From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

In just over half an hour, Zhang Zhixuan rescued Old Sun, brought the resentful mother and son, who were floating on the water, ashore, and fought desperately against the strange fish in the water. He killed several of the strange fish with the help of the Xuanwu puppet and finally returned to shore safely.

This ordeal was truly exhausting. Zhang Zhixuan returned to the shore in a disheveled state, almost completely drained of energy, and collapsed onto the riverbank.

"Damn it, I almost messed up." Zhang Zhixuan cursed under his breath, but he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, he suddenly heard the rustling sound of pages turning, and then a familiar scene appeared before his eyes.

[Comfort the spirits of a mother and child who drowned tragically; River Patrol Proficiency +20]

[Defeat the four evil fish monsters in the river, and your river patrol skill will increase by 8.]

The book of a hundred trades flipped through the first three pages with a rustling sound, then opened to the fourth page.

[All Trades: River Patrol Officer]

[Level: Lv1 (28/100)]

[Rank: 0]

【River Spirit's Blessing Lv1 (Permanent Passive, Upgradeable): The duty of patrolling the river has existed since ancient times. By forming a bond with the water, the River Spirit, moved by the patrol's sincerity, bestows protection upon the patroller, granting them a wisp of primordial water energy for protection.】

[Underwater breathing: Breathing can be obtained from the water through the pores without holding one's breath, and can last for 30 minutes;]

[Water-friendly: The water around the body remains level within three feet, reducing resistance by half, making underwater movement 60% as easy as walking on land;]

[Underwater Vision: Allows for clear vision up to ten meters deep; impermeable to polluted water and silt.]

[Immune to heat and cold: Body temperature does not change drastically with water temperature; ordinary cold water will not harm muscles and bones.]

[Upgrade to the next level to unlock new skills]

"River Patrol Envoy." Zhang Zhixuan, soaking wet and lying on the riverbank with his face covered in mud and sand, looked disheveled, but he suddenly burst out laughing.

"It was all worth the effort."

With the River Patrol Envoy activated, the River Spirit's Blessing passive skill automatically took effect, and Zhang Zhixuan immediately felt the damp and cold discomfort on his body rapidly subside and ease.

Zhang Zhixuan quickly regained some strength, and as he grimaced and tried to get up, a shout rang out from not far away: "Come quick! The young master is here!"

The crowd of men, women, and children who had been watching on the riverbank finally spotted Zhang Zhixuan lying on the bank and rushed over.

It was only then that Zhang Zhixuan realized that he had unknowingly strayed from his course in the river, and the place where he went ashore was more than a hundred meters away from where he went into the water.

The crowd rushed over, and someone immediately noticed that the two unrecognizable corpses of the river drifters were now lying on the back of the Xuanwu puppet.

At that moment, someone shouted, "Young master not only saved Grandpa Sun, but he also single-handedly pulled those two floating bodies ashore!"

The boatmen, men, women and children from the town who rushed over cheered all around. Some brought ginger soup to Zhang Zhixuan, while others brought towels to wipe his body.

"Well done, young man!"

"Young master, you're truly remarkable! Even Grandpa Sun almost fell into the hands of those two scoundrels, but you managed to subdue them!"

Zhang Zhixuan was flattered and quickly waved his hand to decline.

"Everyone, make way! This old man needs to thank them personally..."

Just then, Old Sun's weak voice came from outside the crowd. The crowd parted, and Old Sun was helped over by his two apprentices.

Old Sun had narrowly escaped death, and his face was still pale and bloodless, his lips were bluish-black, and he looked extremely weak. He coughed heavily from time to time, gagged a few times, and only recovered after resting for a while.

"Master, don't move, quickly take your medicine." A young apprentice hurriedly pulled a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out two red pills, and handed them to Old Sun. The old man tremblingly put the pills into his mouth and swallowed them. After resting for a while, he finally recovered.

"Help me across," Old Sun said in a hoarse voice.

His two apprentices quickly helped him to Zhang Zhixuan's side. Without saying a word, the old man pushed away his apprentices' hands and was about to kneel down, trembling.

Zhang Zhixuan was startled and quickly reached out to support him: "Grandpa Sun, you mustn't do that!"

"Why not? It's allowed!"

Old Sun's eyes were red and his voice trembled: "I've spent most of my life drifting in the river, I've seen all kinds of dangers, but if it weren't for your help today, my old bones would be fish food."

