Chapter 2: Rise to Fame (Part 2)

  That night, the Tong Bureau borrowed a garden from the Chao Tian Gang and set up a celebratory banquet to entertain the various righteous heroes who came to assist in the fight. Everyone raised their cups and exchanged toasts, laughing and chatting, and they all drank until they were satisfied and dispersed.

  Only Yu Zhong Shi's face didn't look too good, after all, her beloved husband was injured and the spotlight had been completely stolen by Xiao Si. The wine in her mouth tasted bitter.

  After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Xiao Si had already shown seven parts of drunkenness, staggering to the backyard to visit Geng Nan Yi.

  Geng Nan Yi had just taken his medicine and was lying in bed chatting with Chu Lie when he saw Xiao Si Er enter the room, and smiled: "Brother Xiao Si, I happened to want to discuss something with you."

  Xiao Si sat down on the chair, gulped down half a pot of sobering tea, and asked: "Old Master Geng, what's going on?"

  Geng Nan said, "The Jiangzhou Escort Bureau needs to be rebuilt, and there are many urgent matters to attend to. I'm worried that Old Chu will have too much on his plate, so I thought of letting Shaohua stay in Jiangzhou for a few more months."

  Chu Lie said, "Pei Heng's injury is not light either. He needs to rest for at least two or three months. Ling Long's niece will naturally stay with him, so they won't be able to return to Chang'an for the time being. Just now, I and Old Ge had a private conversation with Yu Zongbiao, hoping that you can take charge of the Chang'an branch for these few months."

  "What?" Xiang Xiao Si's wine suddenly woke up more than half, and he said in shock: "No, no, I can't even take care of my own affairs, you're not pushing a duck onto a shelf, are you?"

  His words were indeed sincere and not humble at all. Thinking of the hundreds of mouths to feed in the Chang'an branch, as well as the numerous trivial matters, Xiao Si's head suddenly became big. Moreover, after a year of hard work, the silver earned was far less than what he could get from just chatting with Duan Shentian and Wang Renten. Such an unprofitable business was absolutely not worth doing.

  Geng Nan said, "Fourth brother, your abilities are clear to everyone. I and Old Chu both feel inferior to you. To be honest, according to the Jade Leader's intention, he wanted to transfer another deputy leader from the Chengdu headquarters to rush to Chang'an for emergency assistance. It was politely declined by me and Old Chu. Because of this matter, he and I had some unpleasantness..."

  "Chu Lie hummed: 'Not only was it unpleasant, the table was also slapped, and his mother scolded him. It's just short of them doing it right there on the spot.'"

  Xiao Si has been dissatisfied with Yu Zhongshi and Xia Peiheng's behavior for a long time, and had been looking for an opportunity to teach them a lesson. Upon hearing this, he became enraged and said: "This old man is not a good thing, always thinking about stealing chickens and peaches!"

  After scolding him, he couldn't help but secretly regret saying: "You fool, isn't this exactly what I myself am?"

  Geng Nan Wing solemnly said, "Fourth brother, this matter is settled and must not be mentioned again. Moreover, the several times we encountered great trouble, it was Yu Zongbiao who helped us selflessly and got us through the difficulties."

  Chu Lie had just drunk a lot of wine and spoke bluntly: "Then why don't you mention how much blood we've shed and how many losses we've suffered for the sake of the General Bureau? Isn't Old Yu afraid that the Chengdu General Bureau will surpass us? One day when he retires, this position as head of the Zhongtian Escort Agency won't fall into Xia Peiheng's hands. After all, this agency isn't owned by Old Yu's family."

  Geng Nan shook his head and said, "Old Chu, you're drunk. Let's stop here for tonight and talk about it tomorrow. Fourth brother, Chang'an City is under the emperor's feet, and the situation is far more complicated than Chengdu or Jiangzhou. Apart from you, I really don't trust anyone else to take charge of the branch."

