Endless darkness...
I can't see anything.
I can't hear anything.
The body seems to lose its sense of time.
It felt like only 1 second had passed.
And it felt as if I had been in this endless darkness for hundreds of years...
After who knows how much time had passed, in this dark and dead silence, some new movement finally appeared.
“…”
Ogata heard someone talking, but it seemed like they were far away and he couldn't make out the sound at all.
After he finished speaking, Ogata felt his body shaking.
It seemed as if someone was gently shaking his body.
"……how?"
There was another voice.
This time the sound was much closer and clearer.
"...amazing...recovery...quick..."
Another person's voice was heard.
The man's voice was intermittent and Ogata could only barely hear a few words.
"...I understand...you...get out..."
The sound was getting closer.
It's an old male voice that always feels... very familiar...
Where have you heard this sound before?
My mind is in a mess...I can't remember...
The dark world was suddenly filled with white light at this moment.
This beam of white light destroyed all the boundless darkness.
The darkness shattered into thousands of pieces like broken glass, falling down and disappearing.
As the darkness came to an end, Ogata finally felt that he was gradually regaining control of his body.
"Hmm..." Ogata slowly raised his eyelids as he regained consciousness.
The first thing that caught Ogata's eyes was... the flickering candlelight, which cast a dim yellow tint on Ogata's vision.
When Ogata's eyes drooped subconsciously because he was not used to the light——
"Hmm? Are you awake?"
The familiar male voice that he had just heard in the darkness came into Ogata's ears again at this moment.
——This voice…?
Ogata's eyelids, which had just drooped, opened again, ignoring the bright light around him that he was not yet used to.
He opened his eyes wide and looked in the direction where the old male voice came from.
I saw an old man standing beside him.
When his gaze turned to the old man, Ogata's eyes had just barely gotten used to the bright light around him, so he was able to see the old man's face and clothes clearly.
His skin had become wrinkled with age, like a dried orange peel.
He had a prominent goatee on his chin.
He was wearing a simple monk's robe.
It was the old monk with a goatee who Ogata had met when he attacked Koyasan before and who had come to criticize Ogata and angrily asked why he came to attack Koyasan!
If Ogata remembered this person's Buddhist name correctly... the Buddhist name of this old monk with a goatee seemed to be "Qingyan".
——Why is this person here? Where is this place?
With all these questions in mind, Ogata shifted his gaze away from Qingyan and looked at the rest of the area around him.
Now... I seem to be in a small tent.
There is a white tent roof above the head.
There was a simple bed beneath him.
Apart from the bed under him and the candlesticks on the bedside, there was no other furniture around him.
The items placed next to the bed, besides a candlestick, included Ogata's two swords, and... the beautiful brocade box containing the heads of eight hundred nuns.
Seeing that his sword and the brocade box were not lost, Ogata felt relieved.
The memories before falling into the endless darkness slowly revived in Yu Xugao's mind.
He only remembered... after defeating Itagaki, he had used up the last bit of his strength and fell to the ground, unable to get up. He could only let his consciousness fade away bit by bit, let the waves rise bit by bit, let the sea water gradually submerge him...
"Um... Elder." Unable to hide his astonishment, Ogata turned his gaze back to Qingyan and subconsciously wanted to stand up, "Where is this... Uh!"
As soon as he tried to raise his upper body from the bed, waves of soreness immediately rushed out from every muscle of his upper body like a fierce snake, biting towards Ogata's brain, causing Ogata to cry out in pain.
At this moment, Ogata suddenly realized that his whole body was aching so much that it was difficult for him to even lift his arms.
He was covered with a thin blanket. After struggling to lift it off, Ogata suddenly saw that he was wearing a clean piece of clothing. There were no external injuries on his body under the clothes, but he was in great pain.
"Don't move, just lie down." Qingyan rushed forward to Ogata's bed and raised his hand to cover Ogata with the thin blanket again. "The doctor said that your body is overworked. For at least the next 7 days, you have to rest in bed and don't move."
"Ah, thank you..."
