Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1484 1156. Divine Beast Bai Ze
Lan En and Wu Ming arrived at the banquet room first.

There are four tables on the left and right, which clearly show the difference between the host and the guests.

The room was not luxurious. In fact, the Iwamura Castle tower, which was used primarily for military purposes, did not have any luxurious rooms at all.

The floors are basically all tung oil-wood floors, and the walls are hung with scrolls, decorative folding fans, and weapons.

Even the screens were painted with simple landscape paintings.

There were only some tea and fruits on the small table, and the table was not very big.

It seemed that the banquet was being conducted in a way that dishes were served and cleared away in rounds.

"You've been sniffing." Lan En sipped his tea without paying much attention and said to Wu Ming with a smile, "Do you have a good nose?"

The teapot contained ordinary brewed tea, not the kind of matcha that needs to be carefully prepared by a so-called 'tea master' in a tea room.

The more and more complicated the steps are, and the more famous the person who handles the steps is, the more ceremonial and artistic an event will appear.

To be honest, if Lan En was forced to appreciate it, he could also appreciate the artistry of the tea ceremony, but if he had to say whether he liked it or not, he would prefer ordinary tea.

“But it smells delicious.”

Wuming tried hard to imitate Lan En's casual sitting style. Unfortunately, after trying many times, she realized that she was not good at this at all, so she just sat cross-legged in her own style.

"This smell is obviously from barbecue, right? It seems the city lord must have hunted something good."

And Lan En smelled much more details than her.

Ando Mamoru prepared grilled bird meat, which should be water birds such as egrets. In Japan, this dish seems to be called "yakitori".

Probably because of the prosperity of Buddhism, Japanese people believe that the meat of animals is unclean and therefore generally do not eat it.

Even if they eat, they eat meat from poultry and seafood.

Of course, this is just a saying. If people are extremely hungry, they can even eat human beings, let alone the "unclean" meat of animals?
This has basically become a means for nobles to show their noble status.

For high-intensity consumption professions like warriors, they don’t care about eating meat at all. After all, fighting for life and death is the most practical activity.

Eat more, practice more, and you'll be able to chop others to death before you get chopped to death. Plain and simple.

However, this time, it seemed that in order to entertain Lan En, whose background was unclear, Ando Mamoru arranged bird meat, which was in accordance with the rules but not easy to obtain.

But what's strange is that even though Ando Mamoru paid great attention to the food, he has not attended the event with his son-in-law until now.

It is not polite to make guests wait at a banquet table.

'Perhaps this banquet tonight will be more interesting.'

Lan En speculated playfully in his mind.

He wanted to find and eliminate as soon as possible the source of the "filth" that he had investigated, which was spreading like a plague.

However, if you want to retrieve the household registration information, you must make adjustments in terms of human relations.

That is the belated welcome banquet now.

Communication is an indispensable part of the process of doing things.

Indeed, Wuming and Lan En didn't have to wait long. Ando Shou came quickly from the side door of the room with his son-in-law, who had also changed his clothes and washed off the dust.

Wuming's hands were supporting his knees as he sat cross-legged, his expression somewhat surprised.

Because compared to Ando Morijari who was just "welcoming" in front of the castle tower before, the lord of the city now looks a little "frightened and fawning".

To put it simply: he seemed a little restrained in his own castle tower.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

As soon as he entered the door, he bowed repeatedly to Lan En and Wu Ming to apologize as he walked, with a sincere apologetic smile on his face.

Lan En and Wu Ming wanted to stand up politely, but the other party immediately put their hands in the air.

"No, no, no, it's my fault for being rude. Please sit down!"

Several candlesticks were arranged in the room, and the light was reflected by the lampshade, spreading to every corner.

After everyone took their seats, the host and the guest were facing each other.

The dishes for tonight's banquet gradually began to be placed on the small table.

The atmosphere at the banquet was weird.

Although Ando Mamoru, the city lord, seemed to want to liven up the atmosphere, Lan En also handled it like a fish in water.

However, it was precisely because of this appropriate and moderate response that Ando Morimasa himself seemed a little cramped in his own castle tower.

It seemed as if he was the one being taken care of.

And Takenaka Hanbei, the young warrior who had been chatting happily with Lan En and Wuming on the way into the city, was now looking seriously at the demon hunter who was so good at handling himself in the social scene.

He didn't even touch his glass of sake, only taking a sip of tea occasionally.

Ignorance is much simpler.

Although she was a little overwhelmed by the strange atmosphere at the banquet, which made her annoyed, she immediately felt better after putting the yakitori skewers into her mouth.

As a result, the expression of this handsome monster hunter kept swinging back and forth between 'annoyed' and 'delicious'.

Her eyes moved lively between the other three men with a weird atmosphere.

"Sir Lan En, I heard that you are a Ming countryman who recently entered Minong after learning skills from the Nanman?"

Just when Ando Mamoru was sweating for some reason, Takenaka Hanbei's calm and gentle voice sounded beside him, making him breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, this rash interruption was not polite and directly broke the last fig leaf of the awkward atmosphere of the banquet, exposing the awkward atmosphere.

