Techniques and Dao

Chapter 214 Western Front Assembly
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!"

A clear, loud girl's shout pierced the sky, startling Tai Shang Xiao Jun, who was flying with his head down, searching for direction. He nearly collided with a flock of pigeons coming towards him. After finally regaining his balance, he quickly looked down.

In a gray-white stone building, a window was open, and a girl with a ponytail wearing a plaid skirt and a white shirt was looking up and waving frantically.

To ensure Taishang Xiaojun could see clearly, the girl had most of her body leaning out of the window. She gripped the window frame with her left hand and waved her right hand vigorously.

Her pale arms swung wildly left and right, and the girl seemed more radiant than the midday sun in the sky.

"Hey bro! That super rich, god-like bro!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun then realized that she wasn't Sun Xiaoming from HOPE! He immediately turned around and flew down.

At the same time, Sun Xiaoming, who was gripping the door frame and shaking his head and waving his right hand, was sweating on his left hand. Suddenly, he slipped and fell out of the window frame!

“Wow~~!!!”

Upon seeing this, Tai Shang Xiao Jun gasped, uttered a quick command, and pounced forward instantly.

He caught Sun Xiaoming as he fell out of the window with both hands.

"Miss Sun, you've scared me to death! If I had fallen, I would have died far from home. I'm so sorry!"

Looking down at the bustling streets below, Sun Xiaoming's heart pounded. But being young and carefree, she suddenly felt mischievous and wrapped her arms around Taishang Xiaojun's neck, saying, "Immortal Brother, would you believe me if I said I did it on purpose?"

With that embrace, he was instantly enveloped in soft, warm flesh.

This time, it was Tai Shang Xiao Jun's turn to turn red-faced, and he hurriedly said, "This...you mustn't say such things. Seeing that the young lady is in imminent danger, how could I stand by and watch her die?"

Sun Xiaoming chuckled: "Huh? I never thought even immortals would blush!"

Although Tai Shang Xiao Jun was usually eccentric and shrewd, she had never dealt with such a complicated scene of hugging a celebrity idol before, and hurriedly said, "I am blushing and panting, just because I have just run from thousands of miles away and am a little out of breath."

Sun Xiaoming said with a half-smile, "You're lying!"

"Nonsense! I am very serious."

Sun Xiaoming leaned close to Taishang Xiaojun's ear and whispered, "You're being so righteous, so why are you still clinging to her like that..."

Upon hearing this, Tai Shang Xiao Jun suddenly tried to let go, but found herself suspended in mid-air and unable to release her grip. She had no choice but to hurriedly fly through the open window towards the hotel room. However, in her panic, her toe got caught on the side of the window frame, and with a cry of pain, Tai Shang Xiao Jun tackled Sun Xiao Ming to the carpet!
For a moment, the room was eerily quiet.

The air was filled with the mist from when Sun Xiaoming had just come out of the bath. The fragrance of the shower gel in the mist mixed with her faint body scent, creating an indescribably sweet and cloying aroma.

Sun Xiaoming stared blankly at Taishang Xiaojun, who had pounced on him, for a moment, then looked to the side and whispered, "This is the second time, isn't it? You're so naughty, Immortal Brother..."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun quickly jumped up like a spring: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! I didn't mean to!"

"Tch... You've hurt someone's foot too. I have a performance tonight, you'll have to take responsibility if I get hurt." Sun Xiaoming said, rubbing his ankle.

"It really wasn't on purpose... Ugh! Why is it the second time?"

Sun Xiaoming said, "Have you forgotten? I even cornered her against the wall the first time we met."

Reminded by her, Tai Shang Xiao Jun recalled that a few months ago, when he and Hua Sheng first met Sun Xiaoming near the Wuhou Temple in Chengdu, she had used her refusal to participate in the Qiankun Defense War as an excuse to demand a higher price. He had indeed coerced, or rather, threatened, her once.

I had heard the singles by the idol groups HOPE and BRAVE before. It was he who proposed to Dao Ling Xing Jun that these two groups from the human world be invited to participate in the project.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun was already familiar with Sun Xiaoming, one of the most popular members of HOPE, even before meeting him in person.

