These were probably all rowers who had drowned in dragon boat races in the past.

Their empty yet strangely focused eyes looked over, as if their lives were frozen in the last moment before death, leaving only a repeating scene.

The helmsman was more spiritually active, he cupped his hands towards the group, his voice floating and uncertain, "We are convinced, victors."

"No problem..." Tan Xiao was halfway through his sentence when Mu Fei turned on a high-powered flashlight, illuminating the shoal in a blaze of light, and everyone clearly saw the full appearance of the other party's dragon boat.

They saw that at the head of their boat, there was also something pieced together, with a gentle face but a hard texture and bright colors.

Everyone: "..."

Fang Zhu was stunned for a moment, "A tiger head boat?"

Mu Fei looked devastated, "Hello Kitty! Where did you steal that from, a mall or an amusement park?"

Ah, no, big brother, you could at least steal a real dragon head!

And looking closely, there were even faint bloodstains on the eyes of the cat head - before launching, the dragon head must first be dotted with the blood of a rooster to "open the eyes".

Hearing Mu Fei's words, the helmsman of the other party even scratched his head in a silly manner, "What, isn't this a dragon head?"

It was as if Mu Fei had thought of going somewhere to find a craft item as a substitute, and everyone had the same idea.

"Is there a dragon head with a ribbon?" Mu Fei couldn't even be sarcastic anymore, the helmsman must have been dead for too long, don't think that's some new kind of ribbon.

"So it turns out we're not the only ones with a fake dragon head, haha." Tan Xiao accepted it well. After all, he himself was using a peacock to impersonate the dragon head. He patted the side of Kong Xuan's neck, and Kong Xuan shook his body and jumped into Tan Xiao's arms.

This was not intentional on Kong Xuan's part, he was not a lazy bird, it was definitely not because he didn't want to walk or anything like that and wanted Tan Xiao to hold him, he absolutely did not mean that at all, he was just afraid that his identity would be exposed.

Hearing Kong Xuan's sudden movement, the helmsman was startled. "Oh my, you almost scared me to life! How come your phoenix head is fake and can still move? How strange!"

Everyone: "..."

Look who's talking. As if your dragon head isn't fake?

Tan Xiao, still wearing a paper mask, held the peacock and looked through the rowers from the front to the back. Finally, in the wet faces, he found a somewhat familiar face. "Teacher Zhu... Zhu Dayong?"

Hearing his name, that dazed soul slowly raised his head and reacted.

As long as there was a reaction, Tan Xiao was relieved that he hadn't truly lost himself.

Zhu Dayong looked at the masked person, feeling the voice sounded familiar. But in this state, he thought hard for a long time and couldn't figure out why it was familiar. As if in a dream, he said, "Do I know you? You won, right..."

"Yes, we won. You can go back now." Tan Xiao only answered the second question.

"Go back? Go back where?" Zhu Dayong asked in a daze.

"Go back to teach class!" Kong Xuan said angrily, "Have you no teacher's ethics?!"

Everyone: "..."

Zhu Dayong was also scolded for no reason. He shrank back, looking at the aggressive bird, not knowing why he was afraid when he saw it... afraid yet also a bit familiar.

"It's... it's none of your business." Zhu Dayong said stubbornly, "I want to row the dragon boat. I'll go back after we get first place."

He seemed to have assimilated, his mind clearly only focused on rowing now.

"This kind of group activity enhances team spirit in the first place. Not to mention he's in soul form now, with a straightforward mind." Mu Fei assessed.

No wonder they couldn't call his soul back. If he was suffering outside that would be one thing. But in fact, they were having him participate in sports practice, exactly what he loved.

He had only been a dragon boat rower once before. Later, including this Dragon Boat Festival event, he didn't have the chance.

So Zhu Dayong was single-minded, just like the other water ghosts, wanting to participate in the race first.

How is it none of my business? What about my PE class? Kong Xuan's eyes turned sharp. He was about to forcibly bring Zhu Dayong's soul back, opening his mouth to chant a spell, when Tan Xiao pinched the beak of the bird with two fingers.

Kong Xuan: "...!!!"

Damn, the audacity!

Tan Xiao continued to soothingly pat the peacock, trying to slowly release his fingers, feeling that the peacock also wasn't going to keep shouting.

"But you've already lost the race. Haven't you rowed enough these past days? If you keep rowing, your body won't be able to take it." Tan Xiao said to Zhu Dayong, "Have you forgotten that your family, friends, colleagues and students are all waiting for you..."

Zhu Dayong's mind wandered, hesitating.

