The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

The old man sat at the bow of the boat, mouth agape, his straw hat askew from the wind, but he didn't bother to straighten it. He had been rowing this river for decades and had never known this boat could go so fast. It was even more outrageous than a speedboat, completely defying common sense!

In the live stream:

[Refusing to be a beast of burden: What did I see?]

[Cherry Blossom Red: My mom asked me why I was kneeling while watching the live stream.]

[Wanting both: Are you sure this is on the water? Or not on an airplane?]

[In red robes: The deity used a bamboo pole to create the speed of a propeller.]

[I am Ying Zheng: Basic Operations, Don't Be Awesome]

The wind blew Yuehen's ears back, but it didn't bark; it just nuzzled its head into Yang Wanqing's arms.

Meanwhile, on the road along the riverbank, the light was red. A silver-gray Ferrari was stopped at the intersection.

A young man wearing sunglasses and a floral shirt was sitting in the driver's seat, while a woman in a sundress was touching up her makeup in the passenger seat.

The girl looked up when she heard the sound and saw the boat on the river. She almost smeared her lipstick on her face.

The girl's gaze was drawn to the small boat gliding swiftly across the river. Her eyes widened as she pointed at the water, excitedly shaking the young man beside her, exclaiming in a trembling voice, "Young Master Shen! Young Master Shen! Look at the river! What's that boat carrying? It's faster than your sports car!"

The young man, addressed as Young Master Shen, scoffed at the words, glancing at the car casually before replying arrogantly, "What kind of crappy ship can compare to my latest Ferrari? That's utterly ridiculous... Holy crap!"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw the awning boat speeding across the river like an arrow. He froze, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, his face filled with shock.

He couldn't help but swear: "Holy crap! What's going on? Is that really a ship?"

A small boat is speeding across the river. It's not the kind of "fast" that drifts with the current, but a speed that's like an engine, splashing water everywhere, as if it's flying across the river.

The light turned green. Shen Shao stepped on the gas, and the Ferrari roared off.

"I refuse to believe it! A beat-up old boat can outrun my brand-new Ferrari?"

Hearing the sound of an engine on the shore, Chen Siyao instinctively turned the camera around. A silver-gray sports car was speeding along the road on the shore, running alongside their boat.

The roar of the engines mingled with the sound of bamboo poles paddling through the water. Both the boat and the vehicle were speeding forward.

"Hahaha, look! There's a guy driving a sports car who actually wants to race my brother!" Chen Siyao couldn't help but laugh out loud, all her previous tension vanishing.

Yang Wanqing looked over and immediately burst into laughter, waving to the shore, "Bye-bye! You think you can compete with Brother Chen Hao in speed?"

The engine was roaring loudly, and Shen Shao couldn't hear what Yang Wanqing was saying, but he saw her waving gesture, which made his heart beat even faster.

Three college-aged boys, their hair soaked, sat in a pavilion on the shore, looking like three drowned rats.

The leader, a blond-haired boy, is named Hou Liang, nicknamed "Monkey." He's a minor internet celebrity on Douyin (TikTok) who specializes in making videos of luxury cars and is extremely sensitive to the sound of engines.

He was wiping the lens with a tissue. "Hmm?" He perked up his ears, his hand stopping. "A Ferrari? The latest V12?"

The two companions simultaneously looked up at the roadside. They were both car enthusiasts, their love for luxury cars second only to their desire for money. Rainy day, in this kind of weather, and someone was actually driving a Ferrari and racing?

"That sound, deep and resonant, isn't from an ordinary Ferrari." Monkey held up his phone, turned on video mode, and pointed the camera at the road in the distance. "It should be an 812 Superfast, a naturally aspirated V12, eight hundred horsepower..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt water splashing from the direction of the river, covering his face.

"Who is it! Throwing water onto the shore for no reason?" He frowned and turned around to curse instinctively.

But when his gaze fell upon the river, he froze on the spot, his eyes widening in disbelief, and his words trembled with extreme shock and disbelief: "Holy...holy crap? A spaceship?!"

