Enshrinement as a God

"What do you mean there are no boats?"

Xi Xichang, who had booked an inn and had immediately ordered a meal, pressed the waiter with a sharp voice.

"There are always fishing boats or small ferry boats. But the kind of regular boat that the customer is looking for will not arrive for about ten days."

"What a disaster..."

Even if they were to go back by land now, there was no guarantee that it would be faster than going up the river by a regular boat.

The waiter left, and Xi Xichang fell into thought.

"Since it has come to this, how about we relieve our travel fatigue here and take the boat?"

It was natural that the waterway was faster than the land route. If they took a boat, there was also the advantage that it would be difficult to track them.

Moreover, since Jiang Ziya had never been on a big boat before, he really wanted to take a boat on this occasion.

Xi Xichang seemed to be worried about staying in one place for too long.

As Xi Xichang was unable to make a decision easily, a hoarse voice was heard from a table not far from them.

"Listen to the man. Since you've come here, if you watch the Water God Festival, time will pass in the blink of an eye."

Xi Xichang stealthily put her hand on the scabbard that was on the table.

"Eavesdropping is not a good habit, old man."

"Hohoho. I happened to hear it unintentionally."

The old man, who was wearing a stained robe and a bamboo hat, took off his bamboo hat with a short laugh.

Looking at the fishing rod and the net bag placed next to him, he looked like a village fisherman who made a living by fishing.

"What is the Water God Festival?"

Although the other person looked like an ordinary fisherman, the two, who could not yet be completely relieved, still did not let go of their suspicion and asked.

The old man continued to speak while tidying up his bamboo hat and his surroundings.

"It's a ritual to appease the water gods and ghosts of the river. It started yesterday and will continue for nine days. During that period, various competitions and Buddhist services will be held, so it will be fun to watch."

Come to think of it, he remembered seeing small lanterns hanging at the entrance of the village.

He had thought that there were unusually many people for the size of the village, and it seemed that there was such a reason.

"You also seem to have a hobby of fishing. How about participating in the Fish Dragon Festival?"

"The Fish Dragon Festival?"

As Jiang Ziya showed interest, Xi Xichang pressed her wrinkled forehead and calmly opened her mouth.

"We are not here to play."

"Living too tensely rather consumes mental energy. Since we've decided to wait for the regular boat, let's live with leisure."

"That decision has not yet been...!"

Jiang Ziya cut off Xi Xichang's words and pushed the food that was starting to be placed on the table towards Xi Xichang.

"Now, now, you're on edge because you're hungry. Isn't this a feast after a long time?"

Xi Xichang, who was about to say a word in a fit of anger, felt the gaze of the old man who was staring at them and held back her anger.

"Old man, please tell me more about that Fish Dragon Festival."

Jiang Ziya, now completely turning his back on Xi Xichang, was openly talking with the old man who was sitting at the table opposite her.

He even ordered a bowl of makgeolli and handed it to the old man himself.

"The Fish Dragon Festival is the most prestigious and grand fishing competition held in the world. It is a place of competition that anyone who enjoys fishing or has a knack for it would want to challenge."

"It's truly a martial arts tournament for fishermen!"

Jiang Ziya answered with an excited voice, as if he were excited.

As Jiang Ziya showed interest, the old man also continued his explanation with an excited voice.

"The big fish caught by the winner of the Fish Dragon Festival becomes a tribute to the dragon god of the Water God Festival, and the winner is called the 'Fishing Master' and is said to be the best among the fishermen of the world."

"Oh!"

"It doesn't make sense for a person who carries such a fine fishing rod like you to just pass by such a competition."

The old man's pupils briefly rested on the Tonglin that Jiang Ziya had placed, passing over Jiang Ziya, but he quickly rolled his pupils and looked at Jiang Ziya again.

"How long are you going to talk about that?"

"I've heard most of it."

Jiang Ziya, at Xi Xichang's voice, turned his body and sat facing her again.

Xi Xichang, who was eating the xiaolongbao by cutting it with her chopsticks with a frown, did not seem to be in a very good mood.

"Let's be clear about one thing. I'm not waiting for the regular boat just because you said so."

"That's a matter of course."

Thump!

Xi Xichang put down her chopsticks and got up from her seat.

"I'm tired, so I'll go in first."

"Yes, then I'll talk with the old man here a little more."

As Jiang Ziya, as if he had been waiting, took the plates of food and moved to the old man's table, Xi Xichang clenched her fists and her shoulders trembled for a moment.

"I'm not going to cheer for that competition or whatever."

"You're not going to eat this, are you?"

Seeing Jiang Ziya sweeping up the remaining xiaolongbao and taking the Tonglin, Xi Xichang, with an angry expression, finally turned her feet.

"She seems to have a strong personality. How did you end up traveling together?"

"Well, it's fate. Please have some of these too."

At the suddenly abundant table, the old man politely picked up his chopsticks and tasted the food.

"Is it not a deep relationship?"

"We are traveling together because we have the same purpose."

"Hmm... then may I give you a piece of advice?"

As Jiang Ziya stared at the old man, the old man carefully opened his mouth.

"That young lady... she doesn't have a very good fortune. Although she has a strong power to attract her surroundings, she will also face storms. If a crisis that she cannot handle comes, not only herself but also her surroundings will be harmed."

It was a similar statement to what Yang Jian had said in the past.

Jiang Ziya, looking at the old man who was talking about a kind of physiognomy, swallowed a hollow laugh.

