I accidentally died yesterday [comprehensive]

"When it comes to three eyes and eight sides, we have to mention the Grand Master."

"The figure is tall, like a hill. It is said that the length of the shadow can extend from this hill to that hill."

"The most important thing is that Master Da Tai can transform into mountains and sometimes create lakes."

Monk Otomo deliberately stopped and stared at Kurokawa: "The monster who creates mountains, rivers and lakes - have you heard of this saying?"

"Monsters born from objects in mountains, forests and lakes are called object monsters, and monsters born from human hearts are called heart monsters."

"This great sorcerer can actually create mountains and forests. Whether it should be classified as a heart monster or a monster - since ancient times, there is only a saying that fathers give birth to children, but it is rare to hear the reverse."

"so."

"There is another saying that has been circulated among the people since ancient times."

"This great sorcerer is neither a heart monster nor a monster, but a fallen god."

"A fallen god?"

"Yes, from a god to a monster, from a mountain god to a great master."

"That's the case with three eyes and eight sides."

When telling the story of three eyes and eight sides, the two happened to walk in front of a deserted shrine.

The shrine was originally worshiped by the villagers, but due to wars and famines, humans fled to other places. The shrine was naturally deserted, covered with dust everywhere, and spider webs floated freely in the air.

Divinity ceases to exist.

Only weirdness remains.

Monk Dayou folded his palms together, walked past while reciting the Buddha's name, pointed to a statue with two horns and said, "This is a mountain god."

Kurokawa walked over: "Is the prototype a snake?"

The mountain god has a long, curved body, but with two horns on the top of his head like a dragon.

"In ancient times, probably before Heian, when the emperor had not conquered the Ezo tribes... Ah, maybe earlier, snakes were the most common gods in the land."

If you want to talk about snake myths, Kurokawa can think of a legend about Susano killing Yamata no Orochi.

Monk Otomo pointed to the mountain god and said, "Worship of snakes can be seen everywhere in this land. There are clay figurines in the shape of snakes, and shimenawa in the shape of snakes."

Pay attention to him, that is the rope hanging outside the shrine.

I only heard Monk Dayou say, "Those are two intertwined snakes, one is male and the other is female."

"There is also the main god of Sanlun Mountain, the God of Great Objects, who also takes snakes as his sustenance."

"There is a legend of Living Jade Mingji. It is said that the mountain god of Sanlun Mountain turned into a man and met the princess at night. The princess was eager to know the man's true face, so she begged earnestly, and finally found that the man was transformed by a snake."

"But later, Sanlun Mountain enshrined the Great Object God—that is, the Great Country Lord, and the mountain god disappeared."

Monk Otomo wipes the statue of the mountain god with his turban.

"The change of beliefs in the world has caused the mountain gods to gradually lose their divine bodies and become disgusting monsters. This is the case with the three eyes and eight faces."

"I don't know when the shrine was established. The villagers worship it every day, praying for the blessings of the gods. One is for good weather, the other is for everything to be safe, and the third is for the prosperity of the population."

"The villagers never knew that the gods had authority. They only hoped that the gods they enshrined were omnipotent gods."

"So ask for everything, and ask for all difficulties."

"Standing in the shrine is a new god, who was born in response to the prayers of all living beings. He has eight faces, facing the kingdoms of the sky, the underground purgatory, and the pure land on earth. He has everything that one expects to find. There are also three eyes that look at people separately. , demon."

This is too powerful.

Kurokawa looked a little strange.

"Do you think it's too powerful?"

Monk Dayou asked him with a smile.

"It's just a power to wield—it may be so in the future, but right now it's just a weak god in form."

"Originally, the shrine prospered for a period of time, but wars broke out, and the villagers had no choice but to abandon the shrine and move to other places, and their belief in the gods was gradually decreasing."

"One day, a passing tourist rested in the shrine and saw his divine body, so he made a wish, to the effect of praying for peace and the like."

"The god may have longed for faith for too long, and then revealed his true body—that is an incomparably majestic form—but it cannot be accepted by humans."

"Three eyes on eight faces."

"How can humans recognize the form of gods?"

