Chapter 11: The Departure of the Escort (Part 1)

  The day after the Battle of Shi Zi Slope, in the afternoon, Hui Tong Bureau welcomed its first distinguished guest since its reopening.

  His surname is Hou, he opened a Buddhist charity hall, specializing in purchasing and transporting medicinal materials, with some small reputation in Chang'an City.

  Business came to the door, Xia Peiheng, the head of the Xia Group, was overjoyed and personally entertained with courtesy.

  Hou Laoban was also straightforward, and as soon as he opened his mouth, it was a big deal. He paid 3,000 taels of silver as a deposit on the spot.

  Xia Zongbiao was enthusiastic and patted his chest to promise that he would personally escort this batch of silver, ensuring that nothing went wrong on the way.

  Unexpectedly, Mr. Hou specifically asked for the deputy general manager who was still lying in bed and could only count the stars and play with silver tickets to take charge of escorting the goods. He also said that he came specifically because of his reputation as Li Ke Duan Zhen Tian.

  Noticing that Xia Zongbiao's face didn't look too good, Yulinggong hastily explained to Old Man Hou that Xia Zongbiao was still recovering from his injuries and shouldn't be going on the delivery, besides he had no experience with deliveries, it would be better if the experienced and renowned Xia Zongbiao took over instead.

  Hou Lao Ban smiled and said, "No big deal, let's just consider this as the debut of Xiao Zong's escort team. If even Duan Zong, the famous escort leader from Guan Luo, can be defeated, who else would be more suitable? If Xiao Zong is indeed inconvenient to travel, then I can also consider changing to another escort agency."

  He paused intentionally at this point and looked at Xia Peiheng: "For example... Guan Lu Tie Bureau."

  Xia Peiheng finally gave up calculating personal gains and losses, and immediately agreed to take over as the vice captain of the escort team, with Yi Bai and Yu Linglong as his deputies, to work together with Xiao Si to transport the goods.

  Then Mr. Hou floated away with a satisfied heart, waiting for the train to depart on the sixth day.

  After Xia Pei Heng sent off the client, he came in to see Xiao Si. After much persuasion, he finally agreed to go out on a business trip with great difficulty, and all the expenses for food and lodging along the way would be borne by the Escort Bureau.

  So Xiao Si found Yi Bai and asked him to clarify the confusing account of one million becoming five hundred thousand. Under duress, Yi Bai had no choice but to agree to a small test of his skills, replacing Diao's deputy general manager's nephew, who was an old foreigner, with a new recruit, disguising himself as a porter and infiltrating the escort team this time.

  It is often said that people are in high spirits when they encounter happy events. Xiaosan's spirit over the past two days has been more than just refreshed, it should be extremely refreshed.

  He roughly estimated that, excluding the tens of thousands of taels of silver and medicine money given to Qu Tui and Zei Lao Dao, he should have about 700,000 taels of silver left for himself. Unfortunately, his life-saving assets were almost depleted again, and he had to replenish them as soon as possible; otherwise, it would be difficult to guarantee that the next time he encountered Eagle Yang or Yuwen Chengdu, he wouldn't end up being killed at will.

  As the saying goes, "turning over and not forgetting old friends", Xiao Si again spent an entire afternoon at Wenxiang Building, finally buying from Li Jing a nine-shot Chuiyue crossbow that can be modified to hide in his boot, two "White Crane Bright Wing Arrows", one tube of "Soul Severing Heavenly River Needles", and one pack of "Soul Longing Dreamy Scattered Powder" at a heavily discounted price, almost as if he wanted to stuff something into his mouth as well.

  He took a detour to the imperial city and told Princess Jincheng about his plan to escort the convoy to Taiyuan.

  Princess Jincheng didn't say much more and handed him four scrolls this time, asking him to escort them back to Chang'an and deliver the goods.

  Xiao Si put away the scroll, thinking that Princess Jin Cheng had completely forgotten about the Seventh-Rank Five Mountains Seal. He hastily slipped out of the South Study, but just as his left foot stepped out of the door, he almost collided with someone's chest.

