River God Mother, Descendant of the Demon Hunter

"Young Master Song, please, have a seat!"

Song Chengan looked up.

Before him stood a woman in a light-colored ruqun dress, her bearing otherworldly, unlike any mortal.

She wasn't the pinnacle of beauty, but rather radiated a sense of the divine.

"This junior, Song Chengan, pays respects to the River God Mother of Tong Sheng River!"

Song Chengan did not sit down.

Instead, he bowed with utmost reverence.

He now understood clearly—what he had summoned was no minor deity, but the River God Mother of Tong Sheng River itself.

No wonder a simple Summoning God Technique had let him walk on water as if on solid ground, like a god descending to earth.

"Oh, how did you know I'm the River God Mother of Tong Sheng River?"

"This water mansion has no name."

"Perhaps I'm some monster."

"Your Grace's bearing is peerless—no ordinary demonic creature could possess such."

"And you showed compassion, helping this junior slay that demon."

"So beautiful, so merciful, and so mighty—only the legendary River God Mother of Tong Sheng River could be such."

"You sure have a way with words."

Hearing this, the woman broke into a faint smile.

"Let's eat and talk." The River God Mother gestured to the food on the table.

On the table, a small pot steamed with heat.

"Come, this is how we eat in my homeland."

Saying this, the River God Mother took out a set of chopsticks and a bowl and handed them to Song Chengan.

"Dip it in the chili sauce."

She picked up the chili peppers beside her and mixed them together.

Song Chengan followed her example.

It was delicious.

"Good, isn't it?"

"Not bad!"

Song Chengan was sweating profusely.

He hadn't expected it to be this spicy.

The River God Mother took a handkerchief handed over by a nearby maid and dabbed her mouth.

"I was passing by and saw you exorcising that demon. I found it amusing, so I lent a hand."

"By the rules, for a deity of my level to help you, you owe me a favor in return."

"That's only right. Please speak, Your Grace."

For ordinary spirits and ghosts, offering a Three Animal Sacrifice as thanks would suffice, but for a deity as mighty as the one before him, common sense didn't apply.

It felt like a losing deal.

Song Chengan thought he'd come out short—summoning such a powerful deity to possess him, only to kill a single Dao Seed Realm demon.

"A Seal."

"I don't need you to obtain it, just gather some information on it."

"What kind of seal is it?"

The River God Mother extended her hand, and a phantom Ancient Seal materialized in the air.

"This seal ended up in your Chen Kingdom, then vanished without a trace."

"Someone has obscured the heavenly secrets."

"Alright."

"Once I've found out, I'll inform Your Grace immediately!"

"Mm." The River God Mother nodded. "I accepted your Three Animal Sacrifice, so by rights, we're even."

"Asking you to search for the Ancient Seal on top of that feels like bullying a junior."

"How about this—I'll teach you a technique as compensation."

With that, the River God Mother raised her hand, and a scroll appeared in her palm.

She handed the scroll to Song Chengan.

"With this technique, as long as you focus on mastering it, you'll be able to go anywhere in the waters of the world from now on."

"Thank you, Mother!"

Song Chengan quickly expressed his gratitude.

Song Chengan opened his eyes.

He was lying under a tree, holding a scroll in his hand.

"The River God Mother of the Tong Sheng River?"

Song Chengan clicked his tongue in amazement.

This was a top-tier deity of the Chen Kingdom.

For such a great god to help him kill that little monster?

Such fortune... Song Chengan didn't even know what to say. He'd summoned a god and gotten the River God of the Chen Kingdom's largest river.

That Ancient Seal?

He'd need to put some thought into it.

If he could find it, he'd inevitably owe this River God Mother a favor.

From then on, if he ever ran into an enemy he couldn't beat, he'd just hide in the Tong Sheng River.

Song Chengan unrolled the scroll.

Water Repelling Art!

"At its peak, walking on water as if on solid ground?"

Song Chengan's mind stirred, and a lake instantly condensed within the Void Heaven Mirror.

Above that lake, a phantom figure emerged.

As soon as the figure appeared, it formed hand seals and stepped into the lake.

A bubble immediately formed around the figure, sealing the lake water outside.

The figure cast the Water Repelling Art over and over again.

"Let's check on the cultivation of the Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi."

Song Chengan looked over.

He saw that the Phantom Body cultivating the Heavenly Radiance was already white-haired.

"Still not done cultivating?"

"Is my talent really that bad?"

"Is it going to die of old age before the Heavenly Radiance Dao Qi even breaks through to the second realm?"

"It's the Phantom Body's problem."

Song Chengan shook his head.

He exited the Void Heaven Mirror.

"Immortal Master!"

Song Chengan withdrew from the Void Heaven Mirror and headed toward Lingqiu City.

But halfway there, he ran into someone unexpected.

That monk.

"Little man Yu Changfu, greetings to the Immortal Master!"

Song Chengan looked at Yu Changfu and smiled. "When I saw you, I knew you weren't a monk from Xuanqing Temple."

"Those Xuanqing Temple monks are all soft-skinned and fair—how could they be as dark and scrawny as you?"

"The Immortal Master sees clearly!"

"Little man is from Gushan Ridge, a hunter by trade."

"But later, I was schemed against. My hunter's license was sold off cheap, and my family lost its livelihood. I had to wander the streets as a peddler, selling trinkets just to scrape by."

"Then my daughter fell ill with a strange disease, and I needed silver to save her."

"I had no choice. I saw that even those who came to Zhao Family Village to deal with monsters got plenty of silver even if they failed, so I got some crooked ideas."

Song Chengan nodded.

"But you seem to have some skill."

"You managed to find the monster's lair and escape from it."

Yu Changfu pulled a book from his chest.