Ogata subconsciously said "thank you", but couldn't help but look up and down at the old monk who was helping him cover the blanket again with a surprised look.
Ogata wondered if it was his illusion...
He always felt that Qingyan was much more polite when speaking to him.
No, that can't be said to be polite.
To describe it as "polite" seems a bit inappropriate.
Should I say - when I spoke to him, there seemed to be a hint of... awe in my tone?
"The doctor who treated you just came once." Ogata heard Qingyan continue to talk to him in a casual tone, "He said that your injuries have basically healed. You just need to rest for a while and you will be back to normal."
Having said this, Qing Yan paused for a moment, then changed his tone to one of emotion:
"It's really amazing... This is the first time I've seen someone with such amazing recovery ability like you... Even the doctor who treated you kept saying: You are a miracle man."
Hearing Qingyan's sigh, Ogata's expression changed slightly.
He was a little worried that Qingyan would ask him "why his body was so special".
If you ask him this, it would be inconvenient for Ogata to answer such a question.
But fortunately - Qingyan didn't seem to delve too deeply into the issue of "Ogata's recovery ability".
He raised his hand and patted Ogata's chest a few times, then continued with emotion:
"In less than two days, all the injuries on my body were healed, and there were no more external injuries..."
Finally, Qingyan murmured in a tone that only he could hear clearly, and in a tone of awe: "As expected, he is someone who can even attract thunder from the sky..."
Ogata didn't hear clearly what Qingyan was whispering.
He only heard Qingyan's words just now: "It only took less than two days."
Ogata's brows knitted uncontrollably and he asked Qingyan hurriedly:
"2 days? Sir, how long have I been unconscious ?"
"Hmm? About... five days."
"5th?" Ogata almost cried out in shock, and asked hurriedly, "Sir! Where exactly is this place? Why am I here?"
"Hmm..." Qingyan raised his hand and stroked the beard on his chin, "This is somewhere in the wilderness of Kii. I can't tell you exactly where it is."
"As for why you are here..."
…
…
5 days ago——
Koyasan, Koya Town——
"Ahhhhh! Where on earth did this fire come from?!" an old monk shouted in grief.
Similar wails and cries of grief were currently being heard at the foot of Mount Koya.
After a sudden fire broke out on Mount Koya, all the monks from the temples on the mountain hurried down the mountain to escape and fled to Koya Town at the foot of Mount Koya.
Koya-cho, which used to be extremely quiet, has now become extremely crowded and noisy because it is filled with fleeing monks.
Koyasan is a holy place for Buddhism.
This holy land is now being devastated and ravaged by fire... How could this not make the monks of Koyasan overwhelmed with grief?
Some monks wailed loudly.
Some monks fell to the ground and cried bitterly.
Some monks silently recited Buddhist scriptures and prayed for Mount Koya, which was suffering from the disaster.
There were also some monks who…had angry looks on their faces.
"It is said that Ogata Ittosai set the wildfire. Is this true?!"
"It seems so! Before the forest fire broke out, many people witnessed it - Ogata Ittosai suddenly appeared, attacked the Sengenji Temple, and killed many people!"
"We have never provoked Ogata Ittosai. Why did Ogata Ittosai do such a brutal thing? Killing my monks and burning my temple gate!"
…
More and more people joined the ranks of yelling and cursing Ogata.
When Ogata attacked Sengenji Temple, many people witnessed this "brutal" scene.
Although Sengenji had long been infiltrated by the Toyotomi clan like a sieve, there were still many normal monks in the temple.
Most of the normal monks in Xianyuan Temple witnessed Ogata's attack on their Xianyuan Temple.
The testimonies of these survivors of Sengenji Temple strongly prove that "Ogata attacked Sengenji Temple" was indeed an event.
As soon as Ogata attacked Sengen-ji Temple, a fire broke out on Mount Koya - it was difficult to prevent the monks from suspecting that the fire was caused by Ogata.
Although some people also expressed calm voices, such as: "It is too arbitrary to doubt Ogata Ittosai like this", "I saw many brothers and sisters killed by Ogata Ittosai in Xianyuan Temple holding strange weapons. I think we have to investigate this matter carefully"...
