I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

"Is there really no way to kill ogres?" A-cho asked tentatively.

"Unfortunately..." Zong Hai shook his head with a wry smile, "As far as I know—not yet."

"Maybe there is a way to kill ogres, but I haven't found it yet."

"The above is all the information related to ogres that I know."

When Zonghai and Xianhai finished telling all the information they knew about the ogre, that pot of porridge had just been eaten by the four of them.

When the 4 people were talking, they had already finished their dinner without knowing it.

"Okay..." Zong Hai stood up with a smile, "The meal is over, and the serious things are over. Donors, are you interested in taking a good tour of this temple?"

"Since the two benefactors came to the small temple today, they went directly to drink water and take a bath, and didn't even have time to take a good look at the small temple."

"If the two benefactors are willing, the monk is very happy to take the two of you to have a good tour."

"The two benefactors have heard so many serious things just now, and now it's great to do something that can relax your mind."

After listening to Sokai's suggestion, Ogata and Machi glanced at each other.

Then they nodded together.

"Then..." Ogata said softly, "I'm sorry to trouble you."

...

...

Xianhai goes to wash the dishes.

Zonghai led Ogata and Atachi to visit the Tenmanji Temple.

The first place Zonghai took Ogata and the others to visit was the Buddhist hall of Tenmanji Temple.

The Buddhist hall of Tenmanji Temple is not big, and if you put twenty or so people inside, it will feel crowded.

There is only one Buddha statue enshrined in the temple.

Zonghai and Xianhai should clean the Buddhist hall very diligently on weekdays, so whether it is the Buddha statue or the ground of the Buddhist hall, everything is spotless.

Neither Ogata nor Atachi believed in Buddhism, nor did they have any research on Buddhism, so neither of them knew what kind of Buddha was enshrined in the Buddhist hall of Tenmanji Temple.

"Zonghai." Ogata asked Zonghai, "What kind of Buddha is this Buddha you enshrine?"

"Lord Fudo Ming." Zong Hai said without thinking.

Ogata had heard of Fudo Myoko's name before, although he had only heard of this name, he had no idea what kind of Buddha Fudo Myoko was.

As for A-Machi, who was standing beside Ogata, when he learned that the Buddha statue in front of him was Fudo Myooh, his beautiful eyebrows were raised slightly, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

...

...

There was nothing to see in the Buddhist hall, Zonghai took Ogata and Ating around the Buddhist hall, and then led them towards the vegetable garden located to the east of the Buddhist hall.

"This is the vegetable garden that the monk is proud of." Zong Hai smiled and introduced to the two of them.

"The area is so huge... besides the cabbage, there are rice..." A-cho sighed with emotion, "Did you and Xianhai grow these together?"

"That's right. After Xianhai converted to my Buddha, I expanded the vegetable garden a little bit. I planted some rice and cabbage."

"Thanks to this vegetable garden and that water well, the monk and Xianhai can barely support themselves in their daily food and drink."

After showing the two of them a brief look at the vegetable garden, Zong Hai led Ogata and the two of them towards the back hall.

When leading Ogata and the two towards the back hall, Atachi asked Munekai doubtfully:

"Zonghai." Ating pointed to the west, "Isn't there a small ancestral hall to the west of the Buddhist hall? Why don't you take us to see that small ancestral hall?"

"Oh, that..." Zong Hai, who was walking in front, said softly, "There is nothing in that ancestral hall,

Nothing fancy. "

"If the two benefactors are interested in the ancestral hall, then the monk will take the two of you to have a look."

After finishing speaking, Zong Hai turned and walked towards the west of the Buddhist hall.

To the west of the Buddhist hall stands a small ancestral hall alone.

The door of the small ancestral hall was unlocked, and Zong Hai pulled the door open.

This ancestral hall can really be described by the idiom "small and exquisite", and it is enough to feel crowded if three people are stuffed inside.

There should have been a statue of Buddha on the altar of the ancestral hall.

But there is no Buddha statue on the altar of this ancestral hall, but an empty knife holder instead.

"Knife rest?" Ogata raised his eyebrows.

"The ones enshrined in this ancestral hall are two precious swords." Zong Hai said softly.

Looking at the empty knife holder, Zong Hai's face showed a look of nostalgia.

"I have a mentor who led me into Buddhism."

"Two years ago, after witnessing the villagers on the island turn into ogres one by one, the mentor who was deeply saddened by the suffering of the islanders decided to find a way to kill the ogres."

"Master, he has tried many methods."

"Including—casting knives."

"Master, he intends to forge a knife that can kill ogres."

"Master, he thinks—inject Buddha's power into the knife, maybe you can kill ogres."

"So when casting the knife, my mentor and I kept reciting Buddhist scriptures to the knife."

A faint wry smile appeared on Zong Hai's face.

"Just thinking about those days makes my scalp tingle... I have recited Buddhist scriptures to many people in my life, but this is the first time I have recited Buddhist scriptures to a knife that has not yet formed and is still in the casting stage."

"In the end - the knife was forged successfully."

"Master has cast 2 knives in total, one is Dao and the other is Wakizashi."

"According to my mentor, he poured all his lifelong learning into these two knives, and these two knives are also the highest masterpieces of his life."

"The mentor named the sword - Da Shitian."

"Name that Wakizashi-Da Zizai."

"It's a pity..."

Zong Hai let out a long sigh.

"These two precious swords, which my mentor devoted his whole life to, still failed to kill the ogre."

"Seeing that the two knives that I worked so hard to forge failed to come in handy, my mentor was also depressed for a while."

"After enshrining Da Shitian and Da Zizai in this ancestral hall for a period of time, they were given to his friends by the mentor."

"Friend?" Xu Fang showed regret, "Who were these two knives given to?"

"The village chief of Fenghe Village—Konnosuke. That's the one I told you just now who issued a call to gather villagers from all villages on the island in Fenghe Village and built a wooden wall to keep out the ogres. That man."

"Konnosuke has a deep friendship with his mentor."

"Konnosuke also cherishes the two knives presented by his mentor very much."

"Now these two knives should be treasured by Konnosuke."

"Have you already given it to someone..." Ogata sighed softly, "I wanted to see what the precious sword cast by your benefactor looked like..."

As soon as Ogata's sigh fell, A-Machi at the side let out a soft "ah".

Then Chao Zonghai asked anxiously:

"To enshrine King Fudo Ming, and to forge knives... Are you from the Tianxiangzong?"