Mount Koya, Koya Town

"Ahhhh! Where did this fire come from?!" an old monk shouted sadly.

Wails and cries similar to this were heard one after another at the foot of Mount Koya.

After a fire broke out on Mount Koya, the monks from the temples on the mountain quickly ran down the mountain to escape to Koya Town, which is located at the foot of Mount Koya.

In the past, Koya Town, which had always been extremely peaceful, has now become extremely crowded and noisy because of the monks who came to escape.

Mount Koya is a sacred place for Buddhism.

This holy land is now being devastated and raging by fire... How can this not make the monks of Koyasan extremely sad?

Some monks howled loudly.

Some monks fell to the ground and cried bitterly.

Some monks recited Buddhist scriptures silently and prayed for the disaster-stricken Mount Koya.

There are also some monks...with angry expressions on their faces.

"It is said that Ogata Ittosai started the mountain fire. Is this true?!"

"That seems to be the case! Before the mountain fire broke out, many people witnessed Ogata Ittosai suddenly appearing and attacking Sengenji Temple, killing many people!"

"We have never provoked Ogata Ittosai. Why would Ogata Ittosai do such a cruel thing! Kill my monks and burn down my mountain gate!"

…

More and more people joined the ranks of roaring and cursing Ogata.

When Ogata attacked Sengenji Temple, many people witnessed this "brutal" scene.

Although Sengenji Temple has long been infiltrated like a sieve by the Toyotomi clan, there are still many normal monks in the temple.

These normal monks in Xianyuan Temple basically witnessed the scene when Ogata invaded their Xianyuan Temple.

Gu Lin

The testimonies of these survivors of Sengenji strongly prove that "Ogata attacked Sengenji" was indeed the case.

As soon as Ogata entered Sengenji Temple, a fire broke out in Mount Koya. It was difficult to prevent the monks from suspecting that Ogata was responsible for the fire.

Although some people also made calm voices, such as: "It is too arbitrary to doubt Ogata Ittousai so much", "I saw many brothers who were killed by Ogata Ittousai in Sengenji Temple holding strange

Weapons, I think we need to investigate this matter carefully"...

Some people made calm voices but the number was far too few.

Like small drops of water falling into the sea, those calm voices were all covered up by the angry roars and sad whines of others.

But at this moment, an exclamation shouted with a trembling voice suddenly exploded:

"Ah! Has anyone seen Master Qingyan?"

This exclamation seemed to have some magic power, causing all the sounds around him to quiet down a little.

"Master Qingyan?"

"Yes! Has anyone seen Master Qingyan?"

"Master! Master Qingyan! Where are you?!"

More and more people are joining in the search for "Master Qingyan".

Another exclamation erupted:

"I remembered! Before the mountain fire ignited, Master Qingyan seemed to have gone to Xianyuan Temple to find Master Xianyuan to explore Buddhism!"

This person's words made the air around him... seem to freeze.

"What?! Master Qingyan went to Xianyuan Temple before the mountain fire?!"

"That's not bad!"

"Master Qingyan, wouldn't he just happen to meet Ogata Ittosai who attacked Sengenji Temple..."

"Shh! Stop talking nonsense!"

Everyone was shouting.

Worried about the safety of Master Qingyan, the monks spontaneously searched for Master Qingyan throughout Koya Town, making the already chaotic Koya Town even more chaotic.

Finally, a certain monk's shouts calmed the hearts of the monks who were worried about Master Qingyan's safety.

"Ah! I found Master Qingyan! Master Qingyan! I finally found you!"

People who heard this shout followed the shout and squeezed past the old monk with a goatee. With a straight face, he ignored the concerned greetings of the people around him and strode forward surrounded by everyone.

While asking around loudly:

"Where is Tianhai? Has anyone seen where Tianhai is?!"

Just when Ogata and the others were riding a carriage to pursue Toyotomi and others who were about to leave by boat, Aoiwa's hind legs, who were refused by Ogata and others to go with them, quietly broke away from Hasegawa and others and ran alone.

Back here in Koya Town.

He knew that after a mountain fire broke out in Mount Koya, the monks on the mountain would definitely gather in Koya Town, which was located at the foot of the mountain and was relatively safe.

The reason why he came to Koya Town alone, not because of others, was just to find the monk Tenkai who was familiar with him and borrow something from him.

"Master! The sky and the sea are here! The sky and the sea are here!" A thin monk squeezed through the crowd and ran to Master Qingyan.

After glancing at the thin monk in front of him, Qingyan said quickly:

"Tianhai, I remember you have a donkey, right? Where is your donkey now?"

"Ah, my donkey happens to be at hand right now. When the wildfire occurred, I used my donkey to transport a batch of important classics..."

"Take me to see your donkey quickly!" Qingyan quickly interrupted before Tianhai finished speaking.

"ah?"

"Don't be stunned, take me to see it quickly."

"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 didn't want to say "no" and kept busy.

He 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?"

"Huh?" Tianhai looked stunned again, "This... Master, if you want to borrow my donkey, I will naturally not refuse, but you..."

"Thank you. I will replace you later." After Qing Yan interrupted Tianhai several times, he turned over on the donkey with a slightly clumsy movement, then raised his hand and slapped the donkey's butt hard.

Uh-huh-huh...!

This rather skinny little donkey raised its two front hooves, blew its horn a few times, and ran forward carrying Qingyan.

The monks, including Tianhai, who had been surrounding the returning Qingyan just now, stared blankly at Qingyan who suddenly left on a donkey...

The sounds of people around him all fell silent for a moment, leaving only the sound of donkey hooves tapping the ground...

until a moment later

"Master! Where are you going?!"

"Master! Master!"

"Master!"

…

Qingyan didn't care at all about the exclamations coming and going behind him.

With a solemn expression, he drove the little donkey under him and headed straight towards a certain coast.

(Then I ask you, how do you explain that these ‘monks’ that I brought down were holding so many weapons that were not possessed by monks at all?)

Every word Ogata said to him on Mount Koya just now flew through his mind.

Every time he recalled what Ogata said to him, a trace of pain and annoyance would appear between Qingyan's brows.

Emotionally speaking, Qingyan didn't want to believe that there were any villains lurking in the sacred Mount Koya.

But after following Ogata's actions, what he saw and heard on the mountain behind Mount Koya... cruelly told him: what Ogata said to him... seemed to be all true.

No matter what, he wanted to see with his own eyes whether there were really thieves planning to leave this place in a battleship.

If this is true... then it can be confirmed that he wrongly blamed Ogata, and there is indeed a vicious villain lurking in the Holy Land!

He had previously asked Ogata to take him with him to pursue Toyotomi, but he was ruthlessly rejected. It doesn't matter. If you refuse, just refuse!

Anyway, Qingyan knows where the two battleships are docked. Even without the help of Ogata and the others, he can get there by himself!

After he and Ogata met up with Genichi, Genmasa and the others on Mount Koya, Genmasa once blurted out: The dock where the battleship is parked is adjacent to the Misaki Village of Kii.

Mount Koya is located in Kii, and Aoyan has been to many places in Kii, including Misaki Village.

Qingyan remembered very clearly that he had gone to Jiaocun several times to teach Buddhism, and he still remembered where Jiaocun was!

At this moment, Qingyan, who was riding a little donkey, was heading towards the village at full speed.
To be continued...