Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 654 Lotus Seed
Just then, a soft rustling sound came from ahead, sounding like snakes and insects gnawing at flesh, quite noticeable in the quiet space.

Qin Huai's heart stirred. He glanced at the numerous wine jars that were clearly divided into two parts, and immediately walked deeper into the middle along the passageway.

Soon, Qin Huai discovered that the grotto seemed to have been deliberately carved into a trumpet shape, narrow in the front and wide in the back, with the space becoming more spacious the further away from the entrance.

With his ears twitching and hearing the continuous, clear rustling sounds, Qin Huai turned the corner and walked directly into a huge mountain cavity.

Right in the center of this cavity was a colossal biological aggregate, at least thirty meters tall.

The basic appearance of this creature was exactly the same as the Ming King that Qin Huai had seen in the Demon-Infected Illusion. It was composed of hundreds of millions of wine worms forming various strange and deformed organs, wrapped in blood plasma and limbs, protruding in and out of the nauseating skin, twisting and turning with its body wriggling.

"Decomposition reaction?"

Gazing at the severed limbs and remains devoured and digested by the wine worms, and the crimson liquid dripping into the vast stone pool, Qin Huai thought for a moment. He decided not to provoke this unknown monster, but instead secretly marked it for the stronger Taotie.

Suddenly, the top of the tall Mingwang's head split open, and a drunken monk sitting cross-legged with flowing eyebrows emerged, staring intently at Qin Huai.

I just stared at it, and stared at it for a long time.

Where did you meet the Myo-wang?

"In a dream."

Upon hearing the strange-looking insect monk's question, Qin Huai didn't hesitate and immediately gave an answer he had already prepared.

"Interesting. As expected of a born lotus seed, it is indeed easier for them to approach the sea of ​​suffering than us mortals. It's a pity that most lotus seeds do not have a good ending."

The monk's tone seemed to carry a hint of regret, and then he glanced at the wine pot and stone box on Qin Huai's back.

"This old monk is Cidu, a holy being under the command of the Wise King. I have come to guide my disciple to ascension. If you are interested in the wonderful teachings of my Buddha, you may try the Divine Drinking Instruction."

After he finished speaking, the many wine worms that had gathered into the shape of monks exploded and turned into dust, as if they could not withstand the arrival of the merciful deity, leaving not even a remnant of their bodies.

"Lotus seed? Saint?"

Ignoring Ci Du, who only showed up to say hello, Qin Huai muttered these two new terms, guessing that the lotus seed might be related to the original body's bitter tea seed, while the saint was related to the power system of this fruit.

"Completely shattered"

He raised his hand to wipe his eye sockets, calming his tense nerves slightly. Without doing anything else, he collected some wine bugs, returned the way he came, sealed off Wenshu Monastery, gave instructions to the townspeople at the foot of the mountain, and then hurriedly rode towards Xijing.

That night, around midnight, when Qin Huai returned to the Ministry of War's office, he still didn't see any other recruits besides Wei Xiaolian.

Before Qin Huai could speak, Wei Xiaolian, who had spotted the Dragon-Shaped Wine Pot, jumped up and patted him on the shoulder, sounding quite surprised.

"Hehe, although I knew you were capable, I didn't expect you to be so quick. You brought the items back in less than a day. You completed the task beautifully. Old Man Yu is already waiting for you."

Hearing this, Qin Huai nodded, patted the stone box containing the snakeskin scroll and the wine jar, and asked, "I met a monk who had attained Nirvana at Wenshu Monastery. He said we had a connection and gave me all these things. Is that against the taboo of the Killing Department?"

"Oh, how could that be? Wenshu Monastery is a prestigious sect, and they have its own wine in their cellar. You can make the repairs if you want, just remember not to drink too much. Oh, by the way, are you alright? If you are injured, whether it's internal or external, Old Man Yu can heal you."

Seeing Qin Huai shake his head, Wei Xiaolian didn't say anything more. Soon the two arrived at the main hall of the Assassination Department and saw Yu Gongcao, who was still writing and drawing behind the counter.

"Yes, it is indeed Dragon Shedding Wine. Do you have anything else?"

The middle-aged scholar opened the gourd, sniffed it, nodded, and looked at Qin Huai, who was still carrying a pile of things in his hands.

"These are the strange artifacts left behind after slaying the evil spirits: a thighbone pipa and a bronze magic sword. I want to exchange them for a reward."

Qin Huai nodded and placed the pipa and magic sword directly on the counter.

"Okay, Pipa Skill 20, Magic Sword Skill 15, Dragon Shedding Wine Skill 100, for a total of 135."

Yu Gongcao fiddled with the abacus for a moment, and then pulled out a small bottle completely wrapped in yellow talismans from under the counter: "This is the [Chengxin Pill], which can temporarily suppress demonic influence. Although it is only a Taoist external elixir that treats the symptoms but not the root cause, it is still very precious."