"The passer-by was scared to death, but in response to the believer's wish, the god revealed a huge body that could cover the mountains, and watched the believer from afar."

"This is the blessing of the gods."

"However, after the traveler went down the mountain, he was still in shock and told what happened to him on the mountain. Others asked him, what kind of monster is that?"

"When a traveler slaps his head, he has eight faces and three eyes—let's call it three eyes and eight faces."

"A monster named Sanmu Bamian was born."

"Whenever gods appear in the mountains and forests to protect travelers, those people say that monsters come out to parade in all directions."

Heichuan squatted down and wiped the dust on the snake-shaped mountain god with his hands. Monk Otomo said that when humans believe in mountain gods, they call them gods, and when they don't believe in them, they are snake demons.

The distance between gods and monsters is only a thin line, switching between human thoughts upside down.

It's too awful.

He doesn't want to be like this.

2.

The two of them walked out of the forest and came to a city town with a thriving population. It looked similar to a village. Everyone was farming at sunrise and resting at sunset, and walked towards the distant fields with hoes on their shoulders.

Although it's called a castle town, it doesn't have any intersection with the distant castle, it's just placed near the castle.

Monk Otomo was an experienced person, and after entering the castle town, he only asked two or three times if anyone inside was trapped by monsters.

"Are you a monster? There are no monsters around here, maybe monsters dare not come to a place with a thriving population."

"However, a caravan stopped here the day before yesterday. I heard that it should have left long ago."

After saying goodbye to the villagers, the two walked towards the place where the caravan stopped.

The caravan stopped near an inn. The inn was just remodeled by the residents of the village. It was originally just the most ordinary dwelling.

"Do you still remember the dog god method?"

Monk Dayou asked.

"In the method of expelling the dog god, two Yi women are required to be extradited as the dog god's possessor."

"But this should not be the responsibility of ordinary people."

Monk Otomo clapped his hands: "There was an anecdote in the Heian era, the onmyoji Abe Seimei fought with the Harima mage."

"When the Harima master came to the door for the first time, Abe used an onmyoji to cover the figures of the two boys beside the master, so that the master could not see them."

"So the sorcerer said——please release them quickly, without the boy, I can't use spells."

"Those two boys are Dharma-protecting boys in secret religion, and they are possessed by low-level family gods."

Speaking of this, the monk Dayou finally said: "To be honest, I will follow along the next step, and I still have something to ask for."

"I am a monk of the Esoteric religion. Although I practice in the mountains and forests, I still have to perform the magic of the Esoteric religion."

Although Kurokawa is wearing a monk's robe, it is just a spoil after winning the game. He does not want to really believe in gods and Buddhas, or he is not interested in any beliefs.

"No, no, that's not necessary."

Hearing Kurokawa's attitude, Monk Otomo waved his hands quickly.

"It's just to borrow your strength."

"The scriptures for casting spells, the guardian boy, and the gait, these are enough to make the spell successful."

"Don't you need faith?"

Kurokawa asked.

Monk Dayou nodded and said, "No need."

Heichuan said: "Isn't the so-called mantra like praying to the gods?"

Monk Dayou replied, "Maybe it was true in the past."

"Before?"

Monk Dayou nodded, "Witches, priests, and monks before peace must be sincere when casting spells... But since the appearance of Onmyoji, this process has changed."

"The gods still exist, but they don't need to beg but can... borrow directly."

Monk Dayou thought for a while, and made a gesture of eating, "Wash your hands, pick up the chopsticks, and put rice into the bowl."

"Washing your hands is a ritual, chopsticks are a tool, and holding rice is a curse."

"After everything is prepared, rice can always be caught, but it depends on the individual's ability."

"The process of casting a spell is like eating, and does not require a response from the gods."

Kurokawa asked.

"What if the gods don't want to."

Monk Dayou shook his head: "Not really."

"Whether the gods respond or not, the power is there."

3.

Monk Dayou is a monk with a story.

Just listen to the many stories he tells.

It seems that they have a good reputation in the Kanto area. As soon as the two of them stood at the entrance of the inn, the caravan staff immediately ran into the inner room to call for the head of the caravan.

