Chapter 46: Xiong Kui Persuaded
Oh, too serious, still discussing the topic, let's eat first, look at this, my specialty, winter bamboo shoots and bacon." Pan Jianjun was moved to see Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan still studying, thinking that it would be great if our children were so serious in studying.
Pan Jianjun's family smokes all their own bacon. Anything can be made into bacon in Qiyunling, but Pan Jianjun especially likes to use pork hind legs or pork belly. His family's secret recipe is to add some orange peel to the smoked ingredients, which makes it extra fragrant.
He uses a large iron pan at home, high heat, lard, and stir-fry. He stir-fries sliced bacon and winter bamboo shoots together, which gives off a rich aroma and is shiny and oily. The green garlic brings a touch of freshness. The ingredients are simple, but the guests who have tasted his homestay say it is fragrant and delicious.
"Subtropical monsoon climate!" Tan Xiao sighed, then filled a bowl of rice for Kong Xuan and taught him how to score points. "Even if you don't know which one it is, you can guess one out of one, two, three, four, five."
Kong Xuan nodded listlessly and took a big bite.
Panlongxiang: “…”
Shocking, too shocking, is he still asleep? Why did he see the little snake witch tutoring the master god? No, it should be said, why did he see a poor student god...!
Tan Xiao tasted the bacon, and found that the fresh and tender winter bamboo shoots were the perfect match for the meat, absorbing the salty aroma of the bacon while also neutralizing its greasy taste. Moreover, Pan Jianjun used wild bamboo shoots from the high mountains of Qiyunling, which were the most delicious.
"Bring some bamboo shoots home later." Pan Jianjun saw that Tan Xiao liked it, so he greeted her.
Panlong Xiang also said with some pride: "I picked all the bamboo shoots. I tell you, most people can't find so many."
Don’t forget that Panlong Xiang is good at making Yao medicine and is more familiar with mountains, dense forests and plants than others.
"Thank you, Taoist!" Tan Xiao was overjoyed.
Tan Xiao and Kong Xuan had a delicious meal at Qiyunling, and Lei Yong happened to be going back to the city, so he sent them home. Tan Xiao returned with a lot of local specialties.
On the way, Lei Yong recalled the previous news and knew that Tan Xiao was a capable person. He curiously asked: "Spirit Master, there were so many people in the B&B that I couldn't ask. Do you think there are dragons in the world?"
Dragon? This question made Tan Xiao think for a few seconds.
Although he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, but looking at Kong Xuan beside him, it must have happened.
"Do you think the mysterious image in Yunmengze is related to the dragon?" Tan Xiao asked back.
"Didn't the experts say that it was caught by fishing?" Lei Yong said with a smile, "I heard those rumors about dragons from the chatter of the big brothers in the B&B, and I thought it was true. Every few years someone said that they had photographed a dragon, with pictures and videos. Maybe dragons are really some kind of high-dimensional creatures?"
Tan Xiao said conservatively: "That makes sense."
Seeing that his point of view seemed to be recognized, Lei Yong said with great joy: "Right, I think this dragon may be an amphibious creature that can live on the seabed and fly into the sky."
"Well, then it should be amphibious. It can fly into the sky and dive into the sea, so it must be able to walk on land. How should it be classified, a vertebrate? Sauropoda?" Tan Xiao also followed his words and started to fantasize. He even looked at Kong Xuan, probably wanting to ask Kong Xuan if he knew, but Kong Xuan simply turned his head away.
Lei Yong: “…”
Lei Yong went to talk to his spiritualist classmate about this, mainly because he thought that his spiritualist classmate was someone from the world of metaphysics, but he didn't expect that Tan Xiao would start talking about biology. He had forgotten all about this stuff many years after graduation, and his interest suddenly dropped a lot.
"Well, I think dragons exist, but it's hard to say about phoenixes." Lei Yong pondered.
"Um?"
Kong Xuan also turned his head back.
Lei Yong was unaware: "Think about it, many people have seen dragons. When has anyone seen a phoenix? So the phoenix may really just be an imagination of the ancients based on birds such as pheasants and peacocks."