Qin Huai took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and found that there were nine pills inside, one large, three medium, and five small, exactly the same as the reward reported by Yu Gongcao.

"In addition, this is an extra reward you receive as a newcomer for completing the Zhu Shang."

Yu Gongcao raised the wolf-hair brush in his hand, and the tip, fully dipped in thick ink, gradually revealed a deep, rich crimson color, which quickly gathered into a drop of ink that was about to fall.

The next instant, the iron plaque hanging from Qin Huai's waist rose slowly without wind and hovered above the counter. Yu Gongcao wielded his brush and ink, and in the blink of an eye, a large character "Geng" was engraved in the blank space.

That wasn't all. Wei Xiaolian pulled out a scarlet bamboo scroll from somewhere and stuffed it into Qin Huai's hand.

"This is?"

"I got the [Asura Technique] when I was promoted to the Silver Rank C back then. You can take it. Anyway, I don't practice military strategy, so it's useless to me."

Wei Xiaolian shoved the [Asura Technique] into Qin Huai's hand and chuckled, "After all, I'm the one who brought you in, so this little gift is nothing."

"The Asura Technique has a power of 200. Although it's not much, you're probably the first one to get Wei, that stingy guy, to pluck a feather from you."

After tidying up all the miscellaneous items on the counter, Yu Gongcao flicked his sleeves and said calmly.

"Then thank you very much, Brother Wei."

Having said that, Qin Huai no longer declined and bowed to Wei Xiaolian in thanks.

"Hey, once you're in the Assassination Department, we'll all be colleagues and family from now on, so why be so polite!"

Wei Xiaolian saw that although Qin Huai looked fierce, he was quite polite, so he nodded in satisfaction and said politely.

"Gong Cao, on my way to Wenshu Monastery, I met Zen Master Cidu and his disciple. From their conversation, it seems they knew that I was going to retrieve the Dragon-Shedding Wine."

Qin Huai looked at Yu Gongcao, who was at least proficient in two different schools of magic and seemed quite unfathomable, and asked directly, "Abbot Yiren of Wenshu Monastery has the ability to read minds. It's perfectly normal for him to know your purpose. So, did you see him after entering the monastery?"

Upon hearing the words "Cidu," the middle-aged scholar paused almost imperceptibly, glancing up at Qin Huai, whose expression was completely hidden by a mask.

"The townspeople at the foot of the mountain asked me to investigate the mystery of the missing pilgrim. After I slew the evil spirits in the gate hall, I found him in the wine pool in the center of the Mahavira Hall and the Dharma Lecture Hall. However, after exchanging only a few words, he vanished into thin air after completing his Nirvana tribulation."

Qin Huai recounted in detail what had happened at Wenshu Monastery to the two of them.

"Disappeared into thin air? Where did you see Master Cidu? He transcended the physical realm and ascended to immortality and became a Buddha ten years ago. Logically, he shouldn't have appeared in the mortal world again."

Yu Gongcao put down his pen, his expression unchanged. He seemed unsurprised by the failure of Abbot Yiren of Wenshu Monastery, but was curious about Cidu's whereabouts.

"It was in the wine cellar of Manjushri Monastery that the Sage Cidu descended in the body of a wine worm, gave a greeting, and said that he was there to take his disciple to ascend to heaven. Unfortunately, when I saw Yiren, he had already become a completely charred corpse. I don't know whether that counts as a successful Nirvana or a failure."

Qin Huai paused for a moment, then deliberately uttered the words "saint".

"Protecting Yiren from ascension? That's just an excuse. A mere mortal is not worth a saint's effort to return to the sea of ​​suffering and risk his will to descend upon the mortal world."

Yu Gongcao shook his head, staring at Qin Huai with a strange look: "He should have come for you, but although his terrified nature doesn't conflict with the Blood Asura, there's no benefit in cultivating together. What else did he say?"

"That's all. He only said that I saw the King of Fear in my dream, that I have a great affinity with Buddhism, and that I am self-taught in the art of drinking spirits. If I cultivate the [Drinking God Technique], I can become a Buddha and an ancestor in the future."

Qin Huai's eyes flickered slightly as he deliberately concealed the information about the lotus seed that might be detrimental to him.

"You've experienced phobia in your dreams? That explains it, no wonder, no wonder."

As he spoke, Yu Gongcao's gaze toward Qin Huai suddenly held a hint of pity.

"If you don't want to become a fearful Buddhist disciple in the future, with your fate controlled by him, then don't cultivate the [Drinking God Technique]. But if you are willing to exchange freedom for power, then Manjushri Monastery is actually a better place for you than the Killing Tribe."

"What do you mean?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huai's mind began to wander, and he instantly thought of many possibilities.

