I have a rooster at home, so I quickly rushed back home and asked my father to slaughter a chicken overnight. I brought the chicken head back and put it in my pocket, while the rest of the chicken was cleaned and stewed in a pot. We would drink the chicken soup after dealing with the ghost.

I remembered that Xie Qiang had a fishing rod, so I went to borrow it from his house. I ran back to the riverside sweating profusely.

Xie Qiang thought I went fishing and asked me why I went to fish in the dangerous river at midnight. He even wanted to go with me.

Worried that something might happen to him, I didn't agree and told him to rest at home. After a few days when the river was clear of dirt, I would invite him to go swimming.

When I returned to the riverbank, I saw Wang Baochang sitting on the sandy beach, eating and drinking heartily.

Wang Baochang had a bulging belly, holding a piece of pine-flower cake in his left hand and a roasted chicken leg in his right. He took a bite of the cake and then tore off a piece of chicken meat, his mouth covered in grease.

"What are you doing?" I walked behind Wang Baochang and startled him.

Choking, Wang Baochang quickly grabbed a jug from the ground and took a big gulp.

Burping, he said, "Look, there's food everywhere on the sandy beach. It would be a waste to let it go. I haven't had a full meal for days. How can I fight ghosts without being full?"

I looked around and noticed that there were many scattered items on the sandy beach - fruits, pastries, drinks, roasted chicken, and other offerings used for river lanterns. During the chaos earlier, people dropped all the offerings on the ground, and Wang Baochang didn't hesitate to feast on them.

Feeling a bit thirsty myself, I picked up a peach from the ground, wiped it off, and took a crunchy bite.

I handed the fishing rod and the rooster head to Wang Baochang and asked if he had eaten enough. If he had, it was time to get to work.

Wang Baochang grabbed another piece of pastry and reluctantly got up, using the rooster head as bait and hooking it onto the fishing hook.

Then, Wang Baochang walked to the sandy beach and used the peachwood sword to draw a circle on the muddy ground, creating a designated area.

Next, Wang Baochang took out four copper mirrors, each adorned with dark red symbols that had seeped into the mirrors over time and couldn't be wiped off.

The four copper mirrors were identical in size and shape, and Wang Baochang inserted them in the four cardinal directions - east, south, west, and north.

I squatted down, curious about the copper mirrors. The mirror surfaces were covered in red symbols, while the back had ancient ghost-repelling engravings. The entire copper mirror exuded a sense of mysterious solemnity.

Looking closer, I noticed that each copper mirror had a border with a mythical beast pattern - the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, and the Vermilion Bird.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I reached out and touched the copper mirror, feeling an icy chill that made my fingers tremble, so I quickly pulled my hand back.

Wang Baochang warned me not to touch it randomly. He told me that these were Warring States period copper mirrors called the "Four Divine Mirrors," symbolizing the four great deities - the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Black Tortoise, and the Vermilion Bird. They possessed great power and were ancestral treasures of the Wang family. They were usually kept hidden away and rarely brought out. But tonight, to prove the might of the Wang family, he had to use some genuine methods.

I looked at Wang Baochang with envy. I didn't expect this guy to have so many treasures despite his lack of skills.

I asked him, "With so many treasures left by your ancestors, how did you end up like this?"

Wang Baochang rubbed his hands and smiled awkwardly, "Hehe, everyone has different talents. Compared to my ancestors, my talent might be slightly inferior."

I scoffed, "You still have the nerve to say that? The gap between you and your ancestors is more than just slightly."

Wang Baochang raised an eyebrow, "Yes, my talent is indeed not high, but I have treasures. You have high talent, so in the future, we can work together, right?"

After thinking about it, I found Wang Baochang's proposal quite good, but we could discuss it later.

Wang Baochang arranged the Four Divine Mirrors and instructed me that after we caught the river spirit, we must drag it into the formation created by the mirrors and use their power to eliminate the spirit.

I nodded and followed Wang Baochang towards the river. He carried the fishing rod with the bloody rooster head swinging on the hook.

I wasn't particularly interested in fishing, but I was intrigued by ghost fishing tonight.

I wanted to see how we would catch the river spirit.

Wang Baochang said that the principle of ghost fishing was similar to regular fishing. The rooster head was the bait. When it was thrown into the river, the smell of blood would attract the river spirit. The spirit would bite the rooster head, and its mouth would be hooked by the fishing line. Then, just like fishing, we would slowly exhaust the spirit's energy until it became weak enough to be pulled out of the water.

"Will the river spirit really get caught by a fishing hook?" I was skeptical.

Wang Baochang smirked, "Of course not, but because the fishing hook is smeared with rooster blood, it's difficult for the river spirit to let go once it bites!"

I gave him a thumbs up. Impressive, truly impressive!

Wang Baochang swung his arm and threw the fishing hook far away. With a thud, the rooster head landed in the water.

Wang Baochang propped the fishing rod on the sandy beach and told me to wait patiently.

I was a bit worried. Would the Yin-eyed river spirit, scared away by the peachwood sword earlier, dare to come back?

Wang Baochang assured me that young river spirits like this one couldn't resist the temptation of the rooster head.

Wang Baochang and I chatted for a while, and the fishing float on the water surface remained still.

As time passed, we grew bored and dozed off, arms wrapped around ourselves.

In a daze, a cold wind blew across the river surface, abruptly waking me up.

Instinctively, I glanced at the water and saw the fishing float move slightly, then again, as if something had caught onto the chicken head underwater.

I bumped Wang Baochang's arm with my hand, calling him awake, "Wake up quickly, the river spirit took the bait!"

"Really?" Wang Baochang opened his eyes, rubbed the sleep from them, and focused his gaze on the water. He couldn't help but smile, "Oh, it really took the bait, good, you won't escape tonight!"

The movement of the fishing float became more pronounced, and the fishing rod was bending under the strain.

Wang Baochang quickly picked up the fishing rod, letting out and reeling in the line, slowly depleting the spirit's energy. Once the spirit grew weak enough, we could pull it out of the water in one go.

The river spirit began to struggle violently, splashing water everywhere.

Wang Baochang tightly grasped the fishing rod, a cold smile on his face, "Run, keep running!"

Splash!

The river spirit couldn't hold on any longer and suddenly burst out of the water - it was indeed the little boy wearing a red bellyband.