The First Lackey Under The Empress

The sky was gloomy, and Zhao Du'an's little interlude quickly subsided.

People once again turned their attention to the empty arena in front and the upcoming battle.

"When does it start?"

Zhao Du'an looked down from his high position, his gaze sweeping across the two opposing grandstands to his left and right.

Those were the locations of the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Shenlong Temple, respectively.

His gaze instinctively searched for Jin Jian, but he couldn't find her. He only spotted Gongshu Tianyuan among a group of Taoists wearing divine robes.

This craftsman Taoist, full of whimsical ideas, had changed into a brand-new robe today and wasn't carrying the large bamboo tube fox spirit that he kept as a "pet."

He stood in the crowd with his hands behind his back, looking serious and proper. Sensing the gaze from this side, Gongshu Tianyuan looked over, slightly surprised.

Then, he nodded at Zhao Du'an.

"Soon, hehe, if you had come any later, you would have missed it," the old eunuch in the python robe said leisurely.

The two sat side by side, talking in low voices, not attracting much attention.

Seeing Zhao Du'an looking around, the Grand Interior expert with wrinkles all over his face smiled and teased:

"Don't bother looking, she'll only come out later."

... Zhao Du'an stubbornly said:

"I'm just surprised that not many experts from either side have come.

It's fine that several of Zhang Tianshi's disciples are traveling outside, but why is it that I only see Bianji on the Shenlong Temple side?"

As he spoke, he cast his gaze toward the Shenlong Temple's grandstand.

Monks in yellow or brown robes formed a beautiful scene, with the handsome monk Bianji in white standing out from the crowd.

Grandfather Hai was almost lying in the spacious armchair, magically conjuring an orange in his hand, slowly peeling the skin and tearing off the orange filaments one by one.

He said, "Oh," and said:

"Two of the three Bodhisattvas of Shenlong Temple are also outside, with only Prajna here.

Hehe, but this little nun has a strange temperament and is unwilling to come in person, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, it's not far. Have you seen the falcons raised by the Buddhist sect? The message will be delivered in an instant."

A fifty-two-year-old little nun… Yes, compared to your age, Grandfather, she is indeed a "little nun"… Zhao Du'an's mouth twitched.

In his mind, the seductive female Bodhisattva, fair and dazzling under the moonlight by the pond that night, appeared. After thinking for a while, he said:

"Who do you think will win this battle, Grandfather?"

Eunuch Hai broke off a segment of the orange, put it in his mouth, and mumbled:

"What's it to you?"

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, when suddenly he heard a melodious and deep bell ringing from deep within the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Instantly, the uproar and discussion of the dense crowd abruptly stopped.

Everyone simultaneously ceased talking and looked expectantly at the light curtain in the air.

"It's about to start!" Beside him, the female official Mo Chou suddenly said, as if reminding him.

Zhao Du'an closed his mouth and looked at the arena. A ball of brilliant light, like a comet, trailed a sharp, long tail as it rushed from the end of the gloomy sky.

Amidst exclamations of surprise.

It landed on the circular arena, condensing and outlining a petite figure in a black Taoist robe trimmed with gold thread, with a delicate, pale face and slightly curled ends of her black hair.

It was the Jin Jian Taoist, whom he hadn't seen for many days!

"Junior Sister, show those bald donkeys what's what! Don't lose face."

Behind her, the chubby Gongshu Tianyuan magically conjured a magical artifact shaped like a trumpet in his hand and placed it by his mouth, cheering loudly.

Jin Jian, who had been preparing for battle behind closed doors for a long time, looked indifferent today.

The moment she stepped onto the stage, she grabbed at the air with her right hand, her wrist slightly sinking, and slowly "pulled" out a staff with a golden single eye inlaid at the top from the rippling air.

With her left hand, she grabbed into the inner pocket of her robe and put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on her delicate nose.

There were speckles of light like debris at the hem of the Taoist robe, expanding and contracting, as if she was in the ripples of a sea of stars.

