The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 563 Unfortunately
Lu Wushuang squatted on the roof beam, stroking the soft sword in his sleeve while listening intently to the sounds coming from outside the Toshodai-ji Temple.

On the roof beam next to her, Nanako was encircled by Ryota Miyoshi using a scabbard and a beam to form a triangle. Both of them looked tense, with beads of cold sweat constantly appearing on their foreheads.

It felt like only a short while, yet also like an agonizingly long time, before the outside fell silent.

Lu Wushuang gestured for silence to the two of them, jumped off the roof beam, and cautiously made her way outside. Just as she reached the doorway, she heard Li Miao's teasing laughter.

"Why are you being so careful? Do you think I'll lose?"

Lu Wushuang let out a long breath, and ran lightly towards the door. Stepping on the pool of blood formed by the blood that had seeped in through the cracks in the door, she pushed open the temple door and walked to Li Miao's side.

"grown ups……"

She watched Li Miao with concern.

Li Miao was still seriously injured, and even if he won, it might aggravate his injuries. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that Li Miao's face was indeed paler than before, and there was even a faint trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you okay?"

Li Miao didn't lie to her, and said with a smile.

"Killed a few opponents who were passable."

"My hands were itching, so I used three moves against them."

Lu Wushuang glanced around and, finding no other living creature, breathed a sigh of relief and asked Li Miao.

"finished?"

Li Miao smiled and shook his head.

"No."

"The key figures are fighting amongst themselves. The one who survived ran away, and the dead were just some lackeys. I'm going to Enryakuji Temple later; that's where today's battle will end."

Lu Wushuang frowned.

"Sir, I don't quite understand."

Li Miao briefly recounted what had just happened, including the conversation between Yuan Chaoliang and the monk that he had overheard through his ear-power. Although he didn't understand Japanese, remembering the pronunciation of some key phrases wasn't difficult for him.

After listening, Lu Wushuang translated and recounted the conversation between Yuan Chaoliang and the monk. After a long silence, he hesitated before speaking.

"Sir, it seems that some things are connecting... Could you please tell me if I am correct?"

Seeing that Li Miao did not refute, she spoke slowly.

“A thousand years ago, Bodhidharma came to Japan and spread the Buddhist teachings, which is the origin of Japanese Buddhism. As for the reason, I think he probably wanted to use Buddhism to counter Shintoism.”

"Then he was killed by the so-called 'Amaterasu Omikami,' and his body was hidden inside the statue of Izumo Taisha. At the same time, that 'Amaterasu Omikami' transformed Buddhism, turning it into a tool for refining Shinto believers."

"Then, eight hundred years ago, Master Jianzhen traveled to Japan. At that time, he realized the essence of Japanese Buddhism and tried to guide it onto the right path."

"As a result, the monks of Japan had become accustomed to the fact that they could improve their martial arts skills without observing the strict rules and regulations. As a result, they regarded Master Jianzhen as an enemy and sent him into the encirclement of Shintoism, which led to Master Jianzhen's death."

"The two sides must have reached a tacit understanding to jointly eliminate the 'Heavenly Demon' because of the matter of Master Jianzhen, which led to today's joint encirclement and suppression."

"This is what happened in Japan before the time when the immortal Sanfeng crossed the sea to Japan."

Li Miao nodded.

"Although most details are missing, this should be the general outline... Have you noticed the key points?"

Lu Wushuang nodded and held up three fingers.

"First, the Heavenly Demon."

"Bodhidharma, Zhang Sanfeng, Master Jianzhen, you and the leader of the Ming Cult—these five people are called 'Heavenly Demons' by them." "But whether it's destruction, slaughter, cultivation level, origin, or faith, you and the leader of the Ming Cult have almost nothing in common with the other three. Why would they group you two with the other three?"

"Is it just because we are both experts who crossed the sea from the Central Plains? I don't think it's that simple."

"Secondly, Amaterasu."

"Regardless of who this person is or what level he is at, and also regardless of what he wants."

"The key point is that he disappeared during the period between Master Jianzhen's journey to Japan and the death of Bodhidharma. Otherwise, he would not have stood by and watched Master Jianzhen destroy the trap he left in the Enryaku-ji Temple practice."

“Master Jianzhen’s level is far inferior to that of Venerable Bodhidharma. Even by a broad estimate, he wouldn’t be stronger than you… A master who could kill Venerable Bodhidharma should have no difficulty killing Master Jianzhen. Why didn’t he make a move?”

"Was he fundamentally injured by Bodhidharma? The only certainty is that he is not dead, otherwise Bodhidharma would not have left a contingency plan on his own corpse."

"But if he could no longer kill Master Jianzhen, then why did Master Sanfeng disappear? Who could have made him disappear? This is the key to all the problems in Japan."

After talking for a while, Lu Wushuang was a little out of breath, but when she saw Li Miao's encouraging gaze, she suddenly perked up and hurriedly continued.

Thirdly, believers!

"Amaterasu Omikami reformed Buddhism to cultivate fanatical followers. Daruma spread Buddhism mostly to reduce the number of Shinto followers."

"It is very likely that Master Jianzhen's eastward journey to spread Buddhism was also to suppress the development of Shinto believers."

"Their core conflict has always revolved around the believers. But... why?"

"Humans can't eat incense, so being worshipped a lot won't help their martial arts progress. Why are these grandmasters and that mysterious Amaterasu fighting over this useless thing?"

She finally revealed her thoughts, but she was still uneasy, because what she said was more like three questions than three key points, and she didn't know if she could satisfy Li Miao.

Li Miao smiled.

"Well said."

"We have no clue about the so-called Heavenly Demon yet; as for the identity of Amaterasu, we have two candidates: Xu Fu and Kawakami, but we need more evidence to confirm it."

"But what about believers..."

Li Miao thought of someone.

Zheng Anqi.

He held a religious ceremony in Nanjing, intending to use it to complete Xuanlan's mission and kill Li Miao and An Qisheng.

The key to that religious ceremony can also be said to be the believers.

Considering that Amaterasu Omikami reformed Buddhism simply to pursue more fervent and steadfast believers, a subtle connection emerges.

Li Miao twirled his fingers and suddenly said.

"Speaking of which, Little Deer, have you ever thought about this question... Throughout history, there have been countless heroes in the martial arts world, so why were only Bodhidharma and Zhang Sanfeng able to reach the pinnacle of martial arts?"

Lu Wushuang hesitated for a moment.

"I've thought about it. I doubt any martial artist hasn't considered this question... But what's your main point, sir?"

Li Miao paused, his fingers moving slightly.

Why can it only be the two of them?

Why Taoism and Buddhism in particular?

"The vast majority of sects in the world are secular sects. Over the past thousand years, they should have produced countless more geniuses than the Taoist and Buddhist sects... Why didn't they succeed?"

(End of this chapter)