I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 269 Water Lord, Distinguished Guest, Source of Thunder

With Jiang She's nod, a grand banquet for the Water God was thus arranged.

The news spread throughout the rivers, lakes, and seas, and the spirits and fish in the Wei River were moved by the news.

Koi fish carrying invitations weave through the water plants, an old turtle carrying a gift walks slowly, yakshas stand solemnly at the water gate holding halberds, and shrimp soldiers and crab generals are busy decorating with lanterns and colorful decorations.

A clam, skilled in music, is tuning a konghou (a type of Chinese harp), while a mermaid, adept at dancing, is rehearsing songs and dances.

Countless fish and shrimp also travel back and forth.

They might organize a grand feast or deliver letters, sending invitations to the water gods, mountain gods, and city gods of the four directions.

In an instant, all the spirits and monsters along the Wei River became busy.

On the shore, dusk was falling.

Yuan Danqiu sat motionless in one place.

It took them a long time to walk from Shengpingfang. Now the sun is gradually setting in the west, and half the sky is filled with evening glow, dyeing the Wei River golden red.

Li Bai glanced at the sky and realized he wouldn't be able to get back today, so he had no choice but to find a place to stay nearby for the night.

He looked at Yuan Danqiu.

"How many have you caught?"

Yuan Danqiu gripped his fishing rod, sighing without looking up:

"The fish are not easy to catch today."

Li Bai turned to look at his two young disciples. Sanshui had bought a huge fish basket from someone else specifically to house that big fish. He was currently asking around about how to cook it deliciously.

"How did Sanshui catch it?"

Not to mention Sanshui and Chuyi, even Li Bai himself later caught one.

Yuan Danqiu stared at the surface of the Wei River and muttered to himself:

“This river has been really strange since an hour ago.”

"We can't catch any fish at all. The fish inside are all like spirits. The fish food is right in front of them, but they don't even glance at it."

The grandfather and grandson next to them also retrieved their fishing net.

There were only a few jumping fish inside, a stark contrast to the previous abundance of fish.

The old fisherman wiped his sweat, his dark face full of confusion.

"This is really strange! Normally, this net would catch at least dozens of fish, but today it seems like these fish are busy with something important."

"Luckily, I played online all day, so this is enough to sell."

The old fisherman glanced at the few who hadn't taken the bait much, and seized the opportunity to introduce his business, a smile spreading across his dark face:
"Young master, Taoist priest, would you like two of these?"

Both Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu waved their hands.

Fishing is a hobby for them, and they don't actually lack fish to eat. They don't know how many days they'll be able to eat the big fish they catch in Sanshui.

"Thank you, old fisherman, we now have fish to eat."

The old fisherman then remembered the big fish, glanced at the boy with envy, and pulled his grandson to go sell it to others.

The sky darkened considerably, and the evening glow surged.

The group packed up their fishing gear, planning to find a place to stay and return to the city the next day.

Sanshui still felt regretful.

She muttered to her junior brother:
"I just didn't know where the gentleman went. I thought we could eat this fish together. I even asked around, and the fish are at their fattest in autumn..."

Just as he was muttering to himself, Sanshui glanced at him casually.

Suddenly she saw a long, dark shadow in the water, like a dragon or a fish, or maybe a fishing net that someone had thrown into the water... Thinking this, the shadow flicked and disappeared deep into the water.

All that remained was the rippling water.

Sanshui's eyes widened.

"Water, water, water...there's something in the water..."

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu rolled up their sleeves, picked up the heavy fish baskets, and heard her speaking haltingly as she looked over.

"what happened?"

Sanshui suppressed her surprise, looked around, grabbed Li Bai's sleeve, and whispered like a thief.

"There's a dragon in the water!"

"By the way, when I caught the fish just now, I heard someone whispering in my ear."

Yuan Danqiu was very interested.

He looked at the Wei River, thinking of the two people and the cat who had disappeared without a trace.

"What did you say?"

“He said he doesn’t owe me anything this time…” Sanshui muttered.

Beside her, Chu Yi, who had been quiet all along, suddenly looked up: "Was the Water Lord we encountered before the Water Lord of the Wei River?"

"Is Senior Jiang going to be asked to leave?"

……

……

underwater.

A slender serpent swept past.

