Chapter 808: Chapter 747: Changhe’s Breakthrough [Seeking Monthly Ticket] (2)
“Yes.”
Moments later, a Buddhist chant echoed in the center of the battlefield: “Amitabha… All of you are fiercely battling in the bustling market, risking harm to civilians, which goes against heavenly harmony. This old monk has come to resolve the conflict, hoping everyone will give this old monk some face.”
The words were exceedingly pleasant, yet a fierce Buddhist light ruthlessly struck at the back of the Vermilion Bird, filled with murderous intent, cruel beyond compare, with its target directly aiming for Vermilion Bird’s life!
“Twang!” An arrow shot like a meteor, reaching its target before the sound was heard.
Zhao Changhe was the first to shoot an arrow at Kong Shi!
Kong Shi was prepared in advance, his body performing a move that completely defied the laws of physics, suddenly retreating while advancing, with an arrow grazing past his face with a “whoosh” and disappearing.
Taking advantage of Zhao Changhe’s arrow, Bo’e found an opportunity, swiftly shaking off the attacks of Yue Hongling and Vermilion Bird, and darted away.
The wind carried his laughter: “Ridiculous, ridiculous, in bustling Chang’an, Zhao Changhe’s women besiege their guest, is this the result the Guanglong heroes achieved by introducing Buddhism? A huge joke!”
His intention was to mock the Li Family, implying that by trying to balance various forces, they ended up appearing like Zhao Changhe’s subordinates, allowing chaos in the market without a solution. If they had been obedient and heeded the Northern Border’s Wolf Flag, they could have been made lords of the Central Plains, otherwise, when Zhao Changhe comes, Chang’an becomes his Capital City.
Jiuyou stood calmly on the rooftop as if she didn’t hear it. These words, like a breeze brushing past, had no effect on her.
Her gaze fell on “Qin Jiu,” who shot the arrow, and she subconsciously wiped her pants leg with her right hand.
Pretty good shot, little brother… You still dare to appear before me, do you really think I can’t kill you?
At this moment, in the field, Vermilion Bird Yue Hongling surrounded Kong Shi with great fury, Yue Hongling’s long sword angrily pointed: “Buddhist Holy Monk, to collude with foreigners, what face do you have to meet the Buddha!”
Kong Shi laughed nonchalantly: “In the eyes of Buddha, all beings are equal, there is no distinction between foreign and Han.”
Vermilion Bird gathered flames in her hands, sneering: “Then you can die for him!”
“Venerable, you are just an envoy. This is Chang’an, not your Capital City.” A large group of armored soldiers surrounded them from both sides of the long street, and Li Boping finally led the elites to block the surroundings, smiling slightly as he said: “Bo’e hid in the embassy, I was unaware in advance. Thus, when Yue Heroine and Venerable attacked in anger, I did not intervene… But since Bo’e has left, Master Kong Shi is a Buddhist Holy Monk, not someone outsiders can randomly attack.”
“This king,” referring to his self-declared Qin King. And these words first washed away the issue of colluding with foreigners, whether they were clean is another matter, it always needed to be said this way. As for the Buddhist’s actions, that’s their own matter of equality among all beings, unrelated to us, but if you want to attack the Buddhists, that’s attacking our Holy Monk in Chang’an, and we will intervene.
This is political logic; no matter how messed up, there is always an explainable facade. Unless you act recklessly in the Worldly Society, otherwise, officially there’s no way to continue arguing.
But if they can’t speak, others definitely can. From afar, Yuxu arrived gracefully, standing on a nearby rooftop and saluting: “If that’s the case, there’s no better timing than today. With Chang’an watching and all the scholars and civilians present, this old Daoist plans to reopen the Buddhist and Dao debate, to see how many people still support the ‘Holy Monk’ who lets a foreign chief go in broad daylight.”
The battle here erupted suddenly and ended quickly, leaving Yuxu no time to participate. But in the aftermath, where politics can’t intervene, religion can. Under the guise of a Buddhist-Dao dispute, it’s a good opportunity to expel the Buddhists from Chang’an once and for all. Rare murderous intent rose in Yuxu’s eyes, secretly resolving to settle this in one stroke, even if it means using yesterday’s “martial debate” mode.
Kong Shi chuckled: “You accuse me of colluding with the enemy chief, but I say the real person, in front of Qin King and all the scholars of Chang’an, openly colludes with fake Han. It’s said that last night, the real person contended with someone, at which time the Vermilion Bird Fire fell into the alley. The Vermilion Bird Venerable didn’t just come to visit today but was here yesterday. Who knows what secret meetings were held first, and now they’re acting today.”
Li Boping’s gaze fell on Yuxu’s face without speaking.
Both sides have the suspicion of “colluding with outsiders,” seemingly “offsetting” each other.
In the contest for religious public opinion, one stands on the side of the people, the other on Li Family’s rule. If it were about voting, Yuxu would win overwhelmingly, but this isn’t about votes; from the ruler’s perspective, Kong Shi triumphs.
For a moment, the scene was quietly silent, only the fire in the nearby Honglu Temple crackling. No one bothered to extinguish it, including the soldiers; everyone was contemplating the current situation, with mostly a sigh in their hearts.
Amid this silence, a figure almost ignored by everyone leaped from the nearby rooftop, standing in the center of the field: “So… is it Qin King?”
Li Boping turned towards Zhao Changhe, speaking indifferently: “Who are you?”
Zhao Changhe smiled: “I believe the Qin King should first address the fire, or else it could spread, leading to catastrophe.”
Li Boping also smiled; his first response not to extinguish the fire was naturally to let the victims attribute their anger to Vermilion Bird since she caused the fire. But if no one mentioned it, it would have been fine. Now that someone brought it up, he couldn’t pretend not to hear and had to wave a hand: “Put out the fire.”
“Yes.” The surrounding soldiers quickly grabbed buckets to extinguish the fire.
Yue Hongling glanced at Zhao Changhe, her eyes filled with joy; this synchronized, unspoken collaboration was too wonderful. Only he would first react to putting out the fire in such a situation.