As it turns out, Zhao Youliang was wrong to blame Dahuang this time; Dahuang acted entirely in self-defense.
To be precise, it was Cao Daxian who provoked him first, which is why he was beaten up by the big yellow dog and brought back.
Of course, Zhao Youliang only understood all of the above through Chang Jie's translation.
After all, he hasn't learned Japanese yet.
While secretly surprised, Zhao Youliang moved a stool over for Cao Daxian to sit down and asked him a question.
"Hey lady, you can just come and stroll around if you want, why are you provoking Brother Dog?"
"Let's make this clear first: I'm poor, so don't try to scam me."
Upon hearing this, Master Cao was filled with shame and anger. He was about to get angry, but then he glanced at the big yellow dog with fear.
Then, feigning strength but lacking substance, he said, "Zhao Youliang, if you're so capable, then stop letting your dog run rampant. Let's settle things between our two gangs."
“Bring out all the immortals, deploy their forces, and fight a real battle.”
Looking at the confident Cao Daxian, Zhao Youliang was stunned, and thought to himself.
Don't you have any idea what kind of strength your own sect has? Last time, we "destroyed" the Wild Boar.
If it weren't for your "burning of books and petitions," which invited the Hu family's "inspector," the ancestral hall might not even exist now!
What's wrong? Have you forgotten the pain once the wound has healed?
Although he despised the other party in his heart, Zhao Youliang did not show it. He was never the kind of person who bullied the weak or was arrogant.
Therefore, he still spoke with a friendly expression: "Sister Cao, our two factions don't have any grudges, do they?"
"Even if there were some misunderstandings in the past, weren't they all resolved through Hu Jiaxian's mediation?"
"If you ask me, let's just forget about it. It's better to keep to ourselves."
However, Zhao Youliang's good intentions were misinterpreted by Cao Daxian as a sign of guilt.
"Hahaha, Mr. Zhao, it seems you already know that a powerful spirit has come to my shrine!"
"To be honest, it was the idea of the new immortals to go and discuss matters with your temple."
"You have to agree to this matter whether you like it or not. There's no room for discussion!"
"A new immortal?" Zhao Youliang was a cautious man, and upon hearing this, he wanted to inquire further.
After all, as the art of war says: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."
Unfortunately, before he could speak, the grasshopper spirit, having heard the commotion, had already floated over noisily.
"Oh dear, you surnamed Cao, do you forget how you were punished?"
"Didn't you get enough of a beating last time?"
"He just wants to practice, right? Quantum agrees!"
"You, surnamed Cao, tell me, are our two families' ancestral halls 'civilian' or 'military'?"
To make it easier for those who haven't read this far to understand, I'll explain the "secret language" used by Taoist priests.
"Pan Dao" refers to two different establishments comparing their strengths.
This kind of thing was very common in our past.
There's a saying that goes: "Man fights for a breath, Buddha fights for a stick of incense."
The same applies to the interactions between shamans.
The Wenpan (文盘) is a method of verifying, through various standards and rituals, whether the other party has a lineage or has received guidance from a renowned teacher.
In other words, it's all about connections and background.
It's similar to the negotiations between older generations of triads in Hong Kong and Taiwan movies.
The "Knocking the Crown in Front of the Hall" is a very representative way of playing the game in the Wenpan.
I won't go into the details of the "crown-knocking ceremony" process here; interested readers can refer to relevant books on shamanic culture.
As for the martial arts board in the divination process, it's not what people think: the literary arts board doesn't reach an agreement, or the negotiations break down completely.
The martial arts contest is actually a competition of real skills, which is a contest of the immortals' cultivation.
In real life, the vast majority of shamans are actually spirit animals.
They are not like the gods we imagine, who can easily fly through the clouds and summon wind and rain.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many examples of shamans being killed by ordinary people.
In reality, most of the time, low-level shamans are more like itinerant craftsmen.
However, their skill lies in negotiating with "ghosts and spirits" to help innocent people escape the harassment of evil spirits.
In the martial arts practices of the older generation of shamans, there are rituals such as eating red dates (holding them in the mouth after burning charcoal until it is red-hot), stroking red chains (stroking them with both hands after burning iron chains until they are red-hot), and scooping large coins from a pot of oil. These are all called martial arts rituals.
In this degenerate age, people rarely see a real martial arts manual anymore.
Even if you do see it, most people will say it's just a trick, a smokescreen to deceive.
......
Cao Daxian clearly knew the grasshopper spirit's evil nature, so he dared not treat him the same way he treated Zhao Youliang.
The saying "A kind person is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden" illustrates this point.
Therefore, Master Cao subconsciously sat up straight while giving a weak and insincere reply.
"No need for the paper offering; I know your temple has Changjiaxian, Huijiaxian, and Huangjiaxian."
"In terms of background and qualifications, our gang concedes defeat!"
"But when we help others settle disputes, we still have to rely on our own abilities. As for the elders of the Chang family, hehe!"
"Our new leader, Qingfeng, said that you can't possibly invite him out, so don't bother trying to scare us!"
Cao Daxian's smug look infuriated the grasshopper spirit.
However, they came to "issue a challenge," and "in a conflict between two countries, the envoy shall not be killed" is a rule that the shamanic guild must abide by.
Therefore, he could only suppress his anger and chuckle coldly: "So you mean Wu Pan?"
"Fine, since you're courting death, it's not my place to stop you, old immortal."
"Just tell us the time and place, and our branch will take care of it!"
"However, there's one thing we need to make clear first: if we're going to get serious, then we have to pay the price."
"So what if you win? So what if you lose!"
Master Cao was clearly prepared for the question about the grasshopper spirit, and therefore answered without hesitation.
"Great! That's exactly what we've been waiting for! If we lose, then there's nothing more to say: the spirits in our shrine are at your disposal."
"Whether we are kept as long-term laborers or directly 'refined pills', we will have no regrets."
"If we win... our demands won't be unreasonable."
"Make Zhao Youliang kowtow to me in front of everyone on the day the temple is completed, to prove that your temple is inferior to mine."
"Then just give up the temple!"
Seeing how confident Master Cao was, Zhao Youliang originally didn't want to agree.
They clearly came prepared; wouldn't it be foolish to agree now?
Moreover, Zhao Youliang had seen similar plots in movies and TV shows many times. If he agreed, he would suffer a loss!
But the grasshopper spirit was already "intoxicated" and made the decision before Zhao Youliang could refuse.
"Alright, it's settled then! Would I be a fool to turn down such a tempting offer?"
"You can decide the specific time and place with Quantum. Old Immortal, I'm washing the pots and boiling water now, waiting to eat the pork hindquarters!"
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