Chapter 15: Don't Cheat Old Man Poor (Part 1)

  After half an incense stick of fragrance, the grand hall suddenly fell silent.

  All the golden dragons and black tigers returned to their respective positions, as if they had fallen into a deep sleep, with no further reaction.

  Xiao Si leaned against the pillar with his hands, panting heavily, and big drops of sweat fell from his forehead like raindrops.

  His hair was disheveled, the left half dry and curled up, his clothes were torn into strips and hung limply on his body. On his skin, there was a charred black mark on the left side and a bloody scratch on the right side. He was in so much pain that his whole body kept twitching, and even taking a breath felt like being stabbed by steel needles in his chest.

  The most vicious words he had already cursed in his heart, but at this moment, he couldn't even be bothered to hum a single note.

  He was busy operating the star array to regulate his inner breath, while repeatedly calculating the nine palace lanterns. Finally, he discovered in despair that this was not some kind of eight virtual and one real, but rather his grandmother's nine linked rings!

  In other words, each of the nine palace lanterns can change from virtual to real at any time, and also from real to virtual. Unless all nine palace lanterns are extinguished, this large formation is equivalent to not being broken.

  He glanced at the sandalwood that had burned down to less than a sixth of its original size, and Xiao Si's heart was bleeding: "A Heavenly Thunderbolt Talisman can sell for over 3,000 taels, that's my hard-earned money. I don't believe this little girl who claims she can break the Nine Palaces Array will really take me to feed the tigers!"

  Just as he steeled himself and was about to take the risk, the cold voice of Princess Jincheng rang in his ears: "If you can break through the formation, I will give you a six-grade Taoist symbol."

  "Dao Fu, still a sixth-grade official?" Xiao Si immediately remembered the old blind man's words, and the palace lanterns in front of him swayed and slowly turned into piles of silver.

  What else is there to hesitate about? Xīao Sì didn't hesitate at all, taking out the last Tiān Dǎ Léi Jī symbol and exploding it in his hand.

  "Boom boom boom——" Nine bundles of heavenly thunder surged forward, separately attacking the nine palace lanterns above the main hall.

  Cluster after cluster of crimson light flowers burst forth amidst the deafening roar, as if the entire heaven and earth were trembling with fear.

  Xiao Si covered his ears and waited for a moment, the diffuse bloody mist slowly dispersed, he hastily opened his eyes to look up, suddenly furiously scolding: "You damn bastard!"

  Only nine palace lanterns were shattered by thunderbolts, leaving one still hanging motionless under the algae well. Undoubtedly, this is the true body of the Nine Palace Suite Moon Lantern, and even the heavenly thunderbolt talisman cannot do anything about it.

  "My three thousand two hundred pieces of silver..."

  Suddenly, Xiang Xiao Si discovered that the silver she spent was still somewhat useful. The surface of the lantern cover of the Jiugong Taoyue lamp faintly revealed fine cracks, apparently unable to withstand further blows.

  However, the Heavenly Thunderbolt Seal had been exhausted, and Xiao Si swallowed a mouthful of bitter water, saying gloomily: "Don't mention that I'm now so tired I'm half dead, even if I were to burst out with all my might and slash with one knife, it still wouldn't compare to the fifth-grade Heavenly Thunderbolt Seal."

  He quickly calculated and gritted his teeth, taking out a six-grade "Great Thunder Sword Token".

  Bu Xiangzi and he only managed to refine two "Great Thunder Sword Talismans". Di Xiao Si cherished them like precious treasures, never willing to take them out for use. Today, they had no choice but to sacrifice one, otherwise the previous "Heavenly Thunderbolt Talisman" would have been wasted, and outside the door was a Snow King Tiger with an innocent name, eagerly awaiting its lunch today.

  With this in mind, Xiaosan's eyes welled up with tears as he stroked the "Dalei Sword Symbol" back and forth, a three-inch jade sword-shaped token. Then, with a heavy heart and closed eyes, he crushed it with a "Ka" sound, as if what was shattered wasn't the Dao symbol, but 10,000 taels of silver.

  "Hum——" The jade sword turned into powder, emitting a brilliant light as clear as jade, but in an instant it condensed and transformed into a giant sword over two zhang long, its entire body transparent with flashing lightning and crackling thunder, rising to the sky with the momentum of splitting heaven and shattering the sea, striking the Nine Palaces' Suite Moon Lamp.

  "Ka-cha!" The Nine Palaces Suite Moon Lamp suddenly turned into nothingness, and the algae well, which had lost its protection from the formation, shattered and scattered like tofu dregs. It even blasted a hole with a diameter of over 16 feet in the roof above!

  It's not over yet, the remaining momentum of Leijian didn't stop, a burst of snow-like lightning bolts scattered in all directions, wherever it passed, the beams were broken and shattered into pieces.

  Xiao Si looked up and gazed, unable to help but be shocked by the terrifying power of the Great Thunder Sword Symbol. He secretly sighed: "You get what you pay for, spending 10,000 taels is indeed stronger than spending 3,000 taels."

  Just thinking that the big Lei Jian Fu was already in his sleeve, his heart was trembling again, and he hated Jin Cheng Gong Zhu so much that he wanted to take off all the valuable things she wore, such as Feng Chai, earrings, rings, necklaces, and bracelets... to make up for the loss.

  Suddenly, the voice of Princess Jincheng was heard saying: "Cross the great hall and come to the South Study to see me."

  Xiao Si was taken aback, then suddenly remembered: "Right! I have to go find her and settle the score!" He walked out of the Ganlu Temple and saw a quiet courtyard behind it. To the south was a small building, which was the study.

