Chapter 74: Aren’t Monks Supposed to Be Vegetarian?

When Mo Lin had killed Gong Yang back then, he had obtained good things, including the Soul-Respecting Banner, and among his pack there were naturally books like Ding Fan’s 《The Classic of the Green Satchel》.

During Mo Lin’s two-year hibernation in the dragon cave, whenever he woke from time to time he would take those books and leaf through them.

One of the books was titled 《Ancient Mine Records》, which recorded the mineral information of various regions of the Great Qian Dynasty.

By Mo Lin’s reckoning, that must have been a book Gong Yang had specially prepared while searching for the Earth Vein Yin Marrow.

In 《Ancient Mine Records》 there was a description of the “Purple Crystal Dragon Ore” that Bear Demon had mentioned——

Purple Crystal Dragon Ore, long and blocky, with clear edges and angles, resembling the shape of a dragon; it could warm the palace, heat the lungs, calm the heart, and nourish the soul.

Although, weight for weight, its value was obviously less than Earth Vein Yin Marrow, once Purple Crystal Dragon Ore appeared its quantity was astonishing.

In ancient times, the Great Song Dynasty even had records of an entire mountain range underlaid with Purple Crystal Dragon Ore.

And since Bear Demon had tried to trade the information about Purple Crystal Dragon Ore for his life, the amount of that ore could not be small.

Mo Lin was instantly tempted.

Seeing Mo Lin staring with blank eyes and saying nothing, Bear Demon knew his words had touched Mo Lin, so he struck while the iron was hot:

“Really, Snake Bodhisattva, please don’t eat me.”

“If you eat me, there won’t be anything like Purple Crystal Dragon Ore left. It’s a whole stretch of Purple Crystal Dragon Ore — besides me, no one knows where it is.”

At that, Mo Lin said slowly:

“The lecherous monk you mentioned, the reason he only put the Golden Circlet on you should not be, as that female pilgrim said, to enlighten you, right?”

“I think he knew you knew the location of the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore, didn’t he?”

Bear Demon immediately showed an awkward expression as if some secret had been pierced by Mo Lin:

“Just knew I couldn’t fool the discerning eye of Snake Bodhisattva.”

“That lecherous monk captured me because he discovered I knew where the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore was, and he often used the Golden Circlet to torture me, trying to force me to reveal the ore’s whereabouts.”

“But since I would rather die than tell him, he stayed in my Mountain God Temple and refused to leave.”

Mo Lin said coldly:

“Oh? You would rather die than tell that monk, but you’re willing to tell me? You’re not that kind-hearted, are you?”

Cold sweat trickled down Bear Demon’s face as he smiled obsequiously:

“Ahem ahem, it was because that lecherous monk coveted my Purple Crystal Dragon Ore, so I knew he wouldn’t kill me; I could still find a way to escape.”

Mo Lin glanced at Bear Demon.

The implication from this bear creature was that Mo Lin truly would eat it, so it was only willing to reveal the specifics of the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore to save its skin.

Mo Lin raised his serpent head and coiled Bear Demon round and round with his tail:

“Then there is no time to lose. Tell me where the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore is.”

Bear Demon tried to bargain for a little leverage:

“Before that you must first help me kill that lecherous monk and take off the Golden Circlet on my head, then I will lead you to the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore.”

Mo Lin’s gaze became dangerously intent; his massive head drew close to Bear Demon’s small skull.

Bear Demon shivered and felt his brains sending alarm signals, so he immediately backed down:

“No time to delay — I will lead you to the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore right now, or else it will be bad when that lecherous monk comes back.”

With that he obediently let Mo Lin coil him and swam out of the temple.

What Mo Lin did not notice was that a strange expression flashed across Bear Demon’s eyes as he was tightly bound.

……

While Mo Lin and Bear Demon were talking, a monk was resting at an inn by the roadside.

The monk looked fairly old, wrinkles stacked on his face.

“Master, coming to our Copper Gong Inn, what would you like to eat?” the inn waiter asked politely.

The monk bowed to the enthusiastic waiter:

“I, monk Jingchen, do not know whether the house would be willing to offer a bowl of plain water so this poor monk may quench his thirst.”

The waiter remained extremely courteous:

“Master Jingchen is a guest from afar. Our Copper Gong Inn will of course offer you a bowl of water, but after a long journey wouldn’t you like to eat something?”

“Our Copper Gong Inn has steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer tail, roasted flower duck, roast chick—”

Before the waiter could finish his enthusiastic list, Jingchen interrupted him politely:

“Sorry, this poor monk is cultivating and will not eat such things. If the house is willing, a bowl of tea will suffice.”

The waiter’s previously warm face cooled at once; he treated the monk before him with extreme indifference.

“Oh, so you only want a bowl of tea and nothing else, is that it?”

He nodded toward a stool:

“There, sit over there. I’ll bring the water in a moment.”

Then the waiter ignored Jingchen and turned to walk inside; though his muttering was soft it still reached Jingchen’s ears clearly:

“Always begging, truly a mendicant who won’t spend a single coin — tsk, what a waste of my time and energy.”

Jingchen seemed not to have heard the waiter’s complaint; he calmly brushed the dust off the stool and sat down steadily.

A whole stick of incense passed.

The Copper Gong Inn bustled with people coming and going; the waiter eagerly tended to all the diners but seemed to have forgotten Jingchen entirely.

The promised bowl of tea never arrived.

Jingchen sat on the stool, staring at the empty table in front of him with an unruffled expression, letting the other diners cast odd glances at this unusual monk.

At that moment another person sat opposite Jingchen.

“Master.”

Jingchen looked up to see a young monk smiling at him, his face extremely pleasing and his eyes almost closed from smiling.

All the diners at the Copper Gong Inn stared curiously at the newly arrived monk.

Besides his likable face, he had a pair of very long earlobes.

Those earlobes were so long they draped over his shoulders.

According to Buddhist lore, long earlobes signified deep blessings; this monk’s good fortune must therefore be exceedingly abundant.

“Wuzhen.”

After Jingchen called the newcomer by name, the waiter who had just served Jingchen pretended nothing had happened and walked forward, still welcomingly asking Wuzhen:

“Master, what would you like to eat here?”

Wuzhen sat calmly opposite his master and raised a finger:

“Please give me a bowl of tea, thank you.”

Jingchen at that moment put out his hand and stopped the two of them:

“No, please bring all the best food you have in the house.”

The waiter was dumbfounded by Jingchen’s action:

“Didn’t this master just say he only wanted a bowl of tea?”

Jingchen smiled:

“The house didn’t even bring this poor monk that bowl of tea? I thought it over; the house should just bring my disciple some food.”

The waiter probed:

“Anything the house brings is fine?”

Jingchen still smiled:

“Bring whatever you like.”

The waiter immediately went to the kitchen in high spirits and instructed:

“Bring out the most expensive wines and meats we have. Look at that new bald monk — his bundle is bulging; there must be good things in it. Today we’ll really fleece him.”

A voice came from the kitchen:

“But aren’t monks supposed to be vegetarian?”

The waiter sneered:

“Stupid — as long as there’s money in their pockets, who cares if they eat vegetarian?”

“Once I place the dishes on their table, if they dare not pay, I’ll make them know that our Copper Gong Inn is not to be trifled with.”