In truth, when Man Tu Fan said that the Harmonious Bliss Flower he had refined back then was her Karmic Flower of Lifetimes Across the Other Shore, Gu Qingfeng had already guessed that Man Tu Fan's purpose in nurturing the Karmic Flower was likely to sever the Karma of Original Sin.
Whether burying the so-called Karmic Flower could truly sever the Karma of Original Sin, Gu Qingfeng did not know.
Nor was it important.
What was important was that the Karmic Flower Man Tu Fan had painstakingly nurtured through countless cycles of Reincarnation had been refined by him.
Although Gu Qingfeng had not done it intentionally.
That was the fact.
After Man Tu Fan's emotions had somewhat stabilized, Gu Qingfeng spoke: "If you had told me back then that it was a Karmic Flower, I wouldn't have snatched it, much less refined it."
Man Tu Fan shook her head slightly, responding: "After I reincarnated back then, my memories from past lives hadn't even awakened yet. I was sealed by the Buddhist Dao for many years, my self-awareness was blurred. At the time, I myself didn't even know it was a Karmic Flower, so how could I have told you!"
Man Tu Fan did not look at Gu Qingfeng, merely slumped on the ground, head bowed, saying: "Why did you go to that small secret realm back then? Why did you snatch my Karmic Flower? You snatching it was one thing, but why did you have to refine it!
That was my Karmic Flower. How could you refine it? How could you be allowed to refine it?"
Faced with Man Tu Fan's questioning.
Gu Qingfeng could only shake his head with a bitter smile.
As for why he went to that small secret realm back then, why he snatched the Harmonious Bliss Flower, and why he later refined it—even now, Gu Qingfeng couldn't remember. He reckoned it was probably just because he was bored and refined it on a whim.
However, upon careful thought, Gu Qingfeng felt something was off and said: "Are you really sure the Harmonious Bliss Flower I snatched back then was your Karmic Flower?
When I refined it, I didn't feel anything unusual. It seemed like just an ordinary Harmonious Bliss flower."
"Every time I reincarnate, I use the Harmonious Bliss seed as my awakening mark. That Karmic Flower was something I nurtured through countless cycles of Reincarnation. How could I possibly remember it wrong!"
"But if that thing really was your Karmic Flower, how did I refine it?"
Although Gu Qingfeng had heard the legend of the Karmic Flower, he had only heard of it and didn't understand the thing itself very well. If not for Man Tu Fan saying it was a Karmic Flower, he would have always thought the Karmic Flower was just an ancient legend.
"Heh, don't you find your question laughable?
Clearly, you were the one who refined my Karmic Flower, and now you turn around and ask me how you refined it?"
Man Tu Fan raised her head, staring at Gu Qingfeng. Her emotions, which had just stabilized, flared up again as she roared at him: "I'd very much like to ask you too! My Karmic Flower—why were you able to refine it!"
"Don't get agitated yet. Let me think."
Gu Qingfeng thought it over but truly couldn't recall the details of the refinement from back then. He only vaguely remembered refining that thing, without feeling anything abnormal or particularly memorable. Unable to recall after much effort, he finally said: "Forget it. Since it's refined, it's refined. Talking about it now is meaningless anyway. I don't understand this thing too well. Is there any way to make up for it?"
Man Tu Fan shook her head. It was unclear whether she meant there was no way to make up for the lost Karmic Flower, or that she simply didn't know of any method.
"Then... if I refined your Karmic Flower, what effect will it have on your Karma?"
"That was my Karmic Flower, yet you refined it. What effect do you think it will have on me?"
Gu Qingfeng frowned, thinking for a moment before saying: "Are you saying that because of this, Karma will arise between us?"
Man Tu Fan did not answer this question. Instead, she stood up, walked back to the half-broken Buddha statue, knelt down, closed her eyes, and pressed her palms together.
After a long while, she finally spoke: "Have you heard of Karmic Grafting?"
Gu Qingfeng nodded. He had heard many legends about the Karmic Flower.
Among them were the burial legend.
And the grafting legend.
The burial legend involved burying the Karmic Flower, meaning to bury one's Karma.
As for the grafting legend, as the name implied, it meant grafting one's own Karma.
Whether burying one's Karma or grafting it, the goal was to restart one's Karma, thereby changing one's Fate.
"Could it be that by refining your Karmic Flower, it means you've grafted your Karma onto me?"
"I don't know either."
Gu Qingfeng laughed: "If your Karma really has been grafted onto me, wouldn't that be a good thing for you?"
"A good thing?"
Man Tu Fan snorted coldly: "I'd like to hear how my Karma being grafted onto you becomes a good thing."
"Isn't it said in the legends that if you graft your Karma onto someone else, you can restart a new Karma?
Thereby changing your own Fate. Wasn't your purpose in nurturing the Karmic Flower to restart your Karma, change your Fate, and escape the Karmic Fate of Original Sin?
If your Karma really has been grafted onto me, what else could it be for you if not a good thing?"
"What you say is correct. If my Karma were grafted onto someone else, perhaps it could restart a new Karma, thereby allowing me to change my Fate. It might even be possible to escape Original Sin. Even if that person were the worst, most evil scoundrel, it wouldn't matter. Even grafting it onto a dog might be a good thing for me. But..." Man Tu Fan's tone shifted: "The only exception is grafting it onto you. For me, that is not only not a good thing, but the worst possible, most terrible thing imaginable!"
"Why?"
"You still have the face to ask why? Do you truly not know, or are you pretending not to know!"
"I truly don't know."
"Then do you know how to start a new Karma after grafting it?"
"I've never grafted before. How would I know how to start a new Karma?"
Man Tu Fan fell silent for a moment before explaining: "After grafting Karma, if one can truly start a new Karma, it sprouts as a new Karmic branch from the Karmic tree of the person onto whom it was grafted. In other words, if my Karma really has been grafted onto you, then the new Karma I start will inevitably sprout as a Karmic branch from your Karmic tree. Don't you know what your own Karmic tree is?"
Hearing Man Tu Fan's explanation, Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood. He finally realized why Man Tu Fan had said earlier that even grafting her Karma onto a dog would be better than grafting it onto him.
Thinking carefully, it indeed made sense.
Man Tu Fan's reason for nurturing the Karmic Flower was to escape Original Sin. If her Karma were truly grafted onto him, and his Karma, like hers, was the Karma of Original Sin, then even if she started a new Karma, it would still be the Karma of Original Sin. Moreover, because of the Karmic Grafting, the newly started Karma might become even more chaotic...