CHAPTER 463: CHAPTER 18: THE CARNIVOROUS MONK IN THE ANCIENT TEMPLE (PART 2)

"Yeah, it bit me too. Take a look," Zhang Yiyi brought her hand closer to the "monk".

The "monk" glanced at it casually and saw the pile of herbal mixture, slightly raising his eyebrows. However, the change in his expression was hidden behind excessively bushy hair, unnoticed by Xiao Xian and the others.

With Zeng Xuerou’s further explanation, the "monk" allowed the three to enter the temple.

The temple, which looked odd from the outside, was actually no different from a normal temple inside. However, due to the lack of worshipping patrons and limited space, the Bodhisattva statues and incense tables inside were smaller. Despite the entire Summer Villa being electrified, this small temple alone had no lights and still used old-fashioned oil lamps.

The "monk", leading the famished trio, brought out a plate of cold dishes and a plate of chilled noodles. Without uttering a word, he left a lit lamp for illumination and went out.

"How strange," said Zhang Yiyi, who had confirmed with the monk that the lizard that had bitten her was just brightly colored without any toxicity, which reassured her. But sitting in the dimly lit temple kitchen, she felt it was gloomy, sensing something was off.

Zeng Xuerou picked around with her chopsticks in the vegetable dish, unable to recognize what it was, and looked closely at the dull noodles to realize they were actually green.

"They’re stir-fried young stems of knotweed. It’s safe to eat. The noodles are made from the same plant’s juice. Knotweed is a kind of plant, or you can consider it as an herb. It’s good for summer, helps with heat relief and detox. Yiyi, eat more; although that reptile wasn’t toxic, it’s still a crawler that usually eats bugs, so having some knotweed dishes can help detoxify." After hearing Xiao Xian’s explanation, Zeng Xuerou and Zhang Yiyi started eating with relief.

Although the two plates of food and noodles didn’t look very appealing, they had a surprisingly pleasant taste—sour and sweet, truly delicious.

After eating, Xiao Xian scooped water from a water tank in the kitchen to wash the dishes. Just as she finished, the "monk" entered again, this time without the four-legged snake in his hand.

"There are rooms at the back. They’re small, but enough for you three to share one bed. Don’t wander around in the middle of the night," said the "monk" before he left.

"Hey, what a strange person. And despite clearly keeping chickens outside, he’s not using them to host guests. Could it be that he’s saving them for himself, aspiring to be a meat-eating monk?" Zhang Yiyi looked towards the temple gate and saw the monk bolt the door before going inside.

"Don’t be so nosy. We’re only staying one night and will descend the mountain tomorrow," Zeng Xuerou felt a wave of discomfort in her stomach, not sure if it was because of the cold food or the monk’s bizarre behavior.

"Right, just one night," the three found the room located on the north side. Fortunately, although the bed inside was small, the bedding and pillows were pretty clean. But since the bed was too small, accommodating only two people, the three had no choice but to lie sideways, hanging their feet off the edge of the bed.

Before sleeping, Zeng Xuerou suddenly sat up, "I know what’s odd here—the rooms and even that monk’s clothes look nothing like those of modern people; they resemble those of the ancient times."

"Tsk, don’t talk nonsense," Zhang Yiyi, exhausted from walking all day and frightened half to death earlier, fell into a drowsy sleep as soon as she touched the bed, muttering a response before drifting off.

Xiao Xian didn’t speak up. She also sat up and pulled Xuerou aside to a quiet corner of the room, lowering her voice, "You haven’t made it clear to me why we came to Chengde."

"I don’t know either. It was Mei Nian who asked me to bring you here. She said she needed time to deal with the Xu Family’s matters and that running away to Chengde would be safe." Zeng Xuerou widened her eyes.

Something passed by the papered window, "There’s something outside."

"Shall we check it out? Don’t be afraid, I’m here," Xiao Xian’s hearing was a bit more sensitive, picking up the strange sounds outside. All the lights in the temple were extinguished, and the occasional flares outside were not very noticeable, but something was definitely flickering.

"Let’s have a look. I can’t sleep lying down anyway," replied Zeng Xuerou, trusting Xiao Xian. They saw a touch of calmness in each other’s eyes, "Should we wake Yiyi too? I’m not comfortable leaving her alone here."

They approached the bed, trying to wake Zhang Yiyi. In no time, Zhang Yiyi had fallen sound asleep, a skill that was indeed enviable.

"Don’t shake me. I want to sleep," murmured Zhang Yiyi, already lost to slumber, unaffected by their shaking.

"Let’s just leave her behind then. We’ll only be out for a bit. If anything weird is going to happen, it won’t happen inside the room. The outside is full of Bodhisattvas and Arhats, you know," joked Xiao Xian, trying to ease the mood.

"That’s best, to avoid scaring her to death," the two groped their way out and closed the door behind them.

Not long after they left, Zhang Yiyi turned over, spreading out in a ’big character’ posture. Perhaps sensing the bed had suddenly become quite spacious, she jolted awake, the previous sleepiness all but vanished.

The room was eerily quiet, and she called out in a low voice, "Xiao Xian? Xuerou?" Nobody responded.

"Maybe they went out to the bathroom. Forget it. I’ll just sleep," Zhang Yiyi pulled the covers over her head, trying to fall asleep again.

Sometime later, Zhang Yiyi rolled over and sat up, muttering, "It’s been so long, even if they were constipated, they should be done by now." She reached out for her shoes under the bed, groped for the door, and went out.

**

Ugh, there must be typos in this Chapter. I’ll go back and correct them later; it’s past 3 AM now. I’m off to cry and sleep; I have to leave after 7 o’clock...

**(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to place your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)