As he faced Sun Xiaoming, the image of her singing "The War Song of the Universe" appeared before his eyes on the broken Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation in the stratosphere.

"Soaring through the sky, shaking the earth."

Wielding a cold sword, I traverse mountains and seas.

Even if you lose everything,
We will hold nothing back and will never back down.

If it weren't for the fact that there are dreams...

How could my arrogance be so stubborn!

Back then, Sun Xiaoming radiated light, displaying an unwavering and resolute strength that made it impossible to imagine that she was the same person as the delicate girl rubbing her ankle now.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun felt that the softest part of her heart had been touched.

"Miss Sun, honestly, is your foot alright?"

Sun Xiaoming stretched out her snow-white jade feet in front of Taishang Xiaojun and said, "Look! They're all red!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun stared at it closely for a while, then said with a slightly bitter tone, "It is indeed a little red, but Miss Sun, your complexion is good. Your skin naturally has a pinkish hue... and there's no swelling, so I think..."

"Never mind... you wouldn't understand even if I told you." Sun Xiaoming pulled his foot back.

Looking at the girl before him, Tai Shang Xiao Jun felt a strange mix of emotions. Sun Xiaoming's behavior made him uneasy. He wasn't a three-year-old child; to say he hadn't noticed the girl's unspoken signals would be self-deception. However, Sun Xiaoming's personality had always been too direct, or rather, pragmatic, which made him wonder about the reasons behind her actions.

So he asked, "Miss Sun, didn't you say you had a performance tonight? How about I treat you?"

"Need not!"

Sun Xiaoming spoke crisply. She looked at the ground and then suddenly rolled over and got up, limping as she went to pick up the slipper that had flown off when she fell.

She picked up her slippers, then picked up a tiny scrap of paper, no bigger than a fingernail, stuck to the back of one of them, and said thoughtfully, "Xiao Jun, do you think I'm trying to seduce you?"

Caught off guard by this sudden and unexpected question, Tai Shang Xiao Jun was somewhat taken aback. He had been busy all day with the matters of Hua Sheng and protecting the dragon vein, and had also rushed over thousands of miles to Paris, leaving him a bit fuzzy-headed.

"No, I was just..."

Sun Xiaoming interrupted him: "Don't be embarrassed. You're right, I, Sun Xiaoming, am a materialistic girl!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at her in surprise, while Sun Xiao Ming remained calm and tossed the scrap of paper from her slipper into the wastebasket under the table. She didn't look at Tai Shang Xiao Jun, continuing to speak as if she were the only person in the room:
"I'm different from you. You come from a prominent family, and almost all the powerful and wealthy in the world are like dust before you. Even in the celestial realm, you would be an outstanding figure. As for me, I'm just a girl born into an ordinary family. Perhaps some talent allowed me to enter the idol industry. So far, all my efforts have been to earn money and climb the ladder. Because I hope my parents can have a better life because of me and be proud of me. If I have children someday, I also hope that my children can live a life free from worries about food and clothing."

She revealed her perfectly sculpted profile as she looked at Tai Shang Xiao Jun, speaking slowly and firmly: "Therefore, Sun Xiaoming has always believed that my future man must not hold me back. Otherwise, he wouldn't deserve me! Not only that, he should be more outstanding and excellent than me, and his family background should certainly far surpass mine. If I love him, and he loves me in return, regardless of whether he loves me for my looks or my talent, I should of course take the initiative to be with him. What's wrong with that? We, who eat grains and vegetables, should of course consider survival and the safety and security of our lives first. If you think there's anything wrong with me striving for this, then please say it now."

“This…” Tai Shang Xiao Jun said slowly, “I believe that the young lady has not done anything wrong.”

Sun Xiaoming sat on the bed, patted the slippers in his hand, and put them on his feet.

"We are of different paths, one human and one immortal. So tell me, should I seize every opportunity to meet? But if we could be together, it would be like a god falling in love with a mortal girl—what a romantic myth that would be! This moment is like the beginning of those legends that have been passed down for thousands of years. Supreme Lord, this decision is yours. Do you want to become the protagonists of a legend that people will talk about in the future, together with Sun Xiaoming?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun stared blankly at the beautiful, confident, and straightforward girl in front of him.

