Stranger Danger

Chapter 559: A Nightly Visit

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Two, it would be quite difficult to frame Joy Bodhisattva for poisoning if her own people were poisoned. It just didn’t make logical sense, right?

All in all, the Blissful Spring was the best option. If they poisoned the Blissful Spring, the guests would be poisoned, but the disciples of the Buddhist hall of Joy and Joy Bodhisattva themselves would not be poisoned. It would appear as if Joy Bodhisattva was the poisoner.

Moreover, the Burning Heart amplified a victim’s suspicion, fear and anger infinitely. Unable to remain rational and constantly drawn toward their darker instincts, they would go to war against Joy Bodhisattva and the Buddhist Hall of Joy for sure. If that happened, Xiong Kuohai’s conspiracy would end in resounding success.

That was assuming the best case scenario, of course. In reality, the plans of mice and men often went awry. But even if Joy Bodhisattva and the disciples were poisoned by the Burning Heart as well, there were countless ways Xiong Kuohai could convince the irrational guests into suspecting their hosts.

For example, he could claim that they were faking their symptoms. The Blissful Spring was one of their prized possessions of the Buddhist Hall of Joy, so there were guards posted in the vicinity. Naturally, Joy Bodhisattva was still the prime suspect. With the Burning Heart in play, all he needed to do was to incite the crowd a bit to make it impossible for Joy Bodhisattva to prove her own innocence.

It never hurts to be well prepared. It was especially important to have a Plan B, C, D and Z when Plan A failed.

In any case, the outcome was always the same: Joy Bodhisattva would die, the Buddhist Hall of Joy would be annihilated, and all it cost Xiong Kuohai was the Burning Heart and his breath. What a mastermind!

But as the saying went, there was always a bigger mountain out there, and unfortunately for Xiong Kuohai, he was that mountain this time.

I saw through your plan effortlessly, criminal!

“Heh! When it comes to intelligence, I dare not say that I’m number one, but no one would dare to call themselves number two either! Hehehehe!”

After indulging in a bit of narcissism, Ye Qing calmed down and began pondering his next move.

Now that he knew what Xiong Kuohai was planning, what should he do?

Should he pat his bum and leave?

Should he inform Joy Bodhisattva about this?

Or should he inform Joy Bodhisattva about this and leave afterward?

If he didn’t have the Annon Sutra, then he would have chosen to leave for sure. After all, he neither knew who the person in black was nor what Xiong Kuohai was planning. If he was feeling particularly generous, then he would inform Joy Bodhisattva and leave. Whatever happened next was none of his business.

Better safe than sorry, always.

But things were different now. He knew who the suspect was and what they were planning. Naturally, the best option here was to speak with Joy Bodhisattva.

This was his chance to earn her favor. He would be remiss to miss it. Having made up his mind, Ye Qing immediately made for the peak.

Joy Bodhisattva lived in a pavilion called the Bodhisattva Pavilion. Despite being the place where the Bodhisattva lived, it had few guards and even fewer people. There were two reasons. One, Joy Bodhisattva preferred peace and tranquility and so kept her number of attendants to a minimum. Two, she was a Grandmaster. She was the one her people were counting on to protect them, not the other way around. As a result, it took Ye Qing little effort to infiltrate the place.

He could have requested an attendant to send her a message, but he didn’t. First, he didn’t want anyone to know that he had communicated with Joy Bodhisattva. If Xiong Kuohai somehow caught wind of the message, or if he had a spy or two in the Buddhist Hall of Joy, then he would be in huge trouble. Second, it was simply faster to notify Joy Bodhisattva himself. There were only four to six hours left before the day began. Every minute counted if they were to prepare against this conspiracy.

After slipping into the pavilion and probing his surroundings for a bit, Ye Qing entered a small building and let slip a hint of aura. The second he did this, a powerful aura immediately locked onto him. Clearly, Joy Bodhisattva had discovered his presence.

In reality, the entire pavilion was enveloped in Joy Bodhisattva’s aura. If he was anyone else, she would have discovered them at first notice. The only reason she hadn’t discovered him immediately was because the “Paranirmitava?avartin Heavenly Demon Sutra” was extremely proficient at concealing energies. In fact, he was confident that he could’ve snuck all the way to her doorsteps without being discovered.

Of course, he didn’t do that because it was both rude and dangerous. It was very possible that Joy Bodhisattva might misunderstand his intentions and attack him out of instinct. Giving Joy Bodhisattva a small scare wasn’t worth losing his life.

