I have a composite mirror

Chapter 66 Flood

In the days that followed, Gu Shenyan almost never left the house.

Every morning, he would meditate in his room, using the method of "life cycle" to nourish his spiritual core.

In the afternoon, he picked up a wolf-hair brush and practiced repeatedly the double-effect talisman.

One, two, three... Failure, failure, and more failure.

The success rate is still not high; it's considered good if one out of twenty sheets of paper turns out well.

Although the success rate is pitifully low compared to ordinary single-effect talismans.

However, for a talisman master who has just entered the minor stage of mastery, this is already a remarkable achievement.

Moreover, the value of this dual-effect talisman far surpasses that of ordinary talismans.

A water-fixing talisman covers no more than two oceans, while a water-avoiding talisman covers three oceans.

However, if the two are combined, their value will increase several times over.

………………

That afternoon, Gu Shenyan was practicing talismans in his room.

There were already more than a dozen sheets of waste paper piled on the table, and the wastebasket on the floor was almost overflowing.

Footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard.

"Young Master!"

Shi Quan's voice came from outside the door:

"A young master Sun requests an audience!"

Young Master Sun?

Gu Shenyan frowned and put down his pen.

These days he's been busy making breakthroughs, even turning down orders from his regular customers, and Sun Chengzhi's order was no exception.

It seems the other party got impatient and came to us in person.

"Please let him in."

A moment later, a young man wearing a dark blue long gown walked into the courtyard; it was Sun Chengzhi.

He was dressed quite neatly today, and his hair was combed meticulously, clearly having taken special care of it.

Upon seeing Gu Shenyan, he quickly cupped his hands in a respectful greeting:

"Brother Gu! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Brother Sun," Gu Shenyan returned the greeting, "I've been busy with cultivation these days and have neglected you."

"Not at all," Sun Chengzhi waved his hand.

"I heard from others that Brother Gu has recently gone into seclusion to cultivate diligently, so I didn't dare to disturb him."

"only……"

As he spoke, his gaze was suddenly drawn to something on the table.

It was a newly completed talisman, the ink still wet, with a faint glow.

Sun Chengzhi's eyes widened suddenly.

"This is……"

He rushed to the table, staring at the talisman, his breathing becoming rapid.

"Settle the water...avoid the water..."

"Two effects, combined into one symbol?"

He turned to look at Gu Shenyan: "Brother Gu, could you sell me this talisman?"

Gu Shenyan couldn't help but chuckle at his confident expression.

"Brother Sun, don't be in a hurry." He pointed to the chair next to the table: "Sit down and talk first."

Sun Chengzhi then realized that he had been somewhat out of line, gave an embarrassed smile, and sat down in the chair.

But his gaze kept glancing at the talisman, as if he were afraid it would grow wings and fly away.

Shi Quan brought in tea, placed it on the table, and then left.

Gu Shenyan picked up his teacup and took a small sip:

"Brother Sun, you've come to visit today, surely not just for this talisman?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Chengzhi's expression turned serious.

"Brother Gu, are you aware of the recent flooding on the Pearl River waterway?"

"Floods?" Gu Shenyan frowned. "I haven't heard of any floods while I've been staying indoors these past few days."

That's it.

Sun Chengzhi put down his teacup: "If it were just a common flood, I wouldn't have lost my composure like this."

"But this time... the entire shipping lane is in chaos."

"The entire shipping lane?"

The Pearl River waterway is the most important waterway lifeline for the provinces of South China.

"At first, it was just a small matter."

Sun Chengzhi began to explain in detail:

"About two weeks ago, several cargo ships lost their rudders in the Laolong Bay area. The boatmen said that something was hitting them underwater."

"Everyone thought they had encountered a monster, so they hired a few quasi-martial arts masters to guard the ship, and things were peaceful for a few days."

"But seven days ago..." His voice trailed off:

"The Li family's large cargo ship sank in the middle of the river."

"That's a three-hundred-ton ship with a very deep draft; ordinary monsters of the vengeful level simply can't capsize it."

"Of the twenty-seven people on board, none survived."

Gu Shenyan paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup.

A three-hundred-ton ship is a giant vessel capable of carrying tens of thousands of catties of cargo.

"After the Li family's boat sank, everyone panicked."

