Stranger Danger

“Ten Directions Stupa?”

Lady Hundred Flowers had never heard of the Ten Directions Stupa, but she had definitely heard of Kṣitigarbha. It was one of the oldest and most powerful Buddhas of Buddhism. To this day, there were still Buddhists who preached his teachings and traditions. As one of the three Buddhist artifacts that Kṣitigarbha carried with him before he became a Buddha, it did not take a genius to know just how powerful and valuable the Ten Directions Stupa was.

However, Lady Hundred Flowers still did not understand what was the connection between her and the Ten Directions Stupa. Forget coveting it, she had never even heard about it until Ye Qing mentioned it. What the hell was Ding Buren thinking? Was he ill?

As if he could guess what Lady Hundred Flowers was thinking, Ye Qing asked, “Do you remember obtaining a headless Buddha statue, lady?”

“A headless Buddha statue? In fact, I do.”

Lady Hundred Flowers answered without hesitation, “A few months ago, a man came to Hundred Flowers Island and requested some pills from me. However, he did not have enough cash and requested to make up for the deficit with some personal belongings. Seeing how urgent he looked, I agreed to the transaction. One of the belongings he gave me is a headless Buddha statue.”

“The Buddha statue is quite big and made from some sort of strange material I have never seen before. It’s why I have a deep impression of it.”

“Are you saying that the headless Buddha statue is connected to the Ten Directions Stupa, warrior?”

“That is exactly correct.” Ye Qing nodded. “As I told you, Kṣitigarbha was killed in battle. The Ten Directions Stupa was damaged during the battle, and some of its fragments were scattered across various places. Because of this, the Ten Directions Stupa became much weaker than it should’ve been.”

“I see now.”

Lady Hundred Flowers exclaimed in realization before another question hit her. “If the North Duke Office really desires the headless Buddha statue, why didn’t they just wipe out my Hundred Flowers Island directly? They don’t need to go through the Three Sages of Blue Wave, do they?”

Ye Qing chuckled. “Because of the Four Seas Dragon Palace conspiracy, of course. Right now, all eyes are on the four seas, and countless forces are scouring its depths for Strangers. The North Duke Office is afraid that wiping out Hundred Flowers Island and killing you would draw undue attention and trouble. It would not be worth it if news of the Ten Directions Stupa is leaked.”

“Therefore, Ding Buren came up with the devious plan of manipulating the Three Sages of Blue Wave to eliminate you. Their reputation is terrible, and you and your island wouldn’t be the first they had wiped out in the name of profit. The likelihood that someone would suspect foul play is low.”

Ye Qing continued, “Ding Buren was going to eliminate the Three Sages of Blue Wave and silence them after the deed. Had he succeeded, then he would be killing multiple birds with one stone.”

“I see. That would explain everything.” Feng Qingyou nodded.

Contrary to Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou’s casual demeanor, Lady Hundred Flowers looked more worried than ever before. The more she learned, the heavier her heart felt.

It wasn’t because she coveted the Ten Directions Stupa and was unwilling to surrender the headless Buddha statue. It was because she knew she couldn’t escape her grim fate even if she surrendered the item.

It was the Ten Directions Stupa, the item that Kṣitigarbha carried with him when he became a Buddha after all. The storm it would cause if the news was leaked was bloody to say the least. Strong as the North Duke Office was, not even they would be able to participate in the competition and emerge unscathed.

That was why the North Duke Office would never allow the news to leak in the first place.

Who was the one person in the world who could be trusted to guard a secret?

A dead person.

Only a dead person could guard a secret, forever.

This was no unfounded worry. The jianghu was just this cruel.

Noticing Lady Hundred Flowers’ dark expression, Feng Qingyou asked, “Are you interested in the Ten Directions Stupa, lady?”

“Of course not. I know myself. There is no way the likes of me can ever hope to covet the Ten Directions Stupa,” Lady Hundred Flowers replied with a bitter smile.

