Fa Feng, abbot of the Four Truths Blue Lotus—whose lay name was Li Xuezhu—pushed the tea tray toward the Dragon King. "The tea is ordinary, but the water comes from snow and ice on the Tianshan Mountains that have stood for ten thousand years. It's quite worth a taste..."
Gu Shenwei lifted the delicate teacup and took a small sip. "A vulgar man like me can't taste anything special."
"Heh. The Dragon King speaks the truth." Fa Feng sat with his left leg folded beneath him and his right knee raised, his monk's robes hanging loosely on his frame. Apart from his shaved head, he had the bearing of a Central Plains gentleman. "This meltwater comes from the highest reaches of the Tianshan Mountains. It may not have melted once since the world began. A rare treasure. As for its taste, there truly is nothing special about it. But when people hear the words 'rare treasure,' they can't help developing a 'rare treasure' mindset, and so they find a 'rare treasure' taste in it. That accords perfectly with the Buddhist notion that appearances arise from the mind. The Dragon King sees through illusion; you were born with a Buddha's heart."
Gu Shenwei considered this for a moment, then shook his head. "No. If an ordinary person offered me tea, even muddy water, I'd praise it out of courtesy. With you, I don't feel any need to be polite. It has nothing to do with Buddhist or Daoist teachings."
Fa Feng clapped his hands and laughed. "Dragon King, Dragon King, Dragon King." He repeated it three times, then his smile vanished. "You only want to hear the truth."
"Exactly."
"There's too much truth. I don't know where to begin. Do you have a suggestion, Dragon King?"
"Start at the beginning. We