Chapter 10: The Octagonal Stupa

After listening to Liu Dong's words, the thin young man first glanced at his expression, and then, after Liu Dong made a gesture as if he was about to throw the small octagonal stupa back into the snake skin bag, the thin young man gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, a hundred for a hundred. Today, I'll just break even, and consider it a way to make friends with you, Brother!"

Although he said this, the thin young man was actually quite pleased. The small stupa was something he had picked up while scavenging old houses in the countryside, and it had cost him almost nothing. Selling it for a hundred yuan today was almost pure profit. After all, in the year 2000, a hundred yuan a day was no small amount; even a typical white-collar worker didn't earn that much.

When Liu Dong pulled a red hundred-yuan note from his pocket and handed it to the young man, the deal was happily concluded. In Liu Dong's eyes, this small octagonal stupa, carved from carbonized wood, was covered in dirt and its full appearance was obscured, but its value far exceeded a hundred yuan.

After the transaction, they went their separate ways. Liu Dong, who knew the way well, quickly returned to his rented room.

It was noon, and the beautiful Wang Qiang, who always gave him a headache, hadn't finished work yet. So Liu Dong didn't even bother to change his shoes and kicked open his door, placing the box containing the carbonized wood and the golden-threaded nanmu near the bedside table by the wall.

He then opened the box, took out the small octagonal stupa, and from the drawer under his desk, he retrieved a white cotton towel and a brush. Liu Dong pulled up a chair and sat down.

As the dust on the octagonal stupa was gradually cleared away, the black, glossy, and mirror-like surface of the stupa gradually became visible.

After the cleaning was complete, the full appearance of the small stupa was revealed to Liu Dong. Although the octagonal stupa had only three layers, the patterns on it gave a grand and majestic feeling. Liu Dong, who was skilled in micro-carving, soon noticed that the stupa also used micro-carving techniques.

Using a magnifying glass, Liu Dong discovered that, apart from the lotus on the base, the eight sides of the first layer of the octagonal stupa were each carved with one of the eight famous Buddhist scriptures: the *Sutra of Infinite Life* and the *Amitabha Sutra* (both practiced by the Pure Land School), the *Lankavatara Sutra*, the *Surangama Sutra*, the *Diamond Sutra*, and the *Heart Sutra* (all practiced by the Chan School), the *Lotus Sutra* (practiced by the Tiantai School), and the *Avatamsaka Sutra* (practiced by the Huayan School). The text, though small, was clear, and the micro-carved regular script was even more precise under the magnifying glass than in books.

On the second layer of the stupa, there were some human figures carved, with eight stories on the eight sides. Although Liu Dong was not very familiar with Buddhist stories, he had heard of some of them.

Especially on one of the eight sides, there was a carving of a Buddha with long ears and a compassionate face, sitting in meditation under a bodhi tree, surrounded by various demons. This immediately reminded him of the story of the Buddha Sakyamuni subduing the demons and achieving enlightenment under the bodhi tree.

Another side showed a similar Buddha figure sitting on a pile of burning firewood, with devout believers kneeling around him.

Finally, by comparing the other six sides, Liu Dong guessed that these eight carvings depicted the life of the Buddha Sakyamuni, from his birth, renunciation, enlightenment, to his nirvana.

On the third and final layer, there were also Buddhist figures carved. Although Liu Dong's knowledge was limited, he could recognize the central figure of the Buddha Sakyamuni, as well as the Maitreya Buddha, Dipankara Buddha, and Medicine Buddha, the three Buddhas of the past, present, and future, the four great bodhisattvas, and eighteen arhats with various postures, which were often used in Buddhist carvings. As for the others, he didn't recognize them, but there were no fewer than two hundred figures on this layer, all with lifelike expressions, and even the details of their clothing and hair were clearly depicted, showing the skill of the carver.

To be honest, this was the first time Liu Dong had seen such an exquisite micro-carving work, and its skill level far exceeded that of Long Shu, who had taught him micro-carving.

At this point, even if Liu Dong was slow, he realized that he had really found a treasure!

"Although I don't know exactly how much this thing is worth, just based on the micro-carving on this small stupa, it should be worth at least 500,000 to 600,000 yuan," Liu Dong speculated to himself.

However, with such a valuable item, Liu Dong was still unsure how to handle it—whether to keep it for his collection or sell it. But he was more inclined to keep it, as this was the first treasure he had found on his own, and it had significant sentimental value.

However, he was not a real appraiser. Although he recognized that the material of the octagonal stupa was rare carbonized golden-threaded nanmu and the micro-carving was extraordinary, he still had some doubts about whether it was an old piece. If he took it to an antique shop or auction house for appraisal, and it turned out to be a priceless treasure, it would surely cause a stir, and all sorts of people interested in the treasure would come knocking.

After a few years of experience in society, Liu Dong knew the saying, "A man without virtue is not guilty, but a man with a treasure is." At that point, he might not only be in danger but also lose his peace. This was something Liu Dong did not want at all.

"Alright, I'll just put it away for now! I can always get it appraised later when the opportunity arises," Liu Dong decided. He then carefully placed the cleaned and beautifully crafted octagonal stupa into the box where he usually kept his jade carvings and locked it in the old suitcase under his bed.

"Phew!" Standing up, Liu Dong let out a sigh of relief, looked at the wooden box containing the carbonized wood, and then walked out of the room. He quickly went downstairs, didn't ride his bike, and walked to the Carrefour supermarket outside the neighborhood. After a big shopping spree, he returned to his room with two large bags filled with apples, tomatoes, bananas, cucumbers, and other vegetables and fruits, as well as instant noodles, bread, cookies, and beef jerky.

Putting the items in a corner where they wouldn't be in the way, Liu Dong wiped the sweat from his forehead, let out a sigh of relief, and a look of ease appeared on his face.

At this moment, Liu Dong had made up his mind to spend more than a week carving the piece of carbonized wood. The items he had bought would sustain him for a week without leaving his home.

Only by dedicating all his energy to the carving could he ensure that his skills remained at their highest level, allowing him to create truly exquisite wood carvings and live up to Long Shu's trust.

However, he had just found a big treasure and was still excited, so he couldn't calm down immediately, and it wasn't the right time to start carving.

Over the years, Liu Dong had developed a method to calm himself down.

So, after taking a deep breath, he took a towel from the rack by the door, grabbed a red enamel basin, and went into the bathroom for a refreshing shower. After changing into clean clothes, he sat cross-legged on his bed and began practicing the internal martial arts he had learned from a nameless old monk.

Liu Dong had discovered a few years ago that this internal martial arts technique, besides making him strong and healthy, also had a powerful effect on calming the mind. Almost every time he was agitated, he used this technique to regain his composure. Over the years, his rapid improvement in carving skills was largely due to the help of this technique.