Chapter 2: The Arrival of Old Man Diao (Part 2)

  Yu's face turned white and then red, red and then black, he raised his hand to point at Si Xiao but couldn't say a word.

  Yu Hongjiao's face turned bright red beside him, and indeed looked like a string of chili peppers hanging under the eaves.

  Cheng Xianhu's withered face twitched repeatedly, his eyes growing increasingly gloomy. In a cold voice, he said: "Geng General Commander, Cheng respects you as a hero. But why did you let this inexperienced whelp humiliate me?"

  Geng Nan didn't expect Xiao Si to suddenly launch a barrage of words, completely overwhelming the other party. But it couldn't be denied that what he had just heard sounded very refreshing and relieving.

  Jade Linglong coldly said, "Cheng Zhai Zhu's words are wrong. Just now, Xiao Si brothers' conversation didn't mention you at all, so I don't know where the shame and humiliation come from?"

  Cheng Xianhu was stunned, silently savoring Xiao Si's curse, and indeed not a single word mentioned himself. Although he didn't say it cleanly and said "朝天椒", but by jumping out like this, he seemed to be taking the bait.

  At this time, You Ruo suddenly calmed down and pointed at Xiao Si with his right hand, saying word by word: "Do you dare to duel with me?"

  "Idiot!" Xiao Si's least favorite person was this good-for-nothing, and seeing him dare to come knocking on his own accord, where was there even a bit of courtesy?!

  "Do you dare to have a showdown with me? Do you dare to have a showdown of wit and bravery? Do you dare to have a showdown of opening locks and digging tunnels?" He became more and more excited, unknowingly revealing his true nature. With disdain, he said: "You're always just shouting and yelling about killing, why don't you go raise a dog instead? Besides barking, it can also gnaw on bones, and at the very least, it can guard the door."

  As soon as the words fell, Bu Suanzi, who had been silent all along, slowly stretched out his black bamboo pole and pressed down Yu Shi Ran's hand that was hovering in mid-air. He said calmly: "Fourth brother, one should be moderate in doing things, and speaking is no exception. Today, Cheng Zhai Zhu invited everyone to come to the Half Moon Pavilion for a meeting, it was to resolve disputes and calm down conflicts. If competing with each other's tongues could bring about a happy ending, then from now on, everyone can practice the Iron Mouth Copper Tongue skill."

  Cheng Xianhu was still seething with anger, and he snorted: "Brother Bu's words are absolutely right. If you want to hear about bragging, you can go to the tea house in Chang'an City to listen to storytelling. Today I invited everyone here just to bet on Tiger Gorge Village against General Ge's escort team!"

  Geng Nan's expression didn't change as he asked, "What does the village master plan on betting?"

  "If I lose, I'll disband the Tiger's Lair and never set foot in Sichuan again! But if you lose, General Commander, then you must arrange for Young Master Geng to close down the Jiangzhou branch. From now on, all silver transported by the Escort Bureau through Mount Ba will be subject to a 30% tax, which the Tiger's Lair will collect!"

  Chu Lie angrily said: "Nonsense! After all our hard work escorting the caravan, we can't even get a 30% share of the profits!"

  Cheng Xianhu smiled and said: "In that case, don't go any further north with the escort."

  Geng Nan Yi asked in a low voice: "How do you bet?"

  Cheng Xianhu's face suddenly lit up with a smile, and he slowly spat out from between his teeth: "A game of win or lose!"

  Before the words had fallen, two robust men stepped into the Half Moon Pavilion and unfolded a seven-foot-long scroll with a rustling sound.

  Everyone gazed intently, seeing that it was a topographic map of the Great Bashan Tiger's Lair, with mountains and rivers layered and vividly depicted. The majestic mountains and steep ridges were wonderfully lifelike. On the blank space at the beginning of the scroll, in bold cursive script written with a red brush, were the five characters "Hundred Tigers Thousand Spears Formation".