His companion laughed at him, "Monkey, your acting is getting more and more fake. Do you think you can fool us if the spaceship doesn't look up from the sky?"

The one called "monkey" ignored his companion and simply turned his phone to film Chen Hao's awning boat.

His two companions were puzzled by his actions. They looked in the direction he was filming and froze, their eyes wide. One of them even rubbed his eyes. They saw a common boat flying downstream at a speed of over 300 yards.

"Holy crap, holy crap, there really is a spaceship?" Two more screams erupted.

The boat was already fast ahead of them. A group of people were on board, and a young man stood at the stern, holding a bamboo pole and gently poking the water—the boat sped up again, shooting past them like an arrow.

The monkey frantically chased after the boat, taking pictures, but managed to keep up with it despite the shaky camera. Just then, an even louder engine roared from the road on the shore—a silver-gray Ferrari came up from behind, chasing after the boat.

"Holy crap! A Ferrari racing a boat!" The monkey's voice trembled. "What's going on? Is this a movie shoot?"

The Ferrari chased for less than a minute before being left behind by the awning boat, getting further and further away until its taillights were no longer visible.

The live stream on the awning boat was filled with "666" comments:

[I am Qin Shi Huang: Supreme God: You drive your Ferrari, I'll row my awning boat.]

[No food delivery: Ferrari owner must be questioning his life choices right now.]

[Smooth Sailing: Rich Kid: Where's my car? Where's that big car?]

[Here comes a tough one: From then on, the rich kids never dared to compete with others in speed again.]

[Middle-aged man: Ferrari owner: I'm going to smash this car when I get home.]

The boat stopped at a small dock downstream. The old man got off the boat, his legs still a little weak. He stood for a while, holding onto the stone pier on the shore, before turning around to look at Chen Hao.

"Young man..." He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he just waved his hand, "I won't take the boat fare today. If it weren't for you, this old body of mine would be dead in the river."

Chen Hao leaned the bamboo pole against the side of the boat and shook his head. He glanced at Chen Siyao.

Chen Siyao understood, secretly took out her phone, and scanned the payment code on the shore. The old man's pocket twitched, but he didn't notice.

"Uncle," Chen Siyao walked over, "Does this river often flood? I think you shouldn't row your boat here anymore, it's too dangerous."

The old man shook his head and sighed, "I've been rowing this river for decades and have never seen a flash flood. The highest water level has only risen by a dozen centimeters. I don't know what happened today..."

Before the words were finished—

"Awooo—!"

A roar came from afar. It wasn't thunder, it wasn't the sound of wind, it was alive—something was calling out.

The sound was deep and muffled, as if surging up from underground, making one's chest tingle. One sound followed another, mixed with a rumbling thud, coming from the direction of Longdun.

The girls shuddered simultaneously. Yang Wanqing tightened her grip on Yuehen, who pricked up her ears, staring in the direction of Longdun, a low whimper escaping her throat.

The old man's face changed. He took a step back, his voice trembling, "A dragon...it's a dragon causing the flood! No wonder there was a sudden flash flood!"

Yang Wanqing was stunned: "Uncle, the legend you mentioned from the Jiaqing era? Isn't that just a story? You must have misheard; it should have been thunder, right?"

The old man shook his head, shaking it very forcefully: "It's been passed down from generation to generation, and tens of thousands of people witnessed it back then. You young people don't believe it, but some things don't just disappear because you don't believe them."

He looked in the direction of Longdun and said in a low voice, "If you go there for tourism, whatever you do, don't go to Longdun. It's not clean there."

The women exchanged glances but remained silent. The sound was too far away, and it sounded like thunder; none of them could be sure what it was.

Chen Siyao glanced back at Chen Hao, who was standing at the stern of the ship, looking in the direction of Longdun. His expression was indifferent, but his gaze did not waver.

Yuehen jumped down from Yang Wanqing's arms, ran to Chen Hao's feet, looked up at him, and let out a soft whimper. Chen Hao looked down at it, bent down, and rubbed its head.