The ancient Buddha with blue lantern is dimly lit by candlelight.
In the middle of the small temple, a one-armed old monk flexibly held the irregular wooden block at his feet. He sat cross-legged on the bluestone floor, holding the chisel in his right hand, and silently carved the Buddha statue.
Around him, thousands of wooden Buddhas were piled up.
The Buddha said that people have thousands of appearances, which can be said to be ever-changing.
However, the Buddha who came from him only had one appearance.
King Kong glared angrily.
He has been sitting alone in this temple for twenty years, but no one from the passers-by and residents has ever spoken to him. Many people even thought he was mute.
He has no name, no Buddhist title, and if he talks about a title, he barely has one.
He is a Buddhist sculptor.
Ever since Isshin Sword Master killed the Shura in his heart that year, the Buddhist carver has been living in this small and dilapidated Buddhist temple, constantly carving only one side of the Raging Buddha Vajra, with such skill that he can carve it completely with his eyes closed.
But no matter how he carves or uses Buddhist scriptures to cleanse the malice in his heart, the Buddha still only has that appearance.
anger.
Rootless anger.
Bottomless rage.
Even if the Shura on his body has been cut off, even if his face has been kind for twenty years, the evil thoughts of Shura rooted in his heart cannot be washed away no matter what.
This is probably the so-called reincarnation cause and effect, right?
This situation has lasted for twenty years.
Finally one day, his peaceful life ushered in ripples.
dong dong
The dilapidated temple door was knocked twice, and the wind-corroded wooden door creaked with difficulty.
A lean man led a girl across the threshold.
Hanging from the man's waist were two long knives in black sheaths.
"Ahem."
Opening the wooden door, Miko was choked by the sudden dust and coughed twice. She kept bending down to cover her nose.
The old monk looked calm and didn't even look back. He was just carving the wooden Buddha at his feet quietly. While carving, he casually turned the Buddha's face with his toes.
Although he is a seemingly devout monk, he does not seem to have any respect for the Buddha.
As soon as he entered the door, Miko was shocked by the scene in front of him.
The small and dark temple was illuminated by only one candle. The elderly monk was wearing a worn-out monk's robe that had not seen many years of use. The surroundings were filled with countless wooden Buddha statues.
The movements, expressions, and clothing details of each Buddha statue are so lifelike that at first glance they look like the real thing.
"It's really an ominous knife."
The Buddhist sculptor seemed to feel the footsteps of the two men, and did not look back, but just commented quietly.
The vicissitudes of his voice contained a hint of the old man's unique hoarseness.
"No broken arm?"
The Buddhist sculptor slowly turned around.
Because of his aging and drooping eyelids, he looked like a blind man at first glance, but the old man's cloudy eyes were extremely sharp, as if he could see through the essence of others at a glance.
"Young man, it seems that I, an old man like me, can't help you."
Han Baiyi lowered his head.
Yuzi raised his head and looked around the entire small temple.
The whole small temple looks shabby and old, but in fact it is exquisitely decorated inside.
Although it has not been cleaned for many years, looking at the layout, you can tell that the cost of building it back then was not a small amount.
Looking at the dilapidated courtyard outside the small temple, there are several kinds of wild vegetables commonly eaten by ordinary people growing on the edge. I think life should be self-sufficient.
There is a stone Buddha statue in the middle of the courtyard. The Buddha statue is held up by six hands. The stone is as cool and warm as jade. It is a rare gemstone.
This is a jade ghost Buddha.
The scenes of wealth and poverty are intertwined in this small courtyard, giving Miko, who has lived in an aristocratic family since childhood, a unique visual impact.
An inexperienced person like Han Baiyi would not have so many emotions. He looked at the Buddha carver in front of him with a polite smile on his face:
"How could it be? Even my father longed for the famous flying ape back then. If even you can't help us, there really is no ninja in the world who can help us."
"oh?"
The Buddha sculptor seemed to be interested, and carefully put down the Buddha statue in his hand, smiling kindly:
"Among the young people of this era, do any of them still remember the Flying Monkey?"
"Who is your father?"
Han Baiyi saluted solemnly:
"My father's name is Xiao, and he is a ninja. He was also a member of Wei Mingzhong back then."
"Oh. It's Ukonzuo Utsui... You're the kid who was picked up on the battlefield of the pirates, right?"
The Buddhist sculptor nodded.
