Chapter 172

　November 18th is the most auspicious day of this month and this year. Today, Prince Byodoin, the Crown Prince of Japan, will finally complete the first major event in his life. He will marry Princess Yang Yue, the niece of the Emperor of Jin and the apple of the eye of the powerful King Wei, as his wife. In order to welcome this great happy event, the Emperor of Japan has issued a general amnesty and celebrated with the people. The streets have become more prosperous and lively, and every household is decorated with lights and lanterns.

　　As night fell, outside the Prince Byodoin Palace, there was a constant stream of traffic and people jostling each other, and inside the palace, it was also crowded. There were bursts of deafening firecrackers, loud drums and music, and fireworks in the front yard. The Emperor Daigoji of Japan sat on the main throne, with all the ministers below him, and a group of people standing outside to pay tribute and play music. Prince Byodoin was standing in the middle of the hall at this time, looking out the door frequently. A bride in a crown and a veil was slowly walking into the hall with the help of her maid.

　　The groom, Prince Byodoin, led the bride, Yang Yue, and walked slowly into the wedding hall on the red carpet under the gaze of the guests crowded in the hall. When they arrived in front of the wedding hall, the bride and groom stood on the left, man on the left, woman on the right. Drums and music sounded, and the master of ceremonies shouted, "Bow to Heaven and Earth." The bride and groom then knelt down towards the door of the hall and kowtowed once, twice, and three times.

　　"Bow to His Majesty the Emperor," the master of ceremonies shouted for the second time.

　　The bride and groom turned around and kowtowed three times to Emperor Daigoji, who was sitting at the chief seat. Then the master of ceremonies shouted, "Husband and wife bow to each other!" The bride and groom then bowed to each other.

　　The royal wedding ceremony was very tedious and complicated. By the time the entire ceremony was over, nearly two hours had passed. The crown prince still needed to entertain the guests in front of the hall, while Yang Yue was sent to the bridal chamber by a maid.

　　Kujo Tokuaki and Sanada Yukigen also attended the ceremony as guests. Seeing that Kujo Tokuaki was not in high spirits, Sanada Yukigen asked, "Kujo-sama, today is the day when Prince Byodoin is getting married. Shouldn't it be a happy day? Why are you not in high spirits?"

　　"Alas," Kujo Tomoaki sighed and said, "It's because everything is going too smoothly. The Emperor of Jin, the King of Wei, and even Liu Jun are not people who bow to others easily. They will definitely try their best to annoy, disgust, and disturb us. But until now, there is still no movement. I am uneasy."

　　"Hehehe," Sanada Yukigen laughed, "Your Excellency is worrying too much this time. Not to mention the royal family of Jin, even that young governor Liu Jun has not made any movement in Liaodong. Could he secretly come to Japan, where the God of War is in charge, to cause...trouble..." However, before Sanada Yukigen could finish his words, he noticed that Kujo Tokuaki's face suddenly became very ugly, and even his own speech gradually slowed down.

　　"No way, he, Lord Kujo, you, you really think, he would really sneak into Japan, or even into Kyoto City?!" asked Yukio Sanada.

　　As soon as Sanada Yukigen finished speaking, a soldier from the Wushen Camp came to report quietly and whispered a piece of news in his ear, which made his face turn pale. He turned to Kujo Tokuaki and said, "Kujo-sama, Kinkaku-ji Temple is on fire!"

　　After hearing this, Kujo Tomoaki's face turned very bad. He asked in a low voice: "Did Liu Jun show up?"

　　Sanada Yukigen shook his head and said, "I don't know. Could it be that Liu Jun is trying to make a feint to the east and attack in the west?"

　　Kujo Tokuaki denied it, "No, even if Liu Jun wanted to make a feint to the east and attack in the west, he shouldn't use the Golden Pavilion as a cover, because the Golden Pavilion is not far from Prince Byodoin's residence. Even if he had this plan, it would be too easy for us to find him, and he would be fast enough to return to the defense. It would be very inconvenient for him to leave with Princess Yaoyue. Let's not worry about it for now, let Yoshikawa-kun take people to take a look, and we can continue to respond to changes with the same approach."

