Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 225 Gift
Wang Yan gazed at the raging fire. When he sent Xie Yuyan away, he had no intention of letting her return.

He knew in his heart that he had his own selfish reasons for making this arrangement. It was not only for the villagers of Chenyao Village, but also to ensure that Xie Yuyan could get away smoothly.

When she took his jade pendant and money, he secretly wondered if he was about to be deceived again.

But she came back.

At their most dangerous moment, they somehow managed to disrupt the situation.

There could only be Xie Yuyan; she could have returned in just one day.

Sang Dian, standing nearby, couldn't help but say, "No... that's unlikely... it looks like there are a lot of people..." The sound of explosions rang out one after another, and the flames appeared in more than one place; that couldn't have been done by one person alone.

If it were Madam Xie, where would she have found such help?

Wang Yan said, "Tell the villagers to get ready. We need to leave here immediately and meet her at the foot of the mountain."

The fact that she made such a commotion at the foot of the mountain shows how much danger she was taking.

I don't know if she's smart or stupid.

He needs to find her soon.

……

Xie Yuyan watched as the scene before him turned into a sea of ​​fire, with several people engulfed in flames screaming as they rushed out of the fire. They ran around haphazardly, and when they encountered Konoha, they reignited the flames.

Mr. Wen stroked his beard and nodded in satisfaction. He turned to look at Jiang San Niang beside him, but he did not see any surprise on her face. Instead, she was unusually calm.

Jiang San Niang seemed to have changed.

Mr. Wen's heart sank, and he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

"Don't you find it strange at all?" Mr. Wen said. "Do you even know what we're using?"

Xie Yuyan said, “Black oil burns longer than firewood and ordinary oil. You put it in an earthenware pot and wrap the pot with hemp rope soaked in black oil. When you need it, just light the hemp rope and throw the pot out. The pot will explode when it hits the ground, and the black oil inside will splash everywhere and ignite wherever it splashes.”

Now it was Mr. Wen's turn to be surprised.

Xie Yuyan continued, "It's not easy to throw out a burning earthenware pot; you need a ox sinew string and then use a tree branch to flick it out."

"There are many trees here, so it's not difficult to find a suitable branch to throw the clay pot."

Zheng Long, Wang Hu, and the others left discreetly carrying the earthenware jar, afraid that she would find out about these things, which were secrets of Manichaeism.

Mr. Wen stared at Xie Yuyan, his expression growing increasingly grim: "Who exactly are you?"

Xie Yuyan said calmly, "An envoy from the Empress Dowager of Great Xia."

When Mr. Wen saw Jiang San Niangzi, his expression changed. Gone was his previous panic and fear; instead, he became exceptionally solemn, even somewhat arrogant.

The moonlight fell, illuminating a corner of the land, but it could not illuminate her face.

For some reason, Mr. Wen wanted to continue pressing for answers, but he didn't dare to say the words.

"Sir, that woman is lying to us."

Wang Hu's voice came through.

In the darkness, Wang Hu pulled someone along.

“Those were not refugees, nor were they bandits, but rather… soldiers.”

With a forceful movement, Wang Hu threw the soldier he was carrying to the ground. The soldier tried to get up and run away, but Wang Hu kicked him in the neck. The soldier shuddered and it was unclear whether he died or fainted.

Wang Hu drew his long sword and charged straight at Xie Yuyan.

Xie Yuyan did not dodge, but said calmly, "Do you know the Cishi Yuegu Golden Wheel Holy Emperor?"

"If you don't know, you should at least know about the Holy King, right?"

Just as Wang Hu's knife was about to pierce Xie Yuyan's chest, Mr. Wen suddenly spoke urgently: "Stop!"

The sharp blade had already pierced the clothes, stopping just short of the skin. Xie Yuyan acted as if she hadn't seen Wang Hu, raising her eyes to meet Mr. Wen's gaze. Although she didn't say anything, it seemed as if she had explained everything.

Mr. Wen opened his mouth, wanting to ask for clarification, but before he could utter a sound, the soldiers on the ground woke up.