  Cheng Xianhu pointed to the center of the terrain map and said, "This is where the 'Gathering Hall' of Hu Ge Village is located. Within seven days, no matter what methods you use, as long as you can capture the person who has been guarding the hall alive, I will consider myself defeated in this bet."

  Baozhanzi's expression was as usual, and he continued: "There are eight large arrays around Hu Ge Village, twenty-four small arrays. In addition to the one main array and four small arrays that I have set up inside Hu Ge Village, there is a total of nine major arrays and twenty-eight minor arrays. They correspond to the Nine Palaces and Twenty-Eight Constellations. You can choose any direction and time to attack, and we will not ask about casualties. Whoever can enter the assembly hall and rescue Mrs. Cheng within seven days will be considered the winner."

  After saying this, he tightly closed his mouth again, as if speaking another word would be a waste.

  The Banyuetang fell into a long silence, and among the twenty gazes of the righteous heroes, eighteen were focused on the unfolded terrain map of Hu Ge's village.

  On a seven-foot-long scroll, Bu Suanzi marked out the location and name of each formation, but that was all.

  Only Xīao Sì occasionally glanced at the terrain map, most of the time he was staring at Cháo Tiān's eyes, and the rest of the time he was studying Bó Suàn Zǐ's eyes to see if they were really blind or fake. As for the angry gaze cast by Yóu Shì Rán, he basically ignored it.

  After a long time, Long in the sky asked: "If we enter the gathering hall but don't see Mrs. Cheng, what should we do?"

  Cheng Xianhu let out a cold snort and said: "Indeed, it seems that I, Cheng, have lost!"

  Geng Nan said: "This matter I cannot make a decision on my own, it still needs to be carefully discussed with all of you before it can be determined."

  Cheng Xianhu didn't pursue the matter, waving his hand to order two of his subordinates to take back the terrain map. He said: "This map is given to you as a reference for breaking the formation and attacking the stronghold. However, I must say that if I don't receive your response before dawn tomorrow, it will be considered that the Will Communication Bureau has voluntarily forfeited. At that time, I will withdraw from Tiger Hook Stronghold under the cover of White Tiger Thousand Hooks Formation, and then the Will Communication Bureau, Sleeping Dragon Manor, Chao Tian Gang, and Jian Ge's door people and disciples will see one kill one, see two kill two, until the entire family is exterminated!"

  All the heroes changed color, Zhao Baihe slapped the stone table and laughed furiously: "Great! Now I want to see if your Tiger Gorge Village's knife is fast or our Chao Tian Gang's three thousand brothers' necks are hard!"

  Yu Linglong and Geng Nan Yi exchanged a subtle glance, both thinking to themselves: "This plan is so sinister. If we agree to the bet and lose, even if it's a disaster, only the Jiangzhou branch will be affected; but if we don't agree, it will bring calamity to all the fellow Taoists on different paths as well as their relatives and friends."

  Geng Nan Yi turned his head and slowly looked at Long Zaitian, Zhao Bai Chuan, Qiu Junyi and others beside him. A surge of heroic emotions arose in his chest, and he thought to himself: "At worst, the escort agency can be closed, and I'll use my own life to exchange for Shao Hua's safety, but I won't let these fellow Jianghu heroes who lent a helping hand suffer losses!"

  He sprang up at this thought and stretched out his right palm, saying: "Starting from tomorrow's sunrise, the formation will be broken in seven days!"

  Cheng Xianhu's cold and stern face revealed a hint of a smile, slowly standing up and striking three palms with Geng Nanxing, saying: "Cheng awaits the arrival of General Geng and all the heroes at Tiger Hook Village!" After finishing speaking, he departed with Yu Hongjiao and You Shiren.

  Ba Suanzi sat on the stone drum stool, motionless, and said calmly: "Fourth Brother, I'll be waiting for you at the White Tiger's Moonlit Array. Don't disappoint me."

  Xiao Si was taken aback and thought to himself: these two groups of people are competing with each other, how did the old blind man drag me into this?

