Chapter 847: The Curtain Falls on the Bamboo-Taker (Part 1)

The three-year deadline had arrived; during these three years, Kaguya, who had existed in the image of a homebody, dressed up once again, waiting for the people about to come knocking.

In fact, the whereabouts of the five men including Fujiwara no Fuhito had always been under Lingyun's control; Lingyun even had a rough idea of what they had been doing.

At the beginning, the Dainagon had dispatched his subordinates to sail out to sea to search for the Dragon-Neck Jewel, but those subordinates of his all knew the task was impossible, and most of them simply slipped away after taking the treasure, with no one actually sailing out to find the Dragon-Neck Jewel.

Waiting at home to no avail, the Dainagon had no choice but to take a group of people out to sea himself, wanting to personally slay the dragon and obtain the Dragon-Neck Jewel. However, he did not see a dragon, but he did run into a storm, and that storm nearly cost the Dainagon his life. Fortunately, the Dainagon was lucky, and in the end, he managed to escape.

His life was saved, but this voyage caused the Dainagon to suffer severe psychological trauma. He even believed this was a conspiracy set up by Kaguya to kill him, and his desire to marry Kaguya faded.

As for the Chunagon, he could not come either; in order to retrieve the Swallow's Child-Peace Shell, he fell from the rafters, broke his waist, and nearly lost his life. Most miserably, he had not even found the Swallow's Child-Peace Shell.

Seeing that the three-year deadline had arrived, and not wanting to go over and be humiliated in his current state, the Chunagon simply wrote a letter to Kaguya, which could be considered as cutting off his own intentions.

Inside the Bamboo House, Kaguya flipped over two of the five Wooden Tablets in front of her: "In this way, only three people remain."

Just at this moment, the first person arrived, who was none other than Ishizukuri no Miko, whom they had not seen for a long time.

In the hands of Ishizukuri no Miko, he was carrying a brocade pouch. Ishizukuri no Miko presented the brocade pouch in his hand to Kaguya and opened it cautiously; inside the pouch was a bowl that looked gray and dull.

Subsequently, Ishizukuri no Miko began to boast about how he had traveled across the ocean to obtain this Buddha's Stone Bowl, how he had sincerely worshipped the Buddha, and how he had finally endured thousands of hardships and dangers to obtain the stone bowl and deliver it to Kaguya.

Kaguya looked at the stone bowl in front of her, and black lines could not help but appear on her forehead; was this guy bullying her for being inexperienced? If it were the real Buddha's Stone Bowl, after being baptized by countless Buddha lights, it would inevitably radiate layers of spiritual light. Yet, she could tell at a glance that this stone bowl had been blackened by smoke; to use such a stone bowl to fool her, he was truly tired of living!

If it weren't for the fact that she still had to maintain the appearance of a refined lady in front of others, Kaguya would definitely roll up her sleeves right now and let this shameless man in front of her see why flowers are so red!

Just as Kaguya was thinking about how to mock this shameless person in front of her, Lingyun had already sneered aloud: "The Buddha's Stone Bowl, having received the offerings of incense, must be overflowing with spiritual light; anyone with a bit of discernment would surely be able to see its extraordinariness. You now bring a stone bowl blackened by smoke to fool us; it is truly ridiculous!"

After speaking, Lingyun waved his hand, and a gust of wind rose from the ground, directly sweeping Ishizukuri no Miko away.

Ishizukuri no Miko landed heavily on the ground, and the stone bowl flew out of the Bamboo House and landed directly on his head, making him look extremely disheveled.

"Pfft—"

The Right Minister, who arrived shortly after, looked at the disheveled state of Ishizukuri no Miko and could not help but laugh out loud. He had heard everything Lingyun said just now; to try to fool Lingyun and Kaguya with a smoke-blackened stone bowl was simply a huge joke.

One must know that the renowned Great Onmyouji Kamo no Tadayuki once said that Lingyun's strength was something he could not reach. Such a powerhouse naturally had an extraordinary perspective, and trying to fake it under these circumstances was truly laughable to the extreme.