Wei Mingzhong is the country-stealing army led by the ‘One Heart Sword Master’ twenty years ago.
The most famous among them are ‘Xiao’, ‘Madame Butterfly’, ‘Flying Monkey’, ‘Ten Character Spear’, and ‘Doctor’.
This one-armed Buddhist sculptor was the famous flying ape of the time.
He was one of the most powerful ninjas twenty years ago.
Han Baiyi nodded seriously:
"It's down there."
After understanding it for a while, the Buddhist sculptor seemed to have lost much desire to explore. He leaned over and continued to carve the Buddha statue without interest, speaking in a casual tone.
"Then why are you here?"
Han Baiyi straightened up and said in a calm voice:
"There are two main things."
"One is to ask for your advice."
The Buddhist sculptor silently carved the Buddha statue in his hands.
"In addition, there is a pharmacist named Yongzhen who died in Ashina Castle yesterday."
squeak
The chisel suddenly pierced the wooden statue, drawing a long mark on the Buddha's angry face, splitting the entire Buddha's face into two, and there was a sound like needle pricking in his ears.
Yuzi raised her hands to cover her ears, frowning and looking at him.
The Buddhist sculptor stopped carving. His aging body moved as slowly as he showed, and even the movement of raising his head seemed so heavy that a shackle was hung around his neck.
The cloudy eyes were rarely opened once, allowing one to see the almost dilated black pupils under the wrinkled eyelids.
His eyes were locked on Han Baiyi, as if he wanted to see something from his old, unshaven face.
The old man said every word.
"Who did it?"
Han Baiyi spoke righteously: "It is rumored that he was a ninja who sneaked into Ashina City from the inner government. However, this Miko-sama and I also escaped from Ashina, so we don't know the details."
An old face as thick as the corner of a city wall has 'It's not me anyway' written all over it.
The old man's breathing seemed to be rapid for a moment, and then silent again.
Turning around, looking at the Buddha statue that had been accidentally pinched by him and cracked in his hand, with a dividing line drawn on the face, the Buddha sculptor felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Suddenly I lost interest in carving.
The old man sighed:
"This... is probably her destiny."
"Those two rice balls and her martial arts skills couldn't save her life after all..."
The scene was silent for a long time, and the carving movements in the old man's hands began again with difficulty.
Every moment, every stroke is filled with indescribable emotions.
Yongzhen, that female doctor with extraordinary swordsmanship and excellent medical skills, was also the child that Wei Minzhong picked up from the battlefield of the pirate country.
At first, the Buddhist sculptor threw two rice balls to her to keep her alive. Later, she was adopted as a daughter by the doctor "Dogen" and taught how to save the world. In addition, she also worked with the sword master Ashina.
Learned swordsmanship.
This woman has a deep connection with these three people.
To the Buddhist sculptor, this woman was both a disciple and a daughter, and she would often bring him some wine and food to this old man who had been forgotten by the world.
As a result, Han Baiyi, who was young and ignorant at the time, was shot in the head during the trial.
Now this is embarrassing.
Therefore, Han Baiyi stood at the door without speaking, nor did he show much emotion, pretending to be unclear about the relationship.
As for the blame, naturally he threw it over the head of the inner government.
The small temple was silent for a long time, with only the sound of the Buddhist carver rustling the wooden Buddha carving.
After an unknown amount of time, the rustling sound suddenly stopped.
Slowly, the old man put down the Buddha sculpture in his hand.
He turned around and looked directly at the young Miko in front of him.
"Are you the royal son of this generation? Not bad."
The Buddhist carver just looked at it twice and walked straight out the door.
Miko had a puzzled expression on her face.
Turn your head,
On the ground where the old man sat, a Buddha statue with its face smashed into pieces was left.
On the futon beside the Buddha statue, there are two thread-bound books.
Han Baiyi looked at the old man with respect as he walked out of the yard for the first time in twenty years. He did not relax his respectful posture until the figure of the Buddha carver disappeared at the end of the path.
Straightening up, Han Baiyi said in a relaxed tone to Yuzi beside him:
"Okay. This place will belong to us from now on. Let's clean it up and get ready for dinner."
"ha?"
...
Neither of them found it.
The moment the Buddhist carver walked out of the dilapidated temple, the talisman paper plastered all over the roof and walls of the dilapidated temple suddenly burned away, leaving no embers.
It's just that this faint blue fire burns out under the afterglow of the setting sun, which is an almost tragic background.