Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1488 1160. Spirit Division
Not to mention, the temple where he was ordained as a monk as the ruler of a country must have even more far-reaching significance.

During the Warring States Period in Japan, it was very common for daimyo and military commanders to become monks.

Firstly, they themselves knew that they had committed serious sins of killing, so they converted to Buddhism to pray for peace.

Secondly, this is also a political means.

Buddhism has a profound influence in Japan, even to the point of causing religious wars. Converting to Buddhism can show one's piety and attract believers.

Becoming a monk during the transfer of power can, on the one hand, help the successor stabilize the situation without causing fear. On the other hand, after becoming a monk, the enemies who once held power will most likely not pester him anymore.

After all, becoming a monk cuts off all worldly ties, which is equivalent to being a dead person in religious views.

Of course, there are many magnates who still hold power after becoming a monk. To say that they do not touch power is just to play around and fool people.

But all in all, as the temple that presided over Saito Dosan's ordination as such an important political means, its status in Mino must be extraordinary.

"The abbot of the temple is the Venerable Rihu."

The local samurai, Takenaka Hanbei, whispered a brief introduction to the two outsiders.

"Higo-sensei was a powerful figure in Mino Province many years ago. He was the younger brother of Nagai Bungo-no-kami Toshitaka."

In ancient Japan, common people did not have surnames, but among the powerful nobles who had surnames, in addition to having a prominent family name, they also had to highlight their official positions.

Therefore, the official position should be added between the surname and the given name.

Nagai Bungo-kami Toshitaka, where "Bungokami" refers to the official position, and Nagai Toshitaka is the original name.

Takenaka Hanbei's face looked embarrassed and taboo.

He continued hesitantly, "When Rihu-sensei was young, he and Dao San-sensei practiced together at the main temple of Myojuku-ji Temple. They were close friends."

"Later, Master Dosan sneaked into Mino, and it was through the connection with Master Higo that he was able to become a samurai of the Mino Nagai family."

"Then it went straight up."

Wuming and Lan En's expressions remained unchanged.

The saying "entering Mino and rising rapidly" is actually just the process of Saito Dosan rising from the lower ranks to eventually becoming the lord of the country.

Dosan was recommended by Nichigo Shonin to become a samurai of the Nagai family, but in the end he used some trickery to inherit the family name of the main family and changed his name to Nagai Norihide.

Afterwards, he surrendered to the Saito family under the name of Nagai Norihide, and then worked his way up, inheriting the Saito family name by some means, and changed his name to Saito Toshimasa.

The changes in the name are the history of Saito Dosan's rise to fame.

As a Mino samurai, Takenaka Hanbei naturally had to avoid the taboos of the respected.

But having said that, why is Venerable Rihu still the abbot of the temple?

As the person who brought the ambitious figure Saito Dosan to Mino, as the person who introduced Saito Dosan to serve the Nagai family, in the end his family was swallowed up by the rebels.

Nagai Toshitaka's younger brother, Higo Shonin, should have hated Saito Dosan to the core and regretted his actions.

But he is still the abbot of the temple.

Saito Dosan also specially chose this temple as the place for his ordination, which was equivalent to adding another layer of gilding to Changzai Temple.

"Perhaps." Takenaka Hanbei lowered his head, as if he could guess what the two people in the room were thinking, "Even a poisonous viper would still have a tiny bit of compassion and nostalgia."

That's why after successfully stealing the country, he let go of his old friend who had become his enemy.

Humans are complex creatures. Perhaps when they were climbing up at all costs, their eyes were only burning with the flame of ambition.

But when everything is settled, those eyes may be able to accommodate other things.

"Okay." Lan En ended the silence with a calm voice amid the complicated thoughts triggered by the complicated situation. "Now that we know the general direction, let's get started."

"Varied?!"

Hanbei was dumbfounded at this sudden change of mood.

Wuming seemed to have thought a lot less than him, so he just hesitated for a moment and then nodded obediently.

"Your Excellency! Your Excellency Lan En!"

The sound of the buckles on Smaug's armor being tightened one by one became more and more rapid. Takenaka Hanbei was so shocked that he suddenly leaned forward from his originally peaceful kneeling position.

With his hands on the ground, he almost knelt in a begging position.

His gentle face was now serious.

"I've said so much, don't you understand? The key to Changzai Temple now is not the temple itself, but the attitude of Master Dao San! He is still nostalgic!"

"So what, Hanbei?" Lan En asked him curiously, "What does Saito Dosan's attitude have to do with my desire to remove the [Filth] and prevent it from harming people?"

"Oh, you're worried about our safety and you don't want to stay in Minong anymore? It doesn't matter. Qilin runs very fast. We won't have a conflict. We can finish the job quickly and leave quickly. No more people will die because of this."

Of course I'm not worried about your safety!
Takenaka Hanbei was already low on energy, and now his head was so full of random thoughts that it felt like it was about to split apart with pain.

Ever since the Kirin showed its extraordinary figure last night, Takenaka Hanbei had no doubt that this was the best divine horse in the world.