  Kui De's reaction was extremely quick, and he hastily withdrew his figure, not even having time to carefully look at the newcomer. He scolded: "How do you walk? You don't even greet me with a word before approaching the princess..."

  He was halfway through his sentence when his mouth suddenly opened and closed again, unable to utter a single sound.

  All he saw was a middle-aged man standing in front of him, with a dignified appearance and an air of natural majesty. His eyebrows were like sharp knives slanting into his temples, giving him a slightly sinister look. But all this didn't matter, the key point was that this middle-aged man was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe!

  "How dare you!" A guard commander standing behind the middle-aged man shouted sternly: "Men, take him down!"

  Xiao Si's mind quickly turned, and he shouted: "Xiao Si, I let you walk without looking at the road, I let you rush out without greeting, now that you've collided with the imperial carriage, what are you going to do?" He fell to the ground, kowtowing and said: "Long live Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

  This middle-aged man was none other than Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. He hadn't expected someone to suddenly appear in his daughter's study, and he couldn't help but pause for a moment.

  Two eunuchs were about to step forward and seize Xiao Si, but he waved his hand and said: "This kid is quite interesting, let me ask him a few questions before making a decision."

  As soon as the words fell, Princess Jincheng walked out of the study and bowed down: "Father!"

  Yang Guang saw his daughter and a smile appeared on his stern face: "Is he the one you summoned to the palace? Called Diao Xiao Si... Why do I feel like I've heard of him before?"

  Princess Jincheng replied, "Has Father forgotten? He is a friend of my daughter's and has just become the deputy head of the Tongbao Agency. Just a few days ago, he even asked you for a plaque to celebrate the opening of his business."

  Yang Guang nodded and said: "Alright, I remember now. Since he's your friend, perhaps he doesn't understand the palace rules, so let it go."

  Xiao Si was secretly amazed, he had heard that Yang Guang was a cruel and tyrannical ruler, but the man standing in front of him, who was obviously the father of a spoiled daughter, could escape death with just two light words.

  He stood up and said: "Thank you Your Majesty, I bid farewell!"

  Yang Guang nodded and Xiao Si let out a breath as he backed away. But Yang Guang suddenly said, "Wait!"

  Xiao Si was startled and thought the Emperor wanted to change his mind, so he immediately called out: "Your Majesty, you can't be joking! Whatever you say goes!"

  The imperial guard general's face turned cold and he said: "How dare you speak to His Majesty like that? Kneel down and apologize at once!"

  Yang Guang seemed to have not heard, staring at Xiao Si for a long time, as if muttering to himself in a low voice: "Really like..."

  Xiao Si was looked at by Yang Guang with a strange gaze, making her skin crawl, but then she heard Princess Jincheng ask in surprise: "Father, who does he look like?"

  Yang Guang withdrew his gaze, shook his head and said: "It's just that I remembered someone, who shouldn't have anything to do with this child." He waved his hand at Xiao Si and said: "You can go now, my words are as good as gold and will not be taken back."

  Xiao Si hastily thanked him and left in a daze, heading to the warehouse to collect his refining materials before leaving the Imperial City.

  He didn't know what Yang Guang said he resembled, and it wasn't until they walked out of the Hanguang Gate that he suddenly felt his heart pounding.

  But before he had gone two streets, he had already put the previous matter behind him and was riding his horse, thinking about how to spend the tens of thousands of taels of silver in his waist pack, happily returning to Liu Garden.

  On both sides of the street, people would occasionally point and whisper to each other, while some unmarried young girls hid behind curtains to sneak a peek, wanting to see what kind of person this young hero was who had defeated the leader of the Guanluo Escort Agency, Duan Zhentian.

  Yi Bo and several escorts, who were responsible for protecting him, smiled and said: "Fourth Master, you are now a famous person in Chang'an City. I heard that the Long'an Famous People's List at Fuchengdadao, the largest wine house in the capital, has your name on it, and you have even entered the top 20. Even Duan Zhentian benefited from this matter and suddenly squeezed into the 86th place."

  Xiao Si's eyes widened in surprise as he asked: "The Long'an Famous Scholars List, what is that all about?"