  The old man slowly got up and said, "This White Tiger Thousand Spears Formation is the lifelong pursuit of my old self, and until now there has been no opportunity to put it into battle. If Little Fourth Brother can break through it, I will die with my eyes closed."

  Xiao Si said with a sneer: "You old blind fool, you're so bored that you're messing around with this broken formation. Yet you're urging me to fly into the fire like a moth. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me. If you have the guts, then if you lose, you'll become my apprentice!"

  The old man's face, which had been gloomy, suddenly broke into a sly smile, as if inviting someone to enter his trap. He nodded and said, "Alright, in that case, perhaps this old man can live for a few more years. But if you can't break through my White Tiger Thousand Halberd Formation, then you'll have to become my disciple."

  Xiao Siyi suddenly found himself inexplicably dragged into this by the old blind man. He turned his eyes and said, "Isn't it just making a flute for you? As long as you don't mind that I'm not good at it, I'd be happy to help."

  Bosatsu didn't know if he had heard it or not, the smile on his face gradually faded away, and he returned to his original appearance. The black bamboo stick tapped lightly as he walked slowly along the mountain path, muttering: "I'll teach you how to be a good flute!"

  Xiao Si's heart inexplicably felt a chill upon hearing the words, and he glared at the old blind man's increasingly distant hunched back, muttering in a low voice: "Does your grandpa need you to teach him? You can find three-cash scribes on the street."

  Suddenly, Chu Lie patted his shoulder and apologized, "Sorry, Little Fourth Brother, I've dragged you into this again."

  Xiao Si felt that he had been deceived by the old blind man, but a general can be captured, a hero's will cannot be taken away. If he showed weakness in front of so many people, how could he survive in the future? He might as well become like Xian Hu, using the 36th strategy - retreat is the best option. Let the old blind man search for him all over the world if he was interested.

  He smiled calmly and said, "Old man, you're being too polite, what's the relationship between us?"

  After saying this, he immediately asked himself in his heart and added a sentence: "The relationship between us is that there is no relationship."

  Chu Lie didn't know what this little guy was muttering in his belly, and he pressed down heavily on Xiao Si's shoulder.

  Everyone left the Half Moon Pavilion and arrived at the foot of the mountain, where Wan'er and Long Chuyuan had been waiting for a long time. Yuling said something about meeting, and Long Chuyuan raised an eyebrow: "A group of arrogant fools who don't know life or death, this time we must beat them until they are convinced and have nothing to say!"

  He glanced at him, smiled and thought to himself: "With your kind of ability, even if you had a hundred chances, you'd still be dead."

  Long Chouyuan was laughed at by him and suddenly became angry, saying: "What are you laughing at?"

  Xiao Si's smile was restrained, and he said seriously: "After hearing Long Gongzi's heroic words, I suddenly felt a surge of confidence and my fighting spirit soared. Thinking about those thieves being beaten by Long Gongzi until they were fleeing in disarray, I couldn't help but laugh with joy."

  Long Chuyuan hummed and chased after Wanyu, walking and talking excitedly while gesticulating.

  Chu Lie shook his head and thought to himself: "This kid is a bundle of contradictions, I've heard that Long Tianyi has intentions to propose to Wan'er on his behalf, but I wonder what Old Ge thinks about it?"

  On the other side, Xiao Si saw Long Chuo Yuan walking beside Wan Er with a smile on his face, chatting and laughing, feeling very displeased. He scolded: "This little toad is just born into a rich family, has a pretty face, and thinks he can eat swan meat just by opening his mouth. The wound has healed, but the pain remains. I need to think of a way to make this kid remember for a long time, so that he won't keep appearing in front of me every day, affecting my appetite."

  He was thinking of ways to make Long Chuyuan suffer again, but he didn't think about the real reason why this little white face had been appearing around him frequently lately.

  After all, people will pay more attention to things that are not pleasing to the eye, and often ignore the people and things around them that have gradually become habitual.

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