Chapter 306
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Chapter 306: Feasting With the Hundred Demons
"I’ll be back in a little while," Bai Wei said,
"What?"
Kokonohana Nori couldn’t quite hear, but she saw Bai Wei raise his hand, as if tearing open a curtain, and then he disappeared from sight.
She reached out to grab, but only touched empty air.
The funeral attendant was shocked for a moment. Was this a barrier?
It seemed to be very advanced, and yet I hadn’t noticed. But… how did he manage to do it?
He raised his hand and tore open the barrier, without causing any disturbance to the barrier itself.
Just an ordinary warrior?
Kokonohana Nori, holding her mask, said, "Ming Country folks don’t deceive fellow Ming Country folks, but is it permissible to deceive people from Yingzhou, isn’t it?"
…
Bai Wei tore open the barrier and stepped into another realm.
Yingzhou, this place, is quite special. As a famous worldview once said, the mystery of island countries tends to fade away slowly.
In the land that can be perceived as a vast lake, the waters ebb and flow, influenced by the streams, clouds, and rain. It fluctuates, but it has never run dry.
And the island country is equivalent to a regular small pond, easily subject to changes with the passage of time, mysteriously rising and falling, unintentionally exposing the bottom of the pond.
However, because the bottom of the pond itself is uneven and filled with ridges and valleys, in certain mountain gullies, some water may still remain without completely drying out.
The temple was small, with strong winds blowing, and the pond was shallow with many snapping turtles.
Compared to the distinct geographical boundaries of the two continents in the East and West, on the Yingzhou side, there exist several peaks with a different folk legend. The mysterious decline varies depending on the location, and the multiple spatial characteristics are not intentionally created, but rather a certain feature that was originally present in this place. Time and space have a degree of overlapping and distortion, akin to a natural depression transformed into a reservoir.
Bai Wei sensed something as he stepped into this place.
The abyss is a product of overlapping time and space. As soon as he stepped into it, he felt a sense of loss because his own timeline was not aligned.
But the feeling here was much gentler.
He looked around, and the surroundings were not as lively as the outdoor temple fair. Everything was dimly colored, and the lanterns emitted a bluish-green hue. The air was filled with demonly lights and a hazy mist. There were very few pedestrians on the streets.
Bai Wei, wearing a mask he purchased from the temple fair, concealed his human presence and entered a state of deep meditation. His heartbeat slowed to just once per minute, and his body entered a dormant state, relying solely on his spirit to drive his physical form.
He used to be very skilled at this kind of play, playing dead was very effective. However, his current spiritual power was far weaker than before; playing like this was still somewhat dangerous.
At most, he could hold on for about ten minutes. He couldn’t hold on any longer, as his heart would really stop if he did.
On the way, a one-eyed demon bumped into his shoulder, simply glanced at him, and took a sniff of the scent.
"Hmph, turns out he’s a dead person," it grumbled with a gloomy tone.
Bai Wei started to stroll along the street, when suddenly an event unfolded, pointing towards the next target area.
[Fifty meters ahead, turn right… Please watch out for the trash on the ground and don’t speed.]
Following the immoral navigation, Bai Wei continued straight ahead and arrived at a marketplace.
It was less of a marketplace, and more of a cafeteria.
From a distance, two large red lanterns hung, but inside, the flames were a creepy shade of green.
[The navigation has come to an end]
Bai Wei stood at the entrance and noticed a strong aura of darkness, evil, and magical energy in the air.
He was left dumbfounded, not out of fear, but sheer astonishment.
Think about the characters Bai Wei has fought before: gangsters, followers of evil gods, murderers, even cannibals. But strangely, he hasn’t encountered many genuine supernatural monsters. And now, he found himself right at their hideout.
Looking around, there were green-faced beasts with fangs, long tongues, and scales for claws. There were water spirits, fire spirits, demonly warriors, demon-like beings, and even terrifying monsters. They came in all sorts of strange shapes, but not a single one resembled a human. What an eerie place, forbidding any living soul to enter.
Bai Wei raised an eyebrow, finding it quite intriguing.
Outside, people were holding a ceremony to worship the mountain god and water god. The temple fair lasted for a full five nights, bustling with excitement and attracting many visitors.
And on the other side of a time and space barrier, supernatural monsters and creatures were gathered, eagerly awaiting their feast to begin.
The fact that so many kinds of demons and monsters were gathered here was absolutely unusual.
I have arrived at the right place.
He stays in Edo all year round, a gathering place for people, so it’s rare to see supernatural monsters, just like people wouldn’t inexplicably run to the African savannah seeking death. Occasionally, one might see tigers and grizzly bears on the streets, but that’s in Russia, and if these bears ever come in, they would be beaten to death.
Bai Wei entered the place. Just as he had entered, he was stopped by a sword-wielding demon.
"Stop, where are you from? Why haven’t I seen you before?"
This sword-wielding demon was quite cautious. It didn’t sense any demonly or malicious aura emanating from Bai Wei, so it had its doubts.
The water demon at the nearby table shouted, "Yeah, where do you think you’re from?"
Bai Wei replied, "My name is Bai Qi, and I am a zombie."
The sword-wielding demon exclaimed, "Nonsense! Your body is so flexible, you don’t look like a zombie at all."
"Because I do half an hour of flexibility exercises every night, my body remains the same as when I was alive. Zombies are half-dead creatures anyway, and I can even venture into the human world like this." Bai Wei tapped on his mask with a joyful expression. "See? I just bought this at the night market and came back after strolling around. I’m asking you, do you have enough courage?"
