Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 33: Covenant on the Flames
Cai Shanjun stared at the patriarch.

"If a treasure that can be used to resolve disputes and protect lives can only be enshrined in the ancestral hall, then what is the point of the Cave Goddess allowing me to bring it out?"

The clan leader said unhappily, "Even if it's truly used to resolve disputes and protect lives, it should only be used when our village is in danger. That's no reason to easily allow others to borrow it."

"But when the danger is truly imminent, is it still too late to contain it?"

Cai Shanjun asked back, and suddenly talked about a topic that seemed to be very old.

"In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, in order to show off their imperial power and demonstrate their control over the territory, the Manchus ordered the collection of significant treasures from all over the country."

"It just so happened that some Miao villages had attached themselves to the Qing Dynasty earlier and wanted to borrow the authority of the Qing Dynasty to become the chieftains of many Miao villages. The uniqueness of Wujia Village became the object of their worship."

"They claimed there was a treasure in the cave, and that Wujiazhai had the map to it. This caused Wujiazhai to suffer enormous losses. In the end, Wujiazhai assassinated the leaders of the rival villages, bribed local officials, and even had women from the village become concubines, only to cover up the incident."

The patriarch was puzzled and asked, "Why are you saying this?"

"The world is experiencing increasingly volatile conditions, and the foreign presence is no less pronounced than it was at the end of the Ming Dynasty. The foreigners are massive, and they are far more insatiable than the Manchus who first entered the country."

Cai Shanjun spoke slowly and leisurely, "And among foreigners, there is already a consensus that everything mysterious means treasure."

"Back then, they extensively excavated all sorts of mysterious legends on the Snowy Plateau, even inciting the monks and nobles to completely surrender to them, hoping to make the entire Snowy Plateau an easier target for foreigners to exploit."

"I personally sent a large army to the plateau to combat their rampant arrogance. Moreover, the president at that time was still ambitious and determined not to allow their actions to succeed."

"The current president is increasingly relying on foreigners, and is no longer the same as before. The foreigners are almost occupying Jiaozhi, and will definitely get involved in Yizhou in the future."

"If we don't fight back and allow the President to manipulate Yizhou, when the foreigners invade, how can a place like yours, with its mysterious legends and deeds recorded in historical documents, escape their clutches?"

The patriarch fell into deep thought.

No one in the hall spoke or even moved, only Chu Tianshu was drinking tea silently.

After a long while, the clan leader spoke again: "These things you mentioned, such as foreigners and the president, are still too far away from us."

“Is it really that far away?”

Cai Shanjun smiled gently, "Your village isn't really isolated from the outside world. You'll take the initiative to find out what's going on."

"So, clan leader, you should know that Cai Shanjun, who left the village more than ten years ago, once became the Grand Commander of Yizhou and was strongly invited to Beijing by the President."

"And now this person is sitting in front of you again."

He raised his right hand and gestured the distance between them.

"We are less than ten feet apart."

The patriarch suddenly turned his head, put one hand on his knee, and looked at Cai Shanjun.

He looked more like a village chief than a clan leader.

The leader of Wu Village.

"I do know the news outside, so when a big shot like you appears in front of me in such a miserable state, I dare not make any decision."

The leader of the Wu village stood up and said, "You have fallen into this state. Do you think that if we lend you a flute, we can definitely help you return to power?"

"If you can't go back, is there no other heroic ruler in Yizhou who can see the situation clearly, fulfill the duties of a monarch, accept the support of civil and military officials, and thus protect the people of this land?"

Cai Shanjun said without hesitation: "Of course there are still talented people in Yizhou!"

"But, if I hadn't gone back, they would never have reacted so early, so quickly, and so promptly, and would never have made up their minds. If they had been able to do that, I wouldn't have been the first Grand Commander of the Han Military Government!"

Cai Shanjun's words were calm and his expression was composed.

He was as quiet as a statue in a temple, who came to the world by chance and could die at any time.

But he has not left yet and still has a dazzling brilliance.

"I am originally a country bumpkin, as crude and ordinary as mud and stone, tilling the land south of the colorful clouds. I rise with the times and change with the wind and clouds."

"The storm is not far away, the future is uncertain, only at this moment..."

Cai Shanjun said, "Who else but me?" The whole hall fell silent and everyone was looking at Cai Shanjun.

Chu Tianshu also put down the tea bowl.

This patient is clearly unable to use any of his cultivation skills now, but it seems that there is something in him that is more subtle than telekinesis, yet more powerful than telekinesis.

Perhaps one does not have to be a cultivator, but can be possessed by ordinary people. However, it can only be so clearly highlighted in the most extraordinary people.

Is this what heroism is?
There always seem to be some things in history books that cannot be inferred by common sense and can only be written about by the courage of great heroes.

"Because it's you."

The Wuzhai leader stared at the man with piercing eyes, "It's precisely because it's you that I dare not make any decision lightly, even though you've fallen into this state."

"Then, let us trust in the wisdom of our ancestors!"

The leader of the Wu village walked to the six-legged iron pot in the center of the hall, took out a handful of powder from the sachet at his waist, sprinkled it on the wood, and then drew out a dagger.

The blade and scabbard collided with a clang, and sparks flew.

The powder exploded immediately, and the firewood, which should have taken a while to ignite, was enveloped in flames in the blink of an eye and began to burn.

"There are only two things that we in Wujiazhai must always follow."

"Worship of the Cave Goddess and respect for the warriors."

The leader of the Wu village rolled up one sleeve and stretched his hand over the iron pot with his five fingers spread out as if to catch the flames. He slowly clenched his fist in the high temperature, but there was no sign of burns, only his skin began to turn red.

"I became the village chief because I was the bravest one climbing the fire barefoot."

"I don't have the courage to make a decision today, and you've already received the approval of the Cave Goddess."

"Then, according to our ancestors' rules, we will set up three levels. If outsiders want to borrow treasures, it will depend on whether your people can win these three tests!"

The leader of Wu Village glanced at everyone and laughed.

"One of you will come hold my fist in the fire and make this pact!"

Cai Shanjun stood up naturally.

Wutugu suddenly said, "There's something wrong with your body right now. If you can't use magic, it doesn't count if you can't hold your hand steady when you put it in the fire. You can ask your companion to do it..."

Cai Shanjun smiled in response to his kindness: "People don't all need magic to survive the pain of fire."

He had walked to the iron pot and stretched out his hand towards the fist in the blazing fire.

A figure suddenly appeared beside him and also reached out into the flames.

When this person came, there was almost no sound, and when he stretched out his hand, his speed was not particularly fast.

But when he was about to grab the fist of the Wuzhai leader, the man's palm stretched out his five fingers, and his knuckles suddenly bulged like bamboo joints.

boom! !

Such a palm suddenly grasped the fist of the leader of the Wu village, squeezing the airflow and breaking it apart, forcing a gap to be created in the surrounding flames.

On the firewood below, the powder corresponding to this part was blown away, leaving a circular gap.

When the flames rose again, the light in this part was actually a little lower.

Cai Shanjun didn't react in time, and his outstretched hand happened to fall on those two hands at this moment.

"You may not be afraid of pain, but my patients cannot harm their own bodies."

Chu Tianshu stood there, speaking quickly and clearly.

"We have made this appointment!"

Three palms were placed together, and under the witness of the mountains outside the hall and the flames inside the hall, they made a trial agreement.

(End of this chapter)