Chapter 9: The Devouring Star Technique (Part 2)

  When the two returned to Wangjiang Building, the sky was already near dusk. As expected, the people from Huitong Agency had arrived early after hearing the news, and the leader was Chu Lie.

  Wan'er saw Chu Lie as if she had seen a close relative, and immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She asked: "Uncle Chu, where's my father...?"

  Chu Lie gently stroked Wan'er's hair while answering, "He was stabbed in the chest by Yu Feng and has been taken back to the city by your grandfather for treatment. Whether he can pull through depends on heaven's will."

  Wan'er's heart sank, and she cried out: "I want to go back to the city to see Father!"

  Chu Lie nodded and called for a horse-drawn carriage to let Wan'er lie down, driving the carriage himself as they headed down the mountain.

  Xiao Si sat beside Chu Lie, recounting their experiences. Wan Er kept glancing at him from time to time, her gaze as sharp as a knife, threatening his life. Xiao Si didn't exaggerate or boast about himself, lest he burst the cowhide and die on the spot.

  Although it was so, Chu Lie was very grateful and patted Xiao Si's shoulder: "Brother Xiao Si, this time thanks to you, we saved Wan Er's life. From now on, no matter what happens to you, just call us and the two hundred or more people from our Jiangzhou branch will rush to help without hesitation!"

  Wan Er listened with gritted teeth, thinking of the humiliation she had suffered made her want to kick that shameless little man into the valley by the side of the road and kill him, but she was afraid that this little boy would not know shame and would say everything out loud, so she could only swallow her anger and curse Xiao Si in her heart.

  Xiao Si smiled and said: "It's just a small matter, why make a fuss about it? Mr. Chu, you're being too polite. By the way, is that little brat with the surname Yu dead or not?"

  "Chu Lie hummed and said, 'He was stabbed in the abdomen by Shao Hua's sword and was rescued by the henchmen of Hu Ge Inn. Brother Geng has already sent someone to chase and kill him, this matter is definitely not over!'"

  Xiao Si clapped his hands in agreement, saying: "That's right! The Xiao Hu Tiger Fort actually dared to kill our way to the Tongbao Bureau. It's really too much for them to bully us like this. Let's gather our men and horses and attack the Great Ba Mountain, and wipe out their den!"

  Chu Lie's mind was also calculating this matter, he hated evil and protected his friends very much. He nodded and said: "Tiger Gorge is not weak in power, Yu Biao is also a disciple of the old demon of Xuan Ying on North Mang Mountain. I'm afraid there will be a fierce battle. But our Tongbiao Bureau is not made of mud, let's invite a few more friends from the Jianghu to help us, and we still have some confidence in destroying the bandit's nest!"

  Xiao Si patted his chest and said bravely: "Master Chu, if you go to the Great Ba Mountain to eliminate evil for the people and avenge Young Master Shao Hua, I'll count as one too!"

  Chu Lie nodded solemnly and said, "Fourth brother, your chivalrous spirit is admirable, but you still need to work hard on your cultivation. As cultivators, we have the concept of the Nine Realms of Spiritual Communication, starting from the initial stage of 'Sight', followed by 'Entry', 'Observation', 'Enlightenment', 'Transcendence', and finally 'Mahayana'. Each realm has its own unique mental state and subtleties, with increasing difficulty like climbing a mountain. Only when one reaches the ultimate realm of Mahayana can they possibly attain unity with the Tao and ascend to heaven through transformation."

  He paused and said, "But the path of cultivation is fraught with danger, and each time you advance to a higher realm, you will encounter different calamities. It also depends on one's innate talent and wisdom. Even someone like me who has cultivated for over 50 years can barely grasp the realm of knowing, and I'm afraid I'll stop at this point for the rest of my life." The implication was that he had a hint of regret.

  Xiao Si comforted: "Master Chu, why be discouraged? You are still vigorous and have a long way to go. Who knows, maybe tomorrow you'll successfully overcome the tribulation and break through to the Tongyao realm."

  Chu Lie laughed and said, "The one who will truly have a bright future is you. Little Fourth Brother, you are naturally clever and your foundation isn't bad either. As long as you're willing to work hard and put in effort, your future achievements will definitely surpass mine."

  He didn't know that although Xiao Si had three things he wasn't afraid of in his life, he also had three things he was afraid of: afraid of death, afraid of pain, and afraid of hard work.

  Although Chu Lie's praise was a bit over the top, Xiao Si still found it very pleasant to hear and happily asked: "Old master, how long do you think I need to cultivate before I can catch up with Wan'er?"

  Chu Lie hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wan'er broke through the Indoor Boundary last year. If Little Fourth Brother can find a good teacher to guide him and work hard, he'll be able to achieve it in at most five years."

  "Five years?" Xiao Si sucked in a breath of cold air, and his idea of quietly cultivating disappeared instantly. He said: "This is just the beginning, when I cultivate to the realm of knowing, won't my beard be as white as yours?"

  Chu Lie smiled and said, "Five years is already extremely short. It's like many of the escorts in our agency who have cultivated for over a decade before barely grasping the threshold of the next level."

  Xiao Si heard this and became even more determined not to follow Chu Lie's path. In the future, he would cultivate wherever he wanted, as long as his realm was high or low, it wouldn't affect his life goals. He didn't want to become an immortal or a Buddha, making a fortune in silence was the true way!

  "He curiously asked: 'Old man, how high is Chi Da Ge's cultivation?'"

  Chu Lie shook his head, and a sincere look of admiration appeared on his face: "Chi Xiao is a naturally talented young man, four years ago during the Great Battle of White Sand Beach I guessed that his cultivation had already reached the realm of Tong Yu, now it's even more unimaginable."

