On the evening of the nineteenth day of the fifth month, Chen Caozhi's party of four finally caught up with Master Zhi Mindu and Xie Xuan in Yuji County. The Xie Clan's servants had booked an entire small inn, swept and cleaned it, then invited Master Du and Young Master E to stay. When Chen Caozhi arrived, Xie Xuan had just finished sharing a vegetarian meal with Zhi Mindu.
Xie Xuan no longer wore face powder, though the scent of first-grade agarwood still clung to him. Tall and slender, he stood straight as jade, his two eyebrows slanting upward, his heroic bearing striking. At the sight of Chen Caozhi, he said happily, "Brother Zizhong, you caught up with us." He then led Chen Caozhi to see Master Zhi Mindu. The attendant monk Lingyou had already paid his respects to Master Du and recounted everything about going to Chen Family Cove and inviting Chen Caozhi to the Xie Clan Villa at Dongshan.
Chen Caozhi paid his respects to Master Zhi Mindu and thanked him for traveling so far to treat his mother.
The light of two oil lamps cast a hazy yellow glow. The gaunt, aged eminent monk Zhi Mindu sat cross-legged in the lamplight, his gaze kind as he looked at Chen Caozhi. "Layman Chen, you have not eaten yet, have you? Please eat first, and then this old monk will talk with you."
Chen Caozhi went to eat a vegetarian meal. After a hurried bath, he came to see Zhi Mindu with his hair loose and his robe open at the neck. Zhi Mindu still sat in the lamplight, as though he had never moved at all.
Chen Caozhi sat down beside Xie Xuan. The old monk Zhi Mindu began, "Layman Chen, because this exists, that exists; because this