Chapter 34: Temple Fair, the Eye Bodhisattva

Crash!

Scalding hot water poured into the bathing tub, steam billowing up.

"Hoo—!"

Soaking naked in the scalding medicinal liquid, Li Yuan sighed in pure comfort:

"Thanks, Liu Qing!"

"No need, no need to thank me."

Liu Qing was a little flattered.

The Li Yuan of today was no longer the Li Yuan of three months ago.

First place in the inner court examination, Zhang Ben's disciple, forging prodigy… strung together, those titles had already made him the rising star of the Weapon-Forging Shop.

Even in the outer city, he had made something of a name.

"Right, did they find Wei Wu?"

Li Yuan looked up.

Wei Wu was an apprentice in the front court; he'd gone missing a few days earlier, and his parents had come banging on the door, causing quite a scene.

"Mm, I heard he got jealous of Liang Liang Ashui, followed him to catch fish, slipped and fell in, got swept downstream to the lower town, and the moment he got home he got a vicious beating—word is he's about to be kicked out of the shop…"

Liu Qing answered, looking a little glum.

"Is that so?"

Li Yuan nodded.

Liang Liang Ashui's rise had been too fast and too sensational; heaven knew how many people had their eyes on him, and those wanting to imitate him were hardly limited to Wei Wu alone—seven months ago, Li Yuan himself had been green with envy.

"Then I'll go out and heat more water—we'll need several more buckets!"

Liu Qing scratched his head, gave a sheepish chuckle, picked up the bucket and left the room, his steps noticeably lighter.

"Money flows out like water!"

A hot bath was no easy matter, and a medicinal bath was even more extravagant—one soak burned through two or three hundred jin of firewood, and with the medicinal ingredients on top, it cost as much as an ordinary household would spend in a month or two.

Inner court apprentices normally only soaked once every half month; Li Yuan was a touch more lavish, soaking once every ten days.

"Years without a bath, filth caking the skin. I heard that even among the inner wives of the inner city's Liu, Wang, and Bai clans, they only bathe once every ten days…"

Soaking in the medicinal liquid, Li Yuan's skin flushed red; with his eyes slightly closed, he could feel the blood and qi flowing within his body, nourishing his sinews and bones.

Blood and qi was a very wondrous thing; he was willing to call it a second immune system, one that warded off chills and strengthened the body.

As far as he knew, among those in Gao Liu County who died of catching a chill each year, there had never been a martial artist who had entered the gate—that was the marvel of blood and qi.

"Maybe it's also got something to do with martial artists taking more medicines?"

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes, sensing the Weapon Register.

【Second-Grade Weapon Master】

【Weapons Controlled: Sanyuan Army Standard Saber-Sickle (First-Grade), Master Smith's Hammer (Second-Grade)】

【Control Effects: Grand Mastery Forging Technique, Mastery White Ape Cloak Hammer Art, Major Success Sawhorse Saber-Sickle Art, Weapon-Type Talent, Hundred Weapons Familiarity, Long-Weapon Mastery】

"For now, the control effects fall into two categories—technique-type, and talent-type. Whether there are other effects is still uncertain…"

"The technique-type boost has two effects: without actively triggering it, it can greatly speed up my martial training; if I actively trigger it, the control effects stack onto me in an instant…"

"Back then, I'd just entered Mastery, and when I activated the training hammer, my hammer art instantly jumped to Minor Success. Now that my blood and qi and hammer art are both nearly at Major Success, if I push the saber-sickle and the Master Smith's Hammer at the same time, how far can my hammer art go?

Mastery, or Grand Mastery?"

Li Yuan calculated in his heart, looking down at his own palm.

◆ttkдn◆￠〇

"As for the talent-type…"

In the rising steam, a flying dagger could faintly be seen darting at great speed between his five fingers, flowing and turning like a little fish, extremely nimble.

The boost from the Weapon-Type Talent was immediate and obvious.

The fact that he had been able, in three months, to push his forging art from nothing to Minor Success was inseparable from the boost of this talent.

"Too bad Long-Weapon Mastery can't be applied to a flying dagger…"

As for his own progress, Li Yuan was still satisfied in his heart.

The only thing holding him back, on the contrary, was his blood and qi.

With below-average bone constitution, if not for the tempering of blood and qi through the fighting style of the Soldier's Path Battle-Killing Hammer,

even with medicinal meals and medicinal baths to assist, he still couldn't compare with top-grade bone constitution.

After all, wherever those with top-grade bone constitution were, they were never short of medicinal ingredients to assist them.

Take the inner court's senior brother, Yue Yue Yunjin—top-grade bone constitution, over three years of martial training, his blood and qi could already reinforce his four limbs.

It was only his hammer art that lagged, long unable to break through the Six Harmonies; otherwise he would have broken through to Internal Force years earlier.