Kong Xuan: “…”
Tan Xiao couldn't help but laughed, you are drawing your mother in front of your son, right?
"What do you think?" Lei Yong said.
Tan Xiao paused for a moment. "What do you mean? A peacock? I think peacocks are pretty. They really do look like phoenixes."
"Ahem." Kong Xuan shifted his body and said under Lei Yong's puzzled gaze, "I feel a little carsick."
…
After returning, Tan Xiao paid a little attention to it - in fact, it was not that he took the initiative to pay attention to it, but the news about the mysterious runes of Yunmengze has been very hot recently, especially in cities and provinces surrounding Yunmengze like Nanchu, because Yunmengze is more familiar to them.
Even though the official rumor has been refuted, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of netizens, and many people went to the vicinity to live broadcast. There are even some conspiracy theorists who say that there must be an underwater tomb with rare treasures hidden underneath.
It was also at this time that the final exam results came out.
The head teacher first sent a link to the mini program that announced the results in the parents' group. Tan Chunying was browsing Taomi and took a look at the notification. Then she said to Tan Xiao, "It seems the results are out. Click on it and see how you did."
Tan Chunying didn't need to worry about Tan Xiao's self-discipline and academic performance, so she was quite relieved.
Kong Xuan, who was standing by, froze when he heard these words. He was wearing a gorgeous robe, a golden crown on his head, feathers in his hair, and was sitting at the table. He looked very dignified, but there was a barely perceptible sense of embarrassment between his brows.
This was also new to Kong Xuan.
Not to mention him, even Yuan Feng, after seeing this, would have sighed that this was the first time since the creation of the world - note, when Yuan Feng said the creation of the world, he was referring to the Hongmeng era after the creation of the world.
After Tan Xiao clicked on the link, he first saw his own results, which were not surprising, and then scrolled down to find Kong Xuan's. After finding it, he raised his hand to show Kong Xuan, carefully watching his expression.
Kong Xuan was still sitting upright. He glanced over and saw the 72 points under the physics column was really eye-catching.
He studied hard for a whole semester and reviewed day and night, but he still didn't reach the goal agreed upon with Tan Xiao. He even gave a big banquet to the whole class and didn't even want to eat a vegetable!
When Tan Xiao saw Kong Xuan, his eyes dimmed like a candle that had been blown out. He turned away and muttered something hatefully like "evildoer, robbery ash"...
It was the first time that Tan Xiao saw the confident Kong Xuan suffer such a heavy blow... Oh, wait, that's not right. The first heavy blow seemed to have been inflicted by Tan Xiao himself, but he didn't know it at that time.
Besides, we didn’t have a deep friendship at that time.
Tan Xiao wanted to comfort Kong Xuan. In his opinion, Kong Xuan was already very good. He had no foundation at all to be able to progress to this level. Moreover, for Kong Xuan, physics was the thing that went against his worldview.
"Tan Xiao, go buy me a bottle of light soy sauce." Tan Chunying poked her head out of the kitchen and shouted.
"Oh, okay." Tan Xiao put down his phone, stood up and went to get some soy sauce.
When checking out at the supermarket, Tan Xiao saw that there were , including peacocks. The most exquisite and rare one was a green peacock.
Tan Xiao had an idea and walked to the claw machine. He scanned a 10-yuan coin, held the soy sauce bottle in one hand and the joystick with the other. After aiming, he pressed hard. The mechanical gripper grabbed a velvet green peacock doll the size of a palm and put it into the exit.
Tan Xiao almost didn't react for a moment. This, he caught it on the first try?
Picking up the doll, Tan Xiao thought it might be God's will. He might as well take the doll back to comfort Kong Xuan. Tan Xiao really had no experience in comforting friends of the same age. It just happened that Kong Xuan was unhappy, and he happened to see Kong Peacock's doll, so it was natural for him to give it to him.
