Chapter 121
The next day, when the Water God Festival officially began.
The pier village where Jiang Ziya's party was staying was noisy from the morning.
Thanks to the noise coming from outside the inn, Jiang Ziya woke up earlier than usual.
"Ugh..."
Whether it was because he had been worried about the item that the Fishing Fortune Master had taken out the previous night and had not slept well, or because he was not used to a comfortable bed after a long time, he did not feel refreshed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Looking out the window, a band dressed in colorful clothes was tuning their instruments, and a group of monks preparing for a Buddhist service was also visible on one side.
Jiang Ziya sat on the bed and carefully organized his thoughts from the previous night.
The item that the Fishing Fortune Master had offered as a stake for the bet was something that Jiang Ziya could by no means ignore.
The item that the Fishing Fortune Master had taken out was an oval-shaped blue jewel slightly larger than a thumb, and its surface was engraved with platinum.
Although it was an expensive-looking item, it was not just for that reason that Jiang Ziya had shown interest.
The engraving was a geometric pattern that was hard to see in the Central Plains, and although its power was weak, a faint magic was felt from the jewel.
"It's definitely... an item of the Non-Duality Gate."
The Fishing Fortune Master said that he had picked up this item from a river in Sichuan.
While he was fishing by the river, he had found a school of fish tangled up and had approached it, thinking it was strange, and had found that dozens of fish were surrounding this jewel.
Afterward, as Jiang Ziya showed interest, the excited Fishing Fortune Master had added more details, saying that he had used the jewel as a float to catch a big fish and that he had seen it glowing in his sleep, and had given Jiang Ziya a long explanation.
The Fishing Fortune Master's other explanations were not important to Jiang Ziya.
Where he had picked up this item and whether this item would be helpful to him were important to Jiang Ziya.
If the information that the Fishing Fortune Master had and this jewel could help him find the Non-Duality Gate, it could not be said that it was not a necessary item for Jiang Ziya.
"Shall we go out now..."
Jiang Ziya got up.
The regular boat would arrive around the end of the Water God Festival anyway, and until then, there was no particular pastime to spend time on.
Although it was good to watch the Water God Festival, he could not deny that participating in the Fish Dragon Festival was also an interesting thing for him, who enjoyed fishing.
Jiang Ziya left the room. As he went down to the lower floor of the inn, he immediately saw Xi Xichang, who had woken up first and was drinking tea.
Her appearance, sitting without a single point of disarray, overlapped with the appearance he had seen at the Mountain and Sea Tavern in the past.
She had maintained the same attitude then and now.
"You're up early."
Jiang Ziya walked towards Xi Xichang with a thud.
Although Xi Xichang had also noticed Jiang Ziya coming down to the first floor of the inn, she looked at him indifferently and just nodded her head lightly.
At her still cold reaction, Jiang Ziya shrugged his shoulders and ordered a simple meal from the waiter.
"We'll have to stay here for a while. How do you plan to spend your time?"
"I have to see if there are any other boats."
"Didn't the waiter say that there are no regular boats? The Fishing Fortune Master also said that the regular boat will arrive on the last day of the Water God Festival, so let's take it easy and rest."
"The Fishing Fortune Master?"
"Ah... I mean that old man from last night. He called himself the Fishing Fortune Master."
A wrinkle formed on Xi Xichang's forehead.
The Fishing Fortune Master was a strange person who wandered the world, crazy about fishing.
Although he was a master who had learned martial arts, he was not very interested in the affairs of the martial world except for fishing, and since he would not hesitate to do things that would be criticized for the sake of fishing, he was a person who was closer to the evil path than the righteous path.
"You've gotten involved with a strange person again."
"Since we have the same hobby, it's natural that we can communicate."
Xi Xichang let out a small sigh as if she had expected it.
"Even if two people said so, it's not a bad thing to check. Maybe there's a boat that they don't know about."
"Then let's meet at the competition after you've checked enough."
"No way... are you going to participate in that Fish Dragon Festival or whatever?"
No matter how much the pursuit of the Tang Clan had been cut off, they were not free enough to participate in a small competition.
"I have a certain pride in fishing."
Jiang Ziya lightly tapped Tonglin.
In order to avoid people's attention, he had changed Tonglin to a bow and had hung it on his shoulder.
Of course, even as a bow, its appearance was clean and excellent, giving off an extraordinary feeling, but at least in this village, it was not as eye-catching as a fishing rod.
"Although you dress like a scholar, you seem to be more interested in fishing than in books."
"My father is a very generous person to me."
"I really want to see your father's face."
'You've already seen him.'
Although it was not long, since Xi Xichang and Master Gongsun had met at the Mountain and Sea Tavern in the past, it was not that they did not know each other.
Jiang Ziya answered inwardly and then quickly ate the simple food that the waiter had handed him.
As Jiang Ziya hurriedly stuffed the food into his mouth, Xi Xichang poured a cup of tea that was next to her and handed it to Jiang Ziya.
Although she still could not understand, since Jiang Ziya wanted it so much, she had no intention of stopping him anymore.
Jiang Ziya, as if his throat was choked, drank the hot tea that Xi Xichang had handed him in one go and then got up from his seat.
"Then I'll go out first."
"Yes, have a good time. Try not to do anything that stands out."
"Aren't you coming?"
"It would be more constructive to go into the inn and rest."
"If you're coming, please come a little early. There should be at least one person cheering for me so that I can have some energy."
"So I'm not going..."
Jiang Ziya met Xi Xichang's eyes and smiled.
"...We'll see."
Xi Xichang was at a loss for words for a moment, and then she sighed as if she had given up and answered.
And then, realizing that her forehead was full of wrinkles, she hurriedly pressed her forehead with her fingers.
