Chapter 57

It was still under the tree in the courtyard, at the long wooden table put together.

Two large basins were placed in the middle, filled with quilt noodles.

"Dong!"

The bell rang, and a group of senior brothers walked over with smiles.

"Junior brother, junior brother, I smelled the fragrance of meat a long time ago! Did you take Master's cured meat to cook?"

"This was brought by pilgrims who came to burn incense in the temple and given to Master. Master usually can't bear to eat it; if you don't cook it well, you'll get scolded!"

"Junior brother is truly careless! Did you think we hadn't had designs on these few pieces of meat before? It's all Master's stingy nature; he can't bear to spend too much effort on 'eating' and won't let us eat it. Otherwise, if we cooked it in the rice, whether it was porridge or dry rice, wouldn't it add some salty taste?"

"It's already cooked..."

"If you ask me! It should have been cooked long ago!"

Everyone sat down with smiles, and the discussion did not stop.

Only when they looked down did they see that these quilt noodles were torn wide and large, yet thin, which was significantly different from the meals they usually cooked. Looking at the soup again, the cured meat, dried bamboo shoots, and termite mushrooms were a freshness they could imagine, and they could also smell the obvious fragrance of the termite mushrooms, so they were a bit surprised.

"Eh?"

Several senior brothers were just not good at cooking themselves, not that they hadn't eaten good food. And then again, in this day and age, most people were lucky to be full, and not many people were good at cooking.

Naturally, they could see the difference in tonight's dinner.

"What is this called?"

"Quilt noodles."

"Tsk! Junior brother can also make pasta..."

"I know some simple ones."

"Looks okay."

As they were talking, Lin Jue and the junior sister had already served them a bowl each.

Many senior brothers also picked up their chopsticks.

"Eat, eat..."

It was still the voice of old Daoist Yunhe.

The senior brothers and junior sister all lowered their heads.

Picking up a thin and wide piece of noodle, soaked with soup, they brought it to their mouths with the scalding heat.

With this first bite, besides the heat, the first thing they tasted was the salty freshness of the cured meat and bamboo shoots, followed by the unique fragrance of the termite mushrooms. After chewing a few times in their mouths, they were surprised by the texture of the noodle pieces, which were neither too soft nor too hard, smooth and chewy.

Undoubtedly, it was not only a taste never eaten in the temple, but even in the nearby mountains down below at this time, it was not easy to see this style of delicacy.

Most importantly, it was really delicious.

After just one bite, everyone was silent.

Lin Jue didn't look at them, but continued to serve a bowl for the little fox he raised, using the rice bowl specially made for it by the fifth senior brother, and placed it on the ground.

"Eat!"

The little fox looked at him, then lowered its head and leaned over obediently.

This little thing had always been a non-picky eater, eating whatever was given.

But after this bite, it was stunned.

Its eyes widened instantly.

It tilted its head instantly, somewhat unable to believe it.

After tasting another bite, its eyes widened again.

Lin Jue found it interesting and laughed happily. Only then did he withdraw his gaze, but he saw that everyone at the table was staring at him blankly. Looking at their expressions, although they were not as exaggerated as the fox, they were not much different.

"Hmm? Why aren't you eating?"

Everyone then lowered their heads, and there was a sound of slurping.

Early the next morning, at the entrance of the temple, there was some thin mist in the pine forest, and some coolness in the mountain.

The little Daoist stood holding a donkey.

The words from last night still echoed in his mind; that was after everyone had eaten their fill, and not a drop of soup was left, as if only then did they have the heart to speak:

"Junior brother, weren't you a scholar before you came up the mountain? How do you look like a cook to me?"

"Junior brother, since you are so good at cooking, why didn't you say so earlier? You made me have no dishes to go with my wine every day!"

"Lin Jue, since you are so good at cooking, you can use the cured meat as you please. However, it seems there are no ingredients in the temple. Tomorrow, you can take a few taels of silver from the temple and go down the mountain to buy some ingredients."

"No! Master, you..."

So he made them a bowl of quilt noodles again in the morning.

It wasn't that Lin Jue didn't know anything else, it was just that they had only eaten one bowl of quilt noodles, which they thought was heavenly, and strongly requested it; Lin Jue couldn't disobey.

After breakfast, he stood at the entrance of the temple early in the morning, with the only donkey in the temple beside him, two square bamboo baskets hanging on its back, a junior sister beside him, and a little fox at his feet.

"Third Shixiong brother, where did you learn to make quilt noodles?" The junior sister looked at him with worry.

"I learned it at home."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Se-senior brother, do you know anything else?"

"Yes."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..."

The junior sister stood there and didn't speak.

After waiting for a while, the seventh senior brother walked out.

"Let's go."

Mount Yishan is truly remote; the nearest market is dozens of miles away, and it's not a market day today, which only happens once a month, so they have to go to the county town.

The county town is nearly a hundred miles away.

Far is one thing, but it's all mountain roads, especially the section near Mount Yishan, where the grass is deep and the forest is heavy, and the road is difficult to walk.

There and back, it takes at least two days.

Lin Jue and the junior sister both look young, so Master naturally had to ask a senior brother to take them.

