Chapter Five: Confrontation

“Alas! Such is fate, what can be done, what can be done!”

The Clay Buddha removed the disguise from his face, revealing a visage covered in gruesome blood sores. The yellowish-white pus was utterly repulsive to Qin Shuang’s eyes.

“It is said that the Clay Buddha is skilled in fortune-telling and divination. Tell me, have you ever tried to read your own fate?”

Qin Shuang was curious. It was like knowing exactly what the next lottery number would be and yet resisting the urge to buy a ticket.

“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you—I, the Clay Buddha, have never read my own fortune!”

The Clay Buddha smiled bitterly. His disfigured face was enough to terrify an ordinary person, but Qin Shuang and Bu Jingyun were far from ordinary; they remained unfazed.

As Qin Shuang chatted with the Clay Buddha, she remained vigilant, wary of Xiong Ba’s possible arrival.

“Since you won’t read your own fortune, surely you’ve read your granddaughter’s?”

Qin Shuang’s remark, though casual, put pressure on the Clay Buddha, especially with her faintly amused yet probing expression.

At her words, Bu Jingyun and the Clay Buddha both looked toward the little girl, who in turn looked at the Clay Buddha.

The Clay Buddha didn’t respond but changed the subject instead:

“Those who reveal heavenly secrets are doomed to divine punishment. I haven’t done fortune-telling for many years! You two, as esteemed disciples of the Xiong Sect leader, surely won’t trouble an old man and a little girl!”

But neither Qin Shuang nor Bu Jingyun bought this excuse.

“How about a deal?”

Qin Shuang smiled gently at the Clay Buddha, but the coldness in her eyes was unmistakable, as if to say: disagree, and you’ll die.

Bu Jingyun felt a flicker of suspicion toward his senior brother but concealed it. This composure before him—did it mean Qin Shuang knew he wouldn’t betray them to Xiong Ba, or was there another reason?

“Many years ago, when I was reading Xiong Ba’s fate, I cast a glance at Sect Leader Qin.”

The Clay Buddha’s face was indifferent, but he tenderly stroked his granddaughter’s head.

“Now, looking again, everything seems changed, yet I cannot discern the slightest clue. It’s most perplexing.”

Hidden in the shadows, Xiong Ba had been watching Qin Shuang and Bu Jingyun carefully. Seeing the Clay Buddha appear, his restless heart stirred fiercely.

Sensing Xiong Ba’s agitation, Qin Shuang’s smile toward the Clay Buddha grew more forced, her eyes colder than before.

The Clay Buddha seemed to notice and finally stopped wasting words:

“Sect Leader Qin, what deal do you propose? Do you require me to read your fortune?”

“Teaching someone to fish is better than giving them fish. I can protect your granddaughter and place her with a humble family. How does that sound?”

Qin Shuang’s smile brightened, her coldness melting into warmth as she gently patted the little girl’s head.

The little girl shrank back, frightened, into the Clay Buddha’s arms.

Suddenly, the Clay Buddha’s eyes deepened sharply, his posture straightening. At last, he revealed the demeanor of the world’s greatest physiognomist, no longer the mountain hermit or old man.

As if he had glimpsed the entirety of fate and cause in that instant, he laughed softly: “Very well!”

Countless times he had sought a way for his granddaughter to survive. At last, a faint hope appeared.

The world’s finest physiognomist—those who tamper with heavenly secrets suffer consequences far beyond the sores on their faces. Doomed to solitude and loneliness, never to know kinship, such is the fate of a true seer!

“Those who contaminate heavenly secrets—you have seen what became of me!”

The Clay Buddha handed over a long-prepared envelope.

“All that you seek is within. Whether you have the fate to receive it depends on yourself.”

Qin Shuang took the envelope without inspection. Surely the Clay Buddha knew her destiny and had left behind a legacy to be retrieved when the time came.

“In that case, let us go. We’ve wasted enough time; someone is growing impatient.”

Qin Shuang and the Clay Buddha exchanged a knowing smile. Bu Jingyun glanced between them twice, confused but unable to fathom their exchange. He followed their steps down the mountain.

They chatted idly along the way. Perhaps the Clay Buddha, knowing his time was short and that his granddaughter’s future was settled, felt at ease.

He explained many mysteries: yin and yang, the connection between outward forms and inner essence, the evolution of the five elements, the two forces, the four symbols, the eight trigrams, and the sixty-four hexagrams along with their meanings.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Qin Shuang nodded gratefully to the Clay Buddha.

“Thank you.”

Then she turned to Bu Jingyun.

“Junior Brother, be careful.”

No sooner had she spoken than a figure clad in black appeared ahead—the long-hidden Xiong Ba, leader of the Tianxia Society, and the master of both Qin Shuang and Bu Jingyun.

Dressed entirely in black and masked, he strode across the water with an imposing presence that defied description, emanating undeniable dominance.

Bu Jingyun and Qin Shuang braced themselves. The overwhelming pressure forced their full attention.

“Cloud Dispelling Palm!”

With a casual step and effortless motion, Xiong Ba intercepted a flaw in Bu Jingyun’s move, shattering his Cloud Dispelling Palm in a single strike.

Bu Jingyun was struck hard, flung backward in a clumsy fall.

Qin Shuang immediately followed with her own technique:

“Frost of Heaven Fist!”

The force surged forth, the chill condensed yet unmanifested; only the river water directly in front of her froze, while no coldness could be sensed around.

Xiong Ba, masked and black-clad, used palm against palm to counter Bu Jingyun’s attack, then shifted instantly to meet Qin Shuang’s Frost of Heaven Fist with his own punch.

As his strikes aimed to exploit any weaknesses in Qin Shuang’s technique, she subtly tightened her fist, slowing her motion to gather strength and deeper internal energy.

Xiong Ba’s eyes twisted slightly. With no time left to switch tactics, he struck at a false weakness—an opening that was not truly one—just as his old power waned and new force had yet to arise, meeting Qin Shuang’s charged strike.

His body faltered momentarily but he continued advancing. Qin Shuang, though pushed back, used the momentum to retreat strategically.

Upon reaching the Clay Buddha’s side, she swiftly seized the little girl in her arms and retreated beside Bu Jingyun.

Xiong Ba cast a deep glance at Qin Shuang and, passing the Clay Buddha, grabbed the old man’s hand.

With a light step, he pushed off the ground. Even carrying someone, he stepped on the water and landed smoothly on solid earth.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Qin Shuang turned to Bu Jingyun.

“Junior Brother, are you all right?”

Bu Jingyun, now fully understanding the conversation between Qin Shuang and the Clay Buddha, wiped the corner of his mouth.

“Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I’m fine.”

He struggled to rise despite his injuries but dared not show weakness. This familiar yet strange senior brother was not someone to be underestimated.

Qin Shuang glanced lightly at Bu Jingyun, fully aware of his condition. Although she had warned him, he had still underestimated his opponent.

“We are brothers in the same sect; no need for formalities. Junior Brother, rest and recover. Leave the rest to me.”

She gently set the little girl down. The child, understanding the situation, remained well-behaved and quiet after the Clay Buddha’s departure.