When Danba heard Qiangba Gela asking to borrow the Mahamudra Secret Canon, his head shook like a rattle drum. "Absolutely not! You're not borrowing it; you mean to keep it! Besides, how can such an important text be passed to an outsider?"

Qiangba Gela frowned, displeased. "Danba, you promised me a copy last time; why the sudden change of heart? Just consider this an early delivery of what you owed me. Who I give it to is none of your business afterward!"

Danba still shook his head. "No. This Mahamudra Secret Canon is the treasure of the Katok Monastery; it cannot fall into Han hands."

Qiangba Gela scoffed. "Danba, are you treating me like an outsider just to spite me? Do you think I don't know you've printed hundreds of copies of the Mahamudra Secret Canon and are selling them as tourist trinkets?"

Danba’s face flushed slightly, though it was hard to discern in the darkness. He argued, "Those are incomplete versions. If they get out, it's fine; no one can understand anything from those fragments."

Qiangba Gela countered, "Right, you admit they are fragments that outsiders can't decipher. But even if you gave me a complete original, without the master's direct teaching, how could an outsider ever truly learn the Mahamudra arts? This Han man saved my life by sheer luck. If I can't offer him a respectable gift, what will people say if the story gets out later?"

Danba hesitated. He paused, then sighed deeply. "Wait here a moment."

Qiangba Gela was overjoyed. "Great, great! I'll wait right here!"

A short while later, Danba emerged from the inner room, holding a beautifully packaged book, no thicker than a little finger, and handed it over. "Here."

Qiangba Gela took it, flipped through a few pages, and instantly exploded in anger. He looked up, fury blazing. "Danba, after all our friendship, you dare try to fool me with that tourist trinket fragment!"

With that, Qiangba Gela hurled the book onto the ground and roared, "From this day forward, I have no friend like you!"

Seeing him storming off in anger, Danba quickly grabbed his arm and sighed, "Hey, wait, wait! The one I meant to give you is this one!"

Qiangba Gela saw him pull a traditional thread-bound volume from his robes, its cover slightly yellowed. He took it, flipped a few pages, and his face lit up with delight. "This is it! This is the one! Haha, Danba, thank you so much!"

Danba sighed again. "Forget it. Just don't scold me anymore!" He then bent down, retrieved the discarded fragment from the floor, and brushed the dust off it.

Qiangba Gela, now in high spirits, teased him. "Why clean it so thoroughly? Don't you have stacks of these books all over your monastery?"

Danba snorted. "If you weren't the abbot, you wouldn't know the enormous expenditures of this monastery! This book can still be sold!"

Qiangba Gela shook his head, smiling. "You really are obsessed with money! By the way, weren't you eager to see that young Han fellow with me? Shall we go now?"

Having been strong-armed into parting with an extremely precious Tantric scripture, Danba felt a heavy gloom settle over him, diminishing his earlier enthusiasm to see Li Yundong. He replied listlessly, "You lead the way. It might be good for me to take a look."

Qiangba Gela chuckled, carefully tucking the scripture against his chest, and strode forward to lead the way.

He moved with incredible speed, his vibrant health making Danba secretly marvel: I know Qiangba Gela’s physical condition; last year he was sickly, how has he improved so suddenly?

Fearing that Meiduo might not be able to hold Li Yundong's attention, Qiangba Gela couldn't help but quicken his pace until he was almost jogging by the end. Although Danba was of similar age, he had not been nourished by Li Yundong's potent Yuanyang true energy, and his legs couldn't keep up. He could only shout repeatedly for Qiangba Gela to slow down.

After walking for a few minutes, Qiangba Gela finally spotted Li Yundong. He burst into joyous laughter from a distance. "Han Little Brother, I'm here!"

Li Yundong smiled upon seeing him.

