Running A Cemetery in North America

"Crazy, this is simply crazy."

The Captain, hands trembling, gripped the helm, swearing and cursing as he struggled to calm himself.

He reached for a cigarette from the pack, clamped it between his lips, and flicked his lighter with shaking hands, taking a deep inhale.

But even so, he still couldn't control his trembling hands. For an ordinary person, experiencing such a scene was far beyond comprehension.

That the Captain hadn't lost his mind yet already counted as considerable determination.

On the deck, Sun Yan and his party stood around the gray Flood Dragon lying sideways, observing it very closely.

They were, fearing their first encounter with a Flood Dragon, inevitably curious.

"The blood of this creature is not simple, it can transform a living person into a humanoid dragon creature. With so many Flood Dragons in the East Sea, why haven't the villagers of Chai Family Village discovered this?"

Gu Xing brought an iron rod and tapped on the wound of the gray Flood Dragon, noticing fish left in the net basket on deck, he threw a couple onto the wound.

A magical thing happened immediately, the moment those fish made contact with the gray Flood Dragon's blood, their bodies altered.

Their heads grew horns, and three claws emerged from their bellies, causing the term 'transform into a dragon' to leap into Sun Yan's mind.

"Hmm…" Sun Yan rubbed his chin, "The blood of this creature is highly contaminative."

"Is it really okay to bring this thing back to Chai Family Village, won't it cause a disaster?" Shi Langfei asked hesitantly.

Her concern was not unfounded; if the villagers of Chai Family Village came into contact with the blood of the gray Flood Dragon, they might end up like that old man.

If the entire village turned into a group of monsters, their task would become much harder to complete.

"No worries, watch me." Lin Wan suddenly smiled confidently.

She placed her hand on the Flood Dragon's forehead, a talisman brightened from her palm, and the entire body of the gray Flood Dragon was instantly enveloped with numerous talismans, leaving black ink-like marks that wrapped around it like ropes.

Lin Wan clapped her hands, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Alright, now it's safe."

"Is this even possible?" Sun Yan looked puzzled, completely not understanding what Lin Wan just did.

Gu Xing slowly explained, "The Kitchen God oversees the making of meals in the human world, monitors human sins, and controls the fates and fortunes of families. Every Gengshen Day, he reports to the Jade Emperor, and monthly accounting is done. Those with many merits will receive blessings and longevity after three years; those with many faults will face disaster after three years.

In short, Lin Wan has the ability to suppress evil and disaster. The blood of the gray Flood Dragon may be contaminative, but it's nothing to worry about for her. Once infused with the Kitchen God's talisman, everything will be safe and sound."

Ge Hong's Eastern Jin work "Baopuzi" states: "On the night of the lunar month's end, the Kitchen God also ascends to heaven to whitewash humanity's sins. The major ones can take away eons, where a eon is three hundred days. The minor ones take away some days, where a sum is three days."

The "Kitchen God's Lamp Ceremony", approximately written in the Yuan and Ming periods states, "The Kitchen God's responsibilities are grave, holding sway over the inclinations of the common people", "In heaven as the envoy of the Seven Elements, delivering myriad matters to the heavenly court day by day", "Alternately overseeing yin and yang, though each kindly or adverse act involves cultivation; yet whether so or not, must reverently record."

The Qing Dynasty's "The Complete Book of Respecting the Kitchen" states, the Kitchen God absorbs the incense of a household, safeguarding its wellness, and examines its virtue and vice, reporting its merits and faults.

While the Kitchen God isn't regarded as a fierce Combat God in the mythological system, his ability to protect the wellbeing of households is second to none, rivaling even that of the Earth God.

Soon, the coastline appeared on the horizon, and the outlines of Chai Family Village became increasingly clearer, allowing everyone to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Damn, finally made it back alive. Boss, about those two Gold Ingots you promised, you better pay up. If it wasn't for your request, I'd never have gone out to sea at night."

The Captain complained to Lin Wan.

Lin Wan, being a wealthy second miss, naturally wouldn't shortchange the fishermen, promptly handed over two Gold Ingots: "You've worked hard, but as agreed upon before, this boat now belongs to me. After docking, you can leave first."

"Alright!" The Captain happily accepted the Gold Ingots, instinctively biting them to ensure they left teeth marks before comfortably placing them in his pocket.

With these Gold Ingots, not to mention a new boat, he could even build a new house, no longer worried.

Sun Yan stepped off the fishing boat, pulled out the notebook from his pocket and checked it.

——

Mini Quest [The Fisher Village's Immortal Island Legend]

Quest Difficulty: ★★★

Quest Introduction: Located by the East Sea, Chai Family Village has been a small fishing village since ancient times, with profound belief in Divine Beings, the most famous being Saintess Cizhou. However, recently strange events have occurred in this fishing village; a dozen fishing boats and the fishermen who went out fishing disappeared under mysterious circumstances one night and never returned.

Quest Requirement ①: Investigate the reason behind the disappearance of fishermen and fishing boats

Quest Requirement ②: Investigate the authenticity of the Immortal Island

Quest Reward ①: Randomly obtain an exclusive magical treasure based on your Divine Temple

Quest Reward ②: Tomb Guardian

——

Even though they encountered the Dragon King at sea tonight and learned there is more than one Dragon King.

These clues did not meet the requirements to complete Quest Requirement ①, hence Sun Yan couldn't receive a reward.

This indicates that those Flood Dragons are not the true reason for the disappearance of fishermen and boats; the real culprit is someone else.

Moreover, judging from their slaughter of that gray Flood Dragon at sea, this kind of creature is at most a monster, clearly incapable of any Dragon King's calling, and doesn't possess the ability to cause the fishermen to spontaneously sail at night.

"Fishing boat disappearance, Immortal Island? We haven't heard of any Immortal Island in Chai Family Village, could I have missed some clue?" Sun Yan pondered silently.

Seems they still need to wander around Chai Family Village, chat more with the locals, maybe they can acquire some new clues.

...

The dawn broke, the sun slowly rising from the sea's horizon, illuminating the ocean surface.

When the fishermen ready to head out to sea or intending to mend nets by the seaside walked onto the white sandy beach, they halted in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at the enormous creature lying on the beach.

A creature as long as five or six meters, with a snake-like body and fleshy claws on its belly.

At a glance, it even resembled the legendary dragon, only its appearance seemed much more ferocious, making it difficult to associate with the mythical dragons.

"Heavens… Could this be the Dragon King? The Dragon King is dead!"

In the crowd, Chai Liang was the first to react, panic-stricken he rushed to the gray Flood Dragon, knelt at its front, stroked its scales incredulously and said.

Soon, other villagers followed Chai Liang's example, kneeling in front of the gray Flood Dragon, reverently bowing and paying respects to its corpse.

Treating a monster as a Divine Spirit, the sight was somewhat comically absurd to those aware of the truth.

A short distance away, Sun Yan and three others stood shoulder to shoulder, bathed in the sunrise, watching as more and more villagers spontaneously gathered and knelt to the gray Flood Dragon.

"I think the key to this task lies with Saintess Cizhou, after all, she's the only name mentioned in the entire quest, perhaps she holds special significance."

"Easy, we'll just find an elder in the village to ask about the origins of Saintess Cizhou."