"My religious name is Jinghai, I am the elder of the Zen hall of Cizhao Temple, two hundred miles away, and all the Zen practices of our temple are managed by me."
Master Jinghai, with gentle brows and kind eyes, smiled and said to Xu Qing, "In my opinion, benefactor has quite a Buddhist nature. If you come to our temple to practice Buddhist Teachings, why worry about not entering the gate of mystery?"
"Me? Have a Buddhist nature?"
Xu Qing reached into his saddlebag, took out the wine he had swiped from the business mansion's banquet, and drank a full mouthful in front of Master Jinghai, saying, "Master, do you still think I have a Buddhist nature now?"
"Amitabha Buddha, wine is the essence of grains, and monks occasionally partake in vegetarian wine. As long as drinking is in moderation and not reckless, it doesn't amount to much."
"Heh heh..." Xu Qing did not argue with the fat monk about Buddhist scriptures, instead, he took out a wrapped roast chicken.
In addition to the roast chicken, Xu Qing had also packed a lot of fried small fish from the business banquet, which happened to come in handy now.
Ripping off a wing of succulent meat and tender bones, Xu Qing, with a mouth full of oil, asked, "Master, how much Buddhist nature do you see in me now?"
"..."
Master Jinghai nodded, lowered his head, and chanted a Buddhist name, "It's a pity that the benefactor doesn't recognize the disaster approaching and is disrespectful to Buddha. When calamity comes without Buddha's protection, I'm afraid the benefactor will be hard-pressed to escape."
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's face turned cold, "You bald thief, you're just eyeing my wealth, why curse me with such hollow words? Even if there's a disaster, it must be you behind it, and as for Buddha... As a monk, you're greedy and materialistic, cursing others with lies, even if there are calamities, they should befall you!"
These words tore off the pretense, making the fat monk flush with anger. However, as he rode away on a donkey, he didn't forget to trip Xu Qing.
"People's wealth is predestined. Once, a merchant bought land leading to a fire disaster, resulting in a tragic outcome. Later, a woodcutter spent all his wealth to build a Buddha shrine, gaining blessings and wealth without calamity."
"Our Buddha is merciful, if the benefactor repents amidst the waves, sincerely worships Buddha, there may still be hope."
After speaking, the fat monk rode backwards on the donkey, closed his eyes, twiddling Buddha beads, without looking back at Xu Qing, and left straight away.
Xu Qing watched the monk leave, and when he turned back, he saw Xuan Yu mimicking the fat monk, clasping hands in prayer reciting a Buddhist name.
Xu Qing found it amusing and asked why it believed that bald donkey.
Xuan Yu, with a serious face, said, "The trip to Yunmeng Mountain is dangerous. I'm praying to Buddha for protection for Xu Immortal Family."
"Do you really believe that bald donkey?"
Xu Qing couldn't help but find it amusing.
He had heard of mortals desperate in sickness looking for any cure, but didn't expect that a monster meeting these monks and Taoists' usual deceits would be so wholeheartedly convinced.
Yet Xu Qing never thought why Xuan Yu would trust that monk. After all, isn't it because the monk's words concern him?
As the saying goes: being concerned leads to confusion.
"Xuan Yu, you don't know how wicked people's hearts can be. That fat monk talks about Buddhist principles, but his thoughts may not be any cleaner than ordinary people."
"He said I will face disaster, and soon it will prove true, how can he be so certain?"
Xuan Yu didn't understand.
Xu Qing patted the horse beside him, making it turn around. When the snow-stepping black horse lifted its rear, Xu Qing reached out and touched it.
"..." The cat was shocked.
However, Xuan Yu wasn't surprised by Xu Qing petting the horse's rear, rather, it was the golden Buddha talisman on the horse's right rear showing signs of being burned by Xu Qing's corpse aura.
The burnt aroma of incense drifted up, and Xu Qing frowned slightly.
The incense brought by the Cizhao Temple master smelled completely different from the Cat Immortal Hall.
The golden incense of the Cat Immortal Hall had a very clean fragrance when burning, while Baosheng Temple's red incense was full of life, like the fresh vitality of early spring, pleasant and clean.
However, the aroma from the Buddha talisman incense was disturbingly strange.
Like perfume mixed with the stench of copper, as if meditation incense stuck in a latrine, even Xu Qing, used to the stench of corpses, felt a slight nausea.
Can this even be called incense?
"So stinky!"
In human form, perhaps because it was a cat before, Xuan Yu always had a tight little face, behaving well without crying or causing trouble, never showing a smile.
But today, upon smelling the burning talisman, Xuan Yu uncharacteristically wrinkled its nose.
Xu Qing looked at Xuan Yu, puzzled why this Buddha talisman, albeit unpleasant, smelled worse than slop bucket water to it.
After clearing away the talisman ashes, Xu Qing took out a Water-Soaked Bowl, capturing clear water to wash the horse's rear again, only then did Xuan Yu agree to ride the horse.
Cats love cleanliness, this much Xu Qing knew.
A zombie, a cat, and a horse, seemingly unrelated, now appeared exceptionally harmonious.
After traveling about twenty more miles, at the fork of the official road, there was a post station, and beside it a tea stall for passersby to rest.
This type of tea stall built by the official road sold not ordinary tea, but 'thick tea' containing millet, red beans, barley, crushed chestnuts, and dried taro.
This kind of tea soup had to be thick enough for a chopstick to stand upright, with the aroma of grains rushing straight to the head to be authentic.
As for why it's this thick tea, it's because most on the official road are travelers in a hurry, with empty stomachs.
For those hungry and thirsty folks, a bowl of this belly-filling tea soup is just perfect.
Xu Qing and Xuan Yu seldom went on long trips and had never tasted such novelties. The aroma drew both the zombie and the cat to each hold a bowl of tea soup and enjoy it by the roadside.
During this time, a shabby, swaying beggar monk approached Xu Qing.
This monk was about the same height and build as him, and judging by his looks, if he tidied up, he could be a fine-looking young man.
Xu Qing ignored him, not expecting the strange monk to persist.
"Benefactor looks to be kind-hearted and compassionate. This poor monk comes from afar, having endured the hardships of wind dining and dewy sleeping, I've not had a single vegetarian meal or even a leaf to beg. If benefactor does not help with a meal..."
"This monk is afraid of starving to death in this food-filled tea stall."
Xu Qing raised his head, carefully observing the mad monk, finding this poor monk's talk quite amusing.
Seeing Xu Qing merely gazing him up and down, the mad monk spoke again, "The Buddha teaches fate first, benefactor ought to help me through a calamity, isn't it so?"
"That makes sense, then I'll get the elder a bowl of tea soup to eat."
"No, no, the poor monk is not fond of tea soup. If the benefactor could spare a meal of wine and meat, that would be heaven-sent."
Xu Qing's expression turned odd. You could say this monk wasn't sharp, yet he could see through the girl being non-human, but did not see that he himself is a sinister zombie.
Indifferently, Xu Qing said, "Master, you just mind your own business. As for the demon... how dare you assume it is the demon bewitching me? What if it is I who bewitched the demon, making it kneel under me unwilling to leave?"
If the heart is absent, a lamp will extinguish.
Yet the lamp is within people, and people within the lamp, as long as the heart is alive, the lamp does not go out.
Since your heart is not dead, how could one die?