New Minister

The temple stood empty, completely devoid of any living presence. Mottled bloodstains covered the walls and floor alike. Perhaps because too much time had passed, their color had faded and darkened, nearly black.

On the Buddhist altar in the main hall, there was no statue of Buddha—only a skeleton.

A golden skeleton.

Maitreya slowly approached it and examined it carefully, even leaning in to smell it.

"Just as I thought. You've been here."

"If I were you, where would I hide?"

Maitreya suddenly closed his eyes and sank into deep thought. A long time passed.

"I seem to have some ideas now."

Still wearing that harmless smile, Maitreya muttered to himself. Then he turned and walked out of the temple without lingering.

Three years.

Either the Buddha would die, or he would die.

There were no other choices left. Since they had reached the point of mutual destruction, there was no point in keeping up the hypocrisy.

The Buddha likely understood the situation as well.

After all, everything he had done at Leiyin Temple had been "seen" by the Buddha. If the Buddha had been confident of killing him during his dormant period, he would have acted long ago instead of delaying until now.

Therefore.

The Buddha had no way to deal with him either, at least not for now.

Three years.

Perhaps he could turn things around. It was nothing more than a game of hide-and-seek.

With such calmness, Maitreya once again wandered through the Wasteland. His route appeared complicated and aimless, yet he always found something.

One day, when these fragmented clues became numerous enough for Maitreya to sort them into a single thread, that would be the day he found the Buddha.

"Why was this meeting called so suddenly?"

"Exactly. The city is a complete mess