  Xiao Si bid farewell and left, thinking that if Geng Shao Hua stayed in Jiangzhou City, Wan Er would not return to Chang'an alone, and he was afraid that he would not see this little girl for a few more days.

  "Or else, I'll stay too?" As soon as the thought flashed through his mind, the pretty face of Princess Jincheng appeared in front of him, and he couldn't help but shudder at the thought that if he really stayed in Jiangzhou, that little girl would not let him go.

  Thinking of this, Xiao Si returned to her own room with a lackluster expression, closed the door, sat on the bed and began to sort out the spoils.

  He first pulled out a large stack of silver tickets from his bosom, held them in his hand and counted them three times, and his mood improved a lot. Then he took out the flag that summoned the wind and rain from the dragon waistband, played with it while thinking about how to erase the spiritual mark left on the flag by the old witch.

  Finally, Xiao Si took out the Daxiaobao Floating Pagoda and gazed at the suppressed Benlan Old Demon's primordial spirit. The primordial spirit was condensed to the size of a bullet and lay quietly at the bottom of the pagoda, its entire body a deep crimson with hints of colorful light. Due to severe internal injuries, its current power was only comparable to that of an ordinary Tongyuan realm expert. To recover to its former level, it didn't know how many more years of cultivation would be needed.

  Xiao Si slowly stretched out a strand of spiritual awareness, which entered the Dahong Pofa Pagoda. It merged with the spiritual seal he had left behind, and his left hand pinched a Buddhist hand seal towards the pagoda as he pointed at it. He let out a low shout: "Hmph!" In an instant, the Dahong Pofa Pagoda slowly rose into the air, suspended in front of him. The formation within the pagoda began to operate, and a golden-red glow appeared.

  Xiao Si hugged Yuan Shou, with both hands continuously striking the law seal. Thousands of talismanic lines flowed and operated under his mental urging. In the empty space within the floating pagoda, a faint "hiss" sound ignited a Buddhist red lotus karma fire, which slowly lifted and refined the demon's primordial spirit.

  In an instant, the primordial spirit of the mottled old demon gradually became bright red and transparent, like a lantern made of crystal carved into a blood jade toad, with thousands of strands of colorful mist steaming from its body, as the accumulated various impurities were slowly refined and dissipated.

  Xiao Si took out a handful of "Tian Jing Sha" from the dragon's waistband, which he had bought from the black market in Chang'an, and added half a block of "Huan Ling Xiang" before throwing them into the Da Kong Fa Ba floating pagoda.

  "Whoa——" The red lotus industry fire in the tower suddenly turned golden yellow, and a refreshing elegant fragrance wafted through the house.

  The "Tian Jing Sha" quickly melted into the flames, and the five-colored mist that emerged from the old demon's primordial spirit became increasingly intense. A large amount of impurities dissipated and evaporated under the effect of Tian Jing Sha.

  At the same time, the Lingxiang incense also became brighter and brighter, soon turning into ashes. All the essence was absorbed by the Yuanshen, and Xiao Si's Lingtai shook slightly, slowly revealing the light shadow of the old demon's Yuanshen, which seeped into the delicate and subtle spiritual consciousness.

  This alchemy method was learned from Lao Mangzi's "Unenlightened Notes", and it is indeed incredibly effective, with immediate results.

  At this time, his cultivation had reached the realm of subtlety, and the true energy in his dantian was dense and surging. It seemed like a mass of star clouds were churning and flowing, constantly circulating and urging forth. Through the spiritual platform, it was refined and transformed into a stream of spiritual consciousness that poured continuously into the Da Kong Bo Fa Lü Tuo, as if his arm was moving to point out the direction of his power.

  Immediately following, Xiao Si added "Purple Cloud Root", "Sumeru Grass" and other spiritual herbs to the Big Empty Wave Pagoda, in order to nourish yin and supplement yang, strengthen the primordial energy, and rapidly enhance the combat power of the spotted old demon's yuan Shen.