The head of the caravan ran out of the house, earnestly hoping that Monk Dayou would escort them for a ride.

Monk Dayou asked, "Where are you going?"

The businessman wiped his sweat: "We want to pass through the Hakone Mountains."

Monk Dayou's face darkened: "It's not a good place to go out there."

"That's what you said." The businessman kept nodding.

"We didn't want to cross the Hakone Mountains at first, but it was just an urgent order from the master above. I'm just a shopkeeper, so naturally I will follow the orders of the master."

"Let me think about it."

Monk Otomo bid farewell to the shopkeeper, turned around, walked into the room with Kurokawa, and started discussing.

"This is a troublesome job."

Monk Otomo painted a mountain range in Sagami and Izu.

"The Hakone Mountains have spirits since ancient times."

"But what's more important is the barrier that Soun Hojo set up earlier when he invaded Odawara."

"This is a battle that took place at Hojo and Uesugi's home. At that time, Hojo Soun entered the Hakone Mountains in the name of hunting, and then exchanged for Fuma Kotaro, the leader of the ninja group who lives in the west of Odawara, Kintoki Mountain Kazama Valley."

"Please ask this ninja leader to set up an enchantment in the Hakone Mountains to prevent any ninjas or local soldiers from entering."

"However, in the eyes of people like us, the enchantment is used to deal with the onmyoji and astrologers of the Uesugi family."

"Make their shikigami unable to see here, and let the stars in the sky hide from here."

"Although the Hojo family won after this stop, the enchantment of the Hakone Mountains has not faded, and combined with the local mountain spirits, a natural labyrinth has been formed."

After finishing speaking, Monk Dayou sighed, "Oh, that shopkeeper seems to be a benefactor who can spend a lot of money."

He slapped his thigh fiercely: "It would be great if I have a guardian boy, even if I don't have a guardian boy, if I can find someone with mysterious abilities, I am willing to act as my extradition temporarily."

"I am willing to share with him [-] points."

"I'm two, he's eight."

Monk Dayou kept sighing, "I haven't been late for rice for a long time."

"If you have money, you can buy a lot of rice."

"It doesn't matter to me, it's just that when someone is still growing up as a teenager, is it really okay?"

Very relevant.

Before he crossed over, Kurokawa and his classmates went to Shikoku for a study trip. At the end of the trip, everyone took a photo to commemorate the event. Because it was a group photo, everyone stood in line according to their height.

Unfortunately, Kurokawa found that he became the last shortest in the class.

You must know how high he was in the class when he first entered the school in the first year of high school.

It's been almost a year and he hasn't grown a centimeter.

Is it because of insufficient nutrition?

Although...Although there was a little accident, Kurokawa didn't think it was caused by that accident.

Because he is still eating, sleeping, moving, and carrying out normal physiological metabolism.

He is still "alive".

Not frozen in a moment of eternal death.

The two hit it off immediately, and immediately hooked their shoulders to find the shopkeeper. Monk Dayou said he had already made a decision.

The shopkeeper was overjoyed after hearing this, and immediately announced that the caravan could start again.

Monk Dayou turned around and was about to introduce Kurokawa to the shopkeeper as the mage who came together.

But seeing the shopkeeper looking Heichuan up and down, he said naturally: "I think this is a mage with a lot of background."

It seems that Kurokawa looks like a good monk.

On the way to the Hakone Mountains, we passed Odawara Castle. This castle is quite different from what we saw just now. It will be distributed under the castle, and the houses in the castle town are also covered by the attack range of the arrow tower and the city wall.

I heard from farmers on the road that once the two armies start a war, they can enter the city to hide from the enemy.

This model was invented by Soun Hojo.

It is said that it has gradually been adopted by several famous names.

The caravan pointed to Odawara Castle and said, "I originally planned to live here temporarily, but because of the ongoing war with the Imagawa and Uesugi families, the castle is closed to guard against spies."

"Our kind of caravan is the primary target of investigation."

Because merchants come and go freely, it has always been an excellent role-playing role for ninjas. When it comes to war, normal merchants like them are also implicated.

