"Look, everyone! Why... why is there a person in the net?"
A fisherman cried out in shock.
A person?
Everyone turned toward the voice. Sure enough, a man lay among the fish and shrimp, dressed in a moon-white Daoist robe. Though he had been hauled out of the sea along with the catch, there was not a single trace of water on him.
His appearance was otherworldly, his bearing handsome and refined. Even these fishermen, who had seen little of the world, could tell that he must be an immortal.
"D-did we fish up the Sea God?"
"Lord Sea God, this humble commoner pays his respects!"
"This humble commoner is terrified! We never meant to offend you. Please forgive us, great immortal!"
The fishermen panicked, believing Zhang Yuan to be the Sea God and Ao Xiu his spirit beast. Someone used a stick to lift Ao Xiu over beside Zhang Yuan, then they bowed their heads and knelt in worship.
As people who lived by the South Sea, the deity they heard about most was naturally the Sea God who ruled the ocean. Upon seeing Zhang Yuan, they had simply jumped to that conclusion.
"Silence."
Master Duan knitted his brows. That single word quieted the noisy deck. He exchanged a glance with the other two men, then looked at the timid fishermen who had already knelt and kowtowed, continuing:
"Everyone, get up. This man is no Sea God, merely a cultivator. Even if he really were the Sea God, he cannot move right now. What is there to panic about?"
"Get up, all of you, and stand behind us."
Keeping water off oneself was hardly enough to make someone a Sea God. At most, he was a cultivator like them.
The fishermen remained doubtful and alarmed, but most trusted Master