  After about three hours, the Tian Jing Sha in the tower gradually ran out, and the color of the flame returned to crimson. Xiao Si let out a long breath and slowly withdrew his power, but he felt physically and mentally exhausted, his head heavy and drowsy.

  He cursed in his heart: "This is a waste of money, no wonder everyone doesn't want to refine the law treasure, they all want to eat ready-made ones. It turns out that this job not only consumes mind and energy, but also requires spending a lot of silver. What kind of refining treasure is this, it's clearly just burning money!"

  He subtly moved his mind, and the old demon's primordial spirit instantly transformed into a streak of blood flames that emerged from the Da Kongbao Floating Pagoda. In mid-air, it condensed into a toad with a fiery red body, radiating a brilliant glow. At this moment, its size was as large as an infant, and it could shrink or expand at will according to Xiao Si's spiritual consciousness.

  Xiao Si concentrated his mind and observed, only to see that the impurities inside the toad's body had greatly decreased compared to before, its entire body was crystal clear with an additional layer of dark golden light. If he continued to refine it with the help of the Da Kong Bo Fa Floating Pagoda, it was highly likely that this toad would transform from evil to good. However, even if it reached the pinnacle of its cultivation, it would only be limited to the realm of mortal life, which was also an unavoidable fact. Otherwise, Xiao Si feared that he would go bankrupt and still wouldn't be able to serve this toad master.

  He gazed at the faint, multicolored stripes on the toad's back and thought to himself with great satisfaction: "I've got to give this toad a more distinctive name... how about 'Little Peach Red'?"

  Even if the old demon's primordial spirit, three souls and seven spirits were all destroyed, only a wisp of confused residual spirit was left. Under the stimulation of the Huanling incense, some spiritual wisdom was re-produced, but it could not withstand the chill that ran through its body, and let out a mournful cry.

  "You dare to haggle with me? Believe it or not, I'll throw you into the pot and deep-fry you right now. Then I'll add some Sichuan pepper, black pepper, and eight-spice wine to drink!"

  Xiao Tao Hong heard Xie Xiao Si's malicious words and immediately shut her mouth, closing her eyes and not daring to look at Xie Xiao Si again.

  Xiao Si saw the situation and burst out laughing, suddenly feeling something on his spiritual platform, he quickly kicked Xiaotao Hong back into the tower with one foot, then put away the Daxiaobu Floating Pagoda, got out of bed and opened the door.

  Outside the door, a white-clad figure was as cold as night. The Golden City Princess's face was like frost and her eyes were like a cold pool. Even the quiet moonlight that fell on her body seemed to turn into a thin layer of light cloud mist.

  Xiao Si found her annoying and intimidating, but deep down had to admit that this little girl's appearance and temperament were absolutely "peerless". He was afraid that among all the beauties he had seen, she was the most beautiful.

  Unfortunately, this little girl looks beautiful and charming, but with just a light touch, she becomes a fierce tigress, let alone taking a bite.

  The sinister thoughts in Xiao Si's mind were unknown to Princess Jincheng, otherwise she would have dug out his liver and intestines. She said indifferently: "You should do your job."

  "Hey, what's the rush? Let me sleep for a while, we can talk when it gets light."

  The princess of Jin City raised an eyebrow and asked: "Whose father are you?"

  Xiao Si knew he had misspoken, but times were different now. He was now the half-brother of this young lady, same father different mother... brother. Was he still afraid she would turn against her own flesh and blood? At that moment, he let out a yawn, turned around and went back into the house saying: "Can't this question wait till I wake up to answer you?"

  "No!" Princess Jincheng's words were brief and to the point. Suddenly, her white clothes fluttered as she grabbed Xiao Si's collar from behind.

  Xiao Si shouted in surprise and anger: "Little girl, quickly let go of me! Otherwise I'll get Xiaotao Hong to bite you!"

  The Golden City Princess coldly said: "Screw you!" Her slender body swayed slightly as she quickly merged into the night with Xiao Si.

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