Stranger Danger

Chapter 535: If I Must Interfere?

“Arhat... you...”

A lucky disciple who happened to be standing farther away from the group stared at the monk and the woman in wide-eyed disbelief. They were the Joy Arhat and Lampholding Protector of the Buddhist Hall of Joy, but they were slaughtering their own instead of saving them.

Aren’t they here to save the Bodhisattva?

If not, then...

The disciple felt chilled to the very core of his soul.

“I am freeing them from the sea of bitterness and delivering them to bliss.”

The Joy Arhat smiled, but it was a smile that resembled a demon’s. “To become one with bliss is to attain eternal life, no?”

The woman—the Lampholding Protector—didn’t wait for the monk to finish his sentence. She abruptly appeared behind the disciple and thrust her arm through his chest.

Pssh! Shhrek!

The disciple subconsciously looked down. There was now a gaping hole in his chest, and his heart was nowhere to be found.

He couldn’t even form his final thoughts before he collapsed on the ground and perished.

“Haha... no need to be envious, benefactors. We view all life as equal, and we promise to deliver you to the Land of Bliss[1] as well.”

The Lampholding Protector swept her gaze across the remaining crowd before lifting the still beating heart to her lips. Then, she licked it with an intoxicated expression.

“Aren’t you the Buddhist Hall of Joy’s arhat and the protector? What the hell do you think you’re doing? Are you betraying your own Bodhisattva?” someone asked between gasps of exertion.

“Betray? Joy Bodhisattva is the one who betrayed the Buddha’s way. We are just cleaning house,” the Lampholding Protector replied with a giggle.

“If you’re cleaning house, then why are you getting us involved? Why are you attacking us even though we have nothing to do with the Buddhist Hall of Joy?” Someone demanded impotently.

“It’s true that our business has nothing to do with you people,” the Lampholding Protector nodded in agreement, “but what can we do if you appear at the wrong place at the wrong time?”

It was at this moment Master of Swords interrupted in a cold voice, “Cut the bullshit and kill them already. It’s on your head if someone throws a rat into our plans and screws things up.”

“Hahaha! You’re right, Master of Swords. Senior brother, let’s take out the traitor first, shall we?” the Lampholding Protector giggled.

“Hehe, sure. Today is the day we eradicate the shame of our Buddha.” The Joy Arhat let out a sinister laugh as he stared at Joy Bodhisattva, who was still bound at the center of the array.

“Can you deal with the small fries while my senior brother and I are killing the traitor, Master of Swords?” The Lampholding Protector asked while glancing at Master of Swords.

“Leave it to me,” Master of Swords replied simply.

“Scatter!” Someone shouted, and every man and woman began running in every direction. It was the right call, but...

“Hmph.”

Master of Swords snorted disdainfully before weaving lines in front of him like he was splitting heaven and earth into evenly-shaped blocks. The next moment, the escaping men and women froze in their tracks, and their heads flew away from their shoulders.

“Hmm? Who are you, senior?”

Master of Swords commented while looking in Ye Qing, Yi Pin and the old man’s direction. More accurately, he was looking at the old man. It was because the old man had casually shattered his sword qi with the wave of her hand. While he hadn’t employed his full strength, his attack wasn’t something that could be dispelled so easily. Clearly, the old man was no weakling.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his paranoia talking, but the old man also felt familiar for some reason.

The old man smoked his pipe and chuckled. “Senior? You flatter me, Master of Swords.”

“You know me?” Master of Swords frowned.

“You’re Master of Swords, vice leader of Endless Sand and one of the Two Masters, aren’t you? Why wouldn’t I recognize you?”

The old man smiled. “Not only that, I know that the one who cast the God Sealing Curse is none other than Master of Curses, your compatriot. I was lucky enough to have met your leader a couple of times, you see.”

“Who on earth are you?” Master of Swords’ face grew increasingly stern, and even the Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector had temporarily stopped in their tracks to look at the old man.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is that the Two Masters of the so-called ‘righteous’ sect of Bei You are working together with the infamous Joy Arhat and Lampholding Protector, tsk tsk... This is something many thought they would never witness in a lifetime!”

The old man tapped his smoking pipe against the sole of his shoe to clear some of the ash. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“You’re... Ouyang De?!” Master of Swords finally recalled a certain memory and exclaimed in shock.