When the water had cooled a little, Liu Qing came in with another bucket of hot water and poured it into the tub; after several such rounds, Li Yuan finally rose and stepped into the tub beside it.

He soaked in clear water, washing the medicinal smell from his body.

After that, he put on the short work clothes newly issued by the shop, a single layer, loosely tied up his hair, tidied himself before the mirror, and nodded in satisfaction.

No matter who looked, they wouldn't guess that the capable, sturdy youth in the mirror had been a sickly wretch just over half a year ago.

His change was no longer merely huge—it was on par with being reborn.

"With a top-grade blood-and-qi tempering method plus medicinal ingredients, how long until my blood and qi reaches Major Success?"

Watching Liu Qing leave, Li Yuan closed the door, flipped his wrist to take out the long-handled training hammer, and in the outer room slowly practiced the Soldier's Path Battle-Killing Hammer.

His movements were very slow, yet carried a feeling of a great millstone being slowly pushed; the motions weren't all that intense, yet his stamina drained massively, and as blood and qi circulated, his sinews and bones let out a series of *crack-crack* sounds.

This was the seventy-ninth variation of the first killing move of the Battle-Killing Hammer.

In the small room, the long hammer danced lightly, with no wind to be heard.

Taking advantage of the moment when his blood qi was most abundant after the medicinal bath, he repeatedly practiced this sequence of variations until his blood qi was exhausted, then replenished it.

Only then did he change his movement and execute the eightieth variation.

Crack~

Li Yuan could hear the sound of bones and tendons grinding; the blood qi filling both arms was consumed rapidly, and before long, he could barely hold onto the hammer in his hand.

The fighting style of the Soldier Dao Battle-Hammer appears simple, but it involves the tempering and circulation of blood qi, consuming physical strength to a tremendous degree.

"Superior Wu Gong is indeed difficult to learn; these final two variations are truly hard to master."

After a moment, Li Yuan exhaled a long breath, sweat beads sliding down, yet his eyes remained bright:

"However, even with only eighty variations, I have managed to barely master the first killing move of this Superior Wu Gong, 'Soldier Strike'!"

After resting for a while, Li Yuan tucked away his silver and went out the door.

At this time, the sun was near noon, yet the weapon forge was nearly empty; even the kitchen had stopped, and Fatty Sun was nowhere to be seen.

"Even the weapon forge is closed for three days; truly, this is one of the three great festivals decreed by the imperial court."

Li Yuan walked quickly.

Festivals that warrant a holiday must be relatively important.

This temple fair on the twenty-eighth of the third month has one more day off than the New Year holiday, showing its significance.

On this day, inside and outside the inner and outer walls of Gao Liu County, no entry fee was required; every household hung lanterns and decorations, making it far livelier than the New Year.

On the main street, the crowd flowed like a woven fabric, with vendors' cries rising and falling in waves; just after leaving the weapon forge, Li Yuan smelled the fragrance of various snacks and felt the tremor of the Soldier Talisman.

"Such a large-scale temple fair must surely have some good things to offer?"

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

At this moment, the loud sound of a bronze gong approached from afar.

Li Yuan stopped to gaze and saw the pedestrians at the end of the street stir; without any command, they scattered one by one, clearing a path.

Sixteen burly men formed two lines, carrying a massive shrine on thick mulberry wood poles across their shoulders.

"What an enormous procession..."

Li Yuan's eyelids twitched, and he stepped aside in advance.

He immediately saw the treasures adorning the outside of the shrine: gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, agate, and more; under the fierce midday sun, the shrine shimmered brilliantly.

Carried by the sixteen burly men, preceded and followed by dozens of people clearing the way, with various banners held high, wherever they passed, countless commoners bowed devoutly, some even kneeling to the ground.

"Praying for the Bodhisattva's protection, may Gao Liu County enjoy favorable weather and abundant harvests."

"The Bodhisattva generously bestows grace; virtuous men and women bow devoutly..."

"May the Bodhisattva bless me with great prosperity!"

The cheers grew louder as they approached from afar.

Some dressed as temple attendants held merit boxes, and countless commoners eagerly stepped forward, tossing copper coins or fragments of silver.

"That Bodhisattva..."

A gentle breeze stirred the white gauze, revealing the deity statue behind it: a Bodhisattva appearing compassionate and sacred, with six faces and a thousand eyes.

Li Yuan glanced once before shifting his gaze away.

"No wonder it's called the Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva; the carving is truly lifelike. A body covered in eyeballs would surely frighten anyone to death if seen unexpectedly..."

Li Yuan nearly suffered from trypophobia; he truly felt a bit of admiration for the craftsman who carved this statue.

He stepped back a few paces to avoid the temple attendants who looked intimidating, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly clenched his fist and looked up in surprise,

gazing at the procession brushing past him two meters away.

This statue of the Bodhisattva...