  Yi Bo replied, "It's a list compiled by the owner of Fu Pu based on the topics discussed by each guest in the wine house. The top 100 people who can make it onto the list are all figures who are widely discussed on the streets and alleys of Chang'an City. This list is updated once a month, and I've heard that even some princes and high-ranking officials want to spend money to get their names on it."

  Xiao Si asked with great interest: "I wonder who is ranked first?"

  Yee Pui Dor: "The first place has always been vacant."

  "What's going on?"

  Yi Bo smiled and said: "Think about it, if we're talking about the number one figure in Chang'an City, who dares to compete with His Majesty? But his name is not to be written casually, so I'll just leave it blank."

  Xiao Si suddenly enlightened, said: "When we return from Taiyuan, let's take some time to go to Fucheng and take a look at the famous scholars' list."

  A few people chatted and returned to Liu Garden, Xiao Si dismounted his horse and rushed straight to Bu Suanzi's residence.

  Pushing open the door, I saw Bo Zhongzi sitting quietly by the window drinking tea, facing outside with a wooden expression as if lost in thought.

  Xiao Siyi sat down in front of him, saying: "Disciple, this time Master successfully beat the dog and you also made a lot of effort. I wanted to give you some silver, but thinking about it, this thing seems useless to you. After careful consideration, I decided to give you some refining materials."

  He said, taking out a pile of materials from the dragon waist belt and placing them on the table, estimating that they could be worth around 8,000 to 10,000. Anyway, the old blind man's refined Taoist symbols would still end up in his own pocket, so it was like keeping the fat water from flowing into someone else's field.

  Bu Suanzi didn't lift her head and slowly said: "You've come at just the right time, tonight I'm leaving the capital."

  Xiao Siyi was taken aback: "Just back for a few days, how can you leave again? Where are you going this time?"

  Bo Zhongzi was silent for a moment before responding, "I'm feeling cooped up and want to go out for a walk."

  Xiao Si smiled and said: "How convenient, I also had this intention, wanting you to follow the escort to Taiyuan for a trip."

  "Divination child shook his head and said: 'I want to go alone.'"

  Xiao Si asked in surprise: "Why?" He looked at Bo Suanzi's face and suspected: "You won't be having something on your mind, will you?"

  Bu Suanzi didn't answer and thought: "If I deceive him, it wouldn't be difficult, but what I fear is that he will find out about the Liu Garden..."

  After a moment's thought, he said slowly: "I've received news that the person who blinded my eyes returned from Tianzhu last month and is preparing to come to Chang'an to find me."

  Xiao Siyi slapped the table and shouted: "What, he blinded your eyes and still dares to come find trouble with you? No matter what, we'll join forces and deal with him! Who is he, Master will take care of this for you!"

  Bu Suanzi said, "This person you can't handle, his cultivation is even higher than Eagle Yang's old demon. This time back from Tianzhu, he's probably already broken through the realm of forgetting emotions."

  Xiao Si blinked his eyes and said: "Why don't I go discuss with Xiao San and the old thief?"

  Bu Suanzi shook his head and said, "It's useless. He is the elder of Emei Ciren Temple, the master uncle of Duan Zhentian, a renowned Orthodox Qigong Master Jin Ding Shengseng. Ye Fashan and Tang Heshang will not agree to help you deal with him."

  Xiao Si was shocked and asked: "How did you offend the old monk of Emei Mountain?"

  "Does this have anything to do with you?"

  "Cut the crap, you're my disciple, how can you say it's none of your business?"

  "Sky is getting late, I still have some things to pack up, so I won't keep you here."

  Xiao Si got up with a sullen expression, pushed open the door, thought for a moment, and turned back to say: "We'll set off early the day after tomorrow. I've come to call you."

  Ba Suanzi was taken aback, and Xiao Si smiled slyly: "It's just an old bald donkey, I'll take the blame for you! Don't blame me for not reminding you, if you dare to sneak away from your master, I'll expel you from the sect!"

  Ba Suanzi fell silent for a moment before saying, "Don't think that monks won't kill people, you'll end up dead."

  "Screw him! My life is tough. If he dares to touch my apprentice, I'll never let him off!"

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