Chapter 315
Chapter 315
‘Big Dummy, isn’t your wife being a little too reckless? Lightning could strike at any moment out there. Even with non-conductive shoes, it’s still dangerous. Why is she rushing out?’
It was too late to stop her. Princess Aruna shouted at the top of her lungs.
“I am the daughter of the Great King! These bald bandits have betrayed the heavenly gods! When the smallpox epidemic ravaged the Qiang Kingdom, slaughtering countless lives, what did the Snowy Mountain Temple do? Instead of saving us, they barred their gates and let our people die in droves. Not only can they not act on behalf of the heavenly gods, but they have already been forsaken by them! The Sacred Temple behind me is what saved the people of the Qiang Kingdom from the god of death that is smallpox. From this day forward, this is our new temple! Kill them!”
Impossibly brave, Princess Aruna charged forcefully into the throng of bald warriors.
“Kill them!”
One person led the charge, and soon dozens followed, then hundreds, then thousands. The fire had finally been lit in the hearts of the many onlookers. Wielding their machetes and sickles, they charged with desperate resolve, instantly clashing with the bald warriors. The people of the Qiang Kingdom were incredibly fierce, every one of them a soldier in a fight, but their individual combat prowess was naturally far inferior to that of the bald warriors.
However, the bald warriors’ morale had already plummeted. They were gripped by a fear of the heavens, all of them believing they had angered the gods and were now facing divine retribution. What they had just witnessed was surely a heavenly punishment. With their spirits broken, the thousand-odd bald warriors were quickly overwhelmed by the thousands of commoners.
Watching the scene unfold, Ascetic Kuhai was livid. This was absolutely infuriating. Twenty-five hundred men had failed to attack a simple temple made of wood and oiled cloth. They hadn’t even properly fought the less than one hundred enemies before things had come to this. This temple looked so flimsy you could piss on it and it would collapse.
“Shen Lang, did you think I wouldn’t see through your petty tricks? Did you think I wouldn’t realize you used a tall iron pillar to attract the lightning? The heavenly gods displayed their might? Pah! Utter nonsense! Do you think this is the end? Did you think you could escape this predicament? I, Ascetic Kuhai, am more than enough to kill you all.”
In that instant, Kuhai abandoned the bald warriors and leaped powerfully toward the Sacred Temple. Like a vulture taking flight, he easily scrambled to the top. Raising his Buddhist blade, he swung with all his might at the tall iron pillar. The thumb-thick pillar was instantly severed and fell to the ground. It would attract no more lightning.
“Hahaha! Let’s see how you attract lightning and play your tricks now.”
Ascetic Kuhai laughed boisterously before striking down with his great blade, tearing through the temple roof and leaping inside.
‘I, Ascetic Kuhai, am enough to kill all of you. Shen Lang, you bastard, if it weren’t for your method of preventing smallpox, do you think I would have let you live until today?’
Upon landing inside the Sacred Temple, the first person Ascetic Kuhai saw was Shen Lang.
“You pretty boy, you wretched cur, today I will tear you to shreds and boil you into soup!”
Kuhai descended from the air, his great blade swinging down to cleave Shen Lang in two. At that moment, Shen Lang offered him a warm smile and a wave.
“Master, it’s been a while.”
Still in mid-air, a chill ran down Ascetic Kuhai’s spine. For he had just seen the face of a peerless beauty with mesmerizing, ever-changing eyes.
‘Damn it! Goddess Xue Yin? Wasn’t she dead? Isn’t the poison of Mount Fudao incurable? What is happening? What in the world is going on?’
Ascetic Kuhai tried frantically to flee. But falling through the air, where could he possibly escape?
‘Fight! So what if Goddess Xue Yin is a Grandmaster? She was poisoned for a long time, and she just woke up. What kind of fighting strength could she have? You think I can’t defeat you?’
Ascetic Kuhai’s greatsword changed direction, aiming for Goddess Xue Yin. Xue Yin drew her sword.
*Ting!*
Was she about to unleash a strike like an immortal from beyond the heavens? In an instant, Ascetic Kuhai’s massive body was sent flying. After landing, he leaped to his feet and said.
“Hahahaha, so this is all Goddess Xue Yin amounts to! I wondered how formidable a Grandmaster from the State of Yue could be, but I felt no power at all. Goddess Xue Yin, did you expend all your strength on that pretty boy? You should really practice some moderation in *that* regard.”
Ascetic Kuhai laughed maniacally. He felt that Goddess Xue Yin’s power was far too weak. In the moment their weapons had crossed, he had felt none of the overwhelming force a Grandmaster should possess. But in the next moment, he inexplicably felt a chill creeping through his body. It was as if a hole had opened somewhere, and his qi was steadily leaking out, his very life force draining away. He looked down at his body and saw a tiny red dot on his chest. It was so small, no larger than a mosquito bite.
“Argh.”
Ascetic Kuhai staggered and fell to his knees. He couldn’t breathe. His heart began to beat slower and slower, his vision blackened, and his head swam. There were many types of Grandmasters in the world, and Xue Yin was one who prized aesthetics above all else. Sword King Li Qianqiu would hack a man to pieces, but when Goddess Xue Yin killed, she left but a single red dot over the heart. It was a truly fatal blow. Her sword qi had severed a blood vessel in Ascetic Kuhai’s heart, though he would remain alive for a few more seconds. She was truly magnificent.