After returning, Tan Xiao gave the soy sauce to Tan Chunying first, and Kong Xuan was no longer on the first floor. Tan Xiao went up to the second floor and saw Kong Xuan sitting at the desk, looking a little depressed.
"Master?" Tan Xiao called him.
Kong Xuan turned his head slowly. It seemed that the gloomy mood was just Tan Xiao's illusion. He said energetically, "What are you doing? Is it time to eat?"
"...No." Tan Xiao took out the doll behind him, "Look at this."
Kong Xuan stared at the cute peacock, his eyes flickered, his lips opened and closed, and after a long while he said in disbelief and even grief: "I was only three points short, and you want to stab a villain to curse me?!"
Tan Xiao’s expression froze on his face: “???”
Kong Xuan was still sitting at the desk, looking up at Tan Xiao with disbelief.
Tan Xiao: “…………”
I am so...
Tan Xiao held up the doll and almost vomited blood, "Have you never seen people grab dolls and give them away?"
"Isn't it some kind of simulated witchcraft?" Kong Xuan asked suspiciously. He had seen claw machines a few times, but when he saw this kind of thing, his first thought was of course witchcraft. And because he didn't achieve his goal, he didn't think it would be a statue for himself. Anyone who scored over 70 points in the exam could get a golden body... Oh, this is a plush body.
"I didn't prick it with a needle. I put it in my pocket when I came back." Tan Xiao thought that Kong Xuan might be a little dark-minded. "What kind of curse? Even if you think it's childish?"
Kong Xuan's mind turned over and over, it turned out that this was not a curse. Not only was it not a curse, but it was a gift. Kong Xuan also remembered that he had seen others being very happy when catching dolls.
Kong Xuan stared at the doll, which still had a few hairs on its head: "...Is there a gift for me even though I didn't get 75 points?"
Maybe because Kong Xuan was sitting, and looking up at the angle, he actually looked a bit pitiful, like some kind of animal, maybe a bird that was locked outside and pecking at the door.
Tan Xiao looked at his long, silky hair and couldn't help but rub it. "Because you've done really well! You got so many marks in a semester without any foundation, and the subject is totally against your common sense."
"Give it to me then." Kong Xuan ignored Tan Xiao's offensive action and snatched the doll away. He looked at it carefully for a few seconds, and then said with a disdainful look, "Physics, nothing more than that."
Tan Xiao: “…………”
…
Kong Xuan originally wanted to do his winter vacation homework slowly, but Tan Xiao asked him to do it in advance. There was nothing he could do. Tan Xiao didn't go out, and Kong Xuan had nowhere to go at the desk. He was bored and had no choice but to do his homework.
It was actually not fun to do it, but without Tan Xiao saying anything, he sat down at the desk by himself.
"bass."
Tan Xiao’s WeChat rang.
The sender was Duan Yang, [Spiritual Master, will you attend the consultation this afternoon? ]
What consultation? Tan Xiao didn't understand what he was talking about and sent a question mark.
Duan Yang: [Isn't Director Mu in a coma? Invite all responsible units to send people for consultation.]
Tan Xiao: [! ]
Tan Xiao: [What happened to Sister Mu? ]
Normally, Mu Fei directly liaises with Tan Xiao in the 404 Office. Now that Mu Fei is in trouble, there is some chaos over there, and no one informed Tan Xiao at the first time.
Duan Yang said: [What else can I do? I’m in this line of work and got injured at work [poor]]
[Is it at the Laomei Temple? Then I'll go check it out this afternoon, is that ok?] Tan Xiao asked. He and Mu Fei were good friends, so he would definitely go check it out if something happened.
Apart from anything else, Mu Fei has lost her soul, and one of Chu Wu's special skills is to summon souls.
Mu Fei was on a mission every day and had been injured many times, but this was the first time she was so seriously injured. Tan Xiao prepared all his gear and rode his bicycle directly to the Laomei Temple, the office of the 404 Nanchu Office, in the afternoon. Before leaving, he asked Kong Xuan to stay at home.