Thinking of this, the Right Minister looked at the box in his hand, his eyes full of self-satisfaction. This item of his was different from Ishizukuri no Miko's stone bowl; it was a genuine treasure. Thinking that he was about to take this beauty Kaguya into his arms, a smug smile could not help but appear on the Right Minister's face, and even his footsteps became light. He tidied his clothes and strode into the Bamboo House.

"The fourth one..." seeing the Right Minister walk into the Bamboo House, Kaguya muttered in her heart.

The Right Minister who walked into the Bamboo House smiled politely at Lingyun and the other, then placed the box in his hand on the table. The box was inlaid with many beautiful Liuli, giving one an extraordinary feeling at first glance.

"What is contained in this box is the Fire-Rat Fur Robe!" The Right Minister had a hint of self-satisfaction on his face as he reached out to open the box.

Hearing the Right Minister say this, Kaguya also cast a curious gaze into the box. The Fire-Rat Fur Robe inside was a deep indigo color, with the tips of the fur emitting a golden light; it was magnificent, dazzling, and incomparable.

When the Right Minister first saw the Fire-Rat Fur Robe, he was also stunned by this magnificence; after all, he had never seen such magnificent clothing before. No wonder Kaguya had specifically asked for this Fire-Rat Fur Robe; it was truly a rare treasure without equal in the world.

Upon seeing this Fire-Rat Fur Robe, Kaguya's heart skipped a beat; could this thing be the real Fire-Rat Fur Robe? If that were the case, wouldn't she have to marry this Right Minister in front of her?

Kaguya immediately cast a look of help toward Lingyun, and Lingyun gave her a look, signaling her to stay calm, as he had his own way of solving it.

"This Fire-Rat Fur Robe does indeed look magnificent, but whether it is genuine or not, we do not yet know!" Lingyun said slowly.

"This Fire-Rat Fur Robe does not even exist within the Tang Kingdom; I also spent a great deal of effort to obtain it, how could it be fake?" Hearing Lingyun say this, the Right Minister became anxious all of a sudden; after all, he had also spent a lot of effort to find the Fire-Rat Fur Robe.

"Since that is the case, then shall we verify its authenticity?" Lingyun said with a smile.

"Fine!" The Right Minister agreed immediately.

"I have heard that the Fire-Rat Fur Robe is a miraculous object that fire cannot burn. If you want to verify its authenticity, it is very simple; just place the Fire-Rat Fur Robe in the fire, and you will know once it is burned." Lingyun said.

"Since that is the case, then burn it!" The Right Minister had inquired about the legends of the Fire-Rat Fur Robe and naturally knew that Lingyun was not fooling him in this regard; in order to prove his innocence, he agreed at once.

Immediately, Lingyun brought a brazier, and the Right Minister personally lit the fire and placed the Fire-Rat Fur Robe into it. However, a situation that left the Right Minister dumbfounded occurred: the Fire-Rat Fur Robe, which was said in legends to be able to treat fire as nothing, actually burst into flames in an instant and was completely reduced to ashes in a short while.

"This, this, how could this be, how could this be?" Looking at the pile of ashes in the brazier, the Right Minister's face turned pale in an instant.

Recalling that the Fire-Rat Fur Robe he had gone to such lengths to obtain was merely a fake, the Right Minister felt as if his world had collapsed. If he had been as smug as he could be before stepping into the Bamboo House, he was now just as dejected.

In fact, if he had verified it when he obtained this Fire-Rat Fur Robe, he would not have ended up in this situation, but he had been far too anxious, which was why this situation had occurred.

"This object is not the real Fire-Rat Fur Robe; Your Excellency the Right Minister must have been deceived, what a pity." Lingyun waved his hand, not intending to make things difficult for the Right Minister.

But after such an incident, the Right Minister had no intention of staying here any longer; he knew that he would not be able to marry Kaguya. He stood up, bowed to Lingyun and Kaguya, and then turned and left the Bamboo House.

"This person is not too bad." Kaguya said to Lingyun.

"Hmm, now there is only one person left, Fujiwara no Fuhito." Lingyun said slowly.