Chapter 88: Gion Festival, a celebration of alienation
The Bat God is dead.
Died near the riverbed of Arakawa.
In the central area, on the second floor of the villa, the statue symbolizing the God of Golden Light shone with dazzling golden light, and a golden face appeared.
Float to the huge floor-to-ceiling window and look towards the Arakawa area.
When the Demonic Sound Bat accepted the Golden Light Church's canonization to become the Bat God and accepted the priesthood of plague, he was able to establish a certain connection with it.
Now, as July 7 is approaching and the Bat God has fallen, it is too late to find a monster who can take on the role of the plague god as a replacement in a short period of time.
The unusual movement of the statue soon attracted attention, and Genji Kuriyama rushed over to deal with it personally.
"Great God Jin Guang, what happened when you appeared late at night?"
Genji Kuriyama lowered his head, feeling somewhat uneasy.
"The Bat God is dead."
"How could that be? I haven't received any news from Zhongshan and Zhonggu."
Kuriyama Genji raised his head and asked anxiously, "The Bat God is dead, what should we do with the altar in Edogawa District?"
"Accidents and death sometimes come suddenly. There is no need to worry about them. Sometimes, people can temporarily take on the role of a god."
"I understand."
Genji Kuriyama already knew how he should deal with this matter.
"Although the Bat God is very weak, it has the ability to fly and cannot be killed by ordinary practitioners. Let's check it out."
"Yes, I will obey the oracle of the Golden Light God."
Kuriyama Genji bowed his head and sent the Golden Light God back into the statue.
When everything returned to silence late at night, Genji Kuriyama left the second floor and came to the lobby on the first floor. He made several phone calls and instructed what to pay attention to next.
……
In an ordinary three-story building in Edogawa District.
The room on the second floor was hollowed out, revealing a large spacious space. On the floor, a huge formation diagram was outlined with the blood of three animals.
The bright red lines are symmetrical on both sides, like a giant bat with its wings spread.
A large circle was drawn around the bat using melted gold to protect the bat in the center.
Above the bat's head, there is a statue of a god with a human body, a pointed head and sharp claws, and bat wings.
It looks OK at first glance, but if you look closely, you can see that this statue is obviously rushed, and many details are not perfect.
On the altar in front of the statue, there are five kinds of creatures: rat, toad, poisonous snake, spider and bat.
There are five of each species, and they are now locked in their own cages with the tops of the cages covered with black cloth.
At the front of the altar stood two circles of Kinko-sho believers, led by Hosho-jin, who was in charge of the Edogawa district sacrifice.
"Lord Baosheng, are you really determined to temporarily take over the priesthood?"
"It is my honor to be able to temporarily take over the priesthood in human form. It is a great honor for all Golden Light Church believers."
Lord Takatsuma looked at the bat statue in front of him and spoke expressionlessly.
"But we all know that the priesthood cannot be held by a mortal body. Even if it is just a temporary position, it is a huge burden on the body."
"Are you doubting my faith in the gods? Or are you questioning whether the Golden Light God can protect His believers?"
Lord Baosheng glanced at everyone, and only when they all lowered their heads and dared not speak anymore did he withdraw his gaze.
As the chief god in charge of sacrifices in the Golden Light Sect, how could he not be aware of the dangers of temporarily replacing the god's duties with a human body?
There is no chance of survival.
But this time, there was no one else who could fill this hole except him.
His two disciples, Zhongshan and Zhonggu, sent away the Toad God and the Bat God one after another, causing huge losses to the sect.
This time, they didn't even report back the news of the Bat God's death, which was enough to prove that they had betrayed the Golden Light Sect.
Although the Great God Jin Guang and the leader did not punish him for these two things, he still needs to make amends.
This was his final explanation to the Great God of Golden Light as a believer.
"From now until the celebration begins, I will stay here, not eating, not sleeping, until the mission is accomplished."
"Guard the surroundings well and don't let anyone disturb you."
