After setting down the basin of food, the old man returned to the counter to fetch bowls. Twenty-two bowls were stacked into four piles and placed steadily on the table.
The players each took a wooden bowl, served themselves some food, and found corners to sit in. Dream Teller went over and chatted with the old man for a few moments, quickly learning most of the relevant information.
The old man was named Sangji. He was the owner of this inn and handled every matter by himself. It was impossible to say how much care and how many years he had poured into this wooden building.
Dream Teller said with a genial smile, "Judging by your age, you must have run this inn for fifty or sixty years, right?"
"No, no, no!" Sangji waved his hands repeatedly, his face turning panicked, as though he knew ghosts and monsters would appear but had no idea when they would arrive. "No years, no months. The gods watch over Shangri-La; one mustn't speak carelessly of such things..."
He muttered as he walked away, staggering on unsteady feet. His trouser legs, which did not even reach his ankles, swayed with his movements, revealing no sign of legs beneath them.
Watching Sangji's retreating back, Lu Li said, "In many superstitious places, asking an old person's age is taboo. Legend says that as long as a person does not let the gods know their exact age, they can cheat life and death and live forever. But if their age is exposed, the deception is uncovered, and their life will be taken away."
"It isn't that simple," Fu Jue said. "The name 'Sangji' means 'Buddha' in Tibetan. Buddha is formless and desireless, without birth or death, and beyond time. The known core elements of this instance include