A fisherman who reads physiognomy... he was an old man who did not have a clean finish.

"Old man, I also have a small talent. Would you like to hear it?"

"A talent?"

"Yes, my master expressed the harmony of heaven and earth in eight characters and called its essence 'change'. And thanks to that, I can also see a little bit of fortune."

"H-hmm..."

"The young lady... although she calls for rain and wind, she has the fortune of the earth, so she is a person who will receive trials and will make flowers bloom on fertile land. How can you only say such a thing about such a person?"

The old man's face stiffened as if he had been caught off guard by Jiang Ziya's words.

"Then what is your identity, old man?"

Jiang Ziya, looking at the flustered old man, threw out a word.

"What identity for an old fisherman?"

As the old man looked at Jiang Ziya as if it were absurd, Jiang Ziya twitched his lips and pointed his finger at the old man's hand that was holding the chopsticks.

"For a person who does rough work, your hands are too clean. Moreover, you eat too cleanly."

"Ha!"

The old man could not answer and put down his chopsticks.

Although he had deliberately made his clothes messy and had eaten the food roughly, there was no point in doing so.

"You've been following us since we arrived in the village, right? At first, I thought you were after the young lady... but it seems that I was your purpose."

The old man, as if he were embarrassed, wiped his beard and mouth, which were flowing with oil and grime.

Jiang Ziya picked up a xiaolongbao with his hand and bit into it in one go.

It was an action that seemed to say that a real country person eats like this.

"Was it that obvious?"

"I'll ask again. Who are you, old man?"

"Hmm... I am called the Fishing Fortune Master. I am a wanderer who roams the mountains, rivers, and seas."

The Fishing Fortune Master was a master hired by the village to stop the water bandits and ruffians who might disturb the Water God Festival.

Jiang Ziya felt a sense of relief that he was not a person who was digging into his background with another purpose.

The Fishing Fortune Master did not seem to be showing any particular hostility.

"For what reason did you follow me?"

"Would I have been interested in you, whom I have never seen before? It was not you, but your fishing rod that I followed."

Certainly, Jiang Ziya's Tonglin was also conspicuous in the inn.

Since he had mostly changed it to a bow and had carried it in the Tang Clan, it had not been noticed much, but since he had been fishing occasionally after leaving the Tang Clan, it seemed that he had been carrying it in the shape of a fishing rod as usual, which had attracted people's attention.

"I have seen many things in my life, but I have never seen such a fine fishing rod. When I discovered this from afar, I felt as if I had fallen in love."

The Fishing Fortune Master, as his identity was revealed, now revealed his greed without hesitation.

"It is a precious item to me. I have no intention of selling it."

Just as it was natural for a martial artist to covet the number one weapon in the world, it was also natural for fishermen to covet a fine fishing rod.

The Fishing Fortune Master did not seem to have any intention of giving up easily.

"If you are the owner of such a precious item, you must have great confidence in fishing... how about we make a bet on that item in this Fish Dragon Festival?"

"You probably don't have anything to offer me, old man."

Jiang Ziya answered firmly.

Although he had been exercising his patience as much as possible, considering that he was an elder, it seemed that his patience was also running out.

"That's something to talk about after seeing it."

The Fishing Fortune Master took out an item that was tightly wrapped in a fine silk cloth from his bosom.

Jiang Ziya, who had been uninterested in the Fishing Fortune Master's action, his two pupils shook greatly when the item in the silk cloth came out.

* * *

Thump... thump...

Under the dark sky, a suspicious carriage was hurriedly leaving the city gate outside the Black Contemplation Fortress.

It was not a common sight in recent days for someone to be leaving, not entering, the Black Contemplation Fortress, which was preparing for a big event.

But strangely, the warriors who were guarding the city gate did not even think of checking the carriage and made way for the carriage.

The carriage was painted black, so the inside could not be seen at all, and the horses that were pulling the carriage were also covered with a black cloth, and the coachman was also wrapped in a shabby cloth from head to toe, giving off a creepy feeling like a funeral procession.

Moreover, since the carriage was leaving through the north gate of the Black Contemplation Fortress, where corpses and unclean things were sent out of the city, no one was curious about the carriage.

Except for one person...

Swoosh!

Maintaining a distance of about ten feet from the carriage, a person's figure was gently flickering in the darkness.

The shadow was unnaturally stretched along the tracks left by the carriage.

Pow!

White pupils glistened in the shadow that had sprung up from the ground.

'Am I crazy right now...?'

The man in the mask, who was covered in dust, was none other than Tu Xingsun.

Tu Xingsun, who had even packed a camouflage suit, could not understand himself, who was now chasing that ominous carriage.

Tu Xingsun, who had witnessed a tremendous sight in broad daylight, now desperately wanted to leave the Black Contemplation Fortress, which had become extremely strange.

The group of Su Hu that he had been watching in secret was surely evil demons or monsters or something similar.

Not only did they show an unbelievable martial prowess, but also their incomprehensible purpose.

Tu Xingsun's instinct was warning him that he would never be safe if he were to get involved with them.

But what Tu Xingsun was doing now was neither a report to Jeshin nor an escape from the Black Contemplation Fortress.

It was not someone's order, but he himself was now risking danger and was trying to help someone.

'I'm crazy... I'm crazy.'

Tu Xingsun, while being confused, flew his body after the carriage that had moved away again.

His shadow melted into the darkness again. His body began to move like an arrow.