bestfiction Chapter 1256 Lost the First Meeting
Chapter 1256 Lost the First Meeting
“But you,” he looked Sen no Rikyu up and down, his face revealing an undisguised mockery as he gazed at his simple tea master’s robes made of the coarsest linen.
"Dressed so shabbily, and in such a dark little room."
"Anyone who didn't know better would think your family was so poor they couldn't afford to eat."
"You!" Sen no Rikyu was so angry at his insulting words that he trembled all over!
He forcibly suppressed his anger and said coldly, "Since you came here to exchange tea skills, why be so rude and ruin my tea room?"
"To exchange tea ceremony skills?" Upon hearing this, the Chess and Card Buddha let out an even more disdainful sneer.
"With your childish tricks, you think you're worthy to spar with me?"
As he spoke, he casually tossed the dirty gourd in his hand onto the ground.
Then, with great reluctance, he took out the priceless tea bowl from his tattered robe—a bowl that could drive all tea connoisseurs in the world mad.
—A Yohen Tenmoku Bowl!
He tossed that exquisite object, which he considered nothing more than a beautiful little bowl, in front of Sen no Rikyu as if it were trash.
"Here, that lad, I'm bringing it to you."
"He said that this thing is a complete waste in the hands of a pretentious, pseudo-intellectual like you who only knows how to be mysterious."
"Only those who truly understand the great principles of power deserve to possess it."
"Power?" Sen no Rikyu looked at the peerless treasure bowl on the ground, which shimmered in the sunlight like a vast universe.
And then he heard those words in his ear, like the whispers of a devil, full of endless temptation.
He was completely dumbfounded.
He stood there, stunned, his wrinkled old face filled with indescribable shock, bewilderment, and a deep longing that even he himself was unaware of!
right?
Imperial power?
Can a single word decide a person's life or death, or a single thought determine a nation's rise or fall?
This...this is the highest level of tea ceremony?
An unprecedented, massive, and subversive torrent of thought instantly overwhelmed him, shattering his lifelong adherence to the so-called "wabi-sabi" philosophy!
His self-proclaimed "saintly" heart, which he thought was already as still as a deep well and had seen through the illusions of the world, suddenly burned uncontrollably at this moment!
He thought of that mysterious Eastern prince who sat atop the highest point of Azuchi Castle, manipulating the entire Japanese nation with ease.
He thought of himself again.
An old man who can only hide in this tiny tea room, barely two stories high, relying on those vague "rules" and "tastes" to maintain his pitiful "saintly" dignity.
The difference is obvious when compared!
He lost.
He suffered a crushing defeat.
His so-called "wabi-sabi" philosophy pales in comparison to the supreme "imperial power" that truly controls the life and death of others.
It seems so ridiculous and vulnerable!
"puff--"
A mouthful of bright red blood suddenly gushed out of his mouth!
His aged and hunched body could no longer support him, and his already riddled mental world collapsed.
With a "thud," he fell heavily to the ground.
Those cloudy old eyes stared intently at the bowl on the ground, as if mocking his ignorance and insignificance.
His eyes were filled with endless resentment, regret, and a hint of crazy longing!
He knew he was finished.
Everything he had built up in his lifetime was utterly crushed today by this mysterious conqueror from the distant East.
And just then.
The disheveled monk, whom he saw as a devil, once again staggered up to him.
He looked down at him, a strange smile, full of pity and mockery, appearing on his cynical face.
“Old man,” his voice rang out slowly, like a merciless iron hammer, striking Sen no Rikyu’s already shattered heart.
"That kid even asked me to pass on one last message to you."
"He said he wanted to learn?"
"If you want to learn, I'll teach you."
......
Outside the temple, there was a deathly silence.
Just moments ago, Sen no Rikyu, the "Tea Saint" who was revered as a god by countless luminaries, was now like an old dog whose spine had been removed, limp and powerless in the dust.
The front of his clothes was stained red and black with the blood he had spurted out, a shocking sight.
All the Japanese daimyo and samurai who were watching were dumbfounded and their minds went blank.
Lost?
Their revered Tea Saint, whom they regard as the spiritual pillar of Japan, has lost just like that?
Did they lose to a seemingly crazy, rambling, one-armed, slovenly monk?
Moreover, in such a thorough and humiliating way, he was driven to the point of vomiting blood and fainting by someone using his most prized "tea ceremony".
This...how is this possible? !
This was even more devastating for them than having Sen no Rikyu's head chopped off right in front of them!
"Demon...demon monk! You demon monk!"
In the dead silence, someone finally reacted, pointing at the figure inside the door and letting out a roar filled with anger and fear.
"What exactly did you do to the Tea Sage?!"
"Kill him! Avenge the Tea Saint!"
They had no idea what thrilling duel had taken place in that tiny tea room, which was less than two stacks of bricks.
But they witnessed their "god" fall.
The culprit who dragged their "god" down from his pedestal is this seemingly harmless, even somewhat comical, one-armed old monk in front of us!
However, faced with the overwhelming surge of anger and murderous intent...
The Buddha's face remained completely expressionless.
He merely curled his lip in disdain, then leisurely picked up the priceless bowl, which still shimmered with a cosmic brilliance in the sunlight, from the broken doorway.
Under the horrified gazes of everyone, he casually wiped the "Number One Bowl in the World," which they considered more precious than his own life, on his tattered cassock as if it were an ordinary rice bowl.
There were still some oil stains from last night on it.
This is not over yet.
In front of everyone, he did something that terrified everyone.
He actually carried this priceless treasure bowl to the dirty puddle under the eaves and casually scooped up a bowl of murky muddy water.
There were even a few rotten leaves floating in the water.
Then he tilted his head back and gulped down the bowl of muddy water in one go!
"belch--"
After finishing his drink, he let out a loud, satisfied burp, and a muddy, fishy smell instantly filled the air.
He glanced at the oblivious Sen no Rikyu on the ground with a look that seemed to see through everything yet was filled with pity and mockery.
He then glanced at the Japanese daimyo around him, who were completely stunned by his astonishing "divine operation."
"A bunch of pathetic creatures who don't even know what 'Tao' is."
He shook his head, then casually tossed the "Number One Bowl Under Heaven," which he considered to have lost all its value, onto the ground like a piece of junk that was in his way.
"Clang-!"