Master of Ten Thousand Foxes

Miyamoto Rokuzo’s expression didn’t change as he quickly organized his words.

"Our ninjas and wandering samurai from the Sakura Region derive their strength from relentless practice day after day, year after year, unrelated to deities and spirits.

"Our Yin Yang Masters and Divine Attendant Witches serve many gods, and have numerous sects, making it impossible to generalize."

Bai Mo’s expression was cold, and he didn’t say much.

Miyamoto Rokuzo also stopped discussing this issue, instead putting on a smile and starting to make random connections.

"...We’ve long heard that the Brain Protection Nasal Inhaler, Vine Silk Healing Patch, and Traitor’s Wine developed in the Jiuzhou Region all have miraculous effects..."

His flattery made Committee Member Gu Lin and others beam with joy, joining him in boasting.

As they boasted, he mentioned his own Miyamoto Family, which inherited the lineage of the Eight-headed sect of Yin Yang Masters.

When talking about this lineage, Miyamoto Rokuzo held his head high, full of pride.

"The Eight-headed lineage entered the world during chaos and transcended it during prosperity, protecting the Sakura Region for nearly a thousand years.

"Many people believe that the Eight-headed Giant Serpent is Japan’s great demon, a terrifying specter.

"But this is misinformation, a mistaken view.

"The Eight-headed Giant Serpent has always been a symbol of mystery, strength, and nobility.

"The Eight-headed Giant Serpent originated in Jiuzhou, and is the younger brother of the divine beast Xiangliu!"

Eight-headed Giant Serpent?

Xiangliu’s younger brother?

Just because they’re both snakes, Xiangliu has nine heads, Eight-headed has eight heads, does this mean Eight-headed is Xiangliu’s younger brother?

Bai Mo had a strange expression.

Committee Member Gu Lin almost spat out his tea, and after forcing it down, a few coughs escaped, unable to hold it in.

What is Miyamoto Rokuzo implying?

Is he using bait-and-switch in mythology?

Is he discontent with the Eight-headed Giant Serpent’s bad reputation, and trying to associate the Eight-headed sect with a better-sounding, cleaner ancestor?

Miyamoto Rokuzo spoke eloquently, without any shame.

"This is not baseless talk.

"Since childhood, I have loved reading my family’s collection of books, and once saw in the yellowing pages a record of the ancestral court of the Eight-headed sect.

"The Eight-headed Giant Serpent was originally the divine beast Xiangliu, sent to the human world as a guardian god!

"This fact is documented in inscriptions on stone steles in the ancestral court.

"Later, when Jiuzhou stabilized, the Eight-headed Giant Serpent had no place in battle, so it crossed to the Sakura Region to protect it.

"And that ancestral court is in the West State.

"On Niu Bi Mountain of the West Ridge Mountain Range, at the Cyan Dragon Pan Temple.

"The most important purpose of our visit this time is to return to the ancestral court, to pay homage!"

Bai Mo was dazed by all he heard.

Instinctively, he glanced at Committee Member Gu Lin, only to see that Gu Lin had already looked up the relevant information on his phone, pushing it across the table for Bai Mo to glance at.

After a glance, Bai Mo was even more confused...

Cyan Dragon Pan Temple is indeed an ancient temple, with a history of six to seven hundred years.

But the temple is deep in the mountains, too remote and too far away. Besides people from the ancient architecture protection department occasionally visiting, no one else goes there.

After all, West State has plenty of ancient sites, sites that are more beautiful, more fun, and older. That decrepit temple simply doesn’t get a ranking.

There is indeed a mural in that temple, depicting a giant serpent with eight heads descending from the heavens.

But... it turns out... the buildings, walls, stone steps, and wells in the temple are all from six to seven hundred years ago, all unquestionably ancient. Only the stone wall with the mural was carved twenty years ago when they attempted to develop tourism resources, and had a stone mason carve it.

Originally intending to carve the nine-headed Xiangliu... but the stone quality was poor, and the mason, a novice, had shaky hands, ruining the stone wall, leading to a poor final outcome with only eight heads carved. Anyway, that tourism development failed, and nobody cared about a Xiangliu with one less head, so it was left there. Over the years, it weathered harsh winters and scorching summers, faced wind and sun, becoming battered and blurred, covered in sand and moss. Even the evidence of the one head that was carved wrong is completely indiscernible now.

Then Miyamoto Rokuzo took out a few photos, full of lament.

"This is from an ancient book in my family, where it is clearly recorded that the ancestral court is outside West State, on Niu Bi Mountain, at the Cyan Dragon Pan Temple.

"And this Cyan Dragon Pan Temple is an ancient temple that existed about a thousand years ago.

"Look at this photo, it’s the temple’s stone inscriptions; the stone wall, having endured a thousand years of erosion, now looks blurred, covered in sand and moss, yet you can still see the majestic, god-like Eight-headed Giant Serpent carved on it!"

Miyamoto Rokuzo was tearing up with emotion, full of the profound feeling of finding the ancestral court and returning to one’s roots.

His attendants promptly stood up, distributing the printed materials to the journalists, allowing them to see the ancient book and the photos of Cyan Dragon Pan Temple.

Bai Mo and the others nearby struggled to hold back their laughter, trying not to burst into giggles.

This Miyamoto Rokuzo fabricated connections for the Eight-headed Giant Serpent to an ancestor, discovering this decrepit temple with a carved eight-headed serpent wall in the corner of West State, quickly faked an ancient book, and then organized a delegation, giddily came here to recognize ancestors and pay homage?

Seeing Miyamoto Rokuzo’s uncontrollable tears, Bai Mo and Committee Member Gu Lin tried hard to suppress their laughter.

This kid looks clean and has acting skills, what a waste not to become a movie star!

Bai Mo and Committee Member Gu Lin exchanged a glance, silently agreeing not to expose Miyamoto Rokuzo.

His worldwide quest to tie the Eight-headed Giant Serpent to an ancestor was nothing more than an attempt to deceive more people back in the Sakura Region... Sakura People deceiving Sakura People has nothing to do with Jiuzhou. In fact, they might even want to find the stone mason who messed up Xiangliu back then, carving one less head, and protect him well!