"Master Changsheng...Master Changsheng treated me like a second life...We are all his adopted sons, and we would go through fire and water for our adoptive father..."
Xu Zifan frowned. Why is it about immortality again?
"How will doing this help your godfather?"
"By disrupting the mainland and throwing it into chaos, our godfather will return in glory, becoming the strongest Celestial Master, with wealth, status, power... he'll have everything he could want, and we'll have it all too..."
Xu Zifan asked one last question, "Who are you?"
Wang Xiaofeng became increasingly confused, but he clearly uttered a string of names, about a dozen in total. Liao Cheng's expression was unusually serious, concealing his anger. He ordered his subordinate to write down all the names and investigate immediately.
Xu Zifan snapped his fingers, and Wang Xiaofeng instantly snapped back to reality. His memory remained, and his face filled with fear and panic. "What...what did you do to me?" he cried.
Xu Zifan casually replied, "Hypnosis? Haven't psychologists ever seen that?"
Wang Xiaofeng struggled frantically, "Don't believe him! He hypnotized me! He made me say those things! It was him…"
Xuan Tong was furious and filled with hatred. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Wang Xiaofeng as if he wanted to devour him!
Xu Zifan ignored them, stood up and said to Liao Cheng, "Uncle Liao, we don't need to handle the rest, right? If there's any further news from the Immortal Daoist, I hope you can let us know."
Liao Cheng agreed, "Thank you for your hard work. Xiao Jiang will come back with me to make a report and then take a few days off. Thank you for your hard work. If you find anything unusual, you must report it to the Special Affairs Bureau. We cannot allow anyone or anything to disrupt social order."
Liao Cheng spoke these words with great seriousness, and Xu Zifan and Jiang Tianxin naturally didn't joke about them, responding earnestly. Liao Cheng arranged a flight back to Beijing; they were going to the Special Affairs Bureau headquarters. Xu Zifan, not wanting to have any further involvement with the Special Affairs Bureau, stayed behind to find Jiang Dong and return together.
Jiang Tianxin said goodbye to him with some unease, "Master, if you don't have anything else to do, go home with my brother as soon as possible. My mom is waiting to help you recover. Don't go out and mess around with my brother."
Xu Zifan chuckled and said, "You think I'd be kidnapped by your brother? Go on, be humble at the Special Affairs Bureau headquarters. It's good to be polite to your seniors, but don't let anyone bully you. If you're wronged, complain to Uncle Liao. If he doesn't care, tear up the talisman I gave you, and I'll stand up for you."
Jiang Tianxin touched the talisman she carried close to her body, smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, Master."
"Oh, right, there's one more thing."
Xu Zifan called out to Jiang Tianxin, and the two, master and apprentice, exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Take more subsidies!"
Both of them couldn't help but laugh. Jiang Tianxin waved to him and turned to chase after Liao Cheng. Xu Zifan watched them board the plane and then drove back to the hotel.
The car stalled after driving only 500 meters.
He got out of the car and checked it. There was nothing wrong with it, but he couldn't drive it. Maybe if someone else drove it, it would be driven away immediately.
Xu Zifan stood beside the car with his hands on his hips and cursed under his breath.
[Shaohua: Host, your apprentice went to work, and you're in trouble again.]
Xu Zifan sighed helplessly, "[My fate is truly unpredictable. I had to cultivate before, so I stayed by Xin Xin's side for several months. This time, Liao Cheng will probably realize how powerful Xin Xin is, and he'll definitely call her over from time to time. I can't stick to her every day. I still need to find a way to completely resolve this matter.]"
[Shaohua: Host, try doing good deeds and accumulating merit. This is the only method we've found so far.]
[Xu Zifan: Donating money, repairing roads, building primary schools, and sponsoring orphans all require a lot of money, which I don't have right now. I can't very well use the savings in my spatial dimension to do that. Starting a company seems a bit like going off-topic.]
Xu Zifan leaned back in the car, one arm crossed over his chest, the other stroking his chin, thinking for a long time before clapping his hands and laughing. "[It's time to give Qingfeng Temple a shout-out! We're the professionals when it comes to praying for blessings and peace!]"
Xu Zifan made up his mind and immediately called a designated driver. Sure enough, as soon as the driver started driving, the car was perfectly fine. Xu Zifan calmly sat in the back seat, intending to call Jiang Dong to ask for his address. However, as soon as he dialed the number, he watched helplessly as his phone's battery level rapidly dwindled and it automatically shut down.
Xu Zifan was a bit speechless, but it wasn't a problem. "[Shaohua, find out where Jiang Dong is, pinpoint his location, and then send Luo Chen a message to invite him and his girlfriend to dinner tonight to discuss payment.]"
[Shaohua: Okay, host, please wait a moment.]
Shao Hua's hacking skills weren't as good as Xu Zifan's, but she was more than capable of handling most situations. Jiang Dong's hotel check-in records and location were quickly displayed on the virtual screen, and Luo Chen also sent the information using a fake WeChat account created by Xu Zifan.
Luo Chen couldn't get through when he called back, and he wondered why the master had turned off his phone after saying nothing. However, Mo Jiani had calmed down and was fine with having dinner that night. He even discussed it with her and asked someone to book a table at the best restaurant in advance, instructing her to use the best ingredients.
Xu Zifan's car arrived at the hotel without incident. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached for the car door, but couldn't open it no matter what he did. He could open it with his spiritual power, of course, but he didn't want to ruin someone else's car, so he had no choice but to ask a designated driver for help.
"There seems to be something wrong with this car door, can you help me?"