That was why he leaked a wisp of aura after entering the building. It was his greeting so to speak.

Creak...

The door where Joy Bodhisattva was at opened on its own, and Ye Qing dashed into the room in one step.

Despite being the head of the Buddhist Hall of Joy, it would seem that Joy Bodhisattva was a minimalist. There were a bamboo bed, a table, a couple of chairs, a teapot and a few cups inside the room. That was all.

Right now, Joy Bodhisattva was wearing a thin gown and sitting cross-legged on her bed with her hair draped loosely over her shoulders. A white glow amidst the darkness, she looked so attuned with her surroundings that Ye Qing blanked out for a moment. Then, he recovered and began with an apology,

“My deepest apologies for disturbing you at this hour, Bodhisattva.”

“It is fine. I told you that you are always welcome.”

Joy Bodhisattva watched Ye Qing with eyes that resembled the infinite night sky. “Have you changed your mind? Are you going to become my husband after all?”

“Cough! Cough!” Ye Qing wasn’t expecting that old topic to be brought up again. “You misunderstand, Bodhisattva. I have a most important matter to discuss with you.”

“In my opinion, nothing is more important than being able to experience the red dust and the love of all that lives right now,” Joy Bodhisattva replied calmly.

“Not even if it’s a matter conerning your life and death, Bodhisattva? A matter that may very well result in the destruction of the Buddhist Hall of Joy?” Ye Qing countered.

“What did you say?” For the first time, puzzlement seeped into Joy Bodhisattva’s usually emotionless features.

Ye Qing did not keep her in suspense and jumped straight to his point. “Xiong Kuohai of Endless Sand is conspiring against you, Bodhisattva.”

Joy Bodhisattva fell silent for a moment. “And it has been so for the longest time. I am not surprised.”

The subtext was: This better not be everything you have to say.

Ye Qing stared at her. “Sure, but did you know that he is plotting to kill you during your own Trueman feast?”

Joy Bodhisattva’s pupils contracted a little. “You should understand the consequences of spouting nonsense and playing me for a fool.”

Joy Bodhisattva wasn’t angry, but the room was suddenly trembling for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

Ye Qing paid it no attention, however. He continued calmly, “I wouldn’t dare to trick you, Bodhisattva. I swear that every word I said is the truth.”

Joy Bodhisattva watched him for a couple more breaths before withdrawing her aura. “Tell me everything.”

“It’s like this...” Ye Qing proceeded to tell her how he discovered Xiong Kuohai by accident, how he followed him all the way to the Blissful Spring, and what he did to it. Then, he recited everything he read about the Burning Heart—without mentioning the Annon Sutra, of course.

“It so happens that I know what that strange heart is because I once read about it in an ancient book. It is called the Burning Heart, and it is one of the nine ancient poisons. Triggered by suspicion, fear or anger, it draws out the myriad darkness hidden in a person’s heart until it becomes the poison that kills them.”

“The Burning Heart is colorless and odorless. Touching or ingesting it would not elicit any sort of reaction either. This characteristic makes it nigh impossible to detect without foreknowledge.”

“When the victim is angry, afraid, or suspicious about something, the Burning Heart would activate and amplify said emotions infinitely. It would also draw out the darkness inside their heart and drive them to the brink of insanity. It cannot be cured.”

“The greater the negative emotions afflicting the person, the worse the Burning Heart would become. In the end, it would turn into a literal inferno that burns both the victim’s body and their mind into ash.”

“The Burning Heart?” Joy Bodhisattva muttered under her breath while watching Ye Qing with a small frown. Despite her vast knowledge and experience, she had never heard of the Burning Heart before.

That wasn’t a problem though. There were ways to check if what Ye Qing said was the truth. She was fairly certain that Ye Qing was telling the truth anyway. His eyes looked clear and calm.

Joy Bodhisattva rose to her feet and walked over to a small container. The small container was filled with clear water, and a single pygmy water-lily floated on its surface. Hanging on the wall above the container was a tiny bamboo that somewhat resembled a little finger. Around three inches long, it was emerald green in color and covered in vibrant-looking leaves.

Beads of water could be seen dripping down its leaves and into the small container. It caused ripples when it hit the lotus leaves and scattered in every direction.

1. Get it? Cuz it’s both a nightly and a knightly visit? No? Ok. ☜