Chapter 12: Those Bald Donkeys of Shaolin Are Shameless Beyond Belief

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Being stared at like this by his junior brother, and having lived a good many years, Abbot Xuan Ci still had his pride to keep.

The act of snatching his junior brother's Liangbaikai earlier was indeed slightly improper.

"Junior brother Xuanji, don't worry, next time my share is yours!"

Thinking that each of them got one serving a day, Xuan Ci could only grit his teeth and give his next share to the other man.

After all, he was the abbot of Shaolin Temple; as abbot, he had to lead by example!

"Cough, cough, actually, senior brother, I don't necessarily have to wait until next time!"

Faced with Abbot Xuan Ci's promise, Xuanji immediately curled his lip.

Good lord, senior brother, you think I don't know what kind of person you are?

Next time? Next time will probably be pushed to yet another next time by you, won't it?

Unlike Abbot Xuan Ci, after the little farce just now, Xuanji only felt that he had suffered a great loss.

They were men of the Buddhist faith, and they had only ordered two cups of immortal spring between them.

And he himself had only drunk half a cup!

How could he possibly swallow that?

Absolutely intolerable!

Involuntarily, Xuanji's gaze fell upon the other two items on the menu.

Braised egg and egg fried rice!

A single cup of immortal spring, worth one tael of gold, had already produced such an effect.

Then what kind of effect would the braised egg worth five taels and the egg fried rice worth ten taels have!

"Hmm? Not necessarily have to wait until next time?"

"Senior brother, look at the menu!"

Xuan Ci's brow furrowed slightly, still puzzled, while Xuanji beside him pointed straight at the menu.

In an instant, Abbot Xuan Ci felt something explode in his mind, and he immediately understood his junior brother's intention.

Holy crap, junior brother, I always thought you were a stickler for the rules—never expected you of all people to want to break the meat-fast!

Xuan Ci was utterly stunned, having never imagined his junior brother could be so bold!

To tell the truth, he too wanted to eat the braised egg and egg fried rice on the menu.

Hadn't he seen Yue Buqun and Zhang Sanfeng beside them eating as if drunk with bliss?

But they were monks, men of the Buddhist faith—how could they break the precepts!

"Amitabha, junior brother, say no more. As men of the Buddhist faith, we must naturally abide by the monastic rules and precepts. If the Precept Hall were to learn of this, neither you nor I could escape punishment!"

Uttering a Buddhist principle aloud, Xuan Ci really wanted to eat, but he truly could not.

If Shaolin Temple were to learn of this matter, the monastery's century-long reputation would be ruined!

Yet no sooner had Xuan Ci finished speaking than Xuanji beside him wore a strange expression.

Watching his senior brother worry about the Precept Hall, Xuanji could not help but look at himself.

"Senior brother, have you forgotten—I am the head of the Precept Hall!"

The aggrieved words came out once more. Senior brother, what kind of person he was—did he not know perfectly well!

What nonsense about the Precept Hall—he himself was the head of the Precept Hall. Could he punish himself?

Besides, right now only the two of them were present. If he didn't speak of it and I didn't speak of it, who would know they had broken the precepts!

Abbot Xuan Ci, hearing the words at his ear, froze on the spot, then glanced at the aggrieved Xuanji, and his eyes lit up at once.

Right—his junior brother was the head of the Precept Hall!

"What junior brother says is most true. As the saying goes, if I do not enter hell, who will!"

Pressing his palms together, Xuan Ci made his decision in an instant.

As the abbot of the Buddhist faith, he was not breaking the precepts.

This place was simply too wondrous and extraordinary; how could the Buddhist faith stand aside? Naturally, one must sacrifice oneself for righteousness and investigate.

"Amitabha, senior brother speaks rightly. Wine and meat pass through the gut, while the Buddha remains in the heart!"

Seeing Xuan Ci agree, Xuanji's face immediately brightened with joy, though for the sake of appearances he still put on a look of devout reverence.

"Shopkeeper, two servings of braised egg and egg fried rice, please!"

A light call rang out in the shop. The Xuan Ci who a moment ago had been devoutly revering the Buddha was, the next second, already unable to wait.

Such a scene utterly dumbfounded Yue Buqun, Zhang Sanfeng, and Song Yuanqiao nearby.

Especially the hypocrite Yue Buqun, who stared at the antics of these two Shaolin monks and was completely stupefied.

Bah, you bald Shaolin donkeys—you're even more two-faced than I am!

He had thought himself already plenty hypocritical, but never expected today to meet someone even more hypocritical than himself!

And these people are from Shaolin Temple?

Meanwhile, Zhang Sanfeng and Song Yuanqiao on the other side were equally wide-eyed and tongue-tied, at a loss for words.

In the very sacred ground of Buddhism, Shaolin Temple, there were actually two great monks who, the moment they decided to break the meat-fast, shamelessly came out with "wine and meat pass through the gut, while the Buddha remains in the heart"!

Damn you—does the Buddha himself know what you lot are up to?

But no matter what Yue Buqun and Zhang Sanfeng thought, Xuan Ci and Xuanji on the other side paid them no heed at all.

The moment the two of them tasted a mouthful of the egg fried rice, they froze on the spot.

The sudden surge of internal energy within their bodies left the two Shaolin Gao Seng dumbfounded.

Heavens! This was simply a miraculous elixir!

A single mouthful, and it had boosted their internal-energy cultivation by several months—at this rate of growth, it was simply too terrifying!

Abbot Xuan Ci and Monk Xuanku exchanged a glance, and both discovered that each other's eyes were brimming with tears!

Worth it! Breaking just one meat-precept for this is absolutely worth it!

Compared with this immortal delicacy that boosts internal energy, what are monastic rules and precepts? Pure nonsense!

Involuntarily, the two of them began wolfing it down straightaway.

"Senior brother, mind your image!"

"Junior brother, I am your senior brother—I ought to shoulder a bigger share for you!"

"Get lost! Dare to touch my food and I'll report you for breaking precepts the moment we're back!"

"Junior brother, please, for once, be a human being!"

"........."

The two ate and bantered as they went, stunning Yue Buqun, Zhang Sanfeng, and the others watching from the side.

Even Su Mu, who was lying down resting, could not help but sigh.

The monks of the future really know how to have fun!

What temple did these two living treasures come from!

This performance art is really quite well done!

"Ahem!"

Yue Buqun, who had long since finished settling his internal energy, gave two light coughs at this moment and silently distanced himself from Xuan Ci and Monk Xuanji.

These two monks were simply far too shameless!

He, the dignified Gentleman Sword, would be ashamed to keep their company!

Zhang Sanfeng and Song Yuanqiao on the other side, watching Xuan Ci and Monk Xuanji in such a state, also exchanged a glance, smiled wryly, and shook their heads.

The image of Shaolin Temple collapsed in their hearts in an instant.

After finishing today's portion of delicacies, Song Yuanqiao did not hurry to leave, but instead walked toward Su Mu.

Such a move caused Yue Buqun, who had been preparing to leave, to halt his steps.

"May I ask the shopkeeper—can the delicacies here be taken out for someone else?"

Song Yuanqiao cupped his fist in a salute and asked Su Mu respectfully.

His thinking was very simple: one portion per person—if he could take some out for others, then in a single day he could eat several extra portions!

But while Song Yuanqiao's idea was beautiful, Su Mu could only shake his head helplessly.

He had long since asked the system about such loopholes.

"Sorry, takeout is currently refused!"

Exploiting system loopholes—does not exist!

He, Su Mu, hadn't even managed to exploit one—how could you possibly think of it?