Even with thousands of troops, it would be impossible to stop it. But, but.
"You will become enemies with Master Michisan." Takenaka Hanbei said solemnly in a warning and reminder tone, "Even so, it doesn't matter? You don't care?"

Ever since his teacher hinted at how noble the unformed guardian spirit in Lan was, the three words "people of the world" have always lingered in the minds of Hanbei and his father-in-law.

The eighty-eight years of continuous war have tormented the world for too long.

For so long, a gentle man like Hanbei subconsciously hoped that a world master would suddenly appear and bring peace to the world. For so long, a traditional samurai like Ando Mamoru really hoped to meet a world master who could conquer the world and win world-famous feats under his command.

So when Lan En called out the name of "Qilin", Hanbei subconsciously divided this action into two possibilities.

1: This is truly destiny.

2: This is just a means for ambitious people to create momentum.

And it was obvious that the second possibility occupied a large proportion in his mind.

In fact, from a personal perspective, Takenaka Hanbei does not reject ambitious people. Since ancient times, who can say that he has no ambition?

As long as he can bring about the benevolent and peaceful world that his teacher talked about, Takenaka Hanbei doesn't care whether the person who brings this world is an ambitious person or not.

However, if Lan's actions in Meinong so far are viewed as those of an ambitious person, then there is a ready-made success case that can be used as a benchmark for analysis.

That is Saito Dosan.

Mino Province had more than a dozen counties under its jurisdiction and its rice production was 650,000 koku, which was not surprising.

But it is not far from Kyoto, with well-developed roads. It has a direct connection to the Tokaido from the neighboring country Owari, and from near Sekigahara it can connect to the Hokkoku Kaido, Tosando and Ise Corridor. It is a hub of transportation in the world.

Anyone who uses military force will never ignore the places that were fought for in the past!
Saito Dosan chose this place for a reason, and in Hanbei's opinion, Lan En's reason should be exactly the same as Dosan's!
But when Saito Dosan first entered Mino, he looked like a humble gentleman and was praised by everyone.

After establishing good relations with the local powerful families and even integrating into them, he would climb up step by step in the original system of the local powerful families until he became the ruler of a country.

If Lan En attacks Changzai Temple directly now, let alone establishing good relations with the largest local powerful family, the Saito family might directly become hostile to him!
Is this something an ambitious person can accept?

unless
"It doesn't matter, Hanbei."

Lan En finally tied the buckles on his boots tightly, patted them with a "clang clang" sound, and then said with a smile.

"Isn't this an emergency? Why would I care about the Saito family, Saito Dosan's opinion of me, etc.?"

"To be honest, if the source of this [filth] is really the temple, I'm afraid that many people who have been contaminated without realizing it, the people I want to save, will also spit on me for slandering Buddhism, right?"

"But that doesn't matter."

Lan En shrugged and put the Sword of the Lady of the Lake on his left waist.

"It is my will to save people. If the gossip, hostility and vigilance of any random person can influence me, then my will is too cheap."

Hanbei still supported himself with his hands on the ground, kneeling and facing the demon hunter in the house, but his eyes unconsciously widened slowly at Lan's response.

Unless the person in front of you is not just an ambitious person who is no different from others.

Did he really think that in order to save people, he would not care about even the hostility of Saito Dosan, the ruler of a country?

The so-called "world of benevolence and peace" in the mouth of a teacher who knows the world and can predict the future.
"I understand."

Somehow, Lan En suddenly felt that the young warrior in front of him seemed many times more serious than anything he had seen before!
Even at the end of the banquet last night, there was no such serious and solemn expression.

The hands that were originally supported on the ground due to anxiety were now changing their position slightly and slowly.

Combined with the kneeling figure, it silently turned into a formal and solemn kneeling posture.

This gesture is often seen when a samurai pledges his loyalty to his lord.

A dreamy light emerged from behind Hanbei, and Bai Ze flapped his ears and floated in the air.

"Oh, you've already got something in mind, Hanbei?"

The young warrior did not look up, but only pleaded in a low voice.

"Please give me a hand, teacher."

Then, Hanbei looked up at the confused demon hunter with a sincere look.

"Please accept this humble contribution!"

As he spoke, Bai Ze in mid-air flew straight towards Lan En.

Unlike the previous close look, this time the old goat guardian spirit showed no intention of changing its floating trajectory even when it was about to hit Lan En's body.

Lan En was not too panicked, but his [body light] emerged on its own.

Bai Ze rushed straight forward and disappeared immediately as if melting in the light.

And on Lan En's perfect [body light], except for the lines that were still so messy that the outline could not be seen, there suddenly appeared a fleeting image as if it was a rubbing.

The appearance is exactly like Bai Ze.

"Oh! So this is the process of possessing you! No wonder!"

With the characteristic vibrato of a goat, Bai Ze appeared on Lan En's shoulder.

At the same time, Lan En had a very strange feeling that in addition to the guardian spirit that had not yet taken shape, he was possessed by another guardian spirit.

"Is this the [Split Spirit]?"

Wu Ming looked around at Lan En and Bai Ze in surprise.

“I’ve heard of it, but this is the first time I’ve seen it!”

(End of this chapter)