novelraw Chapter 231-2: Three Battles with the Attendant Maidens, Dharma-Aspect Temple (2)
Chapter 231-2: Three Battles with the Attendant Maidens, Dharma-Aspect Temple (2)
[You possessed the Shell of the Fire-Worshipping Heartless Chunin!]
[Your form twisted, both hands forming seals as you opened a dim eye.]
[The ninja clad in tight black garb vanished from sight…]
[You crept to the window, then leaped out beyond the sleeping chamber.]
[Remaining invisible, you circled around to the chamber’s main door…]
[At some point, two Onmyoji clad in hunting robes had appeared before the door, standing guard on either side.]
[While they kept watch, the two Onmyoji pressed their ears to the door, and their muttered conversation drifted out…]
[“By the gods, this foreign mage is truly fierce.”]
[“Indeed, able to fight three rounds in a two-on-one…a paragon among men.”]
[“Do you think foreign magic can enhance one’s bedroom prowess?”][“Ah…then Iya Palace has profited immensely. If the Vice Palace Master can acquire foreign magic, we must study it thoroughly, no matter what.”]
[“That’s just speculation, and it’s gone quiet inside. Surely the foreign mage is exhausted by now, too spent to continue.”]
[“Mm, quite so…it’s just a pity about the Vice Palace Master’s two personal attendants. Sigh…why couldn’t such fortune come to…“]
[You regained focus, maintaining your invisibility as you crept carefully toward the outer palace.]
[By night, there were far fewer Iya Palace disciples along the way.]
[Observing the style of their hunting robes, you saw that they were all low or mid-ranking Onmyoji, none of whom had the skill to detect your presence.]
[…]
[Very soon, you reached the great gates of the palace citadel. The imposing portal was flanked by tall walls.]
[Before the gate, many samurai still stood watch, but compared to before, two high-ranking Onmyoji wielding talismans had joined them.]
[Your heart tightened as you stared from afar at the talismans in the Onmyoji’s hands, sensing a faint warning.]
[Will you continue to stay hidden and attempt to pass through the gate?]
Lin Xun narrowed his eyes.
These two high-ranking Onmyoji were very likely dispatched by the Vice Palace Master to prevent his escape.
At this rate, forcing the main gate carried a high chance of discovery, and if caught, the surveillance on him would only tighten.
[You did not walk straight toward the gate, but instead made your way along the towering wall to the side.]
[Bathed in clear moonlight, the walls loomed tall and unyielding. Armed squads of samurai patrolled the battlements with torches, the defenses were airtight.]
[You gauged the height of the wall. Even as a Chunin, there was no way you could leap it in a single bound…]
[If you tried to climb barehanded, the walls inside and out were smooth as glass, plainly impossible. Unless you chiseled footholds as you climbed.]
[But chiseling the stone would make a great clamor, certain to draw the patrol’s attention.]
[For a time, you fell into deep thought…]
“Tsk…another damned roadblock.”
There were plenty of ways to cross the wall, for example, having the Valkyrie carry him over, or transforming into the little dragonkin and flying across.
He could also turn into the Corrupted Earth Giant and simply stride over, letting the samurai taste the fear of a giant.
But all of those methods would reveal him. To slip away unseen, he needed something else.
Lin Xun pondered carefully for a solution.
He could see that the time remaining on his invisibility was dwindling fast. If he didn’t leave the palace before it ran out, he would be discovered the moment he reappeared.
Facing this situation, he calmly thought it through and opened his inventory in search of a clue.
Before long, Lin Xun’s eyes lit up as he spotted a special ninja tool.
[Ninja Grappling Hook (Special Equipment): A grappling claw forged from refined iron, with a long rope affixed to its end. Can be thrown onto buildings that ordinary people cannot scale, such as city walls, attics, and high eaves, to climb them. This is an essential climbing tool every ninja carries.]
This special equipment had dropped after he slew the Chunin over the sea near Tisi Island.
While using the Shell’s invisibility, all carried equipment would also be hidden, so he didn’t have to worry about an awkward spectacle of a floating hook appearing out of nowhere.
The only concern was that flinging the iron claw onto the wall would surely make a noise. Whether it would alert the samurai was anyone’s guess.