"You're too kind, Mr. Sun. It was nothing at all," Zhang Zhixuan said gently as he helped him to his feet.

Just then, two more people walked in from outside the crowd.

"Layman Zhang!"

"Mr. Zhang, how are you?"

Zhang Zhixuan recognized the two people as Wuming and Qingxuan. He figured that he had been fussing around for too long and wasted time, so they had come to check on him.

"What happened to you?"

Zhang Zhixuan gave a wry smile and then recounted the events that were about to unfold.

"Amitabha Buddha, Benefactor Zhang is truly compassionate!"

"I deeply admire Mr. Zhang's chivalrous courage!"

After listening, the two exclaimed in admiration, and their eyes showed more respect for Zhang Zhixuan.

At this moment, the mother and child floating on the water were also removed from the Xuanwu puppet statue and placed on the ground covered with a white cloth.

Zhang Zhixuan retrieved the Xuanwu puppet, his gaze falling on the corpses of the mother and child covered by the white cloth. He said worriedly, "These two must be taken care of promptly..."

Old Sun nodded and said, "Young master, don't worry. The rest will be taken care of. You've been through a lot, and you're all wet. Be careful not to catch a cold. If you don't mind, why don't you go to my house to change into some nice clothes and have a few bowls of hot ginger tea to warm yourself up?"

Looking at his disheveled state, Zhang Zhixuan nodded helplessly and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"Amitabha, Benefactor Zhang, Qingxuan and I have just discussed that we wish to perform a ritual to help the souls of this mother and child find peace."

"I'll have to trouble you then. I'll come find you as soon as I change my clothes, and we can talk about the headless ghost then," Zhang Zhixuan said.

Old Sun laughed and said, "I don't think that's necessary. After you two have performed the ritual for the departed souls, why don't you come and rest at my house? Your presence would be an honor for me."

The three looked at each other, nodded in agreement, and agreed to meet at Old Sun's house later.

Zhang Zhixuan went to Old Sun's house, washed up, and changed into clean clothes. It wasn't until dusk that Qingxuan and Wuming arrived late.

Old Sun invited the three to sit down and personally served them ginger tea to dispel the dampness and cold.

After drinking the ginger tea, the chill gradually dissipated. Qingxuan looked at Zhang Zhixuan and spoke first: "Layman Zhang, when you went into the water to retrieve the corpse today, did you feel anything was amiss?"

Zhang Zhixuan looked up at him, raising an eyebrow: "You noticed too?"

"Yes." Qingxuan nodded, his expression solemn.

"When Xiao Dao was performing a ritual to help the souls of the dead, he discovered that the bodies of the mother and child, in addition to the resentment of their violent deaths, also contained a demonic aura."

Zhang Zhixuan said, "Besides the two corpses of the mother and child who were filled with resentment, I was also attacked by a group of fish monsters after I went into the water today. In addition to the headless ghost, this area around the canal ferry can be described as a place where demons run rampant. It seems that it is not just a headless ghost."

"By the way, Qingxuan, what did you find when you went to the police station to check the files?"

Qingxuan said, "I went to the town's police station to check the files and found that most of the people who have gone missing in the past two weeks disappeared near Huishui Bay. Before, everyone thought it was the headless ghost that was responsible, but the headless ghost actually appears in the area around the canal ferry. I have looked at the map and the two places are not close to each other."

Zhang Zhixuan nodded, then looked at Wuming and asked, "Master Wuming, how did your inquiry at the temple go?"

Wu Ming smiled bitterly and said, "I asked the old monk who guards the temple, but I don't know if he's too old and his head is confused. He only knows to advise people to burn incense and pray to Buddha, asking the Bodhisattva for protection. He said that this is a vengeful ghost taking lives, a calamity sent down by heaven, and told me to perform a ritual to deliver the soul. He doesn't know anything else, not even the old stories and legends of this town, and he doesn't even know the specifics of what the headless ghost is all about."

Zhang Zhixuan nodded and said, "I heard a man named Xu Er say in a teahouse that he happened to encounter a headless ghost in the middle of the night, but he was only frightened into fainting and the headless ghost did not harm him."

"Oh? There's definitely something fishy going on here!" Qingxuan said quickly.

Zhang Zhixuan stroked his chin, frowning slightly in thought: "Indeed, I also feel that this headless ghost shouldn't be the culprit in the missing persons case..."