Meiduo, sulking because Li Yundong hadn't sought her out, also greeted Qiangba Gela with a cheerful smile. "Qiangba Gela, did you settle things?" As she spoke, her gaze involuntarily flickered behind him, and she paused, astonished. "Abbot Danba, why are you here too?"

Abbot Danba arrived, breathless, and laughed lightly. "I came to see the man who saved Qiangba's life. Hmm? Is that him?"

Danba looked toward Li Yundong. Meiduo nodded with a smile. "Yes, that's him!"

Upon seeing him, Danba’s heart seized with shock. He thought to himself: This Han man's eyes gleam with brilliant energy, his gaze as sharp as a dagger. Moreover, the sheer sense of power radiating from him is no weaker than that of the Guardian Vajras protecting the Sacred Mountain. This is no ordinary person; he is clearly a cultivator! I thought he was just an ordinary man skilled in medicine and wouldn't grasp the intricacies of our Tantric scriptures, which is why I agreed. Why on earth would Qiangba want to give the Mahamudra Secret Canon to him? What nonsense!

But since he had already promised the Mahamudra Secret Canon to Qiangba, he couldn't easily ask for it back. He could only hope Li Yundong would refuse, giving him the chance to reclaim the sacred text.

Qiangba Gela was oblivious to Danba's inner turmoil. He approached Li Yundong and enthusiastically introduced them. "This is my good friend, Abbot Danba of the Katok Monastery. Danba, this is my savior, Li Yundong."

Li Yundong smiled and nodded, and Danba offered a forced return gesture with palms pressed together.

Qiangba Gela drew the Mahamudra Secret Canon from his chest and respectfully presented it to Li Yundong with both hands, saying earnestly, "Han Little Brother, this is a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it."

Li Yundong was momentarily stunned. He saw a thread-bound book with a Buddha image printed on the cover and a line of golden Sanskrit script. He muttered inwardly: What is this? Should I accept it? Don't Tibetans usually offer a khata?

Meiduo, noticing his hesitation, encouraged him. "Han Big Brother, please accept it. You saved Qiangba Gela's life; what is this small gift compared to that? If you refuse, Qiangba Gela will be very sad."

Li Yundong glanced at her. Feeling that it might not be a terribly valuable gift after all, he smiled, nodded, and accepted it.

Danba, watching from the side, felt like his heart was clawing itself apart, wishing he could pound his chest. Meiduo, Meiduo, why did you have to say anything? Do you know what that thing is?

When Danba saw Li Yundong tuck the book away into his robes without even looking at it, treating it so casually, his hatred intensified: A secret scripture like this is priceless, yet you treat it like roadside weeds, completely unconcerned! How detestable!

But then he reconsidered. Perhaps that's even better. If you don't value it, then when I find the opportunity to snatch it back, you won't be too heartbroken!

With his plan set, Danba smiled warmly and exchanged a few pleasantries with Li Yundong before finding an opportune moment to excuse himself and return to his room.

Back in his quarters, Danba called over a patrolling lama passing by the front. "Go and fetch Dorje Tenzin for me."

The lama acknowledged the order and departed. Soon, a tall monk, dressed in a yellow-based, red-robed lama outfit, strode in.

The monk's robe exposed his left arm, revealing bulging muscles whose skin reflected a metallic sheen under the moonlight. He had a topknot of long hair, each strand like a steel nail, fierce tiger eyes, and a lion's nose, possessing an exceptionally imposing appearance.

Dorje Tenzin, though two heads shorter than Danba, bowed respectfully. "Abbot Danba, why do you summon me?"

Danba recounted the entire sequence of events, sighing. "I initially thought this was just a Han man skilled in medicine, and giving him the scripture wouldn't matter as he wouldn't understand it. But I never expected this person to be a cultivator from the Central Plains. If someone like that obtains the scripture of our Tantra, it will be like a fish returning to water or a tiger gaining wings—a momentous affair that could potentially endanger the security of our Tantric lineage!"

Dorje Tenzin looked up and asked, "Abbot Danba, are you asking me to kill that man?"