  Xiao Si walked into the study and saw Princess Jincheng standing elegantly behind the desk, her head bowed low as she wrote something with a brush.

  Xiao Si's curiosity got the better of her and she leaned forward to take a peek at what she was writing.

  The Princess of Jin City had already put down her pen and handed him a paper with ink still wet on it.

  "Is this the receipt for the six-pi Dao symbol?" Xiao Si took over the paper note and scanned it, on which a string of numbers was densely listed, finally totaling 97,536 taels of silver.

  "The bill?" Looking at the itemized list of damages on the paper, Xiao Si's hands trembled with a strong sense of foreboding.

  "This is the cost of repairing the Grand Temple roof and repurchasing the Nine Palace Suite lanterns. You calculate it carefully, and hand over the silver ticket to the Imperial Household Department within three days." Princess Jincheng said calmly, continuing: "As for the sixth-grade Taoist symbol I promised you, it has already been directly deducted from the account."

  Xiao Si's eyes didn't blink once, and with a few swift movements, she tore the bill to shreds. She then spread her hands out and said, "I don't have any money."

  The face of Princess Jincheng showed no anger, calmly saying: "It doesn't matter, I can call the Imperial Guard to come in. Unauthorized destruction of the imperial palace buildings, according to the Great Sui law, should be punished by confiscation of property and execution, it is an unforgivable crime."

  Xiao Si's heart chilled, but to beg for mercy like this was too humiliating. Moreover, he was still aching over the silver he had just spent, so he gritted his teeth and said: "Do as you please, after all, a turtle can be stewed but not boiled, a gentleman can be killed but not humiliated."

  As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of inspiration struck him: "This girl has called me into the palace, and she's both breaking through and intimidating, so there must be some use for old me, thinking to cheat old me out of a clear warehouse at a blood price, no way."

  His confidence suddenly became full, and he stood up straight and said: "Of course, if Her Highness happens to have a business deal that she wants to partner with someone, I can consider it. However, the precondition is that you first return what you owe me."

  The golden face of Princess Jincheng revealed a hint of surprise, and then immediately turned cold as ice, nodding her head: "You are very clever, this account of over 90,000 taels I can indeed cancel with one stroke, and not pursue the crime of destroying the Ganlu Temple."

  She pulled out a scroll from the desk and said, "This is an analytical diagram of the Qimen Dunjia formation. If you can provide a solution to break the formation within ten days, I will give you another six-piece Dao symbol."

  She then took out a jade pendant the size of a copper coin from her sleeve and placed it next to the scroll, saying: "This is what you just obtained by breaking the formation, a six-grade fixed-body talisman."

  Xiao Si glared at Yu Pei and said: "I want to inspect the goods, don't try to pass off a fake on me." He reached out to grab Yu Pei.

  Jincheng Princess suddenly approached, her left elbow lightly colliding with Xiao Si's chest. Xiao Si felt his chest swell and was about to shout when he saw a flash before his eyes. Jincheng Princess's right hand slender fingers lightly plucked, shooting a red medicinal pill into his mouth, instantly dissolving into a spicy liquid that slid down his throat.

  The whole action was as swift as lightning and sudden without warning, Xiao Si was caught off guard and fell into the trap.

  He choked, his eyes streaming with tears, and just as he was about to use the Star Array's power to force the liquid out, Princess Jincheng's left palm suddenly swept across, her slender fingers lightly brushing against his throat.

  Xiao Si's true energy dissipated instantly, and he felt the liquid transform into a rolling hot flow that merged into his blood vessels. Enraged, he didn't care if the other person was a princess or a sow, and he cursed loudly: "You little slut, what kind of thing did you feed me? Hurry up and give me the antidote, otherwise we'll part ways!"

  "The princess slowly sat down and said, 'This is not poison, but a 'Black Sun Hidden Dragon Pill'. Within one year, it will have no effect on you. However, if the time limit is exceeded and you are unable to take the antidote, all the true yuan in your body will be ignited and burned, turning into vigorous and turbulent true energy. At the same time, your mind will become deranged, and to vent the violent true energy inside your body, you will constantly seek killing stimulation until you exhaust yourself or are killed by others.'"

  Xiao Si was horrified and couldn't believe that such a vicious plot could be spoken from the mouth of Princess Jincheng, whose tone was so calm and gentle, as if she were describing a boundless landscape on a spring day outside the city.

  At the moment of life and death, his brain became extremely sensitive. He suppressed the anger and fear in his heart, picked up the restraint talisman from the table as if nothing had happened, and smiled: "Even if the medicine takes effect, it will be a year later, right? In that case, I'll take the cash first and collect the reward for breaking the formation earlier."

  Jincheng Princess withdrew her gaze from Xiao Si, and said slowly: "I know you recognize Tang Hechuang, but he is also powerless against the Black Sun Fulong Pill. Your only hope for survival is to listen to me obediently."

  Xiao Si's mind kept replaying the scene of cutting the beautiful but venomous woman into eight pieces to feed Xiao Xue, yet he also knew that with Princess Jin Cheng's skills in subduing him earlier, it would ultimately be himself who ends up being cut into eight pieces.

  He smiled and picked up the scroll, saying: "Prepare your things, I'll come to deliver them in ten days." He walked out of the study with a swagger, never asking another question about the antidote.

  Jincheng Princess saw off Xiang Xiaosi as she left, a hint of playful color flowing in her eyes, and lightly slapped the palm of her hand.

  Two middle-aged palace maids floated out of a secret door behind the bookshelf like ghosts and saluted, saying: "Your Highness!"

  "Follow him," Princess Jincheng said quietly. "I want him alive. If he's to die, it can only be by my hand."