"You'll understand later."

Yu Gongcao gave Qin Huai a deep look, then continued fiddling with his abacus, ignoring the two people in front of him.

"That old fisherman is just like that, spouting off his knowledge. Never mind him, let's go, let's go, let's talk somewhere else. If you don't understand anything, just ask me."

Wei Xiaolian reached out and pulled Qin Huai toward the many partitioned rooms surrounded by screens.

Soon, the two sat down at the square table made of sandalwood. Wei Xiaolian pulled out a tea set from somewhere and skillfully brewed tea.

"The Little Five Ghosts Transporter was something I traded with from a sorcerer of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. It's very convenient."

Perhaps sensing Qin Huai's gaze, Wei Xiaolian gently waved his hand, and five little devils of different appearances flashed past him in an instant.

"Brother Wei, I heard you say before that you are a follower of the Rabbit God. Won't it cause problems if you use other people's magic techniques like this?"

Qin Huai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and chatted idly.

"Generally speaking, as long as the nature and appearance do not conflict, it's fine. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, Old Man Yu is a disciple of Confucianism, Military Strategist and Legalist. Over the years, he has not only not gone mad, but has also used the three powers of the Divine Star to restrain each other and resist the demonic influence. He is very powerful."

Wei Xiaolian pointed to the middle-aged scholar who was still working at the counter and explained.

"Sexual nature, what is that? Is it the power wielded by the Diviners?"

Qin Huai said calmly.

"Oh, I forgot you're a self-taught rogue who fought your way out of a bunch of evil spirits."

Looking at Qin Huai's somewhat indescribable appearance under the fierce mask, Wei Xiaolian rubbed his aching neck and continued, "As the Buddhist school says, nature and appearance refer to the inherent nature and outward form of all things. Nature is the inner essence, the method of non-action, the art of formlessness; appearance is the outward form, the method of action, the physical body."

"The Great Dao has forty-nine, but man escapes to the last one. This means that there are fifty natures in the world that can lead to Buddhahood or immortality. The Gods of Destiny, the Gods of Fate, and the Great Evil have mastered forty-nine of them, leaving only the last one, which is also the most powerful, for us mortals."

Wei Xiaolian pointed to himself and said, "The Rabbit God I worship has the nature of [Yin] and [Emotion], but neither is complete, so it is considered weak among the great evil spirits and could be killed at any time. The Blood Asura who passed down the [Asura Technique] has mastered the complete nature of [Slaughter] and part of [Death], and is one of the twelve most powerful deities among all the deities. The [Fear King] enshrined in Manjushri Temple is also one of the twelve deities, and has mastered the complete nature of [Wine] and part of [Fear] and [Fire]."

"As for the Confucianism's 'Supreme Sage,' the Legalism's 'Heavenly Principle,' and the 'Great Black Heaven' of the Secret Realm, these Deities basically only grasp incomplete aspects of nature. Although powerful, they are still somewhat inferior to the Deities of the Stars."

"On the other side of the sea of ​​suffering, there is not only the God of Time, but also the God of Fate?"

After being bombarded with a series of bombshell news, Qin Huai took a moment to process it before asking the question.

"Of course, there are only twelve months in a year and twelve hours in a day, so there are only twelve officials who are in charge of the seasons and can preach in the mortal world without incurring divine punishment."

Wei Xiaolian shrugged and said casually, "As for the other Diviners who control the nature of things, they can only secretly develop sacrificial sects and quietly accumulate power, hoping to gain an advantage in the future war of the Diviners and become the new Diviners."

"What about the great evil spirits? What are they? Are they malevolent spirits that have mastered the nature of things?"

"Pretty much. If a complete spiritual form is a gold ingot, then the Gods of Destiny control the fragments of gold, the Great Evils control the gold dust, and those evil spirits that often disturb the peace of the mortal world only have a tiny bit of gold dust in their bodies. The difference between the two is like heaven and earth."

Wei Xiaolian extended a finger and said calmly, "If the Gods of Fate want to, they can create a large number of evil spirits at any time with very little cost. However, that would permanently deplete their power. So, in the past few decades, apart from the Beijing-Tianjin area, other places have not yet been ravaged."

“Brother Wei, now that you mention it, I realize that it should be more powerful to possess a single, pure, and complete aspect. How come these Fate and Destiny Masters all have more than two aspects?”

Qin Huai, who had been comparing the system to the Yanfu system, noticed this counterintuitive point and asked directly.

"That's true, but the purer one's nature, the more demonic influences one attracts, and the faster one goes mad. In this respect, it's the same for both mortals and those who are destined to die."

Wei Xiaolian pointed to the ceiling and said quietly, "To maintain sanity, even someone like Si Chen needs at least two opposing forces at play to resist demonic influence."

(End of this chapter)