Danba quickly shook his head. "No, no. We are monks; how can we commit such a sin that leads to hell? I share the fault for agreeing to Qiangba in the first place. You just need to help me reclaim this scripture."

Dorje Tenzin nodded, his face unreadable, his brow deep as the ocean. Without inquiring about the opponent's strength, he simply agreed. "Very well, I understand."

Saying this, he turned to leave.

Danba called out quickly, adding a final instruction. "Don't act rashly. You must wait until he is separated from Qiangba and the others, when he is alone. Above all, Qiangba must never know! Understood?"

Dorje Tenzin nodded, but Danba still felt uneasy. He added, "Right, although you are the Guardian Vajra of our Katok Monastery, and one of the eighteen Guardian Vajras of the Sacred Mountain, do not underestimate your opponent. Do not kill him, nor injure him. Just retrieve the scripture. If he is willing to return it voluntarily, that would be best. Understood?"

Dorje Tenzin’s brow furrowed slightly. "What if he refuses?"

Danba sighed. "If he refuses, then, of course, we will have to take it by force."

Dorje Tenzin nodded. "I understand. Abbot Danba, is there anything else? If not, I shall take my leave."

Danba smiled. "You should rest. We are done here."

When the night passed and Danba awoke, he intended to ask Qiangba Gela about the route of their pilgrimage. However, when he arrived at the dwelling of Qiangba Gela and his party, he discovered they had departed before dawn.

Just as Danba was about to instruct a nearby lama to find Dorje Tenzin and have him catch up with Li Yundong and the others, he noticed the monks of the monastery gathered around a waist-high stone near the temple, pointing and murmuring. Tourists who had come early to burn incense were also standing by the stone, exclaiming in amazement, some even vying to take photographs next to it.

Danba walked over curiously and asked, "What are you all looking at?"

One of the lamas turned around. Seeing it was Abbot Danba, he immediately performed a salute and said, "Abbot Danba, come quickly and look! This is very strange!"

Danba looked and saw that on the stone, which was chiseled with scriptures, there was a clearly defined fist print, sunk about an inch deep. The outline of the fist was so distinct it looked as if it had been cut by a machine!

Danba sucked in a sharp breath. "Who did this?"

A lama replied, "We don't know. It was fine when I passed by yesterday evening when we closed the temple!"

Mima, the monk on patrol last night, suddenly spoke up. "Right, the only people lingering here yesterday evening seemed to be Qiangba Gela, Meiduo, and that Han man!"

"That Han man?" Danba was aghast. He hurried to the stone and examined the fist print closely. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

Several lamas nearby laughed. "Last night, I even heard Meiduo saying that this fist print was made by that Han man, and she claimed he did it from three meters away."

Another lama shook his head. "A fist print made from three meters away? That's impossible, absolutely impossible! Even Dorje Tenzin couldn't manage that!"

A third lama chuckled, "Meiduo is just a child; she tends to exaggerate when she talks."

The first lama who spoke laughed, "Isn't that right? I said I didn't believe it, and she almost got angry and turned on me."

While the lamas chatted and laughed, Danba, listening nearby, felt his heart pounding wildly, secretly horrified: Although Dorje Tenzin is the Guardian Vajra, he couldn't make such a print in this stone from three meters away with a single punch! What is the background of this Han man? How can he be so formidable?

Danba suddenly thought of something and shouted loudly, "Right! Where is Dorje Tenzin? Quick! Go find him for me immediately!"

A lama nearby laughed and replied, "Abbot Danba, Dorje Tenzin left early this morning. It seems he left with Qiangba Gela, Meiduo, and their party!"

Danba's face instantly turned ashen. His body swayed, and he nearly collapsed onto the ground. He lamented inwardly: Dorje Tenzin must not have been a match for that Han man. What is to be done now!

Eighth on the flower ranking last week, three bursts this week. The usual rules apply: updates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays~D