He couldn't answer for a moment; this was the first time in his life he had encountered such a problem. Thinking of his family, he suddenly felt the atmosphere become somewhat tense, and sighed, saying, "According to my family rules, the most important matters in a junior's life must be arranged by my parents..." Sun Xiaoming was silent for a moment, then revealed a faint smile: "Of course."

She knew how to control the atmosphere and pace, and instead of continuing the previous topic, she stretched and said, "Hmm... but I have more important things to do right now. Let's think about it after our performance tonight. After all, Sun Xiaoming isn't a little fox who wants to be kept!"

After hearing Sun Xiaoming's words, Taishang Xiaojun suddenly seemed to remember something and asked, "Miss Sun..."

"What?"

"I heard you say you're performing here, so does that mean HOPE has brought a lot of people?"

Sun Xiaoming said somewhat irritably, "I thought you cared about me, but it turns out you only care about how many girls you have."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun clapped his hands and said, "There really are so many people! This has been a great help to me! Miss Sun, could you bring a few members to help me with something?"

Sun Xiaoming frowned: "We have an important performance tonight, and we need to go for a rehearsal this afternoon..."

"I will only take up a little time of your time, perhaps one... no, half an hour will be enough!"

Sun Xiaoming replied expressionlessly, "What do you want now? Our HOPE is not what it used to be. We are top-tier celebrities! Our appearance fees are incomparable to last time, dozens of times more expensive!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun pulled out the credit card Xiao Cao Mei had given him from his sleeve and exclaimed, "I'm rich! I have plenty of money! I'm just worried about where to spend it!"

"Huh?" A spark flashed in Sun Xiaoming's eyes. She stood up, but when she saw the credit card, she sat back down on the bed. "How much credit limit can a mere ordinary credit card have?"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun raised his hands and drew a large circle in the air, shouting, "Endless!"

Sun Xiaoming hesitated. If the Supreme Lord in front of her wasn't a deity, she definitely wouldn't have believed it.

"Since you say this card is so powerful, why don't you just go and buy the whole of Paris yourself?"

"No! It's not about the amount; it's about the number of times you swipe the card, even if it's just one cent each time. Every swipe injects a virus into the barrier beneath Paris. For example, if you buy 10,000 pencils, you pay separately each time, something like that..."

Sun Xiaoming quickly interrupted Taishang Xiaojun: "No, no, no... Why buy pencils? Give this credit card to me, I'll buy a bag! Lipstick! Clothes! And shoes!"

"You'll need to use a lot of brushes. How can you carry something so heavy?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at him with suspicion.

Sun Xiaoming glared back and said, "Even if I bought out the entire city of Paris, I could still bring it home!"

"Alright then! The task of buying out the entire city is entrusted to you..."

"But... there's only one card, how can everyone share it?"

"I can use magic to make this card be linked to different people's phones for direct payments!"

"Wow!" Sun Xiaoming ran up to Tai Shang Xiaojun and snatched the credit card, examining it repeatedly in his hand.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun asked in surprise, "Hey? How come you're so agile now? Is your foot injury healed?"

"Miss, I'm cured as soon as I see money!"

But as soon as he said that, Sun Xiaoming suddenly waved his hand as if he had just remembered something: "Wait! You were the one who almost wiped out BRAVE before. Are you going to screw over HOPE this time?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Before I agree, I need to calculate the fortune!"

Sun Xiaoming grabbed his handbag from the sofa and pulled out a mini "fortune-telling bucket" shaped keychain.

She placed the divination tube between her palms, closed her eyes, and chanted, "May the True Lord Erlang above protect us and keep us safe and sound!"

Taishang Xiaojun interrupted her: "Why does Miss Sun want to worship Erlang Shen?"

“Because Erlang Shen is the guardian deity of Sichuan! We locals in Sichuan all love to worship Erlang Shen and pray for peace!” Sun Xiaoming read aloud. “By the way, why don’t you pray to Erlang Shen for me too?”

