan Xiao back.
…
On the way, Tan Xiao sent a message to Mu Fei, informing her of what had happened today and whether Hou Jiang needed to be entered first.
Mu Fei sent back a few laughing and crying emojis, [Yes, brother, I'm busy here. Can you please send the water monster to our office? I'll ask my colleagues to verify it.]
It's just a trip, Tan Xiao immediately said: "Sure." He also asked, "What are you busy with? Do you need help?"
Mu Fei waited for a while before saying, "It's okay, it's not needed for now!" They have an internal consensus in the 404 Office that it is not necessary to use this little killer. But she is still in school.
[By the way, let’s take a look at that water monster. Have you taken a picture of it?] Mu Fei was also a little curious when she heard that it was half fish.
Tan Xiao opened the camera and sent her a few photos, accidentally sending her the photo he had taken with the angler.
Mu Fei was fine at first, still wondering if this could be used as an internal document, but when she scrolled to the last picture, she almost burst out laughing! The picture showed Tan Xiao and a few tanned people wearing jackets, with a slightly modified water monster in front of them. Tan Xiao smiled shyly, and those people gave him a thumbs up, obviously unable to imagine what kind of fierce and vengeful monster they were facing...
Mu Fei almost spit out her coffee again, [What are you doing...! ]
Tan Xiao: [Uh uh, they saw it, there was nothing I could do, I had to say it was the fish I caught.]
Mu Fei wanted to say something, but she was speechless and didn't know what to say...
Being able to act openly and without revealing the truth is also a person's ability!
Mu Fei: [Strong] [Holding fist]
Tan Xiao: [laughing and crying]
Tan Xiao talked to Pan Jianjun and asked him to send him to the location sent by Mu Fei, which was the office of 404 in Nanchu, located in a religious place called Laomei Temple. Tan Xiao had also seen their people arguing with Duan Yang in the group.
Although this is a religious place, it is located in a busy city, and vegetarian meals are said to be very popular. It was closed at this time. The red walls and green tiles of the temple, with old plum trees, are a good place to find peace in the bustling city.
When Tan Xiao arrived, he saw that the office was quite busy and the person in charge of communicating information was not there. A young wizard took the jar and said, "Wait a moment, I'll ask the elder."
The young wizard ran to the wall, where a wizard with white eyebrows was sweeping the floor. At his feet, an orange cat fluttered at the falling leaves from time to time. The old wizard chuckled twice and touched the orange cat's back twice. He seemed very full of life, like a real cat-slave elder.
The young wizard said a few words to him, and when the old wizard nodded, he placed the jar on the ground next to him. The cat circled around it twice, as if it could smell the fishy smell from the jar.
The old wizard looked at him from afar, exchanged glances with Tan Xiao, and nodded.
Tan Xiao also quickly waved politely.
The young wizard came back and said, "Sorry for bothering you. Just leave the things here." He looked at Tan Xiao curiously. He might have never seen a non-staff member of 404 still wearing a high school uniform. He was curious about who this person was in the group.
"Thank you, I won't bother you anymore." Tan Xiao said goodbye politely. It was already very late and he was really in a hurry to go back.
When Tan Xiao got home, it was almost eleven o'clock. Tan Chunying was so sleepy that she was still waiting for him in the living room. "You're finally back. Are you hungry? I fried some glutinous rice cakes for you."
Don’t mention it, I was really hungry. Tan Xiao didn’t even have time to eat at night. I just had a quick meal at Pan Jianjun’s place. Fortunately, tomorrow is the weekend.
Tan Xiao handed the order to Tan Chunying. His eyes lit up instantly when he saw her. He went into the kitchen, looked at the still hot glutinous rice cake, and opened the refrigerator.
Tan Chunying looked puzzled.
Tan Xiao: “…not enough to eat.” He came back so late, so he must give some comfort to the great god Kong Xuan.
Tan Chunying shook her head at his appetite, "Amazing."
According to the legend in Chu State, glutinous rice cake was made to commemorate Wu Zixu, a great general of Chu State, but Peacock probably doesn't know who he was.
Ciba is nothing more than steaming and mashing. The key is to mix the dough with hot water, so that the ciba is chewy. The ciba made by Tan Xiao's family is a southern Chu specialty. Stuffing is added inside, so the original soft, elastic, sweet and sticky taste is added with a salty and fragrant taste, and the flavors are integrated without conflict.
Tan Xiao fried the glutinous rice cake over low heat until the surface of the snow-white glutinous rice cake expanded, gradually became full and turned brown, forming an attractive granular texture. At a glance, you can tell that its taste must be crispy on the outside and not dry, and soft and chewy on the inside. Poke it and it will make a crisp sound, which means it is cooked just right, and sprinkle some soybean powder on it.
After bringing the glutinous rice cake back to the room, Tan Xiao hit it seven times. The Peacock God appeared and looked at the glutinous rice cake coldly, as if he was not satisfied at all. He crossed his arms and said, "You are back so late."
Tan Xiao opened his mouth and said, "The Taoist priest from Qiyunling is so jealous of me. He said that my sect master is too good to me."
"He has some vision." Kong Xuan put down his hand proudly, picked up the glutinous rice cake and took a bite.
The crispy outer skin coated with sweet soybean powder was bitten open, revealing an extremely soft and glutinous interior, a texture that had not yet been invented in ancient times. Kong Xuan felt as if... he remembered the feeling of lying on Tan Xiao's legs.
It’s a wonderful feeling. Although one is the taste and the other is the touch, they are inexplicably connected together.
Tan Xiao also took a piece and ate it. The rich aroma burst in his mouth, crispy and sticky at the same time, which was very similar to the explosive personality of the Peacock God.
Tan Xiao was eating and thinking, and couldn't help open a workbook.
Kong Xuan was enjoying his meal, daydreaming about nothing, but when he saw that he actually wanted to do some exercises, his expression twisted a little.
Why would he do such a thing to spoil the fun when others are eating? Isn't he tortured enough by school questions? !
Tan Xiao saw Kong Que looking at his questions and misunderstood for a moment. He covered his homework and said cautiously: "I won't bother you with the exam... I will review by myself."
Kong Xuan: “…”
snort.
Kong Xuan felt itchy in his heart.
I wanted to compete and see when Tan Xiao would recognize me, but I was also worried about how long it would take. My resentment was almost becoming a physical thing, and I felt like I was about to burst out at any moment! !
Especially, especially...
I really want a mobile phone!
Although he could also try, it would be best if the things used by the suzerain god were delivered by a proxy wizard. It was an honor for the proxy wizard! He thought the one Tan Xiao used was pretty good...
Kong Xuan secretly looked at Tan Xiao while crunching his teeth on glutinous rice cake. What bothered him more than physics was his spiritual witch.