Then, in full view of everyone, the petite girl quickly "grew up."

Her height rose steadily, her short legs extended and became slender, her long hair grew crazily, instantly falling to her hips, and silver starlight poured down from the top of her hair.

Transformation… What magical girl…

On the grandstand, Zhao Du'an was stunned, suddenly recalling the night when he and the girl had dealt with the rebellious Taoist together.

At this moment, Jin Jian suddenly turned her head and looked over here, making eye contact with him.

"Zhao Du'an?"

Jin Jian was surprised. She thought this friend wasn't coming.

Through her glasses, she could clearly see Zhao Du'an nodding at her and making a strange gesture, as if cheering her on.

Jin Jian's lips curled slightly, nodded, and then, sensing something, turned her head to look at the opposite side.

… …

On the grandstand.

Amidst the strange gazes of Lao Hai, Mo Chou, and Xu Junling, Zhao Du'an silently put down his scissor hands and pretended that nothing had happened, saying:

"That Tianhai should be coming out too."

You seem to be covering up something… "Ice cube" Mo Chou was expressionless.

What is this gesture, so strange… Could it be, a secret way of conveying information… Xu Junling, with the appearance of a proper young lady, was frantically imagining things.

"Dong!"

On the Shenlong Temple side, a muffled sound suddenly rang out from the center of the many monks.

Behind a group of monks, there was actually a young monk sitting, hidden from view.

The little monk named Tianhai was hugging his arms, as if dozing off, sitting cross-legged, with a strange "Zen staff" in the shape of a hexagonal prism lying across his knees.

At this moment, the young monk suddenly opened his eyes, pressed down with both hands, and the ground caved in by three inches.

The whole person was like a cannonball, roaring and leaping up, drawing a high parabola in full view of everyone, and crashing heavily onto the arena!

Causing countless exclamations from the crowd.

Zhao Du'an finally saw his appearance clearly.

"Tianhai" was indeed not old, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Wearing a yellow-brown monk's robe, he had no Buddhist beads on his body, was slightly thin, had a plain appearance, and was dressed in a standard "martial monk" style.

A yellow silk ribbon was wrapped around his forehead, which was quite eye-catching.

Standing on the arena at this moment, holding a long stick made of brass, with a long prism at both ends and protrusions at the ends, he propped it on the ground, his expression indifferent, his eyes locked on Jin Jian without emotion.

"Is he Tianhai? That maverick Buddhist evildoer?"

Zhao Du'an heard the officials around him discussing.

Obviously, this was the first time this person had appeared in the three days of the battle.

Mo Chou, wearing a wingless black gauze hat, had a strange look in her eyes:

"Is that ribbon to cover his innate vertical eye? I thought I could see it."

No… You are a famous "female prime minister," why are you also keen on novelty? Can't you ask some constructive questions… Zhao Du'an complained, and said seriously:

"Grandfather, is the one in his hand a weapon or a warding object?"

The old eunuch in the python robe slowly ate the orange, looking like he was used to seeing big storms, and said leisurely:

"It is both a weapon and a warding object. Its name is 'Six Paths Staff,' and it is also a very valuable treasure.

The two ends of the stick contain the 'World Honored One's' Six Paths Dharma… However, this little monk's realm is too low to exert the mysterious side of this artifact, and he only uses it as a handy weapon."

At this time, the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Shenlong Temple each sent out Taoists to announce the rules of the battle.

Just going through the motions.

Then, a thin, smooth, inverted glass bowl-shaped cover suddenly rose around the arena, isolating the arena from the viewing area.

The atmosphere in the entire venue suddenly became solemn and serious.

Along with the middle-aged Taoist presiding over the battle's announcement:

"The battle begins!"

On the arena, Jin Jian and Tianhai's momentum rose steadily, and they faced each other with weapons.

… …

… …

Deep within the Celestial Master's Mansion, in a small courtyard.

