Fortune Pavilion.
By the window.
A huge basin of braised pork knuckles, red with sauce and gleaming with oil, steamed furiously.
Beside it stood several jars of strong liquor with their clay seals broken. The aroma of wine mingled with the scent of meat, stirring the appetite in the depths of the night.
"Amitabha."
Monk Bujie intoned a Buddhist invocation, then immediately reached out and grabbed the fattest pork knuckle. Unfazed by the heat, he opened his mouth and took an enormous bite.
"Slurp—"
Grease ran from the corners of his mouth.
Chen Tong, seated across from him, rolled his eyes and lifted his wine bowl for a sip.
"Now I know why Vajra Temple threw you out back then... If I were the abbot, I'd have cleaned house long ago. How could I possibly let you remain in this world?"
"Not so, not so."
Monk Bujie chewed the pork skin indistinctly, his face solemn.
"Wine and meat may pass through the belly, but the Buddha remains in the heart."
"People only know how to cultivate the mouth, not the heart. This humble monk is tempering his heart amid the mortal world. The great wisdom within it is something you don't know shit about."
Jiang Yuechu sat to one side, staring blankly at the wine.
This stuff...
Was it really that good?
It wasn't as though she had never drunk alcohol in her past life, but she had only ever tried beer.
With liquor like this, the smell alone made her want to throw up.
She truly didn't know how anyone could like the stuff...
She lifted her head and glanced beside her.
Liu Ke was acting strangely today, drinking himself into a sullen silence. She had no idea what was troubling him so deeply.
"What?"
She asked, "Still haven't