The man named Wei Guozheng leaned back on the sofa, tilted up his head, and slowly said as he gazed at the hall ceiling,
"People don't need to bathe. We're a kind of animal too. Have you ever seen any animal bathe?"
Li Chenyu looked at Yu Qiushui with disgust. "Listen to him. Is that even human speech?"
"Wei Guozheng, I can pretty much imagine that your Xizi Department must look like a doghouse."
Wei Guozheng gazed at the ceiling and said listlessly, "Minister Li, that's going too far. I'm just someone who reveres nature. Revering nature doesn't mean being filthy."
"Hahahaha."
A hearty burst of laughter came from outside the door, drawing everyone's attention.
A moment later, a tall figure squeezed through the doorway.
He had red hair, a square face, huge, bell-like eyes, and a broad mouth brimming with mirth.
The man, dressed in an apricot-yellow monk's robe yet wearing a string of skull prayer beads around his neck like some evil monk, walked into the hall and said,
"Minister Wei is a man of true feeling and has grasped the essence of Buddhist teachings. Why don't you consider joining Zhu Jiuyin, Minister Wei? I would be glad to share the mysteries of Buddhism with you."
Wei Guozheng glanced at the monk, then raised his head to stare at the ceiling again, looking utterly bored.
"Save it, Monk Zhixin. Your tricks might fool some ignorant countrywoman, but don't try them on me."
The monk wearing the skull prayer beads chanted an unfamiliar Buddhist invocation and said, "A monk does not speak falsehoods. Every word I say comes from the bottom of my heart, so how could you call it deception?"
Yu Qiushui gave a cold laugh. "That's even worse. You've managed to deceive even yourself."
Monk Zhixin laughed.