To see whether Baozhu's scheme would proceed smoothly, the group stayed at Chan'guang Temple for a few more days.
With lime drawing out its moisture and the lingering heat of the fire slowly baking it, Tanlin's corpse had become a rigid, desiccated mummy.
The monks of Chan'guang Temple were already skilled at preserving corpses. At Wei Xun's suggestion, they quietly removed Tanlin's internal organs, filled his abdominal cavity with lime and spices, and coated his entire body with preservative tung oil. Once gilded, this fragrant Living Buddha would remain undecayed for two or three hundred years.
As for Guanchuan's disappearance, everyone believed that he had once been a wandering hero of the Rivers and Lakes, coming without a shadow and leaving without a trace. Now that Master Tanlin had entered nirvana and become a Buddha, his duty as guardian was over. His disappearance was only natural.
Of the five monks of the Guan Generation-Shan, Chuan, Yun, Chao, and Cheng-only three remained. Since Tanlin's will expressly named Guanchao as his successor, no one dared object. They immediately invited the handsome young monk to take the abbot's seat and carry out the vital duty of feeding the starving.
Guanchao had previously overseen the Great Kitchen, managing the dining hall, the Fragrant Kitchen, and the granaries and storerooms, providing vegetarian meals for the thousand-plus monks of the Great Chan'guang Temple and the patrons who came to lodge there. He knew these complicated daily affairs like the palm of his hand, and his heart was especially compassionate. He soon settled into his duties, accepting donations from worshippers and distributing relief to the starving in orderly fashion.
Baozhu and the other three gathered in Yang Xingjian's room to discuss their recent observations in secret. All approved of Guanchao's ability to get things done.
Yang Xingjian