Louie appeared hesitant, as though he was worried about the implications of answering. This calculated response hinted to onlookers that while he indeed had the ability to deal with the situation, he was just unsure if it was appropriate to do so.
Seeing this, the Japanese representatives were naturally overjoyed. The Prime Minister did not care about being reserved anymore and directly and respectfully asked, “Is there a solution that can deal with our country’s crisis? If there is, the Japanese government is willing to cooperate with anything.”
This was human nature. When seeing strong people, they would grovel at their feet, and before the weak, they would happily flex their muscles and oppress them. It was hard to say whether this human characteristic was good or bad. Towards the action of their prime minister, the others did not care as they had no other choices.
In nicer words, this was to undergo self-imposed hardships so as to strengthen one’s resolve to wipe out a national humiliation
Before old man Louie could speak, the Shinto priest he was controlling anxiously said, “Old friend, are you planning to perform the ritual of sacrifice to the spirits and gods? You shouldn’t do this. Even if the summoned being descends, your vitality would be greatly injured.
“That’s why I’m considering things.”
Louie was showing an anxious expression as if he would have to do something more worrisome than punching a thermobaric missile.
He paced two steps in place with his hands behind his back and his head down. He seemed to be calculating something while the Japanese people were looking at him with bated breath. Towards the conversation between the two, they had to pretend to understand even if they didn’t.
In any case, they understood that the Chinese man was planning something big, but this would create huge losses and damages to him.
After a long while, Louie stopped.
“If one of two interdependent things falls, the other is in danger. It is our obligation to destroy these demons and prevent the evil god from descending. If we let the world be scoured by the evil god, our great plan to return would be affected.”
“……”
The Shinto priest was speechless, looked at his old friend, and said indignantly, “I can only blame myself for not being able to return yet. This land has been my place of refuge since ancient times. I should have set up an altar and summoned Amaterasu Omikami to bless us with her divine power. I would have been the one to bear the price for the god’s descent and not you. I never thought that you, my old friend, would have to do it.”
The withered priest revealed an expression of shame and guilt. He waved his long sleeves and said, “No, how could I let my old friend pay the price. These mortals are useless to us and we just wouldn’t be able to return to our homeland. Let them go to their destruction.”
Hearing the Shinto priest’s cruel words, the mortals present felt aghast in their hearts. Just as they had expected, the superhumans do not care about the life and death of mortals.
As for why the Chinese man was so compassionate, anyone with a bit of understanding towards Chinese culture would know. During the Ming Dynasty, Confucianism flourished. Even if the old man did not believe it, he was definitely influenced by it. Confucianism was a culture with the idea of ‘peace under the heavens’ and ‘open-mindedness and righteousness exist in the world’.
After the Shinto priest finished speaking, he saw that the old man seemed to have made up his mind and helplessly sighed, “Since it is your decision, I will not refute it, but I can’t just let you pay the price. Although the mortals can not compensate you, you have your clan behind you. Seeing that this world is now materially developed, even if you do not mind, you should think about the people behind you.”
He once again looked at the Japanese people and said in a deep voice, “I will give you three days to collect ‘aoi’ of this land. Collect as much as you can and use these to compensate my old friend.”
The Shinto priest gave irrefutable orders to the Japanese representatives.
If the Chinese man was the one who said this, the Japanese might still agree to it, but they would be reluctant. But if the Shinto priest, who represented their Gods, said this, they would not have the slightest thought of refusal and would take things for granted.
In the hearts of the Japanese, the Shinto priest was their ancestor who was a master of supernatural powers. Moreover, he even said that he could ask Amaterasu Omikami to descend. Any one of them knew that Amaterasu Omikami was said to be the real ancestor of their first emperor.
“Aoi?”
The Japanese were stunned. They did not know which ‘aoi’ the Shinto priest was referring to.
On the contrary, the representatives of the Chinese side thought carefully and said, “Is it the ‘aoi talked about in the poem 《Odes of Bin – Seventh Month》, the ‘aoi’ enjoying the winds of the seventh month?”
The Shinto priest looked at him and nodded his head, indicating that this was the ‘aoi’ he was talking about.
The people on the Japanese side looked at the Chinese representative with a questioning gaze.
“Lord priest is probably talking about wasabi.”
The man explained.
“Wasabi?”
Hearing this, everyone present was frozen.
Wasabi was indeed called the king of herbs and spices because it was difficult to grow. The price per pound was also extremely high, making it hard for the average person to eat. Although there was the kind mixed with mustard, it was ultimately only a sham.
For the people present, they did not mind how expensive it was, but they were more curious about why the Shinto priest wanted wasabi. They wondered if there was some kind of mysterious element in wasabi that was valued by these superhumans. Perhaps, it could even be compared to those legendary treasures.
For a moment, many people had made a decision to inform their countries to study wasabi and see what mysteries it was hiding.
Moreover, the conversation between the two people revealed more information, such as the existence of a group of people behind the two that still required food and water. It was possible that these masters who possess supernatural powers were successor-like existences of some sect or clan.
The Japanese side also had the same idea, but they quickly agreed to the Shinto priest’s request. Although Japan’s land was small, they pursued quality over quantity. They were absolutely confident in the quality of the vegetables and fruits they grew. Moreover, there was a huge demand for wasabi, so there were many plantations.
‘Didn’t you just want wasabi? We can just give you all the year’s harvest. If this wasabi really has mystical powers then we can just plant it next year. This is not a non-renewable resource.’
After obtaining the Japanese government’s guarantee, Louie relaxed as he accomplished his task. If he had controlled someone rich, there was a limit to obtaining it. Now, the Japanese government was backing him, so there was no issue. There were also representatives of Japanese zaibatsus in the room, so he should soon have enough raw materials.
When he returned to Dragon City, he could turn his spoils into magic potions and create an army of mages. His city would be able to develop and allow him to establish a Dragon God Church!
“Although this old man is at qi refining, I am also an alchemist and quite proficient at the ritual of sacrificing to the spirits and gods. That said, I still need some materials that your side needs to prepare.”
Saying so, Louie dictated a bunch of materials.
The Japanese representatives wrote down all these things while revealing expressions of confusion.
It wasn’t that the materials were precious, but they were very odd. The Chinese man wanted freshly hunted animals, freshly harvested crops, pure hand-made wine, and other materials.
Although these things were odd, they were very easy to find. The Japanese representatives agreed immediately.
“Help this old man find a clean river. Before the ritual begins, this old man needs to bathe and change clothes as a sign of respect to the gods.”
As Louie’s words fell, the Japanese representatives immediately searched for a proper location.
Before leaving the headquarters, Louie suddenly smiled and looked at the American representative who hadn’t spoken a word, “Someone asked, to requite resentment with kindness, what do you think of that? The Master said, with what then will you respond with to kindness? Requite resentment with justice; requite kindness with kindness. But this old man believes more strongly in requiting resentment with resentment.”
The American representative could not understand these ancient words, but the Chinese people who understood and the Japanese people who had similar cultures stayed farther away from the Americans. They were all gloating.
The meaning of the sentence by Confucious was to use righteousness in return against evil deeds. But the Chinese man said that he believed more in returning evil deeds with evil deeds. It seemed that the old man was still holding a grudge against what the United States of America did before.