The Legend of Tokyo Taoist

Chapter 135: Training trip (8)

"Kill... kill people?!" A drop of cold sweat appeared on Inuyama Heita's forehead. "No way? So the situation of your cognitive faction is so bad?"

Qian Xiaoyi said: "My master told me that this was indeed the case when the theory first came out. After all, the theory denied the power of gods and seriously impacted the foundation on which some religious people depended for survival. So during that period, the cognitive school and the classical school had many fights and the conflicts were very serious."

"What happened next?" Inuyama Heita was very curious: "Who won?"

Qian Xiaoyi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The result is very complicated. It can be said that we both won and lost."

"What does this mean?" Inuyama Heitai was extremely confused.

Qian Xiaoyi said: "Unlike many other countries in the world, religious forces in our country are restrained by the state. So when the conflict between the two factions was triggered, the state intervened directly to resolve the dispute. From then on, the two sides kept their distance and went about their own business. The classical school continued to study the classics and worship gods and Buddhas. The cognitive school abandoned its previous beliefs, constantly conducted various experiments, and continued to improve its relevant theories."

"Isn't this great?" Inuyama Heita was listening intently and asked, "Then why do you say we all lost?"

Qian Xiaoyi said: "After that, the theory of cognitive school was gradually improved and adopted by the higher authorities. Based on this theory, the country began to prohibit the spread of superstitious ideas on a large scale, eliminate those factors that can generate bad common cognition, and spare no effort to educate and improve people's wisdom, so that supernatural phenomena have no soil to exist. So since then, supernatural phenomena in the whole country have begun to decrease sharply."

Inuyama Heita sighed, "Isn't that great? There are no ghosts or anything like that. I also want to live in an environment without ghosts... So, in the end, the cognitive school won?"

Qian Xiaoyi smiled bitterly and said, "From this result, we have won. The cognitive school has achieved a great victory in theory. But because of this, the disappearance of supernatural phenomena has caused our craft to gradually decline, just like a skilled hunter who can't find any decent prey to hunt. Therefore, many of the cognitive school members who betrayed their original sects because of ideological disputes are not as well off as those brothers who stayed honestly in the mountains. Although they have no worries about food and clothing, they cannot get further development."

"Is that why you came here, Brother Oto?" Inuyama Heita suddenly realized.

Qian Xiaoyi said, "The reason why I told you all this in such a long-winded way is that to practice the cognitive school, you must first know the origin and principles of the theory. It also helps you remember why you can't reveal this theory to people here. Here, religious forces are both complex and powerful. If you accidentally reveal it, you will become a thorn in the eyes of others and a heretic in the eyes of the sect."

Inuyama Heita was sweating a little when he heard this: "...Then it would be better if you didn't tell me these things and let me practice according to the classical method."

Qian Xiaoyi sneered, "You're overthinking it. The Classical School has a lot of rules. Traditional exorcism techniques are secret, so I'm not qualified to teach you those methods. But the knowledge of the Cognitive School is much more casual, so I don't have to worry about breaking the rules when I teach you."

"So that's how it is... By the way, Brother Yi." Inuyama Heita suddenly thought of something: "Although you said that the cognitive school is a school that has abandoned traditional cognition, why can you still use those talismans, magic tools and other props? Aren't those things from the classical school?" Qian Xiaoyi explained: "We in the cognitive school have indeed abandoned traditional cognition and no longer believe in the real existence of gods and ghosts, but we believe in the existence of other people's cognition of gods. Simply put, we have established a kind of cognition that 'the classical school can use this method to exorcise spirits, so this method is useful'. Although the effect of this indirect use is not as good as the direct use of the classical school, it can also be regarded as a way to bypass the restrictions."

It was a bit confusing, but Inuyama Heita understood what he meant and said, "People of the cognitive school are really cunning... On the one hand, they say they don't believe in gods, but on the other hand, they use this method to exorcise spirits. So I'm going to learn this 'borrowing' method later?"

"You?" Qian Xiaoyi smiled. "That's a very advanced technique in the cognitive school. Beginners can't do it because you can't deny the gods and believe in their power at the same time. You have to have a deep understanding of a certain classical school to do it. I can practice and study it continuously because of the inheritance from my master."

"Then what should I do?" Inuyama Heita was completely confused. If they refused to teach him anything, then what was the point of special training?

"Of course, we start with the most basic cognitive exercises." Qian Xiaoyi said, "I have explained the history of cognitive school in detail to you before, and helped you consolidate your understanding of this theory. Next, you have to practice hard under this circumstance.

When the cognitive school was doing research, it referred to many scientific theories at home and abroad. George Lakoff, an American cognitive linguist, wrote a book called "Don't Think of an Elephant", in which he gave an example that when you are asked not to imagine an elephant, the image of an elephant will appear in your mind involuntarily. What you need to do next is to know the cognitive theory and not think about it, but keep it in your subconscious mind. "

"How is this possible?!" Inuyama Heita asked in surprise, "Isn't this too difficult?"

Qian Xiaoyi said: "People of the cognitive school don't have so-called spiritual power, they only have their own cognition. In our theory, if you want to influence ghosts, you must first establish a connection with them, so you must sincerely acknowledge its existence. This connection must be maintained within a delicate range. Once the connection is reduced, you can't effectively contact it, or even see it. But once it is increased, then you may be affected by it in turn. Only within that range are you safe."

Inuyama Heita suddenly had an idea: "This is... the technique of accurately tossing a coin."

"Yes." Qian Xiaoyi said, "Enough of the small talk, it's time to get ready. We have to go back before dawn. Now that we are at this Inari Shrine, we should do something about foxes. Come, let me teach you a hand gesture. You should have seen it before, right?"

Qian Xiaoyi stretched out his palms, one facing forward and the other facing backward, and then formed a hand seal in an awkward posture, leaving only a small window where the middle finger and ring finger crossed, so that he could look out from the inside.

"Fox Window!" Inuyama Heita recognized it. This is a hand seal in Japanese legend that is said to be able to see through the illusions and disguises of fox demons. It is very popular.

"That's right, this handprint is called the Fox Window here." Qian Xiaoyi said, "But the source is the Taoist Bagua Fingerprint, which has many uses in the hands of Taoists, not just seeing through illusions. After it was introduced to Japan, someone must have used it to deal with fox demons, and it has spread since then, and people have come to know about fox demons. We happen to be at the Inari Shrine now, so in the next period of time, please use this handprint to see through the fox's illusions and avoid being teased by them, Heitaro."

(End of this chapter)