第十七回：安天師助張姬脫口，影祭親請虞呀觀壇
"Great Teacher, if you would please." Zhangji motions for the figure sitting before the offerings to greet the disciples waiting down below with her.
This 'Great Teacher' hops to her feet, standing at four and nine-two chi, her silver hair is heavily dye-tipped in bright strawberry red, ending in bluntly cut bangs that fall lightly over her forehead and shoulders. Behind those dull bangs, her eyes shine with igneous fervor and a desire to cause mischief wherever she goes. The long robes of a 【Jishi】 suit her, revealing those firmly plump white thighs that I am totally not jealous of!
image [http://static1.squarespace.com/static/62cd15458bbca47144469710/62cd15995860f00f7cf2cc5e/669baeba6103bb049181f843/1721478954021/Intro+to+Annalie.png]
"Annalie never takes a day off of shilling her little church." - Ayano Sane
This is the person we know back home as Annalie Tula.
Zhangji takes up one of the nearby rectangular banners from its holding stand. Easily twice her size, she struggles with holding it upright in the blustering winds, nearly tripping over herself once more. The quick-to-react Annalie easily catches her by both shoulders and heavily thumps those teeny shoulders with her hands. No words are exchanged, but that was a definite 'you can do it' gesture!
Having been pumped up by this accidental act of compassion, the little 【Jishi】 looks towards the sky; perhaps the dark skies gathering overhead don't look so scary now.
Look, even other prominent 【Jishi】 of the 【Cult of Black Bandanna】 have come out to support her. At a cursory glance, Zhangji spotted the distinctive grey robes of rival 【Jishi】, Ying Zuixu down below. She is speaking to her two disciples; one a pale-skinned black-haired girl and the other an orange-haired catgirl. Noticing that she is being watched from above, Ying tips her bamboo hat at Zhangji, and is jabbed in the ribs by the black-haired girl.
Odd.
But Ying【Jishi】always had a grating way of speaking.
Thumping the banner on the summit platform to command the attention of the NPCs waiting below, Zhangji begins to speak. The banners placed around the summit are no mere props, but artifacts that have been possessed with 【Qi】 to amplify one's voice. By holding the banner in one hand, a learned Daoist is able to resonate with the residual forces inherited from her predecessors, for but a moment.
"Hear me, adherents of the black bandanna...!"
Even with all these instruments of amplification, the little cultist's voice does not reach the black bandanna NPCs at the bottom.
"Louder, ehahaha!"
"HEAR me...! adherents of the black bandanna...!"
"Louder...!"
"Hear me...! Adherents of the 【Cult of Black Bandanna】!"
Whatever magick Annalie worked, it seemed to have an effect. The little 【Jishi's】 voice came through loud and clear now, the heads of five and fourty plus three cult members turned upwards at her.
"The 【Cult of Black Bandanna】 has suffered defeat after defeat of late,
our defeats have brought us from falling mountains to mountains,
of the thirty-six divisions that rose against the ryuu,
we are all that sadly remains;
a leaderless, battered and barely surviving troupe.
Some of you have asked, has our Dao forsaken us?
Ever since the 【Lord General of Heaven】 passed,
nobody has been able to take up the mantle of 'Great Teacher'...!
That is...
... until now...!
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
There is rumbling in the mass below, like that of a silent, but dramatic 『zawa zawa』 . No words are spoken by the NPCs below, but there is a clear anticipation in the air.
Come forth, new Daoist An Nali...!"
My sides did a double take as a familiar prankster steps forward. She raises a single finger to the sky, the tip of which crackles with sparks of black lightning. In an instant, heavens and earth collide; for a bolt of black lightning illuminates the darkening skies, directly striking at that raised fingertip!
A normal person would have died on the spot.
But not Annalie.
How does that work?
It's magick, I don't have to explain sheeto.
Now standing side-by-side with Zhangji, Annalie has no use for 【Qi】-infused toys, her loud and boisterous nature carries herself well enough through the now-howling winds,
"Ehahaha, I'm Annalie!
Nice to meet you all!
I don't really get all this black bandanna stuff!
I'm from the [Church of Sherlyn]!
You all know Sherlyn, right?
The [Flame-Sorceress Saint] of [Vespana]?
If you all want a simple rundown of Sherlynist scripture...
... its 'Just be a good person!'"
Crossing her arms, Annalie nods her head with eyes closed, satisfied with having dispensed her valuable learnings as a priestess of Sorceress Sherlyn to a viewership of over 200ccv. High wind blowing against her bangs, there was no need to explain anything in her mind, since Sherlynist scripture was simple enough to understand to everyone. (For her, that is.)