“If you are not interested in the Ten Directions Stupa, then this is, in fact, not a difficult situation to resolve,” Feng Qingyou declared with confidence.

“What do you propose, Qingyou?” Lady Hundred Flowers’ attention was piqued.

“There are three solutions: inferior, average, and superior.”

Feng Qingyou explained smilingly, “The inferior solution is for you to leave Hundred Flowers Island forever, change your identity, and leave this place. Alternatively, you can choose to join the North Duke Office. The average solution is to spread the word regarding the Ten Directions Stupa and surrender the headless Buddha statue to someone else, effectively transferring the risks to them. Finally, the superior solution is to find a way to submit the headless Buddha statue to the North Duke Office and convince them that you have no idea about its value. Naturally, you would be safe.”

“What are your thoughts regarding the superior solution?” Lady Hundred Flowers asked after some quick thinking.

The inferior solution required her to leave Hundred Flowers Island and even change her identity. She had lived in Hundred Flowers Island for decades, and she was reluctant to leave her home behind. Besides, even if she did leave, the North Duke Office might still track her down for her possession.

As for joining the North Duke Office, that was even more out of the question. The North Duke wanted her for lustful reasons, and the North Duke Consort loathed her to the bones. To join the North Duke Office was to commit suicide.

The average solution sounded great at first hearing, but if the matter was blown up, and the news of the Ten Directions Stupa was spread far and wide, it was unlikely she wouldn’t be dragged into the mess. Besides, it wasn’t a perfect solution. After all, there was no such thing as an earthen wall that was airtight[1]. In fact, it wouldn’t take much investigating at all for the North Duke Office to discover that she was the source of the leak. They would surely kill her if only to vent their frustration.

The superior solution was the only solution that sounded reliable, but there was a small caveat. How could she surrender the headless Buddha statue to the North Duke Office, and how could she convince them that she had no idea about its value?

“It’s simple. You just need to give him the statue,” Feng Qingyou glanced at Ding buren on the ground.

“Him?” Lady Hundred Flowers frowned.

“That’s right.” Feng Qingyou smiled. “All you need to do is to surrender the headless Buddha statue to Ding Buren. Once he returns, he will claim that he is not able to kill you or destroy the island because of outside intervention. He will lie claiming that, despite failing his optional objective, he was able to retrieve the headless Buddha statue while you fought against the Three Sages of Blue Wave and confirm that you know nothing about its secrets or the Ten Directions Stupa.”

“Ding Buren is one of the Nine Ministers of the North Duke Office. No one will suspect his word. Besides, he still managed to obtain the headless Buddha statue and fulfill his main objective, so all is well. Finally, you were aided by some ‘mysterious champions’, and they would not dare to lay a hand on you again to avoid drawing unnecessary attention and stirring undue trouble. Your safety would be guaranteed.”

“What do you think, lady?”

“The plan is good, but would he do it? How can I be sure that he won’t betray me?” Lady Hundred Flowers asked worriedly.

“Do not worry, lady. He won’t,” Ye Qing answered while walking over to Ding Buren. When he placed his hand on the minister’s forehead. A demonic lotus appeared in both his eyes.

Lady Hundred Flowers might not understand what Ye Qing was doing, but she instinctively felt great terror from his actions and shivered despite not knowing why.

A dozen or so breaths later, the demonic lotus in Ye Qing’s eyes faded, and he commanded, “Apologize to Lady Hundred Flowers now!”

Ding Buren abruptly opened his eyes and saluted Ye Qing. “Greetings, young master!”

He then turned to face Lady Hundred Flowers and clasped his hands in salute. “This unwise one nearly committed an unforgivable sin and disturbed your peace, lady. I hope you can forgive me.”

“What in the…”

Lady Hundred Flowers widened in shock. Ding Buren was apologizing to her, but it wasn’t the kind of reluctant apology one gave under coercion. No, she could tell that it was a heartfelt apology. It was almost as if the man had suddenly seen the light and felt sincerely sorry for his past mistakes.

1. No such thing as a perfectly kept secret. ☜