"Master, please correct the wrong question and take a rest. If Sister Mu needs anything, I will contact you remotely." Tan Xiao did not bring Kong Xuan with him because he heard that there would be a consultation in the afternoon. What if Kong Xuan went there and cut off everyone else's signals? It seemed as if Tan Xiao was provoking him.
If no one else can help, he can go to Kong Xuan.
Tan Xiao was very well-planned. After he left, Kong Xuan rested with his eyes blankly. With his sensitive hearing, he clearly heard Tan Chunying downstairs turn on the TV. What documentary was playing in it:
"Domestication refers to the process of bringing an animal from the wild into domestication..."
“…”
For some reason, Kong Xuan felt that it was very philosophical.
Tan Xiao parked his bicycle outside the Laomei Temple. There were still many tourists at that time. He walked inside in the direction he remembered. There was an area in the Laomei Temple where tourists were not allowed to enter, which was also the office location of the 404 Office. However, there was someone guarding the door at that time, and this person did not know Tan Xiao.
Tan Xiao wanted to explain his identity, but the gatekeeper bowed and nodded. He looked back and saw an old wizard holding a cat quietly appeared. He nodded to the gatekeeper and pointed at Tan Xiao. The gatekeeper immediately understood and stepped aside, saying to Tan Xiao, "Please."
Tan Xiao might not recognize him just by looking at the person, but when the old wizard was holding an orange cat, Tan Xiao immediately remembered that this should be the cat-loving elder whom he had met once when he came to Jiaohoujiang before.
"Hello, Elder." Tan Xiao quickly greeted.
Elder Baoping also politely extended his hand, motioning Tan Xiao to go with him. Turning to the office area that Tan Xiao had been to before, there was a lounge, where religious people, including Duan Yang, had gathered in groups of three or four.
"Spiritual Master!" Duan Yang took two steps forward excitedly.
Tan Xiao stared at him for two seconds, because there were many people here with the same hairstyle as him... However, Tan Xiao didn't know many religious people, and he quickly recognized that it was Duan Yang from his attitude.
Tan Xiao also noticed that after Duan Yang called him, many people at the scene secretly looked at him.
——After Duan Yang and Tan Xiao worked together, he naturally told people he knew about the spiritual responses of this young spiritual master. However, everyone felt that it was a bit difficult to completely believe that Tan Chunying's son had such ability based on just a few words.
Tan Xiao rarely shows up in their joint management group, which makes everyone even more curious.
In fact, the mages are simply too busy with work and don’t watch enough videos. Otherwise, with the current speed of information, it won’t take long for the platform to push all the videos of Tan Xiao’s blatant behavior to them...
"Senior Brother Duan Yang, um, where is Sister Mu? How is she now?" Tan Xiao asked.
"We have just finished the consultation and now we know something more important." Duan Yang said with emotion.
Tan Xiao listened nervously and seriously.
Duan Yang said: "Director Mu fainted during work hours. It turns out that she can only be officially treated as a work-related injury after she wakes up. Currently, the medical expenses are paid by the company..."
Tan Xiao: "..."
Tan Xiao: “Ah?”
"What?" Duan Yang was even more confused than him. "I fell to the ground when I was unconscious and my body was covered in blood. Fortunately, I didn't have any fractures or concussion. Director Mu can't pay for the medical expenses himself."
"...Yes, yes." Tan Xiao thought to himself that he still lacked practical experience.
Elder Baoping came over, patted Tan Xiao on the shoulder, and opened the door of the compartment. Inside was the unconscious Mu Fei, lying on a bed that was probably brought in from the hospital. He was connected to several instruments, including a blood oximeter, and there was a little junior sister taking care of him.
Although they both lost their souls, unlike Tan Chunying who was born with one of her three souls and seven spirits missing, Mu Fei must have at least run away halfway...
Elder Baoping pointed to the table next to her. Tan Xiao took a look and saw a lot of draft papers and divination tools such as sticks on it. It seemed that before she fainted, she was trying to use various methods such as the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams to try to divine something, and she also got some numbers and hexagrams.
