Chapter 227: Chapter 102: Family Letter, Supreme Solitude, Incense Amidst the Path

...

... 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The Drought Demon is dead, yet the mystery remains.

Although the drought hasn’t completely ceased, it has gradually subsided.

A robust Arhat stepped forward barefooted, soared to a high place, and proclaimed in a powerful voice: "The Buddha has vanquished the demon, the Drought Demon is eliminated. Those with sincerity should burn three sticks of incense, bow to the Buddha, and pray for rain."

Half a day later...

To the surprise of all, the capital was indeed filled with incense burning ceremonies.

The rising incense smoke tore open a world of golden light, revealing the seated headless Great Buddha.

Li Xuan felt like a fish returning to water.

Amidst the swirling incense fog, he used the Demon Technique "Calling the Wind" and wished for rain.

After a long time, and then some more, a wind suddenly blew across the dry, hot land. The sky turned gray-blue, and raindrops began to fall. At first, they were warm, but gradually cooled.

The rain poured for a long time...

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister and his entourage had just arrived at the southern outskirts of the capital.

The journey from the Hundred Flowers Mansion to the capital itself takes nearly ten days.

At this time, the Prime Minister’s group was traversing the cracked red desert, but then the rain from the sky dissolved the heat and dryness.

The Prime Minister’s clothes were soaked, his wet white hair clinging to his forehead and neck. He looked up, squinted, opened his mouth to taste the sweetness of the rainwater, smiled, and said, "The Buddha has prevailed."

The other Secret Martial Artists also showed expressions of joy.

The Prime Minister faced the sky, experiencing the rain.

In that moment, he understood... the Demon Buddha, once a mortal enemy of the Great Yin, had genuinely become a protector deity. At least for the entire Shannan region.

Collaborating with demons and spirits, he felt both excited and moved.

He opened his eyes, swung his whip, and said, "Let’s go! Follow this old man into the city!"

...

...

Yan Fujing did not see the Demon Buddha.

No one saw the Demon Buddha.

But everyone knew it was the Demon Buddha who resolved the Drought Demon, called the wind and rain, and ended the drought.

Li Xuan claimed to be in the incense trade.

Therefore, he was very disciplined.

He drove away the unprecedented great demon with fierce winds and thunderous might and left without leaving a trace, never easily showing himself before mortals.

Without revealing himself or speaking, he was the mysterious and powerful Buddha.

Anyone who thought of him would recall him driving away terrifying sea demons in the East Sea and slaying the Drought Demon about to massacre the capital.

As a deity, a ruler, or a general, the most important thing was not to let anyone see through your truth.

If Li Xuan revealed his power to others, they would be astonished and frightened, but they would also realize, "Oh, so he’s just at that level, just a more powerful monster."

But now, in everyone’s eyes... Buddha is high and mighty.

How high?

No one knows.

Thus, there is supreme revered status.

...

...

The supreme Demon Buddha was, once again, without a home.

He returned to Red Flower Mountain, bathed in incense, watching his family at Prince Qing’s Mansion.

Then he went to Xinci Temple for meals.

After his meal, he took some fine wine from the offerings of various large households at Xinci Temple, leaned against a tree, listened to the cicadas during the day and frogs at night, drank three jars of wine, and slept soundly for a while, embodying the dissolute vagabond attitude.

Don’t all people need a home?

Without a home, always a wanderer outside.

Currently, Li Xuan was like a giant dragon placed in a fragile wooden nest, with little reason for that wood to survive intact.

Not to mention the fire poison unintentionally emanating from him. If even a tiny bit were inhaled by Tian Yuan or Zhao Qingxue, it would be deadly to both mother and child.

But this was Cyan Wood Province territory.

Although Li Xuan could not return, he could easily send letters home and could always watch over his wife and mother, observing them coming and going, worshiping the Buddha figures at the shrine for peace; watching the two women discuss each other’s unborn child, listening to fetal movements, laughing joyfully, not feeling lonely; seeing his mother take fresh ingredients, cooking carefully for her daughter-in-law and future grandchildren.

Often he smiled while watching.

However, despite the warmth, Li Xuan soon realized another problem arose.

He was a healthy and normal man who naturally developed certain desires over such a long time.

Unfortunately, he found temporarily nothing could withstand engaging with him.

His mood began to sour.

...

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister returned.

Upon his return, the Prime Minister immediately went to Xinci Temple to report to the Buddha.

Across the two provinces of Shannan, grand temples could be built to worship the Buddha.

...

Soon, the incense in Luoshui Province also flourished.

Li Xuan first wandered around Qing River, and having found no demons, decided to visit Luoshui Province to see if there were any demons.

Li Xuan encountered a problem.

To solve the problem, he needed more Demon Points.

...

Golden Autumn.

Li Zhili participated in this autumn’s exams in Cyan Wood Province.

Meanwhile, Master Li led people across Qing River, following the old path Tian Yuan took last year, arriving at Yunmeng Province to trade with the Pole Star Commerce Association.

Box after box of Firefly Fragrance was unloaded in exchange for gold and silver.

Upon Master Li’s return, the Pole Star Commerce Association swiftly transported the Firefly Fragrance to the coast.

This time, however, it wasn’t at the Qing River and East Sea junction but the southern sea of Yunmeng Province.

A deep black Great Tuo emerged from the seabed, devouring the old ox transporting goods for the Pole Star Commerce Association.

On the Tuo’s back, an elegantly dressed, stately old fox called out to the Commerce Association’s delivery president, speaking in the language of the Great Yin, asking, "Has anything happened recently in the Great Yin?"

The president reported accurately; nothing compared to Xinci Temple’s rise, and that temple’s Buddha slaying the Drought Demon, spreading legendary fame.

The stately old fox merely nodded upon hearing.

The Pole Star Commerce Association president flatteringly asked, "Should we... do something about the Li family..."

The stately old fox shook his head, saying, "Do not engage in anything you should not do, just keep a close watch on events happening in this land. Conduct good business with the Li family commerce, not limited to Firefly Fragrance but other goods as well."

The Pole Star Commerce Association president respectfully said, "Familiarize first, then infiltrate, and gather information?"

The stately old fox replied, "You conduct business northward, your senses should naturally extend northward, there is no need to pry into their affairs."

"Understood," the Pole Star Commerce Association president said and respectfully withdrew.

The old fox returned to the Tuo’s back.

The black Tuo grumbled fiercely, "He made me use up the Mou’s beans!"

The old fox said, "What’s used is used; if not used, he’d have pulled out your intestines."

The black Tuo was somewhat unresigned.

The old fox said, "No need to be grudging, even the king of kings dare not return to the Incense Fire Divine Realm; no one knows what happened there, no one knows what the Demon Buddha is, so let’s wait and see. Everyone is curious."

...

Appendix: Numerous relatives and friends visit, many carriages and horses, so here’s this amount of text for now.