Chapter 139
"I just got some information."
"Information while fishing?"
How could one get such information in such a remote village?
Come to think of it, the time Jiang Ziya had returned was too late, and for someone who had been fishing, his clothes were very disheveled.
'Does he have a separate information organization...'
In the first place, she knew nothing about Jiang Ziya, including the martial arts he used or his sect.
Although he was said to be a scholar from Weishui Village, that was just what the villagers had said, and she could not naively believe that either.
The only thing she knew about Jiang Ziya was his one purpose of meeting the Sword Immortal, the Taoist Lingbao.
Her journey with the untrustworthy Jiang Ziya was a naive act that was unlike her.
"I'm not telling you."
"I didn't expect you to."
In the first place, since Jiang Ziya, who did not speak, would not answer even if she asked, Xi Xichang also decided to stop caring about that.
Since she had decided to trust him and to accompany him, she had no choice but to trust him until the end, right?
"If they are from the Qinglong Temple... it is indeed a suspicious matter."
The fact that the Qinglong Temple of the Western Regions had come to such a remote village in Sichuan and was participating in the Water God Festival and holding a Buddhist service did not make sense, even if one looked at it simply.
"Are they dangerous people?"
"If we were to divide them into righteous, evil, and demonic... they are closer to the righteous, but... they are so extreme."
"Extreme?"
"About a hundred years ago, there was an incident where the martial monks of the Qinglong Temple who had advanced into the Central Plains were massacred by a group of the Demonic Cult. After that, there was a problem where they were cruel in their actions, such as cutting off the hands and feet of those who were said to be from the Demonic Cult or beheading them."
"Are you saying that the... the monks behead people?"
"They are people who would throw their bodies into the fires of hell for the sake of demon extermination. Because of that, there are many in the Martial Arts Alliance who see them as heretics. But well... as long as they are not from the Demonic Cult, they are said to treat both the evil path and the righteous path like ordinary monks."
Gulp.
Jiang Ziya, without realizing it, swallowed his dry saliva.
If they loathed the Demonic Cult so much, how would they treat a person whose master was the leader of the Demonic Cult, even if he had not joined the cult?
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. For now, let's check the Buddhist service venue when the sun sets today."
"..."
Jiang Ziya hurriedly answered and moved his feet to the inn.
Although Xi Xichang was a little curious about Jiang Ziya's action, since such things were frequent, she just thought so and maintained a certain distance and followed Jiang Ziya to the inn.
Swoosh!
Near the place where the two had left, a man who had turned his back and was looking at something looked around and showed a suspicious movement.
He, after confirming that Jiang Ziya and Xi Xichang had completely disappeared, moved his feet into a dark alley.
"You're here!"
There, four men who had hidden their bodies in the darkness welcomed the returned man with an uncomfortable expression.
"Seok, I don't know what happened, but since you've returned without a single wound, the plan has failed."
Gnash!
Then, one of the men among them gritted his teeth and showed his anger.
It was the martial artist who had been defeated by Jiang Ziya in the preliminary round of the Fish Dragon Festival and had been eliminated.
"You're sure you tampered with that guy's boat, right?"
"Of course. That's why I suffered so much in the water."
The martial artist's colleague was a person who was skilled in water arts, and as soon as Jiang Ziya had gotten on the ferry boat, he had immediately approached and had tampered with the bottom of the boat.
If his prediction was correct, the ferry boat should have sunk at the mouth of the river, and Jiang Ziya should have become a water ghost or should have returned without catching a single fish.
"How about we stop now?"
"Are you telling me to just back down even though I've been humiliated like this?"
At the man who was bursting with anger, his fellow martial artists looked at each other and fiddled with their chins as if they were in a difficult situation.
They were all from the same martial arts school and were a group that called themselves the Five Swords of Morning Might and went around together.
It had been three years since they had been traveling the martial world like that. The beginning of this incident was when one of them had coveted the prize money of the Fish Dragon Festival and had participated.
"When I think of the humiliation I suffered that day, I still can't sleep at night. Isn't the humiliation I suffered the humiliation that the five of us suffered?"
At the man's words, all of them nodded their heads.
Although they did not have great martial arts, weren't they comrades who were united by a strong friendship?
"I don't know the reason, but I heard that they will appear at the Buddhist service venue tonight. Let's aim for that opportunity."
"The Buddhist service venue?"
"If our Five Swords of Morning Might display our joint attack technique under the cover of night, we can subdue a scholar like that in an instant."
At this time when the exploits of the Five Swords of Morning Might were gradually spreading in the vicinity, it was impossible to face a scholar with a joint attack technique in broad daylight.
There were many eyes watching, and since there were people like the Fishing Fortune Master, they could not rashly cause a commotion.
But if it was at night...
"Alright! Tonight, I will repay this grudge."
A thick murderous intent lingered in the man's eyes along with anticipation.
He wished that the sun would set and that the night would come right away.
* * *
The sun set, and darkness came to the pier village.
Although the whole village was in a festive mood due to the Water God Festival, rest for the next day was necessary.
A quiet silence came to the village, which had been noisy until late at night, as if it had never been like that.
Thump, thump.
In time with the hour of the ox, the footsteps of two people who were taking advantage of the night moved busily.
They were Jiang Ziya and Xi Xichang, who had come out of the inn to check the Buddhist service venue.
Although there were still people who were returning to the inn and drunkards who were staggering, drunk, on the road, no one was watching the two who were walking quietly.
Although it was a village that had become dark as the night had come, they could find the Water God Festival Buddhist service venue, which was located near the Fish Dragon Festival venue, with familiar steps.
