I'm really not an old sword

The purple-eyed woman knocked on the door.

Not long after, the sound of slow and steady footsteps was heard from inside, and then the door was slowly opened.

The person who opened the door was an old man with a kind face and wearing a monk's robe.

Seeing the purple-eyed woman and Lin Qingsu, the old man was stunned at first and asked, "Are you two donors here to hide from the rain?"

"I want to find out something," the purple-eyed woman said, "and I'd like to stay overnight."

The old man nodded to show that he understood and then looked at Lin Qingsu.

Lin Qingsu first sensed the old man and felt that the other person's emotions were very weak, but after he realized that they did exist, he gradually felt relieved.

"I'm trying to avoid the rain and want to stay here for the night."

Lin Qingsu hesitated for a moment, thinking of the deep malice she had just felt, and asked, "I want to ask, has anything bad happened here recently?"

The old man and the woman with purple eyes were both stunned.

The old man looked at him doubtfully, and the woman with purple eyes turned around and looked at him again with suspicion.

Seeing this, Lin Qingsu repeated to him what she had said to the woman with purple eyes.

"Amitabha."

The old man put his hands together and gently twisted the Buddhist beads, as if he was chanting Buddhist scriptures for the companions on the boat that Lin Qingsu mentioned.

Lin Qingsu felt a little ashamed when she felt the heavy heart of the old man.

The old man muttered for about half a minute before slowly opening his eyes and nodding apologetically at the two of them: "Sorry to have delayed your time."

"It's okay." The purple-eyed woman shook her head, her tone soft.

Lin Qingsu thanked him, "No, I should thank you on their behalf."

"It's just my job."

The old man smiled gravely and looked at the violet-eyed woman who had covered herself tightly. "This donor who doesn't want to show her face must be aware of what happened in the temple, but before you enter, I still want to give you two some advice."

As he spoke, the old man blocked their way and said seriously, "If possible, I hope you two can go back."

Lin Qingsu became more curious after hearing this.

It was raining so heavily outside that he didn't see any villages on the way here. However, based on the distribution of villages he had seen in the past five days.

If nothing unexpected happens, the nearest shelter from the rain is probably outside Heian-kyō Castle, thirty miles away.

A thirty-mile journey would take more than three hours even if one walked straight.

Not to mention normal people, even strong soldiers would catch a cold after walking for more than three hours in heavy rain. In this era, catching a cold could very well mean losing your life. So what made the old man prefer to let them leave in the rain rather than take them in?

The old man slowly began his story.

"The matter started a month ago."

"More than a month ago, a monk from this temple fished out a statue from the river below the mountain while he was out fetching water."

“Although this temple is dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva as its main deity, it also worships other gods.”

"So, the monk naturally brought back the statue. Although the workmanship was a bit crude, it had a sense of age. Furthermore, we confirmed that it was indeed a revered deity above those worshipped in this temple. We didn't have any doubts and enshrined it properly, bathing it in incense."

"But something happened that night."

"This temple is a little-known, and many tourists come here every day to burn incense. Since it's quite a distance from Heian-kyō, there are always some pilgrims who can't leave in time at night, or who want to stay a few days to get some peace and quiet, and they stay here overnight. That day happened to be a gentle spring day, and the number of pilgrims coming here to burn incense and stay overnight was especially high."

The old man sighed heavily, his kind face full of sadness and self-blame.

"As the host, I felt a bit uneasy that day, but I just thought it was the end of my life and I didn't think much of it. I woke up around midnight and checked everything, but when I saw nothing was wrong, I went back to rest."

"But when I woke up the next day, something happened."

The old man's face grew more sorrowful. "All the pilgrims who stayed the night before, a total of nine people, fifty-three people, all died tragically."

Lin Qingsu's pupils suddenly shrank.

He didn't listen carefully to what was said afterwards because he had already figured it out, and what the old man said was basically the same.

Because Sensoji Temple is a famous temple near Heian-kyo, most of the people who come here to burn incense are either rich or noble, and many of the people who died are people of noble status. Therefore, Heian-kyo attaches great importance to this matter and has sent many people to investigate. At first, they suspected that it was done by the monks in the temple, but after several interrogations, they did not find anything unusual.

The most important thing is that the people accompanying him brought with them many attendants with strong martial arts skills, while the monks in the temple did not know martial arts.

There was no evidence, no motive, and no strength or ability. After the trial failed, the authorities finally determined that the case was the work of ghosts and sent an onmyoji to investigate.

After finding no problems during the day, the Yin-Yang Master decided to stay here at night, the time of the crime, and wait for the opportunity.

After leaving by car during the day, he secretly returned to the temple at night under the cover of darkness to wait for the monster to arrive.

But after one night, when the monks in the temple woke up, they found a pile of dead bodies with expressions of horror placed outside the front door.

The same death as those tourists before.

The government sent several waves of Yin-Yang masters and soldiers, and five days ago it was the fourth wave, but without exception they all ended up dying tragically.

The old host advised: "Listen to my advice, you two should leave as soon as possible."

Lin Qingsu really wanted to leave.

But the front was weird, and the back was a deep mountain forest where it was pitch black and you couldn't see your hand in front of you due to heavy rain.

It's hard to say which one is more dangerous.

Just as Lin Qingsu was hesitating, the woman with purple eyes suddenly turned around and looked at him.

"I'll take you to Heian-kyo first."

Lin Qingsu looked at him in surprise.

"You're still young."

Lin Qingsu was silent.

