Chapter 86: A True God Manifested, a Holy Son Descended?

The master, yes, yes, that is exactly so...

Xun Keqing clearly knew how serious this matter was; she did not dare conceal the slightest thing, and carefully explained:

"This is a method the women in the sect used to deceive those peripheral young ladies. It has already been lost for decades. Rumor has it that within the sect now, only the True Lord of One Stream and their Maitreya faction still possess such a method.

"However..."

"The ceremonial wine that Miss Zhao Yinling drank with you, Master, is an old technique of our Fragrance Sect, used only to heighten the occasion. After taking it, a person becomes excited and aroused, but there are no obvious aftereffects. What I used earlier to fool Wang Youfa was precisely this..."

After hearing Xun Keqing's explanation, Li Yuanjing could not help letting out a long breath of stale air, then closed his eyes in pain.

At this point, he was basically certain.

Zhao Yinling that little minx had absolutely been used as a pawn!

Even more so, her death was likely because, after he had seen through her identity as a member of the Fragrance Sect, she had put that so-called love-affection powder on herself...

She...

Had merely wanted to please him cleverly.

Even with Li Yuanjing's depth of mind, his emotions surged violently for a moment.

The beloved is gone.

Li Yuanjing could indeed no longer change that, but the mastermind behind this affair would have to pay with blood.

Including Zhao Yinling's family, Li Yuanjing also had to give them an explanation.

At that moment, seeing Xun Keqing still prostrate at his feet and trembling uncontrollably from fear, Li Yuanjing gradually calmed down as well.

Zhao Yinling had become the past, but the Fragrance Sect had surfaced.

One still had to look ahead.

He said coldly, "What exactly kind of organization is your Fragrance Sect?"

"Ah?"

Xun Keqing jolted and, not daring to neglect him, hurried to explain in detail.

As she spoke, Li Yuanjing's brows slowly furrowed, and he gradually understood the Fragrance Sect's pattern.

This Fragrance Sect was much like the White Lotus teachings of later ages, all arising from the Chan and Pure Land branches of Buddhism.

Over the years, however, the Fragrance Sect had split into several branches. The most famous and powerful were two in particular.

One was the so-called Pure Gate branch of Xun Keqing and the others, those idealists who still revered the original doctrines and sought to deliver all living beings.

The second was the Maitreya faction led by the True Lord of One Stream in Yellow Mud Marsh.

Compared with the Pure Gate idealists, the Maitreya faction revered the Buddha Maitreya more, and therefore leaned more toward realism. They valued pleasure and enjoyment, and their methods in dealing with people were far more ruthless.

Decades ago, the great uprising of the Fragrance Sect that nearly overthrew the Great Qian dynasty had, at the outset, been led by the Pure Gate branch. They successively seized five provinces, driving the imperial army back at every turn, and nearly occupied half the realm of the Great Qian dynasty.

But later, for various reasons, internal divisions arose. The Maitreya faction took the lead, caring only for their own small gains while disregarding the larger cause. As a result, the rebel army turned from prosperity to decline and was gradually annihilated by the imperial forces.

Whether it was the Maitreya faction or the Pure Gate branch, their common sovereign was the Holy Maiden.

And above the Holy Maiden, there was said to be the legendary Holy Son.

Only...

For various reasons, their Fragrance Sect had not produced a Holy Maiden for decades, let alone a Holy Son who would possess a Holy Maiden and hundreds or even thousands of candidate Holy Maidens and all else besides.

In the end, the Fragrance Sect was still, in essence, patriarchal.

They selected a Holy Maiden by the method of raising gu, then used that Holy Maiden, a worldly embodiment, to exercise various powers while waiting for the legendary descent of the Holy Son.

"Master, roughly, roughly it is like this..."

After finishing, Xun Keqing became even more respectfully prostrate at Li Yuanjing's feet, not daring to harbor the slightest thought of resistance.

Tonight, just how miserable those attackers had been, she had seen with her own eyes.

Now that she had finally won a measure of Li Yuanjing's trust, she was not stupid enough to court death herself.

"The descent of the Holy Son?"

A faint smile suddenly appeared at the corners of Li Yuanjing's mouth.

This whole scheme somehow felt strangely familiar.

However, Li Yuanjing quickly regained his composure and stopped his wandering thoughts.

Things like this were clearly something to be understood in the heart but not spoken aloud.

"You did well on this matter."

Li Yuanjing kicked Xun Keqing again.

"I like talking to smart people. If you are obedient, I will give you whatever you want. But if you are not obedient, then do not blame me for showing no mercy. Do you understand?"