With invisibility about to expire, Lin Xun no longer had time to hesitate, he would simply have to try it!
[You equipped the Ninja Grappling Hook (Special Equipment)!]
[You waited for the patrol squad to draw a little farther away…then swung your arm and flung the hook high!]
[Years of ninja training had honed your skill. The hook caught the wall’s top edge with perfect accuracy…though the iron claw scraping stone inevitably made a faint metallic clink.]
[The last samurai in the patrol abruptly turned his head, staring hard at the place the sound had come from.]
[He stepped away from the squad to investigate, but under the moonlight, the top of the wall appeared empty.]
[He wanted to search more thoroughly, but the squad leader barked a harsh reprimand, forcing him to rejoin the formation and continue the patrol.]
[You swiftly scaled the rope and reached the top of the wall…]
[You could see the patrol had reached the far end, about to turn back this way.]
[You looked down beyond the palace citadel. In the night, Thousand Orchid City was ablaze with myriad lights, towers shining brightly, a magnificent spectacle.]
[You took two steps back in succession and then leapt down from the towering wall…]
[…]
[As you landed, you rolled to disperse the impact of the fall, sustaining no injury whatsoever. For you, a Chunin, this was effortless.]
[You moved quickly ahead, hiding in the shadow beneath the eaves of a nearby house.]
[Your invisibility from Purple Mist Escape Art expired, and the ninja’s form appeared.]
He had successfully left Iya Palace without drawing attention.
The two maidens in the sleeping chamber, having endured three rounds of exhausting battles, would likely be unable to rise before dawn.
There was ample time left for exploration, as long as you returned to Iya Palace before sunrise, all would be well.
Lin Xun dressed the ninja Shell in the Phantom of the Night Cloak, then equipped the Golden Roc Raptor Claws and set off to explore.
[Following the directions you had learned before, you made your way toward the No-Illusions Shrine…]
[Along the way, every household had black lanterns hanging outside. Even at night, the streets bustled with many townsfolk, far more prosperous than Fukoka Castle.]
[…]
[You hurried along toward the No-Illusions Shrine…]
[A large temple you passed drew your attention.]
[It was a ruined grand temple. If not for the Absolute Barrier Seal of the Ten Directions surrounding it, shining gold in the darkness, you might have overlooked it entirely.]
[Studying it closely, you could see from the tall enclosing walls how magnificent and flourishing it must once have been.]
[But now the temple’s gates were cold and desolate, the buildings in ruin. Even the plaque above the entrance reading Dharma-Aspect Temple was so weathered it was barely legible.]
[Outside the temple gates, a fully armored samurai leaned against the barrier, snoring thunderously.]
[From time to time, passersby glanced at the temple, their pitch-black eyes filled with scorn and hatred.]
[You stepped forward and tapped the samurai on the shoulder. Startled awake, he thought it was a superior inspecting him and scrambled upright.]
[When he saw it was just a sneaking ninja dog, he could not help but shout angrily…]
[“Get lost! Don’t disturb my sleep! If you want to gawk at the ‘demonic remnants’ in the cages, pay up in the morning and then go in!”]
[Hearing this, you frowned.]
[What will you do?]
[1. Leave the dilapidated temple and continue toward the No-Illusions Shrine, then return to Dharma-Aspect Temple some other day in daylight when you have time.]
[2. Withdraw for now and, once the samurai falls asleep again, sneak into Dharma-Aspect Temple to see what is inside.]
[3. Take out 5,000 Spirit Essence to bribe the guard, explaining that you have no time during the day and asking him to make an exception.]
Dharma-Aspect Temple was not an urgent matter, the priority was reaching the No-Illusions Shrine to find Senior Sister and the ninja master.
Lin Xun was about to press the first option when he suddenly stopped.
A clue he had not considered before flashed through his mind.
A shrine, a place of worship for the new gods. But this Dharma-Aspect Temple had once been the place where the old gods were venerated.
Yet in Tsukishiro Murasakiyo’s letter, it was written that the No-Illusions Shrine of the new gods planned to offer her to the Evil God as a bride…
All at once, countless speculations surged into his thoughts.
Lin Xun took a deep breath. Tonight, he had to enter Dharma-Aspect Temple and uncover the truth!