“Ouyang De?” The Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector exchanged a glance with each other. “You’re the ‘Strange Warrior’ Ouyang De?!”

“I have no idea that people still remember me! I feel very honored!” Ouyang De chuckled.

“It is an honor to meet you as well, senior Ouyang. I hope you’ll forgive me for my earlier transgression!” replied Master of Swords with a salute.

That was what he said, but Master of Swords didn’t look apologetic in the slightest. There were three Grandmasters in Bei You, and they were the head of the Yellow Dragon Brigand, Huang Tianba; the head of the Endless Sand, Xiong Kuohai, and finally, the ‘Strange Warrior’ Ouyang De. In fact, Ouyang De was the strongest of the trio.

Despite this, Master of Swords wasn’t too afraid of Ouyang De. He might be the strongest Grandmaster of Bei You, but he was a lone man with no powerbase under his name. There was only so much a single person could do.

Of course, that didn’t mean that Master of Swords was willing to antagonize Ouyang De. Not even Endless Sand was willing to make an enemy out of a Grandmaster, much less him.

“One who errs unknowingly need not be held responsible. I forgive you.” Ouyang De waved uncaringly.

“This junior appreciates your generosity, senior.” Master of Swords saluted him again. “If there is nothing else, I humbly request you to take your leave, senior. This junior will make up for his mistake with a proper apology later.”

“Oh no, that I cannot do.” Ouyang De shook his head.

“What do you mean by that?” The Joy Arhat interrupted with an unfriendly frown on his face.

“My meaning is very simple. Can you give me face and abandon your mission, just for today?” Ouyang De asked.

Master of Swords was frowning as well. “Joy Bodhisattva is a monster who has committed many crimes and tempt countless off the straight and narrow. As a fellow believer of the right and good, shouldn’t you work with us to eliminate her vile influence on society? Why are you helping her?”

“Hahaha! Come now. You may be able to fool some children who just entered the jianghu with your passionate speech, but I’ve eaten more salt than you have rice, and walked more bridges than you have roads, so please, save it.”

“If Endless Sand really wishes to right what is wrong, you wouldn’t be working with the Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector, both notorious villains of the Buddhist Hall of Joy, and you definitely wouldn’t slaughter innocents whose only error is to appear at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Ouyang De beamed at the trio. “Also, please never call me a believer of the right and good again unless your goal is to curse me. Everyone knows that no good deed goes unpunished, and good people even more so, and I do not believe I am anywhere strong enough to carry such a title.”

“The Joy Arhat and the Lampholding Protector have chosen to return to the light, and the redeemed deserve a second chance. On the other hand, these people are clearly bewitched by that demoness. It only makes sense to slay them all before they could spread her foul influence.”

Master of Swords made one more attempt to change Ouyang De’s mind. “I will not force you to cooperate with us and slay that demoness, but please don’t interfere with our business either.”

The Lampholding Protector chanted, “My Buddha is merciful. This is an internal matter, senior. A lofty, independent warrior like you shouldn’t get involved with the likes of us. You wouldn’t want to be caught in a quagmire of trouble, would you?”

“And if I must interfere?” Ouyang De smiled.

Master of Swords uttered coldly, “If you must take the side of that demoness, then you will become an enemy of Endless Sand. Is that what you wish, senior?”

“Are you threatening me?” Ouyang Den slowly filled his pipe with fresh powder and ignited it. Two deep and satisfying puffs later, he said, “Don’t you know? The one thing I don’t fear in life is threats.”

“Is that your decision, senior?” Master of Swords slowly gripped one of the swords hanging on his back and gathered his energy. It felt like a cyclone was taking form right before their eyes.

“It’s not like I want to. Swim long in the jianghu long enough, and it’s only a matter of time before you get pulled into muddy waters!” Ouyang De replied without a care for Master of Swords’ threat whatsoever.

“We gave you a choice, old man! You’re the one who spurned it!”

The Joy Arhat roared and grew a full meter tall in an instant. His muscles rippled like waves, and his vigor ballooned as he launched a palm strike at Ouyang De.

1. Sukhavati (IAST: Sukhāvatī; "Blissful") is the pure land of Amitābha in Mahayana Buddhism. It is also called the Land of Bliss or Western Pure Land and is the most well-known of Buddhist pure lands due to the popularity of Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia. ☜