"We can't afford a third failure." After giving the order, Lord Baosheng dismissed all the believers, walked to the altar, jumped on it, bent down and held the statue of the Bat God in his arms.
Sitting cross-legged, he took the position that should have belonged to the Bat God.
When Lord Baosheng sat down, the entire altar shook slightly, and the blood-red lines seemed to light up, emitting a hazy blood light.
The bat god spread its wings, gathered blood light, and formed a miniature bat on the chest of Lord Baosheng.
The little bat gradually took shape, its wings scratched across the heart of Lord Treasure God, leaving a bloody crack, and then it merged its body into the heart.
Man and God begin to merge at this moment.
……
On July 7, the most important event of the Gion Festival in Kyoto began, the Yamaboko Parade.
Each hokosha is more than 6 meters high, divided into two layers, and has a spear-like weapon called a hoko inserted on the top.
Hoko is a weapon used to repel evil spirits. It can absorb plagues, disasters, and diseases.
The sculptures and carpet patterns on the hokochari include various mythical beasts and birds, such as the blue dragon, white tiger, lion, unicorn, red bird and phoenix, as well as the deeds of historical figures.
This is a celebration to expel evil spirits, demons, plagues and diseases.
After this, there are activities such as the "Shinkosai", "Shinkomi-mikoto Ferry", "Flower Umbrella Parade", "Returning Kosai", and "Shinkomi-mikoto Washing Ceremony".
The essence and original intention of the celebration is to protect the country and the people. Through celebration ceremonies and prayers to the gods, the people in the jurisdiction can live a smoother, more peaceful, prosperous and healthy life.
This is a very good folk activity.
Hiramiya Chiye looked at the so-called gods from the Gion Festival parade in Kyoto on the screen of his mobile phone and thought they were just demons wearing robes, sitting in the temple hall.
Be upright and enjoy the offerings from the world.
"Kyoto is a bit far. Let's deal with the problems in Tokyo first."
Hiramiya Chiye murmured and sent a text message to Hase Shuichi.
[There is a grand celebration tonight, I can give you three invitations]
Last time, Hase Shuichi gave him three concert tickets, and this time, just consider it as a favor to him.
As for finding a suitable driver or something...it's just a side job.
【Time! Location! 】
Hase Shuichi quickly replied, and Pinggong Qianye asked him to come to Weilian Ancient Temple around 6 o'clock in the evening.
Since we don’t know what time the Golden Light Church will take action at night, it’s better to set off early to avoid any accidents.
After solving the problem of finding a driver, Pinggong Qianye had a meal, took a bath, put on his robes, and went to the temple hall.
After paying homage to Mahavairocana, we beat wooden fish and chanted sutras until nightfall.
In the evening, before 6 o'clock, around 5:50, Hidekazu Hase drove a black Mercedes-Benz G63 Jiachen Collector's Edition, looking very majestic and domineering.
In addition to Hase Hideichi, there were two other people in the car. One of them was Akechi Mitsuhide, and the other was a monk from Kichijoji who had watched from a distance during the dog spirit case.
"I am Ruyi from Jixiang Temple. I am honored to meet Master Liansheng."
Ruyi got off the car and walked towards Pinggong Qianye. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head respectfully, saying, "Thank you Master Liansheng for saving me in secret last time. I was able to escape danger."
"It's what we should do." Pinggong Qianye calmly revealed the matter.
"Amitabha."
Ruyi chanted the Buddha's name and looked up at the Master Padmasambhava who was about the same age as him. Even though he had heard Hase Shuichi introduce him many times on the way here, he could not hide his shock.
He didn't know who the great monk who saved him in the dog spirit incident was. When Hase Hideichi learned about this, he immediately concluded that it was this Master Padmasambhava who saved him.
"Master Liansheng, is there anything big happening tonight?" Akechi Mitsuhide asked excitedly.
"Something did happen."
"Where are we going next?"
"Edogawa District."
Before leaving, Pinggong Qianye took the staff that he had not held in his hand for a long time.
(End of this chapter)