"Yes." Lan En was very calm. He placed the chopsticks steadily on the chopstick rest. "I just arrived not long ago and I encountered such trouble."

"Is it really not long?" Takenaka Hanbei asked, his gentle eyes fixed on the demon hunter. "But now there are at least three guardian spirits around you, right?"

At the small table next to Takenaka Hanbei, Ando Mamoru's hand holding the wine glass suddenly shook, and more than half of the wine spilled.

He quickly lowered his head, as if he was anxious to wipe away the sake he had spilled.

This was his way of showing calmness.

At least he had just heard the more impactful speech of "People of the World" in the teahouse, which gave him some psychological relief.

But even so, the masseter muscles on Ando Morijō's face were still bulging high because of the action of gritting his teeth.

Three guardian spirits!
Three people blessed by gods and Buddhas!

His Ando family is a powerful family in Mino Province that has been around for generations! Ando Mamoru has been the head of the Ando family for decades!

But if it weren't for the talisman that could temporarily open the [Yin-Yang Eyes], he wouldn't even be able to find a son-in-law, Takenaka Hanbei Shigeharu, around him now!

This Ming guy! He said he had just arrived in Meinong for a few days! And he already has three of them around him?!
Three? !!!
You told me you have no background, no connections, and are new here? !
Are there three guardian spirits in the shogun Ashikaga's shogunate? ! !
But since the topic has progressed to this point, Ando Mamoru felt that he was no longer qualified to interrupt.

Thus, the lord of the city, the leader of the Mino Three, was now just like he was in the teahouse just now, sitting upright with his eyelids drooped.

"It's just a coincidence." Lan En shrugged. "Like Wuming, we just met."

When he turned around, Lan En found Wuming chewing the roasted bird skewers with his mouth bulging, and looking at him in surprise.

The demon hunter had only seen the fluff ball and knew that Lan En's "Ninja Cat" was possessed by [Shan Mo]. She was also surprised that this person actually had a guardian spirit.

The observant and discerning Takenaka Hanbei noticed the expressions of both of them.

"Please don't make your companions sad just to distance yourself from the matter, Lord Lan En. You see, Miss Wuming is also shocked."

Wu Ming stopped talking and just stared blankly with his watery eyes wide open, looking at Lan En beside him and then at Hanbei opposite him.

"I just want to have a frank conversation with you." Takenaka Hanbei said sincerely. "If you wish, my teacher can also join the conversation."

"I think you wouldn't believe me even if I said it was a misunderstanding. After all, smart people believe in themselves." Lan En scratched his cheek with a dull expression, "But who is the teacher you are talking about?"

There was a flash of dreamy light, and a long-bearded goat that looked like an old scholar appeared in the void.

It was stunned for a while, shook its head, and then turned towards Lan En, stretched out its hooves behind its back and shook them.

"Oh, hello."

Lan En raised his eyebrows, but still nodded at the old scholar goat and said, "Good evening."

"Talked?!" Wuming was the one who was very surprised. "Your guardian spirit can talk and communicate?"

Lan En looked at Wuming, and then looked at the old scholar goat in mid-air.

It turns out this isn't normal.

He had only seen four guardian spirits, so the sample size was not enough, so he didn't dare to make a direct judgment.

"I am quite special."

The goat stood with his hands behind his back and nodded towards Wuming in a friendly manner.

"The teacher's true identity is [Bai Ze]." Takenaka Hanbei introduced his guardian spirit to Lan En and Wu Ming with the respectful attitude of introducing a teacher.

"It is a legendary beast that can know everything. It came from the Western Continent."

Having said that, Hanbei looked at Lan En deeply.

"The teacher is able to understand people's words and can cure diseases. Therefore, although the image of the teacher varies due to its wide spread, it often appears as amulets or pillows for high-ranking officials and nobles, as well as ordinary merchants."

"So that's how it is. That's amazing." Lan En politely praised Bai Ze in mid-air.

"It's nothing." The old scholar goat laughed with a trembling voice, "Guardian spirits are not just as superficial as enhancing strength. They all have their own specialties. For example, Yaobahime."

"Eh? My guardian spirit?"

"Yes, your guardian spirit can bless you with immortality, little girl! It's just like the legendary effect of eating mermaid flesh."

"So, it seems that it is not surprising that I can think and communicate with humans, right?"

After looking at the teacher who floated in front of Wuming, Takenaka Hanbei continued to look at Lan En, who looked as if he had learned something new.

"To be open and honest, one must first demonstrate sincerity, and now my sincerity is obvious."

He clenched his fists, placed them on both sides of his knees, and bowed to Lan En.

"I also ask Lord Lan En to show the same sincerity."

"The two guardian spirits are lurking in the dark. Regardless of whether they have malicious intent or not, it really makes us feel uneasy."

Lan En scratched his head and looked at Takenaka Hanbei who was saying, "I won't get up unless you agree to my request."

"They don't come into the city with any ill intentions or any intentions. I just don't want them to scare you."

"Whatever the case." Hanbei still bowed, his voice calm and firm, "Please."

"If you say so. Tsk."

Lan En curled his lips and rubbed the magic ring on his hand.

A moment later, lightning flashed across the sky above Yancun City!

(End of this chapter)