The seventh senior brother is the youngest among the senior brothers, looking about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, specializing in theatrical arts. When Lin Jue and the junior sister first came to the temple, he often performed for them. He loves to travel around on weekdays, is familiar with the road to the county town, and gets along well with the two.

The three had already walked down the mountain.

"Let's walk a bit faster and try to arrive before nightfall, otherwise the city gates will be closed. If you can't walk anymore, don't force it; the donkey can also carry you for a stretch."

"Third Shixiong brother, you worry too much. Since we came up the mountain, we have often chopped wood on the mountain, running up and down, and sometimes we have to travel between Xianyuan Temple, so we have long been trained. Besides, we can be considered to have some foundation in cultivation, so we can walk this journey of nearly a hundred miles in a day."

Lin Jue said as such.

In his personal feeling, a "li" in this world is not as long as a "li" in his memory. Nearly a hundred "li" is probably less than forty kilometers. People with good foot strength can walk it from morning to night.

Even some merchants and porters, in order to make a living, can walk it with goods, let alone them, who are young, strong, and empty-handed.

"Seventh senior brother, don't worry, I run to the mountain to repair the road every day, and I have long been trained!"

The junior sister had also become a qualified laborer.

The seventh senior brother smiled and patted the donkey's back: "Donkey senior brother, you have to work hard again this time."

He and the donkey walked at the very front.

The junior sister walked in the middle.

Lin Jue put the wood-chopping knife in the basket on the donkey's back, used a whistle stick as a cane, and walked at the very end. The little fox took small steps, walking and stopping, its position changing from time to time.

The seventh senior brother was not a dull person; while walking, he told them about the scenery in the mountains, how it was on sunny days, how it was in rain and fog, which monsters lived in the mountains, which ones he had visited, and which streams were easy to catch crabs in, and which streams were easy to catch fish in, all of which he could explain clearly.

Even after leaving the range of Mount Yishan and walking toward the county town, he could name every village and every river.

From morning to noon, and then to the afternoon.

From the mountain road with fallen leaves to the village path, and then to the spacious official road, there were more and more pedestrians on the road, not lacking merchant caravans pulling horses and mules, and peddlers carrying poles and pushing carts, gradually becoming lively. This was two completely different feelings from Fuqiu Temple, which was always quiet in the mountains, as if they were two different worlds.

A city gradually appeared in the twilight light and shadow.

"We're here." The seventh senior brother said to them, "Yixian is the seat of the prefecture, and it can be considered a big city."

"Yixian..."

"Junior brother, what do you want to buy? This time down the mountain, you are the senior brother, so you can make all the decisions."

"Let's take a look first; it's almost night, so I guess there won't be many shops open," Lin Jue pondered in his heart, "Let's see how many shops are still open in the city first."

"All up to you!"

The seventh senior brother said, walking toward the city gate first.

There were several guards holding spears at the entrance.

After the seventh senior brother walked over, he took a folder out of his bosom, turned his head to point at Lin Jue and the junior sister, and stated where they came from, saying they were here to buy things in the city.

The guard looked at the seventh senior brother, then looked at the mule and Lin Jue and the other, and stopped his gaze on the little fox standing at Lin Jue's feet—now the little fox could clearly be seen as a fox. Given the various strange rumors about foxes among the people, this made him frown.

However, looking down at this unusual travel permit, the fox following the Daoist seemed to become proof that the Daoist was truly extraordinary, so the doubt only lasted for a very short time before turning into some respect.

"Daoist masters, please enter."

"Thank you."

The three of them thanked him and walked into the city gate.

"Junior brother and junior sister might not know, but the imperial court currently issues two types of travel permits: one is a piece of paper, given to ordinary monks and Daoists to prove their identity; the other is a folder. If you can get this kind of travel permit, it means that the Daoist temple has some Daoist attainments and skills. At least it did when the travel permit was obtained," the seventh senior brother said. "Before you go down the mountain, Master will definitely get you one."

"So that's how it is."

As they were talking, they had already passed through the gate, and the streets in the city immediately came into view.

Just past the city gate, it was naturally a big street, with Hui-style architecture with white walls and green tiles on both sides, and the eaves were staggered. It was just twilight, the white walls turned pale gold, the green tiles also caught a touch of light, and there were still many pedestrians on the street.

Some peddlers were about to leave the city, some shopkeepers were closing their doors, and there were still people shouting and selling, and people walking on the street.

Thanks to the trade that had become increasingly popular in this area in recent years, this city was quite prosperous.

The junior sister opened her curious eyes, constantly aiming at the shops and restaurants by the road, constantly looking at the horses and mules passing by, and constantly sizing up the merchants walking by and the children running in the distance, only looking away when she saw peddlers selling snacks.

The little fox was about the same.

This little thing was too small when Lin Jue picked it up, and its memory almost only had Fuqiu Peak and the Daoists. For it, this was a completely new and strange world.

There were dogs on the street, all staring at it.

However, whether it didn't recognize dogs or what, it is said that even fox demons that have become spirits are afraid of dogs, but this little fox stretched its neck to look at them, and then still followed Lin Jue with small steps.