Chapter 103 Kyoto, Obon Festival

The island nation girl had been waiting anxiously; for some unknown reason, the tourists inside Yasukuni Shrine had almost all left.

Moreover, she now seemed to faintly hear the sound of sirens in the distance.

Just as she finally made up her mind to leave, she suddenly spotted two figures appearing outside the torii gate in the distance.

"You've finally come out. What happened inside? Why are police cars heading this way?"

The girl fired off several questions in a row; this would determine whether she would continue to guide Jiang Chen and his companion.

"We don't know. Perhaps there was a fire."

Just as the girl was half-doubting, she suddenly saw thick smoke rising from inside Yasukuni Shrine behind the two men, with faint glimmers of fire visible.

"Let's go. It's time for the main course."

...

Unlike in Tokyo, the people here in Kyoto seemed much more enthusiastic about the Obon Festival.

Walking along the streets, one could see men and women wearing kimono or yukata everywhere, singing and dancing.

The streets were decorated with many lanterns, and many monks were coming and going.

It was already evening, and Jia He looked at the booking information on his phone with some melancholy.

It showed that the nearby hotels and guesthouses were basically fully booked, which meant they might have to sleep on the streets tonight.

"Junior Martial Uncle, where are we going tonight? We can't book a hotel in this area anymore."

"We aren't going to a hotel; we are going to pay a visit."

"Pay a visit? Did someone invite us?"

"No one invited us. If we go, it's giving them Face."

Upon hearing this, Jia He fell silent.

...

In the center of Kyoto, there was a vast and magnificent shrine. Although it was night, it was still brightly lit and crowded with people.

"Mr. Tsuchimikado, you have arrived. Please, come in."

"Mr. Kamo, please."

"Great Master Fujiwara, Great Master Kobo, please come in!"

"Mr. Jinguji, please come in."

"Ah, the people from the Yamamoto Family have arrived. Go on in."

Yamamoto Ryuzo held a long, narrow reddish-brown wooden box in his hands. He looked at the welcoming shrine attendant with a livid expression, feeling resentful in his heart, but he dared not say anything more, nor did he dare to linger at the entrance, so he hurried inside.

Today was an important day for the island nation's cultivation world. He, Yamamoto Ryuzo, was just an insignificant figure; if he caused trouble, the Abe Family would not protect him.

The Abe Family and the Tsuchimikado Clan originated from the same source, but many years ago, they parted ways for certain reasons, and one branch changed their surname to Tsuchimikado.

Because of this, the former number one School of Yin-Yang Family became history.

Currently, Fushimi Inari Taisha, one of the three major shrines in the island nation, has Abe Kusuku, the current head of the Abe Family, serving as the Chief Priest.

It could also be considered that Fushimi Inari Taisha is the home base of the Abe Family.

However, today, although it was only evening, visitors were no longer allowed to enter the area beyond the Senbon Torii of Fushimi Inari Taisha.

On a day like the Obon Festival, this was clearly very unusual.

But since even the authorities tacitly approved of this behavior, the tourists could not say much.

However, just then, the tourists saw two men walking leisurely into the gate.

"Sirs, the Senbon Torii is not open to the public today. Please leave here immediately."

Seeing that the two were dressed in casual clothes and showed no respect or reverence for the Obon Festival, the guarding shrine attendant did not use a very polite tone.

"Tell the Abe Family that today, a Cultivator from the Maoshan Sect of China has come specifically to observe the ceremony."

The man looked at the two with some suspicion and uncertainty, but since his status was too low to make decisions, he said.

"Please wait a moment; I will go report this to the Family Head immediately."

The man hurried back, and after a short while, he returned.

"The two of you, please come in."

Jia He nervously adjusted his attire, checking for any wrinkles, fearing that he might lose Face for China and the Maoshan Sect.

Then he looked at Jiang Chen and found that there was no hint of nervousness on Jiang Chen's Face; he remained as calm as always. Jia He was infected by this calmness, and unknowingly, the tension in his heart decreased significantly.

...

Fushimi Inari Taisha, in a side hall outside the Phoenix Hall, had already gathered quite a few School of Yin-Yang sorcerers and monks from the island nation.

As the Shrine Chief Priest and the head of the Abe Family, Abe Kusuku naturally sat in the seat of honor.

Upon hearing the servant report that two Taoists claiming to be from the Maoshan Sect of China had come to visit, his brows furrowed.

He had received news two hours ago that a tragedy had occurred at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo at noon today, where over ten shrine attendants and Chief Priest Abe Otsuka had been killed.

What was even more infuriating was that the heroic souls of warriors that Yasukuni Shrine had spent decades recruiting were all wiped out in one fell swoop, with not a single one surviving.

This matter had been covered up by the Abe Family; if the Emperor were to find out, it would undoubtedly be a blow to the Abe Family.

Although there were no security cameras installed inside Yasukuni Shrine due to its special nature, the outside surveillance cameras had captured some images of the perpetrators.

But strangely, witnesses at the scene said there were two people committing the crime, yet the surveillance footage only showed one person.

Later, the Abe Family followed the clues, but the trail went cold halfway through the investigation.

There was resistance from various parties, including even the island nation's authorities.

The authorities' stance was that they did not want this matter to be investigated further, so henceforth, if they wanted to continue investigating, they would have to rely solely on the Abe Family's power within the cultivation world.

However, before any results could be investigated, two Chinese Cultivators had now shown up at their doorstep.

Abe Kusuku immediately linked these two events together.

Clearly, the Abe Family was not the only one who knew about that incident in Tokyo.

At this moment, those present, including heads of major families like the Tsuchimikado Clan and the Kamo Family, as well as Sect Masters of major temples, all had subtle expressions, and they all simultaneously turned their gazes toward Abe Kusuku.

Abe Kusuku's expression was cold and stern as he said indifferently, "Invite them in."

"Yes." The attendant immediately walked out.

After the attendant left, the head of the Tsuchimikado Clan, Tsuchimikado Yeyasu, said in a seemingly casual manner, "I heard that some unpleasant things happened at Yasukuni Shrine today. Could it be related to these two Chinese Taoists?"

Abe Kusuku glanced at him without saying a word.

Although the two families originated from the same source, precisely because of this, the competitive pressure between them was immense.

Both wanted their own surname to become the main lineage, and at present, the Abe Family still held a slight upper hand.

Otherwise, Fushimi Inari Taisha, which symbolized the spiritual pillar of the island nation, would not be controlled by the Abe Family.

Tsuchimikado Yeyasu smiled faintly, not minding; he had already added a blockage for Abe Kusuku anyway. At this moment, he actually felt a hint of goodwill toward these Taoists from China.

"Why would Chinese Taoists suddenly come to our island nation's Obon Festival grand ceremony? Could it be that what we are doing today has leaked out?" Suddenly, a major temple Sect Master spoke up.

He was the person among the many temple abbots present whose status was second only to Fujiwara Ki and Great Master Kobo.

Abe Kusuku said in an unfriendly tone, "Only the high-level members of each Family and temple know about this matter. Does Abbot Haneda mean that someone among us leaked the secret? Or are you saying that I, Abe Kusuku, leaked the secret?"

By the end, his tone had implicitly taken on a hint of severity.