Some voices spoke up to calm down - but they were too few in number.
Like small drops of water falling into the sea, those calm voices were all drowned out by the angry roars and sad wails of others.
But at this moment——a cry of surprise with a trembling voice suddenly exploded:
"Ah! Has anyone seen Master Qingyan?"
This exclamation seemed to have some magical power, which made all the noises around it quiet down a little.
"Master Qingyan?"
"Yes! Has anyone seen Master Qingyan?"
"Master! Master Qingyan! Where are you?!"
More and more people are joining the search for "Master Qingyan".
Another exclamation rang out:
"I remember now! Before the wildfire started, Master Qingyan seemed to have gone to Xianyuan Temple to discuss Buddhism with Master Xianyuan!"
This person's words made the air around them...seem to freeze.
"What?! Master Qingyan went to Xianyuan Temple before the forest fire started?!"
"That's not bad!"
"Master Qingyan, could it be that he happened to run into Ogata Ittosai who attacked Xianyuan Temple..."
"Shh! Stop talking nonsense!"
Everyone was shouting.
The monks, who were worried about the safety of Master Qingyan, spontaneously searched for him all over Koya Town, making the already chaotic Koya Town even more chaotic.
Finally - a certain monk's loud shout put the hearts of the monks who were worried about the safety of Master Qingyan at ease .
"Ah! I found Master Qingyan! Master Qingyan! I finally found you!"
The people who heard the shout all squeezed over. The old monk with a goatee had a stern face and ignored the concerned greetings from the people around him. He walked forward at a brisk pace surrounded by the crowd, while loudly asking around:
"Where's Tianhai? Has anyone seen where Tianhai is?!"
Just as Ogata and his companions were riding on a carriage to chase Toyotomi and his companions who were about to leave by boat, Aokiwa, who was refused permission to go with them by Ogata and his companions, quietly left Hasegawa and his companions and ran back to Koya-cho alone.
He knew that after a forest fire broke out on Mount Koya, the monks on the mountain would gather in Koya Town, which was relatively safe at the foot of the mountain.
The reason why he came to Koya-cho alone was not for any other reason - he just wanted to find the monk Tianhai, who was familiar to him, and borrow something from him.
"Master! Tianhai is here! Tianhai is here!" A thin monk pushed through the crowd and ran to Master Qingyan.
After taking a glance at the thin monk in front of him, Qing Yan said quickly:
"Tianhai, I remember you had a donkey, right? Where is your donkey now?"
"Ah, my donkey is right next to me. When the wildfire broke out, I used it to transport a batch of important books..."
"Take me to see your donkey!" Qingyan interrupted Tianhai before he could finish his words.
"ah?"
"Don't just stand there, take me to see it."
"Oh... okay..." Tianhai came back to his senses from his daze. Although he didn't understand why Qingyan wanted to see his donkey for no reason, out of respect for Qingyan, he was unwilling to say a word of "no" and hurriedly led Qingyan to his donkey which was tied to a tree nearby.
"Master, why do you suddenly want to see my donkey..."
"Tianhai, can you lend me your donkey?"
“Hmm?” Tianhai was surprised again. “This… Master, if you want to borrow my donkey, I will not refuse, but you…”
"Thank you. I'll take your turn later." After Qingyan interrupted Tianhai for the umpteenth time, he climbed onto the donkey with a slightly clumsy movement, then raised his hand and spanked the donkey's butt hard.
Phew, phew, phew…!
The rather skinny little donkey raised its two front hooves, blew the horn a few times, and then ran forward carrying Qingyan.
The monks, including Tianhai, who had been surrounding Qingyan, who had just returned, stared blankly at Qingyan, who suddenly rode away on his donkey...
The voices of the people around him suddenly fell silent, leaving only the "clacking clacking" sound of donkey hooves hitting the ground...
Until a moment later——
"Master! Where are you going?!"
"Master! Master!"
“Master——!”