But because the manuscript paper was messy and the words kept changing, Tan Xiao had no way of telling their order.
Does this have anything to do with Mu Fei’s coma?
Tan Xiao stared at the hexagrams and frowned, "Elder, may I ask what ?"
Elder Baoping held the cat in his arms and said nothing.
What does this mean? Don't you know? Tan Xiao suddenly felt strange. Speaking of which... since he met Elder Baoping, he has been silent.
Duan Yang, who was standing beside him, answered for her: "The elder practices the Zhiyu Gate, so she can't talk. We've also looked at the cases she investigated recently, and we didn't find any connection."
"Oh oh." Xiu kept silent. This was the first time Tan Xiao had seen this, but his mind was still on Mu Fei. "So what do we say now? Let's summon the spirit together?"
"Our office has already joined forces to recruit Mu Fei's soul. It seems that Mu Fei's soul is trapped in an unknown place and cannot be recruited. I don't know whether it is a natural disaster or a man-made disaster." Liu Qingquan floated in from outside the door, holding a painting in his hand. The creature living in the painting is a male viper. "I even found the male viper, hoping to see something through its yin and yang form, but it was useless."
If it were simple, there would not be a need for a "consultation".
When Xionggui saw Tan Xiao, he suddenly jumped out of the painting, his head almost touching the roof, and leaned over to stare at him. This rash action frightened all the wizards around him, and they all stood up and looked at Xionggui warily.
It's no joke when a creature like the male viper suddenly goes crazy!
Although he should have been shackled, everyone's first reaction was still worry. However, the reason why they were just on guard was because Xionggui was facing Tan Xiao directly and did not take action immediately.
Everyone was very curious about Tan Xiao and wanted to see how capable Tan Chunying's son was. Was it really like the rumors said, that he had even subdued the viper?
It’s been a long time since I saw the great witch of Chu. How will Tan Xiao proceed?
No drums, no arrows, relying on witch dance? Hand-to-hand combat?
But the male snake only raised its head for two seconds, then quickly lowered it, hissed, and said in a bubbling voice: "I watched the evening news recently and saw that a heavenly book appeared at the bottom of Yunmeng Lake. Haven't you heard that 'if the phoenix doesn't come and the river doesn't produce the map, I'm done'? Now the phoenix has arrived and the heavenly book has appeared. This is a sign of a wise and enlightened emperor. It is clear that the one who will preside over the Chu sacrifices must be Lingzi!"
Everyone: “…………???”
The people present were all veteran mages, and they understood Xiong Hu's words very well. They were petrified after understanding them. They were scared to death. Not only did they not wait for Tan Xiao to make a move, but they also saw Xiong Hu flattering him...
No, you are exaggerating. What did the spiritualist do to me?
——What Confucius meant by this sentence is that if the phoenix doesn’t come and the River Map doesn’t appear, I’m done for, as I was born at the wrong time.
When the phoenix cried in Mount Qishan, King Wen of Zhou became the ruler of the world, and Fuxi was the leader, a river map appeared in the Yellow River. These were all auspicious signs of the emergence of a wise monarch.
Xionggui thought, now that Peacock, the son of Yuanfeng, has also come, and the mysterious rune at the bottom of Yunmeng Lake has also appeared, could this not be a sign that they have predicted the boss correctly? ?
"...Stop talking!" Tan Xiao was a little embarrassed by everyone's stares. Most of the mages didn't know about Xionggui's character. Seeing their horrified faces, they might think that he was Xionggui, but it was Xionggui himself who was a part-time worker. "Okay, I believe you really did study a lot for the history class later."
Tan Xiao's eyes were wandering, and he accidentally glanced at Mu Fei's draft papers on the table. He recalled Xiong Gui's words and suddenly caught some inspiration... and was interrupted by Liu Qingquan's words.
Liu Qingquan said leisurely: "Teacher Xiong still hasn't learned it thoroughly enough. It would be better for him to just yell 'The Rise of the Great Chu, Talk about King Xiao' in the middle of the night."
Tan Xiao: "..."