After the shopkeeper left, Monk Dayou whispered to him, "Although I said so, before the caravan set off, they were trained as spies."

"Although it is not as cruel as a ninja, it has worked hard in intelligence collection and analysis."

"Back then, the news of many big names preparing for war was discovered by the merchant's sharp eyes."

Monk Otomo said businessman, pointing to Sakai near Osaka.

He said that the merchants there made their fortunes from the Tang ship trade—of course they should be called Ming Chuan now, but Tang Ship has become a catchy name and has become a common name borrowed by everyone.

After each joint trade, you can get no less than five times the profit.

"This kind of profit will be tempting even for big names."

This also caused disputes between the merchants in Sakai and the Hakata Chamber of Commerce in Kitakyushu. The merchants in these two places disputed with each other, and it also caused court turmoil in the late Muromachi period.

After the two of them finished speaking, the shopkeeper came over with an honest and honest face, and asked earnestly, "We can leave now."

However, Kurokawa was looking at him, and he had unknowingly taken on a colored eye. In this era, not only farmers are fierce, but businessmen are also fierce.

On the way to the Hakone Mountains.

Kurokawa and Otomo monk talked about "impermanence".

Monk Dayou said that monsters are feared because they are impermanent.

Unfathomable, imperceptible, sporadic, frightening.

However, Kurokawa thinks that monsters are not so scary compared to humans.

He said that neighbors killed neighbors, lovers killed lovers, and monk Dayou's father and son killed each other.

"Although monsters are terrifying, they are indeed terrifying in form, but the horror of human beings is intangible."

"Exactly." Monk Dayou nodded.

The impermanence of monsters is manifested in the form.

After entering the Hakone Mountains, the caravan became more and more cautious. According to the merchant, they saw a phantom city here last time.

The shopkeeper slapped his thigh: "It was only later that I realized that it was all transformed by monsters."

"I don't know what kind of hardship this time."

Otomo businessman watched as he walked, "I'm afraid Fuma Kotaro, who set up the barrier, can't demolish this place."

As I said before, the Hakone Mountains have spirits.

It is said that there is a Hakone Shrine at the foot of another mountain.

However, due to the decline of Shinto, it has been scattered and sparse in recent years.

As the caravan walked forward, they heard the sound of splashing water, and then a gust of hot and humid moisture rushed towards them.

"Looks like a hot spring."

someone said.

The caravan didn't take this seriously at first, after all, there have been many hot springs in the Hakone Mountains since ancient times.

Immediately afterwards, laughter like silver bells was heard.

It is extremely crisp, and with the sound of clattering, you can draw a picture of bathing in your mind.

But hearing this kind of laughter, no reverie appeared on anyone's face, but a look of panic, very frightened.

After all, how could normal people bathe in such a wild mountain forest?

The shopkeeper hurriedly called the caravan to lead the mules and horses, turned around and walked to another place.

Not long after walking, a small caravan came in front of them, about a dozen mules and horses, and the mules were carrying goods on their backs. The shopkeeper of the small caravan was well dressed and looked nervous at first. After seeing them, he was relieved and walked towards him. Come, say hello first, "Hello."

"Where are you going?" the shopkeeper of the small caravan asked again.

"Going to Suruga, how about you?"

The shopkeeper of the caravan was about to discuss a few more words, but was stopped by the monk Dayou, who scolded angrily, and threw the Buddhist beads at the businessman, and the businessman and the caravan turned into an afterimage.

The shopkeeper was in a cold sweat with his work.

"I didn't expect the monster to pretend to be so similar."

"What did you notice?"

The shopkeeper turned around and asked Monk Dayou.

Monk Dayou shook his head.

Answer honestly, "I didn't notice anything."

"It's just that it's strange to see that the other party's body is too clean, and there is no mud under his feet."

The shopkeeper suddenly realized, and then said: "A monster is a monster, and it is still not as good as a human being."

After escaping this time, the shopkeeper greeted the guys and let the guys move on.

Monk Dayou stepped back and came to the side of Heichuan, "I'm afraid the one here is not a monster."

"what is that?"

"It's a mountain spirit. A spirit that has lived in the mountains since ancient times."