…
Qingyan ignored the exclamations coming from behind him.
With a solemn look on his face, he rode his donkey straight towards a coast.
(Then let me ask you - how do you explain that these 'monks' I knocked down were holding so many weapons that monks would not possess at all?)
Every word that Ogata had said to him just now on Mount Koya flashed through his mind quickly.
Every time Qingyan recalled what Ogata had said to him, a trace of pain and regret would appear between his brows.
Emotionally, Qingyan was unwilling to believe that there would be any evildoers lurking on the sacred Mount Koya.
But after following Ogata, what he saw and heard on the back hill of Koyasan... cruelly told him: everything Ogata said to him... seemed to be true.
No matter what, he wanted to see with his own eyes whether there were really thieves planning to leave this place on a warship.
If this is true... then it can be proven that he had wronged Ogata, and there are indeed vicious villains lurking in the holy land!
He had previously requested Ogata to take him along and go after Toyotomi together, but was ruthlessly rejected - it doesn't matter, just accept it!
Anyway, Qingyan knew where the two warships were docked, and even without the help of Ogata and the others, he could get there by himself!
After he and Ogata met up with Genichi, Genzheng and others on Mount Koya, Genzheng blurted out: The dock where the warships were parked is adjacent to Misaki Village in Kii.
Koyasan is located in Kii, and Qingyan has visited many places in Kii, including Misaki Village.
Qingyan remembered it very clearly - he had been to Jiacun several times before to teach Buddhism, and he still remembered where Jiacun was!
At this moment, Qingyan, riding a donkey, was heading towards Jia Village at full speed.
Not long after he set out, heavy rain came down.
He continued to move forward despite the heavy rain.
Qingyan was anxious to witness the truth with his own eyes and he wished that the donkey under him could run as fast as a Ferghana horse.
But a donkey is just a donkey after all.
No matter how hard you rush, you can't outrun the speed of a horse.
The little donkey that Qingyan was riding was not strong.
Carrying a big living person like Qingyan, running in such a heavy rain... anyone with a little common sense would know that this little donkey would not be able to hold on for long.
Sure enough - after the heavy rain began to fall, the little donkey's speed began to slow down.
No matter how Qingyan whipped the donkey's butt, the little donkey's speed dropped visibly.
Finally—the little donkey stopped completely and did not move anymore.
"Hello! Hello!"
Qingyan shouted loudly.
"I see you usually eat a lot! How come you can't run so soon?"
No matter how angrily Qingyan urged the little donkey under his crotch to move, the little donkey remained unmoved. It hung its head, gasped, had some white foam coming out of the corners of its mouth, and its four hooves were trembling.
After all, this donkey was not his, and Qingyan saw that the donkey could no longer run, so he could only sigh in frustration and climb down from the donkey's back.
——Tsk… what a hassle… it’s still a long way from Misaki Village… this donkey is too fragile…
Qingyan clenched his fists anxiously.
At this moment, he happened to be in a very awkward place - on a mountain path with no village in front and no shop behind.
I wanted to borrow some more horses or donkeys, but I didn't know where to start.
When Qingyan was anxiously thinking about what to do now——
So great...
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
At the intersection in the west, there was a sudden sound of carriages and horses.
Qingyan quickly turned around to look - it turned out that a large group of people were heading towards him quickly.
This is a really big queue.
The column was centered on a somewhat luxurious carriage, which was guarded by more than 30 fully armed cavalrymen on all sides.
Being guarded by such a large number of cavalry - there is no doubt that the person sitting in the carriage must be an official of a high rank.
This convoy is extremely fast.
In just a moment, they approached Qingyan from the depths of the distant rain curtain.
Then - a scene appeared that made Qingyan look surprised.
After approaching Qingyan, the convoy slowly slowed down and finally stopped in front of Qingyan.
Then, Qingyan saw a middle-aged man who looked familiar sticking his head out from the crowded carriage.
"Master Qingyan? Why are you here?"
"Matsudaira...sir?" Qingyan's mouth turned into an "O" shape out of shock.