After possessing the "Law", he can not only influence but also feel the emotions of others more clearly.

He could feel the sincerity in the woman's words.

But precisely because of this, he felt a little uncomfortable. Although he didn't want to be a good person, this didn't prevent him from respecting good people.

And although the woman's eyes revealed a hint of adulthood, judging from the delicate skin revealed when she raised her hand, she was not much older than him.

After thinking for a few seconds, Lin Qingsu sighed and patted the scabbard at his waist.

"I want to stay too."

Chapter 2 Minamoto no Yorimitsu

"Since you two are determined to do so, then this old monk will not stop you." The old abbot sighed.

If there was no heavy rain outside, or if it was a little lighter, he would have driven them away even if they were evil people, but if he forced them to brave such a heavy rain, it would undoubtedly be a death sentence.

"The history of this temple can be traced back to Empress Suiko..." The old abbot introduced the history of Sensoji Temple as we walked.

In the empty and dark corridor, you can see some monks passing by. They have strange eyes and hurried steps.

"Because of that incident, no one has seen outsiders dare to stay overnight for a long time." The old host explained to them with a smile and stopped them.

"You two, we're here. These are the two rooms."

Two adjacent rooms left to them by the old host.

Opening the sliding door, I saw a room about ten square meters in size, with a tatami mat on the floor and an unlit candle on the table.

There was a cabinet against the wall next to it, which contained a thin quilt and a few candles on top.

The wall was very thin, and Lin Qingsu could hear the noise coming from next door. Perhaps the old host thought he was weaker and the woman with purple eyes came specifically for the monster, so he chose two adjacent rooms that were not soundproof so that he could take care of her.

"Sensō-ji Temple? Ghosts?"

Lin Qingsu lit the candle and looked at the dancing flame, frowning and thinking.

There are definitely monsters in Sensoji Temple.

But he really couldn't figure out whether the old abbot and the woman with purple eyes were enemies or friends. Although the two acted very close and he never felt anything unusual, this temple was really weird everywhere.

After thinking about it, Lin Qingsu simply picked up the sword, opened the door and walked out.

'Wow. '

The doors of the adjacent rooms opened at the same time as if they had agreed.

Lin Qingsu and the woman with purple eyes looked at each other.

The woman with purple eyes was still wearing the same outfit, but she had taken off her hat. Her whole body was still covered tightly, with only her eyes showing.

Lin Qingsu nodded at her.

The woman was startled, then realized that he didn't want to talk to her anymore, so she nodded. The two of them turned around at the same time and walked in two different directions.

Lin Qingsu really doesn't trust anyone.

The old abbot looked kind and had a good heart, and his words were flawless, but at the door he felt that the malice in the temple was too strong.

And it's all his one-sided words. Who can guarantee that what he said is true?

Of course, the best thing for him to do now is to ask the woman with purple eyes. She must have come here for a purpose and should be quite aware of this, but her secretive behavior is too suspicious and Lin Qingsu really doesn't trust her.

The reason why he didn't agree to the woman's suggestion to send him away was that he couldn't let go of his face as a man and he didn't trust the woman.

But what the old abbot said was not wrong, that is, the incense offerings at Sensoji Temple must be very prosperous.

This is too big.

There is a wooden floor under your feet, which makes a 'Ta', 'Ta' sound when you walk on it.

After walking around for most of the day, Lin Qingsu stopped at the door of a sliding door. Looking at the malice inside the door that was so strong that it almost turned into substance, Lin Qingsu placed his right hand on the sword and held the door frame with his left hand.

In this huge temple full of malice, the room before me is like a lamp in the darkness, standing out.

The rain was pouring down in the yard behind him. Lin Qingsu's body was tense and his mind was highly focused. The hand pressing on the door moved to the left...

"what are you doing here?"

Lin Qingsu turned his head and saw a young monk looking at him in confusion.

"I'm lost." Lin Qingsu withdrew her hand calmly.

"Your room is not here, this is my room."

The young monk asked, "Are you one of the two people the abbot just brought in?"

"Yes."

"Oh, that's right. The abbot thought you hadn't eaten, so he asked me to bring some food to your room, but I didn't see you." The young monk said, "You should go back quickly, otherwise the food will get cold."

"But I don't know how to go back." Lin Qingsu smiled bitterly, always keeping her character in mind.

The young monk smiled cheerfully and said, "I'll take you back."

The young monk was very cheerful. After walking a few steps, he curiously asked him how he came and where he came from, and whether he had heard of the recent rumors about the temple. After Lin Qingsu repeated his previous words, he also followed the clues and asked him about the temple.

It's not much different from what the old host said.

After walking for about two minutes, the young monk pointed to the room in front of him and said, "We're here. This is your room."

Lin Qingsu opened the door and saw a burning candle on the table. The time was consistent with the burning speed she had just measured, so it was her room.

There was a bowl of vegetarian food on the table, and the candles that were placed at the door when I left had already rolled to the side of the table.

"Thank you." Lin Qingsu turned around and asked, "What's your name?"

"Yono Yuta."

The young monk grinned and said, "Then I'll be leaving first. You should eat quickly and then we can get going soon."

Lin Qingsu was stunned, but in just a blink of an eye, the young monk in front of her seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth and was no longer seen.

Lin Qingsu turned sideways and took a look.

The room was empty, the candles were still burning, but the vegetarian meal on the table was gone.

After a long silence, Lin Qingsu turned around and quickly walked to the door next door and knocked.

"What's up?"

"I saw a ghost."