"Of course." The driver got out of the car and tried to open the back door, but it wouldn't open. The front door was also closed. He couldn't open any of the four doors, locking Xu Zifan inside!
Xu Zifan couldn't even climb into the front seat to get out, so the designated driver rushed to find the hotel staff for help. Two more people arrived with tools to try and open the door, but the tools didn't work. Finally, they discovered that the only thing that could be opened in the car was the sunroof.
Xu Zifan saw that more than a dozen people had come over to look curiously, and he rubbed his temples helplessly.
[Shaohua: Host, you are the Abbot of Qingfeng Temple, you should still maintain your composure. Damage the car and get out of here.]
[Xu Zifan: I don't care about that. My money is going to be used for charity. Wasting it is shameful; maybe Heaven will hold a grudge against me. Shaohua, you've read too many novels. There's no need to act pretentious all the time, understand?]
[Shaohua: Understood, host, crawl away.]
Xu Zifan looked up at the sunroof, really wanting to fly out, but remembering Liao Cheng's repeated instructions not to let ordinary people know about metaphysics or spread it, he resigned himself to his fate, stepped onto the seat, braced his hands on the roof, and sat down in style. Then he jumped off the car, dusted off his hands, and still looked cool.
He smiled and thanked the people who had helped him, then went into the hotel to find Jiang Dong.
[Shaohua: Host, did what you just did count as showing off?]
Xu Zifan replied confidently: "[If something can be done stylishly, there's no need to make it look bad. Shaohua, you need to learn to be flexible.]"
[Shaohua: OK!]
Xu Zifan sensed something was amiss. Would making the intelligent system adaptable lead to some strange occurrences? However, he couldn't think of anything at the moment and stopped worrying. He needed to be constantly vigilant; one wrong move and he'd be in serious trouble. Shao Hua was also constantly scanning the surrounding 500 meters to prevent any sudden crisis.
There were several people in the elevator. Xu Zifan took the elevator smoothly to Jiang Dong's floor and sat down on the sofa to relax after entering the room.
"Brother Fan, where's Xin Xin?" Jiang Dong looked out the door and closed it when he didn't see her.
Xu Zifan said with his eyes closed, "Xin Xin went to the Special Affairs Bureau to give a report. After all, she is a public servant. She has to give a proper report on the two cases she has handled so that the organization knows about her contributions."
"Oh, that's good." Jiang Dong handed Xu Zifan a bottle of mineral water, sat down opposite him, and, unusually, didn't joke around. Instead, he sincerely thanked Xu Zifan, "Brother Fan, I'm really grateful to you for seeing you and Xin Xin together today. Our family of four has thanked you so many times, but this is different. Xin Xin is a lively and cheerful girl. I only met the real her again today. You've helped her release the little girl inside her. Thank you, Brother Fan."
Xu Zifan opened his eyes and waved his hand. "Xin Xin is my apprentice, and I also want her to be happy. Was she like this when she was little?"
Jiang Dong nodded repeatedly, "Xin Xin was so cute when she was little. I've never seen a girl smile as sweetly as her. I wouldn't dare say I'm a prince or a rich kid, but my sister really is a little princess. If you saw her like that, you would definitely love her to death. Even I, who don't like dolls, love her to bits. But later... it was all my fault."
Xu Zifan sat up straight, put his arm on the back of the sofa, and smiled: "I know what happened. It's been more than ten years. Xin Xin doesn't treat what happened back then as a burden at all. On the contrary, you've been carrying a burden like a bag. Jiang Dong, take my advice. Let it go. You're sincere to Xin Xin, so she'll want to protect you. Sibling affection is mutual, and it has nothing to do with how much you can do."
Jiang Dong asked in shock, "Brother Fan, how did you know? Did Xin Xin tell you? She even told you this? What... what is your relationship?"
Xu Zifan certainly couldn't say what he "saw," so he shrugged and said, "Why would Xin Xin say such things? I think Xin Xin's personality is a bit off, so I just made up some random calculations."
"Her personality is off? How is it off? What's wrong with her?" Jiang Dong asked nervously, staring intently at Xu Zifan.
Xu Zifan said, "She was born in a year, month, day, and hour of Yang, so she is naturally lively, has a strong sense of justice, and a bit of a fiery temper. She should be a bit willful, fearless, and somewhat reckless, not the aloof and serious person she was before."
Jiang Dong suddenly realized, "Yes, yes, Brother Fan, you're absolutely right. Before, it was like... yes, like she was confined by some kind of rules and regulations. She was just moving around inside those rules and regulations, never taking a single step out. Now she's like a wild horse that's been let loose!"
Xu Zifan burst out laughing. Jiang Dong, the older brother, was really good at teasing his sister. Who would describe a girl as a "wild horse that has broken free of its reins"? He had just called his sister a sweet little princess.
Seeing him laugh, Jiang Dong scratched his head and chuckled along. Xu Zifan suddenly remembered his earlier question and asked疑惑地问道, "Why did you ask me what my relationship with Xin Xin was? What did you mean?"
Jiang Dong was embarrassed and stammered, unsure of what to say. He blurted out that it was all Luo Chen's fault for talking to him about these things, and now he had embarrassed himself in front of Brother Fan.
Seeing his expression, Xu Zifan raised an eyebrow, already guessing seven or eight parts of the truth.
He squinted and wondered what would happen if his little apprentice got married in the future? For example, that movie star who clearly liked his little apprentice?
Yeah, it's infuriating just thinking about it. How can a pig eat the cabbage I raised?!