Swallow Return

Liu Yun understood immediately and took advantage of the moment when Jinghe Asagi, the leader of the anti-demon ninja group, was wavering, and slipped away.

The movements were very light and quick.

Asagi Ikawa saw Ryuun walk deeper into the dungeon and knew exactly what was about to happen.

Reason and a sense of responsibility told her she should stop it, but emotionally she was unwilling to intervene.

She stared at Liu Yun's retreating figure for a long time, then suddenly said, "In this deepest dungeon, there are indeed some innocent prisoners, but there are also some truly vicious ones..."

Liu Yun turned around and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, I came down after reviewing the case file. I won't release anyone who is truly heinous."

Igawa Asagi breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and said in a low voice, "On this point, I think I can trust you."

Liu Yun smiled and asked, "By the way, have you ever wondered why some criminals, despite being utterly heinous, are not executed by high-ranking monks? Is it really just because it's inconvenient to kill living beings in the temple?"

After asking the question, he turned and left.

Igawa Asagi was stumped by the question and remained silent, stunned.

The little girl dressed as a novice monk beside her looked up and whispered, "I know that! The high monks imprison those people so that one day they might be useful to the temple. No matter how many evil crimes they committed in the past, as long as they are willing to serve Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, they can get a clean identity and come out of the dungeon openly and honestly."

Ikawa Asagi looked at her with disbelief and shook her head, saying, "How do you know all this?"

The little girl snorted and let out a resentful sneer: "Because my biological father, the current head of the Xihua Hall, Master Juehuai, was once a notorious thief who killed hundreds of monks and was imprisoned in the deepest part of the dungeon!"

Chapter Forty-Nine: Rescuing the "Heroes" from the Dungeon

In the past two days, Liuyun has gained a deep understanding of the current situation of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Eizan.

This is a very typical example of a religious organization that has lost its ideals and beliefs. The corruption and depravity of its leaders is no longer just a few isolated cases, but has become a well-known, unspoken norm, like the Emperor's New Clothes, just waiting for a little kid to boldly expose it.

Even the relatives and friends of high-ranking personnel, and even the designated successors, have become part of the "doomed party," and key positions are filled with shameless scoundrels who will stop at nothing to climb the ladder.

At this point, even if the monks still possessed powerful magical artifacts and protective barriers, they could not avert their inevitable demise.

Liu Yun didn't think about it carefully after that.

Because his ambitions in both his previous lives were very limited—he only wanted to be a happy, wealthy man and a pile driver, and had no interest in becoming a fire-stealer to save all living beings—he was not interested in becoming a fire-stealer.

In the blink of an eye, Liuyun had already moved far away from Jinghe Ashaji and reached the deepest level of the real dungeon.

There is a row of rooms on the left and right sides, all of which are closed with fully enclosed stone doors several inches thick, leaving only a ventilation hole less than half a foot square.

There were no jailers in the corridor.

To be precise, there were no human jailers.

Only a bunch of floating bronze statues patrolled back and forth.

The bronze statue is sculpted as a warrior wearing armor and holding a sword. It looks somewhat similar in style to the Terracotta Army in Xi'an, but the materials are completely different.

These bronze statues seem to lack intelligence, ignoring the uninvited guests and showing no intention of attacking.

Therefore, Liu Yun easily avoided it, and then recalled the prisoner files he had obtained from the tea master Zixue Zhai.

Through the air vents in the stone gate, one can clearly see the faces of the people living inside.

In the first cell on the left, a man with a long beard and a mark on his forehead was fast asleep. Comparing him to the other cell, he appeared to be a notorious thief with a long list of murders and arsons, having harmed innocent civilians. He had been captured by the monk soldiers after killing a relative of the abbot.

Although Liu Yun was eager to cause trouble for Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, he was unwilling to cooperate with such people. While the guy was sleeping, he passed through the ventilation hole in the stone door and threw a short blade, killing the notorious guy in his sleep.

The floating bronze statues in the corridor did not react to this.

As expected, this thing isn't very intelligent.

The first room on the right is empty.

The second person in the locked room was a very handsome young man.

But Liu Yun immediately remembered that this must be a womanizer, and a particularly ruthless villain who specifically targeted noble girls under the age of ten. He was caught because he had his eye on the illegitimate daughter of a certain high monk.

Without saying a word, he waved his hand and resolved the matter.

Pyrotechnicians should be killed by everyone.

The flower thief was very alert. He immediately opened his eyes and turned his head to look when he heard the sound of something cutting through the air. However, he was bound by iron chains and was in poor condition from being in prison for a long time. He was unable to dodge effectively and died.

Next, he saw a short man with a mustache squatting on the ground, dozing off. He had two very noticeable scars on his face. After a quick comparison, Liu Yun remembered that this guy was a Chu Liuxiang-style thief who liked to steal treasures everywhere, but had no other evil deeds. There were even rumors that he often robbed the rich to help the poor.

His real name is Sanada Hachiro, and he also has an alias called Kazama Gohei.

This is exactly the person I've been looking for.

So Liu Yun took a few deep breaths, gathering all his strength, and then with a roar, he drew his sword and slashed a large hole in the stone gate.

Then he slipped inside.

The short man with two scars on his face opened his eyes warily, his face full of doubt.

Liu Yun didn't explain at first, but instead swung his sword to cut the iron chains on the other person's body, and then said: "I am the person who came to cause trouble at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei. I know that you have not done too many evil deeds, but have offended the Buddhist sect, so I saved you while I was at it."

At the same time, he broke off a small piece from the "Supreme Soldier's Rations" in his arms and threw it into the other person's mouth.