That's right, he had already enjoyed himself for many days. Did he have to get first place?

"Zhu Dayong! You still have ten years left on your mortgage, lesson plans to finish, PowerPoints to make..." Mu Fei directly cast a corporate slave spell.

Hearing this, Zhu Dayong instantly sobered up, holding his head and begging for mercy. "Ahh!"

"Don't do that, what if it makes him even more reluctant to go back." Even Tan Xiao, who had yet to enter society, was a bit frightened.

"Let him come to his senses." Mu Fei smiled slightly, making it hard not to feel she did it on purpose.

At this time, a faint shout could be heard from the river. "Has Zhu Dayong come back?"

Someone answered, "He's back!"

Again, a shout. "Has Zhu Dayong come back?"

"Did you hear that? Who's calling me?" Zhu Dayong turned his head. "This voice, it seems I've heard it before... seems like I heard it a long, long time ago."

But besides him, no one else could hear this voice.

It was the voice of Zhu Dayong's parents. Sure enough, they had brought offerings and were calling for his soul by the river, as Tan Xiao had said.

Earlier, immersed in the competition, Zhu Dayong hadn't paid it any mind. Many years ago, he had heard such a voice. He was like a child playing outside, forgetting to return home. At the sound of his parents' calls, he suddenly woke up: I should go home.

"I should go back!" Zhu Dayong's eyes turned resolute.

"Don't do dangerous things in the future." Kong Xuan also said coldly.

Zhu Dayong: "..." Why did this concern have a strange undercurrent of threat?

"Go back, just follow the voice and you'll find the way." Tan Xiao gave Zhu Dayong a push, and he drifted off on the road of returning to life.

After Zhu Dayong left, there were a few seconds of silence at the scene.

"We lost, and the rowers aren't in sync anymore." The helmsman sighed. "Let's disband too."

The water ghosts were all dejected. First they lost, then the rower ran off. They were a bit discouraged as they stood up to leave.

"What about me if you all leave!" That Hello K*tty cat suddenly spoke up in a delicate young girl's voice. "Don't go, you promised me we'd participate in the race together!"

"?!" There were too many ghosts here, Tan Xiao really hadn't noticed that "dragon head" was also off. It turned out it wasn't stolen, but had gained its own spirit. "Huh? You have a dragon boat dream too?"

He really couldn't understand. Zhu Dayong and these water ghosts, fine. But how did you get a dragon boat dream?

The girl held back a sob. "Why can't I have one? I've participated in races for twenty years, won countless times, then was locked up and gathered dust for eight years. Is it wrong for me to want to get in the water? They already repainted me, why put me back? Why give my dragon head to another boat? I can still row!"

Only then did Tan Xiao understand. It was just borrowing that mouth to speak. In fact, it was the dragon boat hull itself. Unable to take form, it seemed to be a new generation spirit.

Thinking of the many abandoned boat hulls, Tan Xiao understood why Mu Fei said it wasn't stolen when she went to look. Naturally, it was providing its own cover.

"So you formed the team..." Mu Fei sighed. "But you can't disrupt the rules and drag the living into the water. Look at the huge impact you had on Mr. Zhu. Considering it's your first offense, I'll apply for you to do community service work. You have to compensate his medical expenses."

This expense couldn't be given directly, saying I caused you to be hospitalized, so I'm compensating you. Rather, it would be compensated in the form of winning a lottery or prize money after later settlement. Like Ah Jin, still working to make up for losses.

In this way, one could also learn the rules for new spirits entering the world through work.

In Bureau 404, this was called "substituting work for suppression".

"There's not enough time." The boat girl said pitifully. "Can't you just let me participate? I won't pull in the living anymore. I know I lost to you. Even if I can't get first place, as long as I can participate one more time, I promise I'll behave."

Mu Fei was speechless. "Uh... you're different from everyone else. How can you join?"

If it only wanted to get in the water, that would be straightforward and save the time needed for education. The problem was that others had already switched to fiberglass boat hulls, so even if she agreed, the dragon boat team wouldn't.

"Actually, it's not entirely impossible," Tan Xiao suddenly said. "If we can convince them to add a traditional dragon boat performance show before the competition, we could also secure some performance income."

His family had been running various performances all year round, so this naturally came to his mind. Not participating in the competition but being able to get in the water seemed quite suitable.

"Really?" the boat girl asked excitedly. "Then can I bring my new head to the competition? Humph, if you don't give it to me, I don't care about the old dragon head anymore. I have my white tiger head!"

Everyone: "........."

Wait, can you say that again? What kind of head is this??