The soldiers groaned softly as they rolled on the ground.

Xie Yuyan extended her hand to Wang Hu.

Wang Hu was unaware of what was going on, but he saw her body move aside, brushing past the blade, and then with a flick of her fair wrist, she aimed at the hilt of the knife he was holding.

Wang Hu was ordered by Mr. Wen not to make any rash moves. He was unsure whether he should stop him. In his hesitation, he felt a numbness in his wrist and the hilt of the knife slipped from his hand.

The next moment, Xie Yuyan gripped the long sword, moved his arm, and slashed the sharp blade toward the neck of the soldier on the ground.

Blood splattered.

The head was severed and rolled down the hillside.

Xie Yuyan's hands were covered in blood, but she didn't care. Instead, she tilted her head back slightly, a smile playing on her lips. A drop of blood landed right on her brow, making her appear even more solemn and dignified, like a Bodhisattva cast in gold in a grand hall.

She spoke calmly: "A new Buddha has been born to rid the old demons."

"When Shakyamuni Buddha passes away, Maitreya Buddha will take over the world."

The sound wasn't loud, but it seemed to resound throughout the heavens and earth.

"Maitreya Buddha will replace Shakyamuni Buddha and descend to earth to save the world."

"One who kills one person becomes a Bodhisattva of the first stage; one who kills ten people becomes a Bodhisattva of the tenth stage."

At this point, she looked at Mr. Wen and said, “Manichaeism was once helped by my Maitreya sect, and vowed to follow Maitreya sect to save all living beings from suffering. They also recited my Mahayana Buddhist teachings.”

"What? Just because they are government soldiers, you dare not kill them?"

Both the Holy Emperor and the Holy King of the Golden Wheel of the Cishi were reincarnations of Maitreya. The Maitreya sect staged a mutiny in Beizhou two years ago, and was besieged and suppressed by the Liang army the following year. The Holy King also suffered a tragic death as a result.

The Maitreya sect then disappeared without a trace.

Mr. Wen never expected to meet Maitreya followers here.

Mr. Wen said, "You already knew we were Manichaeans?"

Xie Yuyan's murderous aura faded, and he regained his composure, but his deep eyes were even more terrifying: "I already knew you were here, otherwise why would I have gone to the grass market to look for you? I didn't say anything because I was afraid you would hesitate and ruin things."

"Now that's great, I've achieved half of the result I wanted."

"However, there is one thing I did not lie to you about: the things on the mountain were indeed gifts for the Empress Dowager of the Great Xia Dynasty."

Mr. Wen frowned. He dared not meet the woman's gaze, feeling as if the ruthless Buddha residing within her might burst forth at any moment.

Just watching her swiftly and decisively kill people is enough to horrify anyone.

No wonder everyone says that the people of the Maitreya sect are all madmen and murderers.

"You've already lied to us once, and now you're so easily trying to make us believe you again?" Mr. Wen said. "Do you think we're fools?"

Xie Yuyan did not respond, but instead said, "The Maitreya Church is the state religion of the Great Xia Dynasty."

Mr. Wen was startled.

Xie Yuyan continued, "The Empress Dowager of Great Xia has already read the Great Cloud Sutra that I taught her. We promised the Empress Dowager that we would make her the second Cisheng Yuegu Golden Wheel Holy God Emperor."

Empress Cisheng Yuegu Jinlun Shengshen is the only female emperor in history.

Xie Yuyan's next words surprised Mr. Wen even more: "We helped Empress Dowager Liang ascend to the position of Empress Dowager."

Does this mean that they... assassinated the previous ruler of Western Xia?
"Now we are going to present the Empress Dowager with an exceptionally valuable gift," Xie Yuyan smiled slightly, "Do you know what it is?"

Mr. Wen shook his head subconsciously.

Xie Yuyan said, "Wang Yan, son of the Grand Chancellor of the Great Liang Dynasty, was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the fourth year of the Zhiping era and is now the Crown Prince's advisor."