The short man with two scars on his face paused for a moment, then immediately perked up, leaping to his feet and saying, "I am Sanada Hachiro, or Kazama Gohei, and sometimes I am Ishikawa Goemon. I was originally from Iga, but became a thief after seducing Momochi Tanba's concubine. Now I am a thief who causes trouble for nobles and high-ranking monks in various places. May I ask your name? To be able to split open this three-inch-thick stone door with a sword is truly divine!"

Liu Yun felt a little suspicious after hearing this: "Why do I feel like I heard your explanation of your origins yesterday?"

The prisoner, who called himself Sanada Hachiro, chuckled as he chewed on a "superior soldier's ration pill": "Ever since I made a name for myself in the underworld, many people have used my story to embellish their own reputations. It's nothing special! By the way, you saved me, but you didn't leave your name?"

Before anyone could answer, the slow-moving bronze statues in the corridor finally floated over.

At the same time, an alarm sounded from the bronze statue.

Before Liu Yun could say anything more, he turned around and asked, "Are we ready for battle?"

Sanada Hachiro quickly swallowed the "Supreme Soldier's Ration Pill" in his mouth and nodded sharply: "These glutinous rice balls you gave me are amazing. I instantly have strength!"

So the two began to fight.

These mindless yet mobile bronze statues, though floating in the air at a considerable speed, are not very agile in their movements, and Liu Yun can easily use his agility to evade their attacks.

The Sanada Hachiro who was just rescued was even more agile than Ryuun, and was more than capable of handling the situation.

However, these bronze statues are extremely hard and durable. Even with Liu Yun's divine power, when he swung his sword at their surface, he could only leave a shallow nick.

Sanada Hachiro's punches and kicks on the other side didn't really deliver any real damage.

Seeing this, Liu Yun suggested, "You hold them off for now, and I'll rescue a few more people."

Sanada Hachiro said cheerfully, "You are my benefactor, I will listen to you!"

So Liu Yun dodged the attack and went deeper into the area.

The deepest level of this dungeon holds very few people, only seventeen in total; the rest of the prison is empty.

According to the case file, seven of them were indeed pure villains.

Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei kept these people around hoping to subdue them, but Ryuun's plan was simple: to kill all the villains while they were powerless to resist.

Four of them—including Sanada Hachiro—didn't commit many evil deeds; they were imprisoned simply because they were too capable and had offended the Buddhist community.

Liu Yun released all of them and gave each of them a "Supreme Soldier's Ration Pill" to restore their strength.

There are also six other files with unclear details, and their origins are unknown.

Therefore, Liu Yun decided to keep these six people in jail and deal with them later when he remembered.

At this point, Sanada Hachiro was in a precarious situation, cornered against the wall by seven or eight bronze statues with no room to maneuver or dodge. The other "heroes" quickly stepped forward to help, joining the fight.

The bronze statue was too hard to deal with, so Liu Yun suggested, "There's no need to fight anymore; it's best to retreat first."

Everyone agreed.

So they followed the route the clouds had taken, fighting and retreating.

Upon reaching the edge of the pool, Sanada Hachiro exclaimed in realization, "So this is where we're imprisoned. We have to wade through the water to get in and out."

Liu Yun explained briefly, then, with "the Kappa Elder's life-bound scale" in his mouth, recited an incantation and led the "heroes" hand in hand into the water.

According to Masakatsu Hachisuka's explanation that day, this thing could supply a maximum of twelve people. However, if more people used it, the energy would be consumed at a rapid pace.

However, Liu Yun had already roughly memorized the route they had taken, so there was no need to stumble around for an hour anymore. With four "heroes" with him, there was enough time.

The bronze statues floated in the air but could not enter the water. Having lost their target, they remained motionless in place.

The alarm was still going off, but there was no other response for a long time.

Perhaps the prison's emergency management has become lax and neglected.

Thanks to Liu Yun's "underwater breathing" ability, the group successfully crossed the pool and arrived at the stairwell.

At this moment, the jailer who had been beaten to death or knocked unconscious by Liu Yun was still lying on the ground.

Ryuun said to the four "heroes" he had just rescued, "You all suffered at the hands of Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei. I'm not expecting anything in return for rescuing you today. I just hope that you can cause as much trouble as possible for the temple in the next few hours. That shouldn't be too much trouble, right?"

The four of them patted their chests and said they would definitely do it.

Then, from the fifth basement level, we returned to the fourth basement level.

Liu Yun stopped bothering to distinguish them; they were just ordinary people with rudimentary martial arts skills, and it wouldn't be difficult to deal with them even if they committed evil deeds in the future.

So he swung his sword and cut all the chains, releasing the prisoners and giving each of them a small piece of "Supreme Soldier's Ration Pill" to help them regain their strength.

Most people immediately rushed out, eager to run outside and breathe the "sweet air of freedom".

Some people were in no hurry to move and stayed behind to ask for my name, claiming that they would definitely repay the kindness in the future.

The leader was Sanada Hachiro.

Having come this far, Ryuun was no longer worried about revealing anything and openly announced his name as "Sasaki Ryuun of Sakata District, Omi Province".

He also subtly suggested that if they wanted to lend a hand, they might as well spend some time near the "Sōji-in" and get the guards' attention.

It was late at night, and there was still some time before dawn.

More than seventy prisoners with some martial arts skills, along with four well-known veterans of the martial arts world, emerged from the dungeon under the cover of night and entered the tranquil Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei.

Behind them was an even more dangerous figure, Sasaki Ryuun.

Just then, the time to act together with the other members of the Oda family was approaching.

Chapter 50 The Importance of Scientific Spirit

When Liu Yun arrived at his destination, the Sutra Repository of the Zongchi Temple, it was early morning of the next day.

At this point, a faint white light began to appear in the sky, making it no longer the most suitable environment for stealth and concealment.

However, the entire Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei was thrown into chaos.