Chapter 58: Throwing the Meat, Yet Not Discarded

The next morning.

Morning mist had not dispersed, mountain dew wet the stone steps, the ancient temple's bell rang slowly and reverberated, startling several birds that flew over the lush green forest.

Inside the temple, incense curled gently; monks walked in the morning light, some sweeping the courtyard, some reciting morning sutras—a scene of tranquil purity.

Outside the guest room door.

Knock knock knock—

A soft knocking sounded, followed by Ji Gong's voice, tinged with a smile: "Benefactor, are you up?"

Yu Lin had already risen; hearing the voice, he went to open the door.

He saw Ji Gong standing outside the door, one hand gripping a glistening piece of meat, taking big bites; seeing him open the door, Ji Gong grinned: "Good morning, benefactor."

"Good morning, Dharma Master."

Yu Lin looked at his oily mouth and couldn't help but say:

"Dharma Master, you're eating meat first thing in the morning?"

Ji Gong swallowed the meat in his mouth, waved his hand nonchalantly:

"That's right, I can't miss a meal; this monk loves meat!"

"If I miss a meal, I feel like my mouth is lacking flavor—it's awful!"

Having said that, he grabbed Yu Lin's sleeve in one swift motion and exclaimed enthusiastically:

"Come on, come on—today Lingyin Temple has prepared a new dish; I just tried it and it's delicious!"

Yu Lin was pulled along, heading straight to the dining hall.

Outside the dining hall.

At that moment, a long line had formed before the dining hall, with monks and lay devotees waiting in orderly fashion to receive their meals.

The aroma of the food drifted on the morning breeze, whetting everyone's appetite.

However, just as Ji Gong pulled Yu Lin closer, before they could step over the dining hall threshold, a tall monk with a precept scar on his head and a stern visage stepped forward, blocking their path.

He pointed at the meat in Ji Gong's hand, brows furrowed, face full of exasperation:

"Ji Dian, Ji Dian, what are you doing?"

"You won't eat the proper vegetarian meal, yet you eat… sigh!" He let out a heavy sigh, lowered his voice and rebuked:

"You make them see—how will they talk about our Lingyin Temple?"

"Lingyin Temple has produced a monk who drinks alcohol and eats meat?"

"Quickly throw it away!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Lin guessed that this person was precisely the supervising elder of Lingyin Temple—Guang Liang.

Although this person does not exist in history, in the legends of Ji Gong he symbolizes "rigid Buddhist precepts," utterly despising Ji Gong's unrestrained behavior.

Ji Gong, however, turned a deaf ear, instead chuckling as he took another big bite of meat, his mouth full of oil, speaking indistinctly:

"This taste is really great!"

"Try it, try it—I guarantee you won't forget it!"

Saying this, he actually shoved the half‑eaten piece of meat directly into Guang Liang's mouth!

Guang Liang startled, as if facing a great enemy, hastily grabbed the meat and, without a word, flung it hard toward the outer courtyard wall, muttering repeatedly:

"Sin! Sin!"

"May the Buddha forgive my sin, forgive my sin!"

As if reciting those lines gave him strength, he lifted his head, about to continue lecturing Ji Gong:

"Ji Dian, if you keep this up, then come with me to see…………"

His words trailed off.

Because the piece of meat he had just thrown away reappeared in Ji Gong's hand.

In two or three bites, it was completely devoured.

"You…… you……" Guang Liang flushed with rage, his finger pointing at Ji Gong trembling, his lips quivering as he tried to speak.

For example, words of scolding.

But if he himself opened that mouth, wouldn't he be breaking the precepts just like Ji Gong?

So he wanted to speak but couldn't; he could only swallow it back.

He flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

Ji Gong watched his retreating back and called out: "Senior brother!"

"If you want to eat meat, come find me anytime; after eating my meat, you'll be able to scold me!"

"Lighten up! It's no big deal!"

His words reached Guang Liang's ears, making his steps stagger, nearly causing him to fall.

He glared at Ji Gong once more, then disappeared around the corner.

Seeing him like that, Ji Gong finally felt satisfied, turned back to Yu Lin and smiled: "Sorry to have let you witness this farce."

"No need to blame, no need to blame."

Yu Lin merely shrugged: "Nothing to laugh about."

"The Dharma Master being this straightforward is actually better than pretending to be free of wealth and fame while secretly… the Buddha's compassion behind LV is good."

Hearing this, Ji Gong became a bit interested: "Benefactor, what is this LV you speak of?"

"This monk has never heard of it before."

Yu Lin pointed westward: "Luxury goods from the West, sold for prestige; a single item costs enough to feed an ordinary family for a year."

"Such……" Ji Gong nodded, not saying much more, merely walking forward:

"Oh dear, talking so much has delayed your meal, benefactor."

Come on, let's go eat our fill first, then talk.

Okay. Yu Lin followed.

Ji Gong led Yu Lin straight to the dining hall, smiling narrowly at the monk in charge of serving food and said, "Come, come, come, give this benefactor a larger serving of the newly made Arhat's vegetarian meal; I, the monk, just tried it and the flavor is excellent!"

Seeing it was Ji Gong, the young monk nodded and immediately filled Yu Lin's bowl to the brim.

Yu Lin took the bowl and lowered his head to look—

The bowl contained a rich variety of ingredients—wood ear, tofu, bamboo shoots, lotus seeds and several other vegetarian dishes, stewed to perfection; the broth was clear and the aroma fragrant.

He came to the seat and sat down.

He picked up a piece of tofu and tasted it; it was tender and rich with bean flavor, actually more delicious than meat.

"How is it?" Ji Gong came over, likewise holding a bowl, and sat down beside Yu Lin.

Yu Lin nodded and smiled, saying, "Indeed delicious."

"If the benefactor likes it, that's good." Seeing his satisfaction, Ji Gong stopped asking further and simply ate heartily on his own.

Just as he had eaten half, a monk at the doorway glanced around, saw Ji Gong eating his vegetarian meal, and hurried over to him.

"Daoji, Daoji, a scholar is looking for you!"

"He says he wants to apologize to you!"

At this moment Ji Gong was picking rice into his mouth; hearing this, he waved his hand without raising his head:

"Go away, can't you see I'm eating?"

"Let him wait; I'll speak after I finish my meal."