"To be honest with the Immortal Master." His face showed a hint of pride.

"My Great-grandfather was once a Monster Hunter."

"One time when he came home, he left behind this journal."

"Two paper cranes that can track monsters and one life-saving talisman."

"I used up the talisman and one of the paper cranes. This one's all that's left."

He opened the book.

Inside was a folded paper crane.

"This thing tracked down that monster?"

Song Chengan was a bit surprised.

"That's right. This very thing."

"My great-grandfather made these paper cranes using special methods. As long as a monster has appeared somewhere, they can track it down."

Song Chengan's expression turned respectful.

"I never imagined your ancestor was a Monster Hunter."

Song Chengan naturally knew about Monster Hunters.

It was a rare profession nowadays, barely seen anymore.

In ancient times.

Monsters and demons ran rampant across the land, and the common folk suffered terribly. Compassionate cultivators, unable to bear the people's misery, voluntarily came down from the mountains.

They walked among mortals, slaying demons and vanquishing monsters.

Whenever someone sought their help, they would act.

They didn't ask for gold or silver—only a single Copper Coin.

Later on, that coin came to be called the Monster Hunting Coin.

And later still.

Whenever people saw a cultivator with a string of Copper Coins hanging from their belt, they knew he was a Monster Hunter.

They were a group of virtuous souls who gave up secluded cultivation on the mountains to willingly step into the mortal world for the sake of the people.

But as the years passed.

Monster Hunters had faded into obscurity.

The cultivators of today.

Either stayed on the mountains in seclusion.

Or demanded a heavy price before they'd lift a finger.

In their eyes, such matters were a complete waste of time.

"What does this mean?"

Song Chengan stared blankly as Yu Changfu tucked the paper crane back into the book and handed it to him.

"Immortal Master is a kind-hearted person."

"Even after knowing I was a fake, you didn't expose me on the spot, and you saved my life."

"I've never met a real Monster Hunter, but my great-grandfather told me their stories countless times."

"It's been many years, but I still remember the look on his face when he talked about them—full of reverence."

"He always said he wanted to become a great Monster Hunter, just like in those stories."

"I felt the same."

"But unfortunately, I have no talent for cultivation. I couldn't follow in his footsteps."

"This book isn't some spell or secret manual—just my great-grandfather's random notes."

"Keeping it is useless now. And this paper crane nearly cost me my life hunting that monster."

"Maybe the most useful thing is to hand these over to you, Immortal Master."

Song Chengan said, "I'm just someone who takes money and does the job."

"But even knowing I was a fraud, you still showed goodwill."

"When you saw I was hurt, you saved me without a second thought."

"You were sent away by Zhao Family Village, but the moment you heard something was wrong, you came straight back."

He paused, his gaze utterly earnest: "I've never traveled far. I haven't even been to Lingqiu City."

"And I've never seen a real Monster Hunter."

"But I think, if there really are Monster Hunters in this world, they must be just like you, Immortal Master."

Song Chengan hesitated, then finally accepted the book with both hands.

"This book contains some knowledge about refining magical tools. It's very useful to me."

"I'll treat it as a loan, just for reading."

"If you ever need anything, you can find me on Gourd Street in Lingqiu City."

"My name is Song Chengan."

Song Chengan said, lifting the bamboo hat from his head.

"So the Immortal Master is about the same age as me."

Song Chengan smiled. "I'll give you some silver—Old Village Chief Zhao gave quite a bit."

"No need!"

The dark-faced man clasped his hands toward Song Chengan, then turned and left without hesitation.

"The old chief gave me ten taels of silver, enough to cure my daughter's illness."

"I also killed monsters alongside the Immortal Master—that's a great deed. My daughter will be fine."

Song Chengan watched his back.

Until he vanished from sight.

"Song Chengan, did you go see your relatives again?"

When Song Chengan got home, the little brat next door was pissing at the doorstep. Seeing him return, he immediately asked.

"No, Brother Dan. Where's your sister?"

Song Chengan said.

Brother Dan had an older sister; he remembered not seeing her for a while.

"She's inside. My mom won't let her play with you—says you're bad news."

"Oh, and you stink, Song Chengan. You smell worse than the fish my dad catches."

"Brother Dan... don't talk nonsense..." Aunt Zhou, face full of embarrassment, yanked Brother Dan away.

"Kids say the darndest things."

With that, she dragged Brother Dan back inside.

Soon, Brother Dan's cries rang out from next door.

Mixed with his stubborn retort: "But that's what you said!"

"The Boss is leaving for a trip this month, so he sent me to ask if you can come to the village in the next few days to teach everyone."

Song Chengan looked up.

A black cat was crouching on the courtyard wall, who knew how long it had been there.

"This is from the Boss for you."

It held a rabbit in its mouth.

"The Boss also said he's saved up quite a bit of silver lately, and he'll give it all to you when you come."

Song Chengan took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll go to the village tomorrow afternoon."

"I actually have some things I need to ask the Boss about."

"Why tomorrow afternoon?" the black cat asked, puzzled. "If you leave now, you'll reach the village by dark."

Song Chengan smiled. "I'm going to see my sister tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Then I'll come find you tomorrow," the black cat said.

"Good."

"But come early—if you're late, I'll be gone to see my sister, and you won't find me."

Song Chengan reminded it.

The black cat said nothing.

It leaped over the wall and disappeared.

Song Chengan shook his head.

He sniffed himself.

Not stinky.

Must be the Demon Core.

Or maybe I just can't smell it myself.

Song Chengan changed his clothes, then boiled himself a bucket of bathwater.

Killing monsters pays well.

I need to hurry up and raise my cultivation.

Kill monsters for money, then buy pills, artifacts, and manuals.

Someone who's tasted death always clings to immortality.