Sun Chengzhi continued:

"My father sent people to the bottom of the river to search for the missing object and see what was going on."

"result……"

His face turned extremely pale:

"Of the boatmen who were good swimmers, only one made it to the surface alive."

"When he came up, he was covered in blood and could only repeat one sentence..."

"So many...so many eyes..."

"Then he went mad and is still locked up at home, howling all day long."

Gu Shenyan frowned.

So many eyes?

This description... is far beyond what the likes of water monkeys can compare to.

"And then?"

"And then things got even weirder."

Sun Chengzhi's voice carried a hint of fear:

"First, fishermen pulled up a lot of dead fish from the shallow water. The fish all had bite marks on their bodies."

"Next came the clam spirits—those clam spirits who usually hid in the deep mud and never showed themselves, but instead crawled toward the shore in groups."

"There were also water snakes, toads, crabs, river shrimp... everything in the water seemed to have gone mad and was rushing to the shallow water."

His voice trembled as he said this:

"Brother Gu, do you know what this means?"

Gu Shenyan pondered for a moment:

"Something drove them out of the deep water."

"good!"

Sun Chengzhi slapped his thigh:

"My father couldn't understand it at first either, but he eventually used his connections to ask someone from the Xuanzheng Division to come and take a look."

"What did the Xuanzheng Division say?"

"A gentleman in a blue robe has arrived."

Sun Chengzhi recalled:

"That official stood by the river for half an hour, and I don't know what method he used."

"When they came back, they said... there were 'guests' who had come."

"A foreigner?"

"yes."

Sun Chengzhi's face was full of bitterness:

"That gentleman said that the Pearl River waterway originally had its own 'owners'."

"Those water monkeys, clam spirits, toad spirits, and the like are considered tenants of these 'masters'."

"Normally, we each have our own territory, and we don't interfere with each other."

"But now, a 'foreign guest' has arrived."

"This 'outsider' not only occupied the largest area of ​​water in the deep water zone, but also drove out all the spirits that originally lived there."

"Without a place to live, those spirits had no choice but to crowd into shallow waters and waterways."

Upon hearing this, Gu Shenyan already had a guess in his mind.

Being able to drive away monsters from an entire body of water and occupy deep waters to build nests... this is something that no ordinary demon could do.

"Did that official from the Xuanzheng Division say what the background of this 'foreign guest' was?"

"I said so."

Sun Chengzhi's face grew increasingly grim:

"It's said to be a ferocious demon, but as for what exactly it is... even that lord couldn't say for sure."

"What does the Xuanzheng Division intend to do about it?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and continued asking.

"That's the most troublesome part."

Sun Chengzhi sighed:

"The Xuanzheng Division has reported to its superiors and is awaiting the dispatch of experts to handle the situation."

"But this waiting..." He shook his head:

"It could take anywhere from ten days to half a month, or even one or two months; nobody can say for sure."

Gu Shenyan understood what he meant.

The Xuanzheng Division is an official agency, and everything must follow procedures.

Especially when dealing with ferocious demons, it is necessary to report at each level and plan carefully.

But for those merchants who make their living off the water, waiting for one or two months means throwing away a lot of money.

"So..." Sun Chengzhi looked at Gu Shenyan:

"My father then discussed with several shipping merchants, intending to find a solution on his own first."

"We can't afford to mess with that ferocious demon, but we can surely handle the little monsters that have been driven onto the shipping lane, right?"

"It is enough to simply clear the waterway so that ships can pass through."

"As for that 'foreign guest'... we'll talk about it when the experts from the Xuanzheng Division arrive."

"We small, insignificant families don't have the ability to stroke the dragon's whiskers."

Gu Shenyan nodded slightly upon hearing this.

"So, Brother Sun, you've come to visit today..."

"To be honest, Brother Gu," Sun Chengzhi said solemnly:

"My father has joined forces with several shipping companies and raised a bounty of about a thousand silver dollars."

"We also invited four martial arts instructors, one of whom was a master of martial arts to keep things under control."

"But these people are formidable on land; their abilities diminish greatly in the water."

"My father meant that if we could get a few more cultivators of magic to help us, the chances of success would be much greater."

He looked at Gu Shenyan, his eyes filled with anticipation:

"I've heard that Brother Gu is skilled in water-based activities..."

"If Brother Gu is willing to lend a helping hand, that would be wonderful."