Tai Shang Xiao Jun frowned and slowly said, "But my prayers to him may not be effective. I just fought him in the Blazing Wrath Heavenly Prison two days ago..."

Sun Xiaoming immediately showed a suspicious and disdainful expression, as if he thought the person in front of him was talking nonsense.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun felt that now was not the time to argue.

Sun Xiaoming shook the keychain, and a tag actually fell out. She picked it up and looked at it; six characters were written on it:
"Great fortune. You have divine assistance."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun leaned closer for a look and said, "Not bad, the result looks pretty good!"

Sun Xiaoming shook his head and said, "I used to think this kind of fortune-telling by drawing lots was quite accurate, but ever since I actually met you, this 'deity,' I don't know if 'you have divine assistance' is actually useful..."

As she spoke, she took out a stack of tarot cards from her bag and was about to spread them out on the table when she was immediately stopped by Taishang Xiaojun.

"Don't bother with tarot cards or anything like that, Miss Sun! What era are we living in? Don't believe in that stuff. Let me do a fortune telling for you instead!"

As he spoke, Taishang Xiaojun actually pulled out a compass from his sleeve and proudly waved it in front of her.

"This is what you call science, understand? Rigorous, meticulous, objective, and precise! You must believe in science!"

"Wait a minute, something about that sounds a bit off."

"How old are you? Can't you tell the difference between truth and falsehood? Of course, divination is the most reliable!"

The tarot cards in Sun Xiaoming's hand clattered to the ground, and he blurted out in his Sichuan dialect:

"What the hell! You little bastard, what you said makes so much sense! You really are more accurate at divination! How come I didn't think of that at first? What a close call! I almost became like an illiterate person from the old days, indulging in feudal superstition!"

ten minutes later.

Inside the Bercy Sports Arena in the 12th arrondissement of eastern Paris, the sound of rapid high heels echoed from the corridor, followed by the loud banging of the door to the communal dressing room with a "HOPE" sign hanging next to it!

The girls in the room stared in surprise at the intruder outside the door. It turned out to be Sun Xiaoming, who had rushed in excitedly with wide eyes.

Everyone stared blankly as she prepared to do something.

Sun Xiaoming stood up straight, hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and then shouted:
"Huo Ranyi, Yu Ziyi, Luo Xuan, Gao Chunru, Cai Ruoxi, Tian Zhizhi, Fan Mengmeng, Hong Chuying, Hu Qianrui, Ling Chen, Wan Peiyi, Ke Jiaxin, Guan Linlin, Lu Haiyao, Mo Chuxin, Qiu Mingfang, Miao Tongming, Xie Yan, Ying Wenxuan, Zong Siqiao, Ding Jingyi, Xuan Yaxin, Deng Kejia, Yu Zixue, Shan Hanwen, Bao Yiru, Zhu Pingfei, Xia Tongtong, Sun Shumeng, Zuo Ziye, Shi Qiong, Cui Wenjie, Ji Jiatong, Zhong Feiting, Qiu Yongjun, Xu Xiaomei, Gong Shilan, Cheng" Yi Jia, Ji Yiwei, Xing Yan, Zheng Hongling, Pei Mingtong, Lu Ruohua, Rong Qiwen, Weng Meiyu, Xun Qiting, Feng Ruoling, Chu Xueling, Qian Yuya, Jin Xuefu, Song Zhixiang, Jing Wanyue, Duan Lanjun, Fu Ziyan, Wu Ruoqian, Jiao Wanting, Zhao Haiyun, Li Minhui, Weng Meiyu, Wu Yaxi, Wang Shiya, Chen Yanfei. Oh… right, and you too! Zhou Caixin! We'll rehearse later, let's go shopping first! I even brought someone to carry everyone's bags!

"Wow!!!!!"

A deafening roar of screams and cheers erupted from the dressing room.

"Wait! Who did you say was the bag carrier? What…" came Tai Shang Xiao Jun's startled cry from outside the door, "Oh no! So all of you are coming!!!"

(End of this chapter)