He was the river lord of the Hao River, which, along with the other eight rivers surrounding Chang'an, was the youngest, possessed the weakest divine power, and had the narrowest waterways; it could only be described as a stream or small river.

The snake-dragon glanced at the fish in the fish basket.

It seems to be...

The spirit bream raised by the Water God of the Wei River? This is no ordinary creature, and it has someone specifically to care for it. How could it be caught by a mortal?
He muttered something to himself, but before he could get a closer look, people on the bank started shouting. The River God, not wanting to be seen, twisted its slender body and disappeared into the water.

Looking around, he was one of the earliest to arrive.

The Serpent River Lord, having distanced himself from the people on the water, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He watched as the Yaksha approached.

Following the example of other water lords, the River Lord calmly asked, "It's not the Water Lord's birthday banquet recently, nor is it any particular season. Why is a banquet being held all of a sudden?"

"Could it be that Suijun has obtained some kind of treasure?"

The yaksha bowed and stepped forward, intending to lead the person into the water palace.

The Serpent River Lord couldn't take it anymore.

He swam several meters away in an instant.

"That's all you need to say. You don't need to get too close to me."

The Yaksha was puzzled, but dared not ask further, and simply replied from a distance:

"In reply to the River Lord, our Water Lord is hosting a banquet for our distinguished guests. It is August, and the fifteenth of August is the Mid-Autumn Festival in the human world. We wish to enjoy the bright moon with you all."

The serpent-dragon realized that the water lord's actions were merely a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Otherwise, why would you need such a grand banquet?
As he walked with the people, he asked:

"How is the spirit bream that the Water Lord is raising doing? I just looked at it, and it looked like it was caught by a mortal?"

The Lingfang was specially raised by the Water Lord of the Wei River. This fish is extremely delicious and rare. Even he had only eaten it once or twice at banquets.

It can make you forget your worries.

Yaksha didn't understand either, and said, "I'll ask him later."

The Serpent River Lord nodded.

"At least it wasn't stolen..."

He stood several feet away from the Yaksha and asked, "When will that distinguished guest arrive? And when will the banquet begin?"

The Yaksha answered respectfully.

As the two were talking, they had already crossed half the river, moving extremely fast, and did not notice the shimmering ripples.

until--

Suddenly, I heard a dragon's roar.

……

……

Jiang She was strolling through Ao Bai's garden.

You can see all sorts of exotic flowers and rare plants here.

Pearls, a rare sight in the world, are merely pebbles used for paving the ground in this garden. An extremely thin curtain flutters slightly, swaying gently underwater.

Unlike the wealth and luxury of the mortal world, this place, though extravagant, has a more ethereal, otherworldly feel to it.

Ao Bai accompanied him from the side.

He then introduced the two people who were swimming towards him from afar.

“That’s the Lord of the Hao River, who is a snake-dragon and prefers peace and quiet.” Ao Bai smiled. “You could also say he has a cold personality and doesn’t like to interact with people.”

Jiang She glanced at it from afar.

Zhang Guolao calculated with his fingers.

"That serpent dragon is over two hundred years old, yet it is still afraid of people; it's quite amusing."

Jiang She laughed.

"It is evident that not only people, but even the rulers of water, mountains and rivers have different temperaments."

Guo Lao nodded.

“What you say makes sense.”

He smiled and remarked:
"Haha, with gods and demons gathering together, many legends are likely to be added to Chang'an in the next few days."

Ao Bai laughed.

He didn't care about that. Nowadays, there are still storytellers recounting stories of a minister killing a dragon a hundred years ago because of rainfall, but those are all fabrications.

There have always been many legends about gods and ghosts in Chang'an, some true and some false, and this one or two is not out of the question.

He finished introducing his garden.

Suddenly I remembered the thunder that came out of nowhere in Chang'an last night.

Ao Bai thought for a moment and casually asked:

"Sir, did you hear the thunder last night? It was very loud and came on strangely. Could it be that you were helping someone exorcise a demon?"

Jiang She turned his gaze away from the pearls scattered on the ground.

He spoke casually.

"know."

Ao Bai was surprised.

"Who could have done this?"

Jiang She paused, not expecting that the thunder would be asked about by Shui Jun. He thought about his answer and, after considering it for a while, answered frankly.

"it's me."

(End of this chapter)