He glanced back at Mitsui Kenji in the car, noticing the man wasn't paying attention to him.
Then, the Sky Priest Jiutian cautiously approached the Grand Priest Wanzhang, intending to explain the subtle wrongness he had just discovered.
"Wanzhang-san, I've found a troublesome matter."
At that moment, Grand Priest Wanzhang, his eyes narrowed slightly as he faced Kiyomizu-dera, was lost in his thoughts, in a state of daydreaming.
Suddenly, Jiutian's voice, laced with the sounds of gunfire, jolted Wanzhang from his reverie. He irritably turned his head to face Jiutian, asking with displeasure, "Can you shut up? I don't want to hear your foolish voice."
Upon hearing Wanzhang's words, Jiutian naturally understood that he should remain silent.
However, he felt his discovery was significant.
So, he leaned closer to Wanzhang's ear, lowering his voice, and insisted, "Wanzhang-san, this is not as we expected. Mitsui hasn't used the power of the Dragon Rune Compass. This..."
But Wanzhang didn't let him finish. He immediately turned his head, cutting off Jiutian's words.
"Fool, I prepared these weapons."
Given Wanzhang's deep cunning, he had naturally anticipated the issue Jiutian had just discovered from the very beginning.
Yet, he hadn't expected that the usually dim-witted Jiutian would notice such a thing. Wanzhang felt a flicker of satisfaction.
That was why he offered that reply.
However, upon hearing Wanzhang's response, Jiutian froze.
"Huh?" His face was filled with confusion; he couldn't comprehend Wanzhang's meaning at all.
He had been talking about Mitsui Kenji not using the Dragon Rune Compass's power.
Why... was Wanzhang replying that he had prepared the weapons?
Seeing Jiutian's idiotic expression, Wanzhang felt helpless. He explained with a tone of disappointment, as if wishing he could forge the boy into something better, "I did all the work, from planning to deployment. Mitsui Kenji had no part in it. Therefore, the situation is still within my control. Don't interfere too much."
"Wanzhang-san, why is this? If you do this, won't our objective be unfulfilled? Won't all our efforts over these past few days be merely preparing dowry for Mitsui Kenji? Won't we have exerted ourselves but gained nothing?"
However, after hearing Wanzhang's explanation, Jiutian's confusion only grew. He eagerly pressed Wanzhang with a barrage of questions.
Wanzhang, upon hearing Jiutian's questions, felt a pang of pain in his chest from sheer exasperation.
This time, Wanzhang did not hold back with Jiutian. He raised his hand and slapped him twice on the head.
The sudden slaps stunned Jiutian completely.
Rubbing his slightly throbbing head, Jiutian asked Wanzhang, aggrieved and confused, "Wanzhang-san, why did you hit me?"
Wanzhang could no longer stand Jiutian's stupidity, especially since Mitsui Kenji was not present at the moment.
Therefore, he no longer spoke in veiled terms with Jiutian. Instead, he spoke directly, in the most straightforward manner.
"You truly are an idiot. Do you honestly believe these heavy weapons can deal with that Chen Tianjiao?"
Upon hearing Wanzhang's question, Jiutian became even more perplexed.
He helplessly scratched his hair and asked Wanzhang with great confusion,
"Can't they...?"
At this point, Wanzhang felt his words had been direct enough.
Yet, to his utter surprise, even after speaking so plainly, Jiutian still didn't understand.
So, he decided to take a risk and lower his voice, hoping to enlighten the incredibly foolish Jiutian!
The reason Wanzhang decided to take this risk was that he did not want Mitsui Kenji to hear his true intentions!
After all, Wanzhang was unsure whether Mitsui Kenji, amidst the deafening roar of gunfire, still possessed the ability to hear their conversation.
Therefore, he was taking a gamble!
"Fine, I'll make you understand now." After glancing around, Wanzhang said through gritted teeth to Jiutian.
"Not only will it fail to kill him, but it will also enrage him completely! Think about it, with Chen Tianjiao's strength, would it be difficult for him to find his way here after escaping?"
"And look, Mitsui Kenji is already impatient to go to Kiyomizu-dera! Their confrontation is inevitable!"
"It is precisely because of this bombardment that Chen Tianjiao will become enraged. He will then unleash his full power, and Mitsui will be forced to use the power of the Dragon Rune Compass. Only then will they engage in a duel that disregards everything!"
Upon hearing Wanzhang's words, Jiutian, who had been bewildered numerous times that day, was once again thrown into confusion.
Several seconds later, as the sounds of gunfire began to subside, Jiutian finally understood Vice-Officer Wanzhang's meaning.
At this, Jiutian, his voice trembling, gave Wanzhang a thumbs-up!
"Shasi... Shasi Goyi!"
Seeing that Jiutian was no longer being foolish, Wanzhang felt much better.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, observing the situation.
Then, he made a shushing gesture to Jiutian and whispered,
"Hush! Don't make a sound. Don't let Mitsui hear. Control your facial expressions. After the attack ends, you don't want Mitsui Kenji to notice anything amiss..."
...
Meanwhile, on the mountain behind Kiyomizu-dera.
Chen Fan was hiding behind a tree, gazing at Kiyomizu-dera, which had been reduced to ruins by the bombing.
"Baka! Baka! Wanzhang and the others... they actually did it!" Standing behind Chen Fan, Kashima Yujō was angrily pounding the tree, tears welling up in his enraged eyes.
Chen Fan snapped back to attention, glanced at him, and shook his head helplessly.
Then, he turned his gaze to the more than a dozen martial arts experts who were currently in shock. Speaking in fluent Sakura language, he said,
"Hey, you guys saw it, right? This is your priest."
"Why... why did it happen like this!"
"Mr. Chen, thank you very much!"
"This time was truly a close call! Thank you so much..."
"..."