  The two men chatted happily and before they knew it, the lanterns were lit and their carriages arrived at the entrance of Huitong Pawnshop.

  Geng Nan Yi came out to greet them and after some small talk to understand each other's situation, he sent Yuanyuan into the mansion for medical treatment to detoxify.

  Geng Shaohua used a precious ginseng from the Geng family's collection, a thousand-year-old wild mountain ginseng from Changbai Mountain, and barely managed to save his life. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and Geng Nanxing thanked Xie Xiaosi before asking him in detail about what had happened.

  Xiao Si didn't dare to say that he had pulled down Wan'er's pants and smoked opium, but instead said that he had picked some lan grass roots and let Wan'er herself dig out the silver bullets, clean and apply medicine.

  At this time, the guardhouse had clearly strengthened its vigilance, with a sentry post every three steps and a watchtower every five steps. Xīao Sì looked at Gěng Shǎohuá, who was still unconscious, then had a meal accompanied by Chǔ Liè, bathed and changed clothes, and returned to his own room to rest.

  He spent the whole day in a flurry of activity, feeling both tired and weary yet not wanting to go to bed. He locked the door with an iron bolt, closed the windows tightly, sat down at the lamp, and took out the jade plate.

  Xiao Si picked up the teapot on the table and slowly poured cool water into the plate, carefully examining it by the light of the lamp.

  In an instant, the emerald plate slowly brightened, and countless silver specks floated up in the water, twinkling on and off like a vast expanse of stars flickering uncertainly.

  Xiao Si crouched on the chair, her eyes fixed intently on the movements in the jade plate without blinking.

  He tried to capture one of the small light points, his line of sight closely following its floating trajectory, hoping to find a clue to solve the puzzle from it. However, that little light point was like a mischievous little elf, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the midst of thousands of companions, leaving no trace.

  After several attempts, Xiao Si's eyes were blurred and he was still completely clueless.

  He pushed the jade plate out and said in annoyance: "What kind of thing is this, a broken plate, it's simply a scam!"

  "Whoosh——" The water in the plate swirled around and splashed out a bit, flowing onto the tabletop.

  Xiao Si suddenly let out a "huh" and stared straight at the Cui Yu disk.

  The water in the jade plate was still shaking and fluctuating, but the countless silver stars were still following their own paths, so naturally not a single one would flow out with the splashing cool water.

  Xiao Si picked up the teapot and refilled the jade plate again, with water constantly overflowing from it. He seemed to be unaware of it, as if enchanted, staring at each small light spot, muttering: "One, two, three, four, five..."

  "Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight!" The water in the teapot gradually emptied, and Xiao Si suddenly slammed the teapot heavily on the table, excitedly standing up from his chair: "You numbskull, isn't there just a hidden Qimen Dunjia formation evolved from the 28 mansions' positions here? It's nothing special!"

  Before his words had fallen, his mind suddenly "buzzed" with a loud noise, and a boundless starry labyrinth appeared in front of him. The small light points that made up the dense forest of stars were swirling and rotating in the vast and quiet void, and the magnificent and beautiful scene was beyond description.

  Xiao Si couldn't help but feel his heart racing and his mind reeling, completely unaware of where he was or what was real and what was just an illusion, or whether it was all just a dream on a clear autumn night.

  The nearest twenty-eight silvery white star clusters were arranged in a hierarchical pattern, slowly and quietly surrounding him, with every slight change in trajectory giving rise to countless wonderful changes.

  "Green dragon rushes into the sparrow, black turtle offends the tiger..." Xiao Si watched in a daze, unknowingly getting lost in the mysterious world of the 28 constellations' endless changes and transformations.

  He soon discovered that the Three-legged Cat's Qimen Dunjia technique he learned from Old Man Death was not enough, and the numerous Star Mansion changes made him unable to see the tricks in them, let alone call out their names.

  Looking further away, there are the Thirty-six Heavenly Bodies Formation, Forty-nine Great Yuanyang Formation, Sixty-four Hetu Formation, Seventy-two Earthly Fiend Formation...

  Layer upon layer, tower upon tower, shining mutually and unfolding into the endless void. In comparison, this Twenty-Eight Constellation Star Array is at most only a beginner's level.

  Xiao Si's head suddenly exploded, and he exclaimed in shock: "Am I dreaming?!" He stretched out his hand to pinch the root of his thigh hard, almost crying out in pain.

  "Whoa——" All the scenes in his mind disappeared instantly, and Xiao Si rubbed his thigh with one hand while staring intently at himself, only to find that he was still standing on that chair.

  The house was quiet, the candle on the table still flickering, and the jade plate remained motionless on the table.

  It's as if nothing had happened, as if what just occurred was merely a strange and wonderful dream.

  Xiao Si closed her eyes, concentrated and tried to recall the scene she had just seen. Some parts were extremely clear, while others seemed blurry, and most of it was a jumbled mess of fragments.

  What did these star arrays mean? Xiao Si was a bit confused, but those strange and bizarre formations had already lifted his appetite.

  They seemed like a series of puzzles waiting to be solved, swirling in Xiao Si's mind, their temptation even surpassing the allure of Yuwen's half-hidden, gleaming buttocks.

  He also had a vague premonition that came from nowhere - the secret of these star arrays must be connected to the cold current in his body.

  Suddenly, Xiao Si slapped his forehead and understood the subtlety of a change in the 28 Mansion Star Array. He jumped off the chair, rolled and crawled to the desk, pulled out a roll of drawing paper, spread it on the table, ground the inkstone, picked up the brush and started painting.