After finishing the last of his rice, Yi Shuyuan set down his bowl and chopsticks.
As Stoneborn picked them up to put them away, he swept a hand across the bottom of the bowl. A mist of water instantly spread out, washing away the scant traces of food left in the bowl and on the chopsticks.
Seeing that his master did not reprimand him, Stoneborn hurriedly put the bowl and chopsticks into his carrying case.
Yi Shuyuan picked up the Peerless Elixir Art and tucked it into his sleeve, then rose and headed toward the guest courtyard.
"Master, where are you going?"
"To stroll around the monastery."
"I'm coming too!"
Stoneborn called out and hurried after him at a trot.
Although Yi Shuyuan had never heard of the Xiangshan Zen Monastery before, it clearly held considerable standing in Su Prefecture, here in the northwest. The sheer size of its grounds made that plain.
The guest quarters where Yi Shuyuan was staying were only one part of the accommodations. There were two other guest courtyards as well.
There had not seemed to be many worshippers when they arrived, and they had barely seen any monks either, yet quite a few people were staying in the guest courtyards. They had probably just happened to arrive at mealtime.
Now, as Yi Shuyuan walked through the monastery with Stoneborn, they saw worshippers and monks passing by one after another. The direction they came from made it clear where the dining hall was.
"Master, look over there!"
Stoneborn pointed at someone in the distance-or, more precisely, a monk walking over from the dining hall.
Unlike the other monks of the Xiangshan Zen Monastery, this monk wore a robe so old that it was even a little tattered, with several visible patches.
A string of Buddhist