Stranger Danger-Chapter 1256: Ten Directions Road of Worry

“A bell chime that feels like an entrance, an opportunity that presents itself before everyone...”

“Can we obtain the opportunity if we follow the small path, climb up the mountain, and enter the temple?”

“It must be!”

“What else are we waiting for then? Let’s go!”

......

The next moment, some people gave into their impulses and scrambled toward the mountain.

Strangely, some people passed right through the mountain as if it did not exist and fell into the river as a result, and some landed firmly on the small path.

Clearly, those who passed through the mountain and fell into the river wasn’t destined for the Anomaly, and those who landed on the path had a shot at climbing up the mountain, entering the temple, and receiving the opportunity.

Seeing that some people managed to land on the small path safe and sound, those who were still hesitating finally lost their cool. They rushed toward the mountain as well.

While wearing an envious look on his face, the boatman cast Ye Qing a sideway glance. However, the young man’s expression was perfectly calm, and his eyes as clear as crystal. He wasn’t tempted by this opportunity in the slightest.

Curious, he asked, “Aren’t you going to give it a try, scion? You look like an impressive, extraordinary-looking man. Maybe you’ll be the one to win the opportunity.”

“I don’t know if it’s an opportunity, but I do know that someone is about to die real soon,” Ye Qing replied indifferently.

“Die? No way! You shouldn’t—” Unable to understand Ye Qing’s reasoning, the boatman was about to say something when something seized his attention. The next moment, his eyes widened like saucers.

The people who passed through the mountain and landed in the river were melting earnestly as if the water was acidic. It wasn’t long before all that was left of them was bones.

What was truly bizarre was the fact that the skeletons did not seem to notice their state or the pool of liquid flesh surrounding themselves. They just floated in the water looking frustrated and annoyed.

Not only that, some of the skeletons actually swam toward the mountain again hoping against hope that they would succeed on another attempt. Of course, they failed. Still, they kept trying and trying again.

It was a bizarre, unimaginable, and terrifying sight to say the least.

By now, the people on the ship—those who were just planning to enjoy the show, and those who were a little too slow to join the forerunners—had seen the horror as well. Cries of shock and terrified screams immediately filled the air.

Some of them screamed because they were afraid and panicking, and some cried out of worry. After all, some of the victims were their brothers, friends, or family.

Unfortunately, the skeletons did not seem to hear their cries and screams at all. They just ignored everything and kept trying to scale the mountain. It was indescribably anomalous and bizarre.

“What... What is going on, scion?” The boatman stammered with a deathly pale face. He had worked as a boatman on Red Moon River for over half his life, and he had witnessed plenty of Anomalies and encountered many dangers. However, he had never run into one as terrifying and bizarre as this one.

“I don’t know.”

Ye Qing shook his head before adding, “Look, they’ve begun their ascent.”

It was at this moment the people who managed to land on the small path began climbing up the mountain. At first, they traveled quickly as if the climb was effortless. However, they gradually slowed down the higher they climbed.

Some people were completely drenched in sweat and looked utterly exhausted.

Some people looked haggard and trembled like they were fifty years older than they really were.

Some people grew ulcers underneath their feet and boils on their faces. Their bodies were failing, and their minds declining.

Some people’s skin began cracking and bleeding everywhere like they were being cut alive.

Some people’s faces were beet red, and their flesh was blackening like they were being burned alive.

Some people’s complexions were blue, and their eyebrows covered in frost as if they were freezing.

......

Everyone on the road was enduring some sort of pain or punishment. The higher they climbed, the worse the suffering became.

Finally, some people could not endure the pain and turned back. It looked like they wanted to give up on this “opportunity” and leave.

However, the second they moved backward, their flesh suddenly crumbled into ash and fell on the ground, leaving behind only white bones. They looked just like the people who had fallen into the river.

But unlike those in the river, the skeletons on the road dissolved into ash the second after their flesh and blood were gone.

They were dead.

Having witnessed the gruesome deaths, those who remained did not dare to turn back any longer. They forced themselves to continue forward.

Despite this, people were still dissolving into ash from time to time.

“I... don’t understand... Isn’t this an opportunity? If it is, then why are people dying?”

The boatman murmured blankly as he watched the path, the survivors, and the victims who crumbled into skeletons without warning.

“There are no free lunches in this world, much less free opportunities,” Ye Qing said indifferently as if he knew that this would happen. “All opportunities come with an appropriate price.”

“And besides, we do not yet know if it is actually an opportunity... or something else.”

“Heavens! Are you saying—”

The boatman exclaimed in shock and horror, but Ye Qing silenced him with a wag of his finger. “I didn’t say anything. Let’s just wait and see.”

The boatman: “...”

The boatman didn’t understand what Ye Qing was saying, but he didn’t dare to press him for an answer either. He could only do as Ye Qing said and continue watching the climbers.

The fear of the unknown and the threat of death made the climbers shiver like they were treading on thin ice. There was no choice though. They couldn’t retreat, stop, or leave this place. They could only grit their teeth, shuffle their heavy feet, and continue their way toward the peak of the mountain.

Time passed. The deaths were still happening, but something else was happening to the remaining climbers as well.

After overcoming their initial panic, the remaining climbers seemed to grow increasingly calm and confident. Moreover, the higher they climbed, and the closer they got to the temple, the healthier they looked as well. Their previous tattered bodies became as good as new and overflowing with strength, and their withered spirit too was rejuvenated.

It was as if they were reborn.

This was just the beginning though. As they continued to scale the mountain, their expressions grew increasingly pious for some reason. At some point, they began pressing their hands in prayer, closing their eyes slightly, and chanting what sounded like a Buddhist sutra.

The second they did this, every strand of their hair—black or white—fell off, and endless Buddhist light shone out from the back of their heads.

It was also the exact moment they reached the peak and entered the temple.

“What in the...”

Outside, the people stared at this spectacle with wide open eyes and mouths.

“When the worries of ten directions fade, one proves that they have attained Buddhahood...”

Ye Qing muttered to himself, “Perhaps that road is the legendary Road of Worry.”

“What is the Road of Worry?” The boatman asked instinctively when he heard this.

Ye Qing explained patiently, “The Buddha said that all lives are suffering. Only by removing one’s worries could they free themselves from their suffering and prove their freedom. Legend has it that there exists a small road in the western Kingdoms of Buddha called the Road of Worry, and all who are living and sapient can walk this road. Their spirit would scatter, but so will their sin. Their qi would decline, but so will their karma. Their essence would wane, but so will their karmic hindrance.”

“When all of their sin, karma, and karmic hindrance are removed, they will be free from the worries of ten directions and reach the heavens in one step. They will convert into Buddhism and obtain the profound truth of the Buddhas.”

“I... see...”

The boatman scratched his head. Unfortunately, he didn’t understand most of what Ye Qing just said. Ye Qing’s last line was the only line that made sense to him, “So, you’re saying that they’ve become Buddhas?”

“Have they?” Ye Qing chuckled. “If it was so easy to become a Buddha, then suffering would have disappeared from the world already.”

“They have simply become another who isn’t themselves.”