Cloudsplit Valley had changed considerably in the past ten days. The stone hut Hu Xiaotian had once lived in had been demolished. When he reached the Long-Life Buddha enshrined by Chu Fufeng, he discovered that the substitute he had painstakingly carried over had been moved back to its original position. The statue now standing in its place looked remarkably like the old one. Thinking his eyes had deceived him, Hu Xiaotian leaned closer. Its shape was identical, but it was nowhere near as ancient as Chu Fufeng's statue. A smile tugged at his lips. Who would have thought the monks of the Heavenly Dragon Temple made counterfeits too? They must have feared that the destruction of the Long-Life Buddha Statue would come to light, so they had slipped a fake into the ranks to make up the numbers.
Hu Xiaotian set down the offerings and incense and declared loudly, "Buddha, oh Buddha, His Majesty will be leaving the Heavenly Dragon Temple in three days. Today I have come on his behalf to pay you one final visit. Who knows when I will be back?" Having said this, he listened intently. No movement within twenty zhang should have escaped his ears-apart from defy-the-heavens experts like Unenlightened and Kongjian, of course.
Once he was certain no one was nearby, Hu Xiaotian continued, "Buddha, oh Buddha, you appeared in my dream and asked me to bring you something. I've brought it today and will leave it here. Make sure you keep it safe."
Hu Xiaotian took out the map, gently nudged the statue, and tucked the map beneath it. He wondered how Unenlightened, a blind man, could make out the markings on it. Unfortunately, the Heavenly Dragon Temple had kept him under surveillance throughout this visit. He could not linger in Cloudsplit Valley,