Zhang Yan, lying under the banyan tree, looked up at the female emperor who appeared opposite him and smiled:

"Your Majesty has arrived?"

The Great Yu Empress, wearing plain white clothes without any ornaments, but with an indescribable beauty, walked gracefully.

Lowering her eyes to look at Zhang Yan, under the banyan tree, a square table, tea, snacks, and two empty bamboo chairs had already been placed, and she said in a low voice:

"The Celestial Master is thoughtful."

Zhang Yan smiled hehe, looking very kind, and said with emotion:

"Hundreds of years ago, on the day of the battle, the Emperor Taizu would invite the contemporary Celestial Master and the abbot of the Buddhist sect to gather privately, taste tea, and watch the battle. What a sight that must have been."

Xu Zhenguan bent down, sat in the bamboo chair, raised her slender jade hand, fiddled with the tea bowl, and said with a smile:

"At that time, Emperor Taizu was the undisputed number one in the world, and the experts of the Xu Dynasty also stole the limelight from the Buddhist and Taoist families. Emperor Taizu's invitation to the two sides to gather was impure, with the intention of showing off and beating them down."

Zhang Yan laughed and pointed at her, saying:

"If Emperor Taizu knew that his descendants were arranging him like this, I wonder what he would think."

Xu Zhenguan smiled freely:

"With the breadth of mind of our ancestors, I believe they wouldn't care about these things."

Zhang Yan sighed:

"Yes, alas. I was not born in that era. After Emperor Taizu passed away, this tradition of gathering every year fell apart. The successive abbots of Shenlong Temple no longer participated, and the successive Celestial Masters also lacked interest."

Xu Zhenguan picked up the teapot and personally poured three cups of clear Longjing tea:

"But we, the successive emperors of the Xu family, have adhered to this unwritten tradition, and come to the appointment every time there is a battle. Just as the Celestial Master will also leave two empty chairs."

Zhang Yan sighed:

"When people get old, they pay particular attention to some traditional rules that the younger generation doesn't understand. In the final analysis, it's just a way to try to leave some traces of the past."

At this moment, the bell rang through the small courtyard.

Xu Zhenguan smiled and pushed one cup to the Celestial Master and left one cup for herself:

"Now, the battle outside is about to begin, right?"

Zhang Yan smiled, swept his sleeve, and the third cup spun around, the tea splashing into the air, condensing into a water curtain.

In the water curtain, there was a monk and a Taoist confronting each other on the arena.

… …

Jizhao Nunnery.

As part of the Shenlong Temple, the nunnery seemed extremely deserted today.

Most of the nuns went to watch the battle, leaving only a small number to maintain the daily operation of the nunnery.

The Cloud Sun Long Princess, who liked to wear red skirts, but now only had monk's robes to wear, walked through the autumn courtyard and arrived at the small courtyard with a pond.

The pond was full of withered lotuses.

On the shore.

The female Bodhisattva, draped in a thin, pure white monk's robe, with skin as white as snow and a plump figure, clearly fifty-two years old, but with a face whose appearance and temperament made even Princess Yunyang jealous and distorted, was humming a song while combing her hair.

"I thought you, old nun, would go to watch the battle," Princess Yunyang sneered sarcastically.

Bodhisattva Prajna stopped singing, looked at her with a smile, her eyes loving:

"If this poor nun leaves, wouldn't I be teaching you to escape?"

Princess Yunyang shivered for no reason, covered her buttocks with both hands, stared at her, unwilling to be outdone:

"I'm calculating the time. The bell for the start of the war has already rung for a while. Now, I'm afraid the battle is already over."

"So?"

"I want to know who lost and who won."

Bodhisattva Prajna looked at her for a while, sighed softly, and looked at the sky, only to see a falcon flying over from afar.

She waved her hand, and a scroll of paper from the falcon's mouth fell lightly, with several large characters clearly discernible on it:

The Buddhist sect wins!