Xun Keqing felt as though she had been granted a royal pardon. She hurriedly rubbed her pretty face against Li Yuanjing's knee like a little cat and said, "Master, I understand, I understand..."

...

That night, for the villagers of Quanzi Village, even though the dust had settled, it was still destined to be a sleepless one.

Li Yuanjing was naturally no exception.

But with his experience, he knew very well how to change the subject, paint a grand promise, and kindle the villagers' hope for a new life.

Very soon, once he was certain that every aspect of security was entirely under control, Li Yuanjing began discussing the future plans for Quanzi Village with the old village head and several other representative villagers such as Liu Ben.

When he heard that Liu Ben's cousin had been an old master at a brick kiln in the county seat, Li Yuanjing's spirits lifted at once.

He quickly said, "Brother Liu, are you saying your cousin Liu Shuan said the land here in Quanzi Village is especially suited for firing blue bricks?"

"Eh?"

Liu Ben was stunned for a moment before reacting. He said hurriedly, "Yes, boss. Lao Wu has said more than once that if the mud land here in Quanzi Village is used for making bricks, it's much better than the county side. At the very least, each brick could fetch one cash more. If one were ruthless, it wouldn't be hard to make it two cash more..."

A smile kept surfacing at the corners of Li Yuanjing's mouth.

"Brother Liu, if Brother Liu Shuan has that kind of skill, why should he leave his home and property to go to the county and work for others?"

"How about this."

"Brother Liu, if you are free tomorrow, call Brother Liu Shuan back. He earns eight hundred cash a month in the county, right? I'll give him fifteen hundred a month. We'll build our own brick kiln right here in the village!"

"In the future, the men who work at the kiln will be paid by the piece, and we will strive to make sure everyone's daily wages are no less than ten cash!"

"And another thing!"

"In the future, if any of our neighbors want to rebuild their homes and put up brand-new brick-and-tile houses, the bricks from our own kiln will be sold to our own villagers at half price!"

"What?"

"Boss, is that really true?"

"You blind dog bastard, who do you think the boss is? He is the earthly descent of the Star of Literature. Could his words possibly be false?"

"Boss, you are truly a living Bodhisattva..."

"Boss, this little one kowtows to you..."

As soon as Li Yuanjing said this, the crowd around them erupted at once. One after another, they dropped to their knees in excitement and fervor, desperately bowing to him.

Brick-and-tile houses.

What kind of concept was that?

In this era, even ordinary wealthy landlords could not possibly reach such a level.

It was simply the same as the yearning of later generations' ordinary strivers for a seaside villa.

Who could have imagined that Li Yuanjing would make such a promise to everyone at this moment...

Even the old village head was so excited he could scarcely think straight. Gripping Li Yuanjing's large hand tightly, he wanted to say something but could not find the words.

And Lotus, who had been watching from not far away, looked at Li Yuanjing with eyes that seemed ready to sparkle like stars...

Even though she had long known that her Brother Yuanjing was formidable, how could she have imagined that he would be this formidable?

If Brother Yuanjing truly accomplished this, then he would simply be the living Bodhisattva of all Quanzi Village...

In the darkness at a distance, Chen Chuxue, who had always instinctively kept herself concealed, watched this scene and her beautiful eyes also shone again and again.

She suddenly discovered that Li Yuanjing was even more charismatic than she had imagined, and even more worthy of admiration.

No wonder Li Yuanjing had been able to write those classic paired lines like "wind speaks" and "rain speaks"; he truly held within his breast a thousand ravines and valleys...

At that moment, Jade Lady, tightly surrounded by Wang Cuihua and the other women big and small, looked at Li Yuanjing, who stood in the midst of the crowd as though the stars revolved around the moon, and her beautiful eyes could not help but grow dazed as well, finally stepping out of her grief over Zhao Yinling's matter a little.

To have a brother in this life was truly Heaven's favor, this blessing bestowed upon her, this pitiful little girl...

At the very back of the crowd, Xun Keqing could not help clenching her small pink fists in excitement, hot light shooting from her eyes, so stirred that she could scarcely contain herself.

This scene...

Mysteriously made her recall that scene from countless ancient legends, the legendary descent of the Holy Son.

Otherwise, apart from the manifestation of a true god, who else could possess such magnanimity, such ability, such methods, and move common people to such passion and devotion?

Yet just as the atmosphere was steeped in boundless wonder, Zhang Kun unexpectedly came over at an ill-timed moment and whispered a few words into Li Yuanjing's ear.