Wine could commune with the divine

The middle-aged Attendant Monk accepted it, thanking them repeatedly. It was not that Qu Zan did not want to offer a greater reward; giving too much would draw too much attention.

After the middle-aged Attendant Monk left, Qu Zan said, "Old sir, do you still remember me?"

"Who might you two masters be?" Yeluo still seemed somewhat evasive after seeing the steward leave.

Qu Zan glanced at Yeluo's mouth. He, too, had gaps in his teeth, much like the man they had seen that night.

Qu Zan pointed to himself, then to Doje, and said, "Thanks to your blessing, one of us became a Scholar Monk, and the other a Warrior Monk..."

Yeluo still looked utterly blank, completely failing to understand what Qu Zan meant.

Doje said, "Is he the person we're looking for? This fellow looks so slow-witted. He seems completely muddled!"

Holding Yeluo's hand, Qu Zan said, "Old sir, why are your hands shaking so badly? What ailment is causing it?"

Those hands were rough and aged, unmistakably the hands of someone who had spent years working.

Qu Zan smiled and said, "Your words were so accurate that I intend to report to my master that you're a man blessed with good fortune."

Yeluo still looked bewildered, as though he did not understand what Qu Zan was saying at all.

He doesn't care at all! He doesn't care if I report him! Qu Zan thought.

He asked a few more questions, but the other man remained dull-witted and could barely manage a few words.

Seeing this, the two could only leave.

The middle-aged Attendant Monk escorted them all the way out.

Qu Zan asked, "How long has Yeluo been at the temple?"

The Attendant Monk said, "A long time. He was already tending the horses when I arrived at the temple. Probably over twenty years."

"That long?" Qu Zan pondered briefly.

"Yes. Old Yeluo seems to have looked just like that ever since I entered the temple. It's no small feat that he's still alive after all these years," the middle-aged Attendant Monk said.

They left the Attendant Monk behind.

Qu Zan said, "What do you think?"

Doje said, "What can I think? He's just an ordinary old man. Nothing remarkable about him. He's not the same person we met at all."

"It seems some sort of trigger brought it about. I'm certain-no, absolutely certain-that this fellow is the person we're looking for."

Doje said, "Even if he is, so what?"

If that old man was not a white dragon dressed as a fish, not one of the temple's higher-ups traveling in disguise...

Then it was even more frightening. He... could predict their futures!

Naturally, Qu Zan would not tell Doje this conjecture.

The conjecture seemed wildly off-key, but once every impossibility had been eliminated, whatever remained, however heretical, might still be the truth.

Qu Zan said, "Then we must thank him properly. We've benefited from his tremendous good fortune!"

Someone who might be able to predict the future was nothing short of a priceless treasure in Mìdì, where danger lurked everywhere.

Even if it was only a possibility, Qu Zan was willing to seek him out and investigate.

"You say they're one person, but however I look at it, they're two. Their height and their condition don't match!"

Qu Zan said, "Exactly. They're completely different people."

"Junior brother, you've got me all tangled up. Why are you saying they're two people now?" Doje felt somewhat bewildered.

"Do you know under what circumstances someone can turn into a completely different person?"

"Body possession? Possession by a ghost?" Doje exclaimed in alarm.

"Something like that, but not so mystical," Qu Zan said. "If someone drinks heavily for years, his hands will shake uncontrollably."

"Alcohol?"

When ancient shamans performed rites and sacrifices, alcohol was an indispensable tool.

With alcohol, shamans could enter a frenzied state of "communion with the divine."

That was why many cultures revered drinking vessels as ritual vessels.

"Drinking in our temple? Isn't that a major violation of the precepts?" Doje said in surprise. "Besides, alcohol is very expensive. Where would an old horse keeper get any to drink?"

Doje shook his head without speaking.

Qu Zan smiled and said, "Think again."

"You mean the Lay Disciples' Courtyard!" Doje drew in a sharp breath. "That explains everything. That fellow went down into the tunnel to steal alcohol."

"So that old bastard was deceiving us, putting on an act in front of us?" Doje said.

"A person's drunken memories are completely separate from his everyday memories. He wasn't necessarily deceiving us. For now, treat him as having a split personality," Qu Zan said.

Doje did not understand what a split personality meant.

"Then aren't we back at a dead end? That fellow only appears when he's drunk. If he doesn't get drunk, won't he just never appear?" Doje said.

"That's simple. Grab the old man and pour alcohol down his throat!" Qu Zan said bluntly.

"That's a good plan!" Doje said with a smile. "That's my junior brother for you, coming up with a brilliant move straightaway!"

"But A-re is too expensive!" A-re meant high-proof distilled liquor in the esoteric language. "Besides, wouldn't buying A-re violate the precepts?"

They were monks of the Corpse Camel Temple. The taverns nearby at the foot of the mountain could not possibly sell them alcohol.

"Then shall we steal some?" Doje suggested.

"No, that's too risky." One of them was a Scholar Monk and the other a Warrior Monk. If they were caught stealing alcohol and expelled, the loss would be far too great.

"There's no rush. We'll take it slowly," Qu Zan said. This was a long fishing line; he would have to take his time reeling in the big fish.

After this excursion, the two had to part ways and return to their respective courtyards for evening lessons.

Doje said, "Junior brother, have you noticed anything different about me this time?" A mysterious smile appeared on his face.

Qu Zan looked him up and down and said, "If anything really is different, your face seems bigger. You've put on weight!"

"Nonsense. I've lost weight," Doje said. "I've already started practicing the Yoga Division's techniques."

"Really?" Qu Zan was delighted too. "Then you must teach me..."

"You really want to learn?" Doje said. "I asked my master. It doesn't count as breaking the rules for the temple's Scholar Monks to learn our Warrior Monk practices. Do you have that much time to train? Aren't you afraid you'll end up accomplishing nothing?"

"Learning more is never a bad thing," Qu Zan said.

With his panel, why would he worry about not having enough time? He only worried about not having enough knowledge.

"Then here's what we'll do. On our day off this week, your senior brother will give you a proper lesson." Doje smiled smugly, cracking his fingers.

Junior Brother Gyatso had joined later than him, was cleverer than him, knew more than him, and was more handsome than him.

Apart from being a few years younger than his junior brother, Doje seemed unable to measure up in any other way. Now things were looking up.

He had suffered quite a bit during his recent training. At last, he could regain some ground in front of his junior brother!

At this thought, Doje felt full of motivation to practice the Yoga Method.

Over the following days, Qu Zan continued studying every day.

His mental consciousness grew steadily, and his progress in [Extensive Learning] also advanced.

His physique stat had been stagnant for some time. Training in the Yoga Method with Doje on the seventh day should improve his physique considerably.

"There really has been a lot going on lately." Qu Zan rubbed the space between his brows.