　　"Yes, Sanada understands." After saying this, Yukigen Sanada sent someone to give orders to Harumitsu Yoshikawa.

　　However, not long after, the soldiers from the Wushen Camp he sent out came back in panic and reported: Yoshikawa Harumitsu's body was found near the Kinkakuji Temple!

　　Sanada Yukigen and Kujo Tokuaki were horrified when they heard the news. Yoshikawa Harumitsu, as the deputy commander of the Wushen Camp and the sixth-ranked master of Jianlu's "Thirty-Six Swords", was actually killed in Kyoto, Japan. How rampant this was! They were also certain that Pang Jun had indeed come to Japan, so Sanada Yukigen said to Kujo Tokuaki: "Sir Kujo, please report this to His Majesty immediately and send people to protect the important people in the capital. I will go there in person and make sure that Liu Jun is killed without a burial place this time."

　　Kujo Tokuaki asked, "Do you need to inform His Excellency the 'God of War'?"

　　"Little Liu Jun, there is no need to alarm the master," Sanada Yukigen declined, "I was able to defeat Liu Jun once in Snow Wolf Valley that day, not to mention this time in my Great Ying Kyoto."

　　Kujo Noriaki nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. Lord Sanada, you can go with peace of mind."

　　Yukigen Sanada bowed to Noriaki Kujo and left.

　　At this time, Prince Byodoin was already showing some signs of being drunk. He suddenly felt the urge to go to the toilet, so he asked the maid to help him go to the toilet. He didn't know whether it was the effect of the wine or some other reason, but he felt that the maid walking in front of him was very charming and seductive. Her plump buttocks twisted and turned, making him feel dry and thirsty, and he couldn't help himself...

　　At this time, Pang Jun was staying in a dark corner of the Kinkakuji Temple, looking at the "Lankavatara Sutra" in his hand, feeling a little surprised. It is said that the person in charge of the Kinkakuji Temple, the first famous temple in Japan, is the third-ranked master in Japan, Ankokuji Jingru. This person's martial arts is even more powerful than Master Hongzhi of Huangjue Temple. It just happened that he was invited to the wedding banquet of Prince Byodoin today and is on his way back. Otherwise, even if Pang Jun had three heads and six arms, he might not be able to steal this "Lankavatara Sutra" so easily.

　　Even so, after setting the fire, he had to work hard to avoid being hunted down by the monks in the temple, and was almost blocked by the Warrior Battalion led by Yukigen Sanada and forced back into the Kinkaku-ji Temple.

　　Seeing that the soldiers were about to search the place where he was hiding, Pang Jun was helpless. He suddenly attacked. A flash of cold light appeared, and the three Japanese soldiers died on the spot. However, the soldiers' screams also alarmed the people nearby, and they ran towards the direction of the sound, and then they met Pang Jun unexpectedly.

　　These people were just monks from the Kinkakuji Temple or ordinary Japanese soldiers. They were naturally no match for Pang Jun. However, even Pang Jun could not withstand their large numbers. If they were dragged down by them until Sanada Yukigen or Ankokuji Shizunori arrived, he would definitely be in danger of death. So he used all his strength and fought his way out of the Kinkakuji Temple before Sanada Yukigen and Ankokuji Shizunori arrived. Of course, he paid the price of six knife wounds all over his body.

　　Looking at Pang Jun's receding back, Sanada Yukigen glanced at Prince Byodoin's residence in the opposite direction, gritted his teeth, stopped the pursuit, and said to a masked man beside him: "The task of tracking Liu Jun is left to you. I have to go back to protect His Majesty the Emperor and Prince Byodoin. Try not to take action after tracking him down. You are no match for him."

　　"Yes." The man in black took the order and left.

