Wandering Gods of Day and Night
Chapter 203 - 162 Tangkou Order_3

Chapter 203: Chapter 162 Tangkou Order_3

In the car, Si Yuer and Zhou Xuan were chatting away happily—at least, that’s how she felt.

Si Yuer loved wuxia novels, longing for stories of gallant roamers riding through the jianghu, blending chivalry with poetic romance.

Zhou Xuan began recounting "Heroic Legend of the Condor Heroes" to her,

"In that unnamed dynasty, there were five supreme martial artists, collectively known as East Heretic, West Poison, Southern Emperor, Northern Beggar, and Central Divine..."

"East Heretic Huang Yaoshi, exceptionally gifted, a master of weaponry, literature, arithmetic, strategy, medicine, and astrology—there was nothing he didn’t excel at. His Finger Snapping Divine Skill and Luoying Divine Sword Palm allowed him to dominate the jianghu..."

"Northern Beggar was the leader of the Beggar Gang, an unparalleled hero of the world. He practiced the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, a technique that was pure masculinity and righteousness. But he was also a glutton, more obsessed with fine cuisines than martial arts, sneaking into the imperial palace at night just for the food and wine..."

Zhou Xuan didn’t formally narrate the story to Si Yuer but simply went over some settings from "Heroic Legend of the Condor Heroes," and it had already left her utterly captivated.

After all, Mr. Jin Yong was a wuxia giant in his previous life. Though some online forums would argue endlessly about whether "Jin is first, Gu is second" or "Gu is first, Jin is second," there was no denying that Mr. Jin was an unshakable monument in the wuxia world.

With his stories out there, how could Si Yuer—the "little wuxia enthusiast"—resist being enchanted?

"The great figures are the Five Supremes, but among the smaller ones, there are also wandering heroes carrying their own renown in the jianghu, such as the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. The leader among them is the Flying Bat, Ke Zhen’e..."

Zhou Xuan continued supplementing background information for Si Yuer without hesitation. Once he’d finished, he jumped into retelling the actual plot.

Since he wasn’t delving too much into finer details, the story moved along quickly. From the snowy tragedy of Niu Village to the wager between the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan and Qiu Chuji that spanned 18 years, and then the Freaks heading to the desert in search of Guo Jing—his narration left Si Yuer alternately in tears and cheering with delight.

By the time the car stopped in front of Qiye Temple, Zhou Xuan was just wrapping up the part where "the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan risk life and limb to ambush the Black Wind Double Killers," and Si Yuer pleaded with Si Ming to have the car circle the temple a few more times.

Si Ming didn’t think it was appropriate. After all, the Young Master had more pressing matters to attend to—it wasn’t right to neglect them just to sit in the car listening to stories.

Zhou Xuan also chuckled and said, "Miss Si, the scene where the Seven Freaks battle the Copper Corpse and the Iron Corpse is a pivotal moment. If I rush through it, it won’t have the same impact. Why don’t you come to my shop next time? I’ll tell it with full detail, weaving threads together and tying them down—guaranteed to leave you thoroughly satisfied."

It’s worth noting that Zhou Xuan hadn’t told a story in a long time. Today, when Si Yuer suddenly brought up "The White-Browed Hero," it felt as though he’d rediscovered his true calling—the role he played when he was wildly popular for "several good days" as a storyteller of Ping Shui Prefecture.

Since Si Yuer enjoyed listening so much, merely reciting storylines would lose a lot of flavor. Better to arrange for a proper performance at his shop, complete with rhythm and tone.

Si Yuer was reluctant to part from the tale of the Black Wind Double Killers, but Zhou Xuan sounded sincere, so she didn’t push further and reluctantly let it go.

Once the car came to a complete stop, Si Ming, Zhou Xuan, and Si Yuer stepped out and headed into the temple.

Looking back on the trip, the person with the most complex emotions was Si Ming.

Liu Qingguang and Si Yuer, on the other hand, were purely elated. Lao Liu had received promises of "Buddha energy and Yin Sha Qi," as well as an "eye tattoo," making it feel like he was restocking supplies from the Si Mansion—naturally, he was thrilled.

Si Yuer, meanwhile, listened to Zhou Xuan recount "Heroic Legend of the Condor Heroes" the entire way. Even though it wasn’t a formal storytelling session, she was utterly immersed, her face glowing with delight, truly happy in every sense of the word.

Si Ming, though happy, wasn’t happy for his own sake.

For instance, Zhou Xuan’s "negotiation chips" offered to Liu Qingguang were things Si Ming didn’t really need—or at least, he thought he didn’t need them.

Things like Buddha energy or Yin Sha Qi might be highly beneficial for someone at a lower incense fire level.

But as someone who was on the verge of the sixth incense fire level and had lingered there for many years, unable to find the breakthrough, Si Ming wasn’t particularly intrigued. He had sought guidance from many Great Yin People and Great Divine Men but still couldn’t grasp the key to advancement.

The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment. Years of shattered expectations had long worn out his aspirations to rise further in the incense fire hierarchy.

As a result, his interest in climbing the incense fire ranks had waned significantly over the years. Especially recently, Si Ming had come to see himself purely as a Tangkou manager, a professional businessman.

So while he was happy for Liu Qingguang, he wasn’t envious.

Another example was Zhou Xuan telling stories to his daughter. Since Si Yuer became afflicted with her madness, though she would laugh and smile during her lucid moments, she had never been as joyful as today.

Si Ming loved his daughter. When she was happy, so was he.

Yet, it was hard for Si Ming to find happiness purely from his own perspective. He was consumed by thoughts.

For example, along this journey, Si Ming couldn’t stop wondering whether Zhou Xuan was truly the reincarnation of the Great Buddha.

Even though Monk Zhu Jiu had bowed three times to Zhou Xuan, an event with undeniable evidence that left him bewildered and spawned the theory that "Zhou Xuan is the reincarnated Great Buddha," it was still just a hypothesis.

If there were some way to definitively confirm that Zhou Xuan was indeed the reincarnation of the Great Buddha, that would be ideal.

All along the journey, he contemplated ways to verify this, and the more he thought, the more complex his emotions became.

The Great Buddha was just too important.

Forget the importance to Mingjiang Prefecture—on a national scale, the existence of the Great Buddha was of immense significance.

This was directly tied to the strength and status of the Tangkou.

In Jing Country, every Tangkou was connected to Alien Ghosts and Gods in the background.

Based on the strength of those Alien Ghosts and Gods, the ranking of the Tangkou was established.

Unless the power of the Alien Ghosts or Gods in its backing increased, or the Tangkou managed to affiliate itself with even stronger organizations or Tangkou, its standing was almost impossible to change.

Si Ming wanted to push the "Divine Stealer" Tangkou one step further—just one step higher.

He wasn’t overly ambitious; surpassing Mingjiang Prefecture’s "City God" Tangkou was unrealistic, as it was essentially the favored child of the Bone Elder Association.