"The scale of the Buddhist service is bigger than I thought."
The Buddhist service venue was set up in a space the size of a small training ground.
There, there was a high altar in the center, lanterns hanging in a line on the ceiling, and pictures of statues and Buddhas in the four cardinal directions.
The incense that had not yet been extinguished was burning its last flame, and no other presence was felt.
Xi Xichang, after carefully looking around, raised her head with a slightly relaxed face.
"There doesn't seem to be any particular guard."
"No matter how bold a thief is, there will be no one who would steal an item that is not valuable, and moreover, a Buddha's item."
"Are you sure this is the place?"
Jiang Ziya nodded his head.
As soon as he entered the Buddhist service venue, he felt the hair on his back stand on end, and it was clear that a strong airflow was raging inside.
If one was sensitive to qi, one would lose control of the surroundings and would be confused in one's senses due to the energy that was circling the Buddhist service venue without a break.
No, even if one was not sensitive to qi, it was a level where one would feel a slight dizziness upon entering.
Xi Xichang, who had learned martial arts, was also rubbing her two arms at the chill whose reason she could not know.
"Then... what about the Myō-ō statue? You said it would be more certain if we saw it."
Fudō Myō-ō.
The center of the Five Great Honored Myō-ōs and the core of the formation that was spread in this village.
Jiang Ziya approached the altar and looked around it.
On the altar, silk cloths with unknown Sanskrit words written on them were tightly wrapped, and Jiang Ziya could feel that each of those characters contained a strong power.
Although he did not know Sanskrit, since this was a type of technique that used characters containing power with a calligraphy method, he had an understanding of its flow and context.
'Master Gongsun said that there is a common thread between the runes of the Non-Duality Gate and Sanskrit.'
The eight trigrams technique that Jiang Ziya used was also a technique that was displayed in a similar way.
Since he displayed the technique by borrowing the power of nature by expressing the eight trigrams as words, it could be said that it was similar to the way these Sanskrit words were used, in a broad sense.
"Perhaps..."
Between the silk made of Sanskrit.
As he lifted the wood at the bottom of the altar, Jiang Ziya soon found the Myō-ō statue that was placed under it.
"Fudō Myō-ō..."
At the feet of Fudō Myō-ō, who was guarding the place with a fierce expression, a small mandala picture was placed.
Jiang Ziya could tell that it meant the location of the Five Great Honored Myō-ō statues that were placed in the village and the formation that was currently spread.
"To reverse the energy of the four directions and to shoot it up to the sky..."
To artificially catch the flowing natural energy and to shoot it up to the sky was surely to shake the heavenly qi that was flowing in the sky.
This Water God Festival's Buddhist service was not to appease the water god of the river, but it was surely a way to gather more energy.
'The energy gathered in just three days and nights is this much... if they were to proceed with the Water God Festival's Buddhist service for ten days like this...'
It was clear that the aftermath would reach outside the village, not to mention this Buddhist service venue.
If it was this much energy, the moment they shot the energy towards the sky as they intended, a huge shock would be applied to the village.
If they were people who had learned martial arts, it would be a relief, but if they were ordinary people, they could be seriously injured or could even lose their lives just by that power.
'What on earth are they thinking...!'
This was, at least as far as Jiang Ziya knew, not an act that those who served the Buddha would do.
Jiang Ziya, without realizing it, looked up at the sky.
Among the numerous stars shining in the darkness of the night sky, a five-colored airflow flowing like the Milky Way came into Jiang Ziya's two eyes.
"No way... are they..."
"Who are you!"
Jiang Ziya, after closing the bottom board of the altar as it was, turned his head to the direction where Xi Xichang's voice was heard.
There, five men dressed in black martial arts clothes had drawn their long swords and were slowly entering the Buddhist service venue.
'Are they other Demonic Cult people?'
'Are they the pursuers of the Tang Clan?'
Xi Xichang immediately drew her sword and took a guarded stance, and Jiang Ziya also grabbed the handle of the Tonglin that was on his waist.
"How dare you trespass on the Buddhist service venue of the Water God Festival. You must want to die."
The men in black took a wide stance and tried to prevent Jiang Ziya and Xi Xichang from escaping.
"This voice is..."
At least the fact that the opponent was not a Demonic Cult person or a pursuer of the Tang Clan relieved them.
Jiang Ziya, at the voice that he seemed to have heard before, tilted his head for a moment and then, after immediately recalling the owner of the voice, frowned.
"No way... did you follow me to get revenge?"
Since Xi Xichang was hearing it for the first time, she looked back at Jiang Ziya.
At Jiang Ziya's words, the masked person threw off his stuffy mask, and at the same time, the remaining four warriors also took off their masks.
"You remember my voice... that's right! I thought you were a sinister fellow, but to conspire with a girl and to invade the Buddhist service venue!"
"What about you... is the act of wearing a mask and following me is something honorable?"
From the moment they had covered their faces and had drawn their swords, their intention to do harm was clear.
Jiang Ziya, looking at the man who had a grudge from the Fish Dragon Festival and was persistently aiming for him, on the one hand, thought that his petty obsession was great.
"Justice that is done unintentionally is also justice. Since our Five Swords of Morning Might have come to judge the evil man and woman, isn't this also a great achievement?"
"What are these people?"
"Don't they call themselves the Five Swords of Morning Might?"
"I'm not asking for the title of such third-rate warriors."
In the flow of the conversation, these were people who clearly had a grudge against Jiang Ziya.
However, at the words 'third-rate warriors', the Five Swords of Morning Might, who were offended, had sparks in their pupils.
(End of Chapter)