The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 532 The Root of Decline
Matsuura Takanobu was indeed a clever man. After learning the direction Li Miao was exploring, he outlined the relationship between swordsmanship, Shintoism, and the Emperor in just a few words.

The Shinto swordsmanship originates from the gods, or rather, monsters, worshipped in Shintoism. The principal deity of Shintoism, and the one enshrined in the largest shrines, is the ancestor of the Emperor.

However, his words, taken individually, subtly contradicted Li Miao's understanding of the current situation in Japan. For example—

"According to what you've said, Shintoism possesses the origins of the Sacred Sword Technique and has the backing of the Emperor's status. It's powerful and famous, and as a religion, it's already quite well-established... How could it be suppressed by Buddhism?"

Li Miao looked into Matsuura Takanobu's eyes and asked.

Matsuura Takanobu slowly shook his head.

"I don't know either, sir."

"Although I am a daimyo, Japan is divided into Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. I am just a daimyo who lives in a remote corner of Kyushu. The real struggles and secrets take place in Honshu, which is beyond my reach."

He carefully observed Li Miao's expression, and when he saw Li Miao's eyes narrow slightly and his fingers stop fidgeting, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly spoke.

"However, I have a general understanding of some peripheral aspects."

"For example, Shintoism has only shrunk in terms of its followers and has been trying to regain its dominance in recent years. The current fighting in this state is related to the struggle between Shintoism and Buddhism."

"The reason why Kaguteda Yasunori came under my command and became my vassal is the result of Shintoism's scheme... It seems that they are using these swordsmen who practice the Shinto sword technique to gradually increase their influence over the various daimyo."

"As for why Shintoism initially declined... of course, the emperor at the time supported Buddhism, but as far as I know, the fundamental reason is not that simple... I can only tell you a few times."

Matsuura Takanobu took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

One thousand and ten years ago.

"Seven hundred and ninety-three years ago."

Two hundred and seventeen years ago.

Li Miao frowned.

"So precise?"

Matsuura Takanobu nodded.

"Yes... because these dates were not something I discovered myself, but rather information passed down from my ancestors. However... Japan was embroiled in war for many years, and Hirado Castle was invaded multiple times. My father's succession to the throne was extremely rushed for several generations, and some information was lost as a result."

"But these three dates have been passed down with extreme accuracy, which is obviously very important... I have investigated the information, but I still don't know much."

Matsuura Takanobu held out three fingers.

“Shintoism gradually declined at these three points in time, and was gradually suppressed by Buddhism. Of course, the decline was a process that lasted for decades, but what my father passed down was the precise timing.”

"So what my ancestors really wanted to tell me was three things that happened at these three points in time, but they lost it and only left three points in time."

"So, I can only tell you what happened around these three points in time, on the surface."

Matsuura Takanobu retracted his fingers one by one.

Buddhism was introduced to Japan 1,010 years ago.

"Seven hundred and fifty-four years ago, Master Jianzhen traveled eastward."

"Two hundred and seventeen years ago, Shintoism completely declined."

Lu Wushuang murmured beside him.

"The Wei, Jin, Tang and late Yuan dynasties."

Upon hearing Lu Wushuang's words, Li Miao suddenly relaxed his eyebrows.

He sighed, which was extremely rare for him, and shook his head. His laughter even carried a hint of self-deprecation and lament.

"I see." "It's true what they say, 'I searched high and low without finding it, but it came to me without any effort...' I searched for two years in Da Shuo, along with the Shaolin and Wudang schools, but I couldn't find a single clue. I never expected it to be hidden in Japan."

"That's really... funny."

Matsuura Takanobu was puzzled, and Lu Wushuang looked at Li Miao with a question in her mind.

"My lord, what have you guessed?"

Li Miao propped his chin on his hand and turned to look at her.

"It's not that I guessed, it's that I knew."

"And as you know, everyone in the entire Da Shuo martial arts world knows them. Didn't I just mention Shaolin and Wudang? If we remove the second time mentioned by Matsuura Takanobu and only look at the earliest and latest two, haven't you realized it yet?"

Lu Wushuang was stunned for a moment, and then her eyes widened suddenly!
"My lord! This!"

Li Miao shook his head and sighed.

"Yes."

"Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng."

"If we remove some vague information and only consider the conclusive evidence, 1,010 years ago and 217 years ago are the exact times when the two of them suddenly disappeared and vanished without a trace, with an error of no more than one year."

Lu Wushuang was speechless.

How could she have imagined that this trip to Japan would be connected with the two figures, Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng!

They shouldn't have passed away and ascended to heaven... No, Li Miao has already said that he joined forces with Wudang and Shaolin to search for clues in the Central Plains. As the successors of these two, Wudang and Shaolin couldn't possibly not know whether these two were missing or had passed away and ascended to heaven.

So, are the two of them really missing?

And... they disappeared on this island nation across the sea?

The decline of Shintoism was orchestrated by these two individuals.

Why? Why would these two martial arts masters target a local Japanese religion? And who could have made them join forces across a thousand years to fight against it, disappearing before they could even leave behind their spiritual cultivation techniques?
Lu Wushuang was in a state of utter confusion.

Seeing that she was momentarily flustered and making wild guesses, Li Miao waved his hand.

"I will tell you about the disappearance of the two martial arts masters and the opponents they were facing later."

After saying that, he turned to look at Matsuura Takanobu.

"According to you, you don't know the root cause of Shintoism's decline, only the surface. Then let me ask you, on the surface, what is it about Buddhism that allows it to compete with Shintoism?"

"Leaving aside why the Emperor doesn't support his own ancestors but instead supports Buddhism, which originated in the Central Plains, at the very least, Shintoism holds the foundation of Shinto swordsmanship and has the support of half of the swordsmen in Japan."

What is Buddhism?

Matsuura Takanobu hesitated for a moment.

"On the surface, they seem to have the resources to recruit swordsmen, and many of the Sword Saints originally practiced the Divine Sword Technique, but after obtaining the title of Sword Saint, they suddenly turned to Buddhism."

"Also... Buddhism had also come into contact with me, but Shintoism provided more support, so I ultimately chose Kaguteda Yasukyo."

"As for other things... I might be able to give you some locations."

Matsuura Takanobu extended a finger, bit its tip, and traced a map of Japan on the floor, then tapped it a few times.

“I dare not go to these places, nor do I dare to explore them.”

"But with your strength, you might be able to get the clues or answers you're looking for."

(End of this chapter)