"Tsk, what’s the point of showing off? It seems like you’ve only recently died. Let bygones be bygones," grumbled the sword-wielding demon irritably. "You’re so late, you must have been lingering outside for too long. But coming last means you might not even get a bone later!"
Bai Wei made his way through the crowd of demons, and the living person ventured into the midst of the demonly gathering. Although he stood firmly, his heart couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
Because he was a living person, if his identity was exposed, he would have to get rid of all the monsters and demons here!
This meant that there would be no way to continue watching the excitement and finding out the news.
Just like playing a stealth and assassin game, you could simply slash your way through, but the system encourages you to be stealthy. Going through the game without a trace, following the game’s design step by step, actually brings a stronger sense of achievement.
Skipping class seems fun for a moment.
Bai Wei found a corner to sit down, next to a hanged demon with a long tongue that spoke with a pronounced lisp. After a few words, the spirit had to roll up its tongue and stuff it back in, but it was also a big-mouthed spirit that loved to gossip with nearby demons, spewing words that painted the faces of nearby spirits in a blood red mess.
He greeted the person proactively, saying, "Hey there, buddy! Where are you from?"
"Kyoto."
"Why did the Kyoto demon come here?"
"Of course, I came here to join the feast. Such a grand and lively event cannot be missed," the hanged demon suddenly perked up and introduced itself. "Back in the day, I conquered the world alongside Lord Hideyoshi. But after a failed expedition to the cold peninsula, and upon my return to Japan, Lord Hideyoshi lost power. I refused to align with the Tokugawa Shogunate, and as a result, I ended up being hanged."
Bai Wei was puzzled and asked, "What is the inevitable connection here?"
"Of course there is a connection, I died because of Bushido!"
"Then shouldn’t you be a demon who performed seppuku? Why were you hanged?" Bai Wei asked in response.
On the side, the blue demon monk laughed heartily and said, "You’ve noticed too, right? This guy was clearly hanged, yet he claims to have died for Bushido. In fact, he attempted to join the Tokugawa Shogunate but failed, and was hanged as a traitor. Rumor has it that he was even a retainer of Sanada Yukimura. How embarrassing!"
The hanged demon sprayed green demon with a face full of bloody foam, about to spew vulgar words, but accidentally bit his tongue and abruptly stopped. Afterwards, he rolled up his tongue and put it back inside.
Bai Wei scratched his head and asked, "I have just arrived, what are we going to do next?"
"What else can we do? It’s time for a meal," said the blue demon monk. "But we’re a little late, so we might not get much of the good meat. The best cuts will probably be snatched up by the demons in the front row. Hmph."
The hanged demon glanced at Bai Wei and casually asked, "Are you here to join in the fun? This gathering of a hundred demons has attracted many supernatural beings, it’s said that a few powerful demons have even come."
"The banquet of a hundred demons?" Bai Wei was taken aback and deliberately acted ignorant as a way of testing the waters. "I just heard that I could come here and have a free meal."
"You’re not wrong," replied the hanged demon. "The Hundred Demons Party is organized by the gathering of a hundred demons, so it’s only fair to offer a free meal." He licked his teeth and expressed little doubt. "However, what we have now are just appetizers. The real feast with the best dishes and meals will be waiting for us three days from now."
"Three days from now? Isn’t that the worship of the Mountain God and the Water God?" Bai Wei added, "That’s what people are saying outside."
"Hahaha, do you actually believe these demon stories?" laughed the hanged demon, slapping his thigh mockingly. "Three days from now, both the Mountain God and the Water God will cease to exist. By then, the gates of the Underworld Valley will open, and we demons will be able to travel directly to the human world. The entire mountain below will become ours… What was that word again?"
"Buffet," the green demon monk remarked with a sigh. "It has been many years since I last attended a Hundred Demons Banquet. There’s no doubt that there will be rivers of blood flowing that night!"
"You’re right, I want to see rivers of blood!" exclaimed the hanged demon, wiping his mouth. "Just thinking about it makes me drool."
"You never stopped drooling for a second!" the green demon cursed.
Bai Wei thought to himself that these two demons were quite talkative. After some back and forth, they had said everything they wanted to say.
Indeed, worshiping the Mountain God and the Water God was not as simple as it seemed. Their goal was to open the path to the Underworld and commence the grand feast of the Hundred Ghosts.
How does the Hundred Demons Party work? But who are the Hundred Demons?
"I have heard of the Hundred Demons Party, but I have never seen them," Bai Wei cautiously inquired, "Have you?"
"Those who join the Hundred Demons Party are powerful demons, and it is said that they can freely travel in the underworld. You’re in luck, because there’s one right here," the hanged demon patted Bai Wei on the shoulder, pointing to the butcher stall in the center of the cafeteria. "The chubby butcher who will be in charge of the slaughter later is a member of the Hundred Demons Party. What was his name again?"
The green demon added, "Smiling Buddha."
"Ah yes, that person is a powerful monster. If you want to join the Hundred Demons Party, you need to show exceptional skills."
"I’m just here to earn a meal," Bai Wei waved his hand.
The green demon said, "That’s right, come over to enjoy a free meal."
Afterwards, he touched his empty and deflated belly. "But just saying that, I’m starting to feel a bit hungry. I’ll wait for tonight’s appetizer. Hey, I heard it’s two shrine maidens. Tender and delicate, they make the perfect dish to accompany my drink."
Bai Wei:"sword witch?"
At that moment, a demon shouted, "The main course is here!"
All the demons and monsters licked their teeth as they looked towards the source of the sound.