Ascetic Kuhai was a man strong enough to defeat Huang Feng’s master, the Old Demon of the Snowy Mountains. Yet Xue Yin, having just recovered from poison and only recently awoken, had defeated him in a single blow. Such profound martial skill was nothing short of breathtaking. Shen Lang walked over to Kuhai and took out a hidden weapon. The Torrential Rain Pear Blossom. It was not his signature weapon but Xiao Bing’s, though Shen Lang carried several as well.
*Shwick!*
Countless fine needles shot out like a downpour, embedding themselves all over Ascetic Kuhai’s body. In that instant, Kuhai cursed inwardly.
“Shen Lang, you damn bastard. Do you enjoy beating a dead dog? I’m about to die, and you still shoot me?”
And with that, Ascetic Kuhai died, his eyes unable to close in peace. In a way, Shen Lang’s actions were akin to a player in a game running up to a monster nearly killed by another player, landing the final blow to gain experience points. As Ascetic Kuhai was taking his last breath from Xue Yin’s attack, Shen Lang had swooped in and shot him with needles to finish him off.
“Feng, cut off Ascetic Kuhai’s head and give it to me.”
Huang Feng stepped forward, cleanly severed Ascetic Kuhai’s head, and handed it to Shen Lang to show off. Upon receiving it, Shen Lang grew annoyed.
‘This bald bastard, without any hair, how am I supposed to hold this? I can’t just cradle your head in both hands to show it off.’
Having no other choice, Shen Lang poked a hole in Ascetic Kuhai’s scalp, threaded a wire through it, and held it aloft like a pig’s head as he walked out of the temple. Shen Lang raised Ascetic Kuhai’s head high and declared in a cold voice.
“Ascetic Kuhai, false disciple of the heavenly gods and traitor to the temple, has defied the will of the heavens and been slain by me!”
At that moment, the remaining bald warriors outside completely broke. The survivors scattered in all directions. The battle was over, and Shen Lang had won a resounding victory.
***
In the royal palace not far away, Crown Prince Arutai’s entire body went rigid.
‘What in the world just happened? Ascetic Kuhai fell? Over two thousand warriors couldn’t defeat a mere hundred men, and he was killed by Shen Lang instead? What kind of sorcery is this? And what was that bolt of lightning just now?’
“Father, let me lead the soldiers and kill Shen Lang.”
Queen Su Mo was also trembling with rage. She spoke in a chilling tone.
“Your Majesty, let Arutai lead the soldiers and kill Shen Lang. Have them tear him to pieces.”
King Arugang of Qiang said nothing.
‘Lead the soldiers to kill him now? That would mean killing thousands, even tens of thousands of my own people along with him, wouldn’t it?’
Because of the earlier miracle, countless people of the Qiang Kingdom had been awed by the Sacred Temple’s power and had become its followers. Of course, it was disappointing and highly unexpected that Kuhai had failed to kill Shen Lang. But what did it matter? The fall of the Snowy Mountain Temple was not necessarily a bad thing. In a way, Ascetic Kuhai’s death could even be considered good news.
Su Mo said in a hoarse voice, “Your Majesty, Shen Lang must die! Once he returns to the State of Yue, the news that you wrote a letter of apology and allowed him to build a Yue temple in our kingdom will spread throughout the world. When that happens, everyone will question your authority.”
A flicker of movement in King Arugang’s eyes.
“I will have him killed on his way out, where there are no prying eyes.”
***
The next day.
Under the bright sun, the Sacred Temple stood firm, though it was bloodstained and battered. Inside, the statues of the Master and the Duke of Zhou still stood. The temple sign had been hung up again, as the one from yesterday had been knocked down by the lightning.
The people of the Qiang Kingdom were among the most ignorant and superstitious in the world. The miracle that had occurred at the Sacred Temple last night would spread like wildfire across the entire kingdom, and this place would soon become a holy site. Countless Qiang people would come here to prostrate themselves in worship. Of course, they wouldn't know Confucius as a sage who taught scholarship, but rather as the god of smallpox and the master of inoculation. But that couldn’t be helped. Just like Hong Xiuquan, who claimed to be Jesus’s younger brother, people see things through the lens of their own beliefs.
This Sacred Temple had been built in the hearts of the Qiang people; it would never be torn down again. Even if the King of Qiang were to demolish it, the people would secretly rebuild it. After all, they needed something to believe in. The King's mission for Shen Lang had been to build a temple, and Shen Lang had accomplished it in a matter of days. Although the physical temple might be burned down the moment he left, Shen Lang had built a temple in the hearts of the Qiang people, thus completing his mission far beyond expectations.
***
Shen Lang’s diplomatic mission to the Qiang Kingdom had gone far more smoothly than anticipated. He had succeeded without even using some of the plans he had prepared. He had Daoist Zuo Baiyu to thank for that. If he hadn’t laid the groundwork beforehand, success would not have come so easily. Now he was dead, and all the credit went to Shen Lang. He was a good person, indeed!
As the sun rose, the delegation led by Shen Lang officially began their journey to depart the Qiang Kingdom, escorted by Xue Yin and Princess Aruna. Countless people of the Qiang Kingdom, armed with various weapons, also escorted them. Kill Shen Lang where no one could see? That was impossible. Shen Lang would have them escort him all the way to the border of the Qiang Kingdom. The Qiang Crown Prince’s plan to ambush and assassinate Shen Lang was utterly shattered.