　　When Yukgen Sanada returned to Prince Byodoin's residence, his subordinates came to report: Prince Byodoin is missing!

　　This made Sanada Yukigen very worried. The crown prince of a country actually disappeared in his own mansion. If the news got out, Japan would lose face. He suppressed his anger and asked, "How did he disappear? Have you sent anyone to look for him? Do His Majesty the Emperor and the others know about it?"

　　The subordinate replied, "Just when the news of the fire at Kinkaku-ji Temple came, His Excellency the Prince wanted to go to the bathroom, but he didn't come back after waiting for a quarter of an hour, so His Majesty sent people to look for him. As a result, they searched the entire Prince's mansion but couldn't find any trace of His Excellency. They only found a note."

　　"What note?"

　　"It's in the Central Plains language. Lord Jiujo said it said 'Lend me your crown prince for two days. I guarantee he'll be very happy'. The handwriting looks like a woman's. It's covered with white... white, semen... According to previous interrogations, a servant from the prince's mansion saw His Excellency the prince holding the hand of a maid and walking into a room in the West Garden..." said the subordinate.

　　"Where is that maid? There's something wrong with that maid!" As soon as he heard the word "female", Sanada Yukigen couldn't help but think of the seductive woman in white next to Pang Jun that night in Snow Wolf Valley. He frowned and said, "Could it be her? Could it be that Liu Jun and his gang want to kidnap the prince in exchange for Princess Yaoyue?"

　　"That maid has disappeared. His Majesty has issued an order to search the entire city to find His Excellency the Prince. Lord Sanada, His Majesty is very disappointed in you and the Martial God Camp this time," Kujo Noriaki came over and said to Sanada Yukigen, "Thank you for your hard work. I know how cunning Liu Jun is, but it is our responsibility that we have been fooled by him time and time again. Lord Sanada, put aside other things for now. The most urgent thing is to find His Excellency the Prince first. Otherwise, if His Majesty blames you, even His Excellency the Martial God may not be able to save you. As for Princess Yaoyue, with Miss Waka here, she will not let Liu Jun succeed easily."

　　"Sanada understands. Sanada will go find His Excellency the Prince right away."

　　Kujo Noriaki nodded and waved his hand to signal him to set off, and Sanada Yukgen took the order and left.

　　In the wedding room of Prince Byodoin's mansion, a plain-looking woman with fresh and elegant clothes, light eyebrows and no makeup was quietly looking at Yang Yue, who was feeling uneasy because of the commotion outside, and asked softly, "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that your sweetheart will get caught after entering this dangerous place?"

　　Waka Rinyin, at only thirty years old, is already the current head of the Wakayama family, a major Japanese martial arts family. She is the third-ranked master of the "Thirty-Six Swords" of the Japanese martial god Musashi Gorin Kenro, second only to the peerless genius Yagyu Shizuun and "Japan's strongest soldier" Sanada Yukgen. She is the last line of defense for the Japanese to protect Yang Yue.

　　She looked at Yang Yue, who was a full head and a half younger than her, and said, "He can't come. Although my master and Yagyu-kun are not in Kyoto, half of the people in the Sword House's 36 Swords are here, including Yukigen Sanada, who he lost to before. Although I am not talented, I still have a chance of winning against Sanada-kun. Even if he comes here, can he take you away unscathed?"

　　Yang Yue glanced at her and said nothing.

　　Hege Lingyin saw Yang Yue's expression, shook her head gently and said, "It's up to you. How many women are not helpless?"

　　"Knock knock knock." Just as Hege Lingyin finished speaking, there was a knock on the door, which made her tense up and asked, "Who?"

　　However, the person outside the door did not answer her, but pushed the door open and walked in. What caught the eyes of Yang Yue and Hege Lingyin was a gorgeous woman. She smiled and said, "Haha, this sister is right. Women really have no choice, including me. I have lived a carefree life, but in the end, I was trapped by a little bad guy."