Whether he had heard the answer he wanted, Jiang Ziya left Xi Xichang and hurriedly went out of the inn.
The Fish Dragon Festival would have already had famous fishermen applying to participate early on.
Since it would be crowded from the morning, it was better to hurry.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As he left the inn, although it was morning, the streets were crowded with a considerable number of people.
The identity of the noisy instrument sound was a type of percussion instrument called a cymbals, and monks dressed in yellow and red robes were moving in a line in time with the sound.
"Those must be the monks who are performing the Water God Festival."
Although their clothes were flashy and their instruments were noisy for monks, it was considered that it could be so since they were monks who were performing a big ritual.
Since the location of the Fish Dragon Festival was also not far from the platform where the Water God Festival was being held, Jiang Ziya followed the monks.
The sound of the cymbals began to fill the village, and about twenty monks began to recite the Buddhist scriptures in unison.
'Huh?'
As the sound of the recitation spread, Jiang Ziya felt dizzy as if he were drunk and found himself losing his balance for a moment and swaying.
Jiang Ziya, without realizing it, concentrated his internal energy and caught his balance.
As Jiang Ziya turned his head, the monks were already far away from Jiang Ziya and were walking ahead.
'What is it?'
If he had been attacked or had felt hostility, the energy of the Six Arts and Three Strategies would have risen on its own and would have protected Jiang Ziya.
Jiang Ziya, thinking it was strange, followed the monks again.
'Huh?'
But the closer he got to the monks, the more his heart pounded and his internal energy did not calm down easily at the sound of the cymbals and the Buddhist scriptures.
Jiang Ziya, feeling the strangeness, maintained a distance from them for a moment and watched the backs of the group of monks.
Although the energy of the Six Arts and Three Strategies was quiet, just holding his body's balance, if they were masters of martial arts or had the intention of harming Jiang Ziya, something would have surely happened.
But the monks, as if they did not care about Jiang Ziya, were just walking towards the altar of the Water God Festival.
Jiang Ziya thought for a moment about the change that had occurred in his body and the reason for it.
Although his blood and qi had been agitated for a moment, it was not a big threat.
It was clear that his internal energy had reacted to the Buddhist scriptures and the sound of the cymbals.
It did not take long for Jiang Ziya to find the reason.
The Manifest Demon True Art.
The Manifest Demon True Art, which was called the essence of the demonic martial arts, was the problem.
Jiang Ziya's martial arts were created by the confrontation of the Manifest Demon True Art and the Nine Gates True Scripture, according to the law of the opposition and circulation of yin and yang, and were made into a tai chi.
Although he had tied them together and had made them his own unique martial art, calling them the Six Arts and Three Strategies, half of the martial arts that Jiang Ziya had learned was the number one demonic divine art, the Manifest Demon True Art.
Although it had not become a pure demonic martial art like the Extreme Demon, the Manifest Demon True Art, which was one of the sources of his martial arts, had reacted to the sound that had the power of demon subjugation.
However, it was unlikely that Jiang Ziya's Six Arts and Three Strategies would show such a reaction to a simple Buddhist scripture or the sound of a cymbal.
Someone among those monks, or all of them, might not be simple monks.
"This is troublesome..."
Although the Water God Festival was a big event here, there was no reason for those with such a Buddhist power or martial arts to participate in the Water God Festival of this small village.
Then it meant that there was surely another reason, and it also meant that there was a high probability that a commotion would occur here.
But for now, Jiang Ziya's thought might be a groundless fear, and he did not think that the monks would suddenly change and cause a commotion.
If he were to tell Xi Xichang about this, Xi Xichang might give up the waterway and take the land route to Mount Qingcheng.
If that happened, the Fish Dragon Festival would also become a bubble.
Although he was secretly coveting the title of the 'Fishing Master', which was the number one fisherman in the world, the important thing was the jewel that the Fishing Fortune Master had.
If the jewel could provide a clue to find the Non-Duality Gate as he thought, there was nothing more important to Jiang Ziya.
He was confident enough to win the bet with the Fishing Fortune Master.
Fishing was the reason why Agong had properly entered the martial arts, and it was also the opportunity that had connected him with one of his masters, the Tongtian Cult Master. Moreover, hadn't he been able to connect with Shirsha and Sorin thanks to this?
Fishing had a great meaning to Agong, and it was one of the few specialties that he was confident in.
He was not willing to give up the path to get a clue to the Non-Duality Gate, which was right in front of him, by being wary of something that had not happened.
"For now... I'll watch."
If a commotion were to occur by any chance and the situation were to become unfavorable, he was confident enough to get out of it.
Since Xi Xichang was also a famous master, it would not be so difficult to avoid the commotion.
Jiang Ziya, avoiding the monks who were setting up a Buddhist altar and preparing for the Water God Festival there, moved his feet to the place where the flag of the Fish Dragon Festival was hanging.
Waggle!
As Jiang Ziya had expected, a large crowd was gathered from the entrance of the Fish Dragon Festival venue.
Although their clothes, appearance, and status seemed to be different, the appearance of each of them carrying a fishing rod on their shoulder looked like people who liked fishing or made a living from it.
The Fish Dragon Festival venue had one side of the pier as the competition venue.
And since the riverside was full of buildings and pillars whose identity was unknown, Jiang Ziya thought that this was not a simple fishing competition.
"Is the registration here?"
Jiang Ziya, who had mixed into the place where people were gathered on one side of the competition venue, wrote his name on the list of participants.
Since the preliminary round would start from the afternoon of today, if he had been a little later, he might not have been able to apply.
"Hmm! He's finally here!"
A commotion broke out among the fishermen as if they had discovered someone.
Jiang Ziya, after finishing the registration, looked around and smiled at the appearance of someone he knew.
(End of Chapter)