Zhangji knew from the start that letting an unknown 【Hereticate】 speak from the Black Bandanna's altar might cause some discomfit. See that black-haired disciple of Ying's, she's already fallen backwards in shock! See how she gesticulates wildly at Ying-Jishi and the other orange-haired companion; who has her head tilted at an angle in absolute confusion.
Things have been going so badly for the cult that she was willing to try something new for once. Surely nothing worse than defeat after defeat on the battlefield could happen, right? Not with someone as strong as Great Teacher An Nali here. Not even lightning can best her 【Iron-Forged and Indestructible Body】 [1]! Surely this is a sign from the xian of better days for the cult!
At the end of the day, cultivation was hard work. She looked across the field of NPCs, searching for a sign.
Of course not.
If mere words could cure 【Cancellation of Humanity】...
The cult would have long prospered already.
Nevertheless, she had to continue on.
"You have all just witnessed our new Daoist's connection to heaven and earth!
Her high cultivation levels are undeniable, therefore...!
Starting today, An Nali shall be promoted to the rank of 【Taishi】!
I hope that any 【Jishi】 here who agrees with me, step forward so as to confirm her!
In the meantime, I have prepared a gift of appreciation for our new 'Great Teacher'!"
Zhangji yanks at the heavy red cloth, letting it fall to the ground to reveal...
... our missing dance pole.
Recognizing this otherworldly construct's design as one from our home world, it is Annalie's turn to be bewildered.
"Eh. Zhangji."
"Yes, Great Teacher."
"You Black Bandannas... Don't run pleasure clubs, do you?"
"N-no...?"
Zhangji thought that the Great Teacher would be overjoyed at receiving an artifact that could allow one's cultivation level to soar to greater heights. Instead, An Nali's eyes can only be described as deadened with suspicion, irises narrowed into a singular black dot for each eye. Was this sort of cultivation method taboo back in An Nali's realm?
Jiiiiiiiiiii~
Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~
Annalie, is staring into the depths of Zhangji's soul, her truth-piercing eyes tearing apart Zhangji's guilty conscious.
"My apologies, Great Teacher! We raided a transport and found this among the spoils...!"
The Great Teacher had told of stories from her home world; stories which involved beating daemons over the head with an iron staff alongside her sisters as part of this [Trono Palido] thing. She merely found the resemblance between this artifact and the weapon in the Great Teacher's stories a little...!
Startling backwards, Zhangji was about to kneel and beg for forgiveness, when Annalie suddenly puts her hand on Zhangji's head. Gripping the dome of her head in a claw-like fashion...
"What did I say about looting and pillaging to you all, eh?"
"My apologies, this disciple will return it immediately---"
"That's good on you---"
Fully expecting punishment, Annalie merely pats the top of Zhangji's head, satisfied with the conclusion to this theft (?). Words might not be able to pierce hearts, but actions certainly did! How could one fight against this gentle and enlightened Great Teacher with a pure heart of gold? It was impossible. Perhaps only a dark-hearted person could dislike Great Teacher An Nali.
And that dark-hearted person was small-stepping rapidly up the altar... right now!
"You fake priestess! Give us back the dance pole!"
A voice known to the 'Great Teacher' causes her to turn around. Having rushed up the altar in a huff is (me), Ayano Sane. Followed closely by Ying-onee and Daju, Annalie's eyes widen in shock upon seeing my deep blue eyes and cute face.
Reaching out a hand towards me, I instinctively dodge her handshake.
"『yamero』, Annalie, it's me!"
I'm NOT falling for the ol' spicy-hand, not in isekai!
"Eh, you've gained some smarts, Aya-chan! Why are you here, too?!"
"Give us back the dance pole."
Daju pulls off her black bandanna, revealing a pair of orange cat ears, to the shock of Zhangji.
"What's the 【taisho】 of 【Pu'yeng】 doing here...?!"
"Annalie, long story short, Neko-chan is alive!"
"Ehhhhhhh?!?! But that's not---" Annalie points at Daju, completely misunderstanding what is going on.
"Shooooouldn't we explain something..."
"Ying, why have you brought outsiders to our mass!"
"Its a looooong story---"
The cacophony of chaos drowns out Ying-onee's crowing, with each party scrambling for the dance pole.
This small moment is cut short as foreign thunder cracks in the clouds above us.
There is a flash of cyanic in the sky, tainted in sickly green.
That is definitely not Annalie's lightning...!
Dark clouds converge,
taking a dark and serpentine form.
A shadow flits amongst the clouds.
----------------------------------------
NEXT: Help Help A Dragon A Dragon Is Attacking, Ayaya Only Knows One Move And It Is Called Extreme Violence
----------------------------------------
TERMINOLOGY
[1] 【Iron-Forged and Indestructible Body】 - 【金刚不坏之身】, technically the fake priestess isn't indestructible, she's just immune to lightning.