The leader smiled elegantly and said, "We dare not accept the title of 'wise,' we are merely seven useless people who were born in a chaotic world and found solace in the bamboo forest."
I waved my hand repeatedly and said, "Apart from Afghanistan and Iraq, the world is still relatively peaceful."
The man continued, "Regardless, we have no interest in politics; we only wish to compose poems and play music in this small space."
A scholar behind the man glared at someone beside him and said sarcastically, "Brother Ji Kang, you are mistaken. Not all of us are indifferent to politics."
The person who was being mocked blushed and stammered, unable to utter a word.
Ji Kang turned around and smiled, "Brother Bo Lun, why bother with such matters? The fact that the seven of us can reunite here shows that we are kindred spirits. Let bygones be bygones."
Xuanzang chuckled and said, "That's well said. Shuye is indeed a man of great wisdom."
Ji Kang respectfully replied, "Teacher, you flatter me. When you have more free time, I will ask you to clarify any obstructions I may have in my understanding of Buddhism."
Xuanzang said, “If you ask me about the origin of the allusion, I can answer you. But as for what is called 'obstruction,' you can only ask your own heart. Once your own heart resolves its doubts, then there will be no doubts in the world.”
Ji Kang was startled, then suddenly laughed heartily, "I know."
Xuanzang waved his hand: "Go."
Ji Kang agreed, "Okay!" and then Mo Tou left.
I sensed something was off about the two of them talking to each other, so I quickly asked, "Where are you going?"
As Ji Kang walked, he laughed loudly and said, "Shuye has already escaped the sea of suffering. The so-called departure is a departure from all the troubles of the world."
I yelled, "Are you going to find a place to commit suicide?"
Ji Kang said unhappily, "Of course not. How could a common man like you understand?"
I scratched my head and said, "No... I mean, where exactly are you planning to go? We need to have a place in mind, right?"
Ji Kang, who was basking in the joy of escaping his misery, was stunned by my extremely practical question and muttered, "Yeah, where am I going?"
I pointed to the door and said, "We don't have a bamboo grove yet at Yucai, but if you go out and walk east, you'll see a small grove of trees after you pass through the small gate. It's secluded there, and it's cheap to play the zither or drink alcohol there..." I remembered that there was a zither that Yu Boya had played in the warehouse. I was going to smash it when I left, but I couldn't bear to.
Just as Ji Kang was about to leave, I said again, "Take these six brothers with you and help them cross the sea of suffering."
I could tell that these seven people weren't very friendly with each other. However, since they were all intellectuals, they mostly just argued verbally. As for why, I wasn't quite sure, but judging from their tone, it seemed to be due to differing political views.
After the Seven Sages left, I said to Xuanzang, "Teacher Chen, congratulations on saving more than half a dozen people."
Xuanzang smiled and said, "Speak differently to different people. When you're with a wise person, you'll naturally understand what they mean."
I said, "Yes, only someone like me needs to use a stick to chisel."
Most of the others were now being led by Xiuxiu to continue their tour of the school and learn about life skills, so I chatted casually with Xuanzang. Baojin leaned in and asked, "Xiaoqiang, how are Brother Yu and the others doing in Qin Dynasty?"
I quickly pulled him aside and introduced him to Xuanzang, saying, "Teacher Chen, this is a colleague of yours."
Bao Jin said with shame, "I haven't done this for many years. Besides, I'm just a monk who's doing this for a living, and I'm far inferior to Teacher Chen."
While politely pouring himself a glass of water, Xuanzang took out a dry, hard-boiled bun from his pocket, cracked it on the table, and ate it with the plain water.
I exclaimed, my face paling, "You're going to eat this?"
Bao Jin said, "Hey, I've been feeling awkward about it for a long time too. First, Xiao Liu and the others don't know how to cook vegetarian food, and second, the pots they use aren't clean, so Teacher Chen isn't used to them." I believe that. Our Yucai School is famous for its good food. Whether Xiao Liu and the others are good cooks or not is another matter, but they are definitely generous with the ingredients. The children eat big chunks of meat and drink big bowls of soup every day—this is also a lingering effect of Liangshan.
This presented a challenge to Xuanzang's diet. We know that a person accustomed to a long-term vegetarian diet cannot tolerate any meat.
I took Xuanzang's hand and said, "Come on, let me treat you to Baisu Garden."
Xuanzang dodged the question, saying, "This is fine. I ate quite a lot of tree leaves during those years on my pilgrimage."
I forcefully pulled him outside, saying, "You're insulting me."
Bao Jin also advised, "Why don't you go with Xiao Qiang? Bai Su Yuan's vegetarian food is very famous. I have class later, so I won't accompany you this time."
Xuanzang had no choice but to get into the carriage with me. He looked around curiously, touching this and that, and asked, "Is this thing called a carriage?" As I started the engine, I said, "Yes, if you had such a thing for your journey to the West, it would take at most a month to travel back and forth—but what you want is just the journey itself. Even if you actually had such a thing, you wouldn't bother driving it, would you?" Xuanzang laughed and said, "Who told you that? I would be overjoyed if I really had such a thing."
I was speechless again. You have to be careful about everything when talking to this monk. All the skills you learned before are useless.
Bai Su Yuan is the most famous vegetarian restaurant in our area. A few years ago, it was barely surviving. But with the rise of various ideologies in recent years, it somehow transformed into a high-end place, with more luxurious decor than restaurants of similar size. However, the prices on the menu have also increased several times over. It has basically become a place for wealthy people to occasionally enjoy something new, and it has also become the designated restaurant for religious people in our area to entertain foreign guests and colleagues.
I led Xuanzang into the first floor of Baisuyuan, where a waiter in a clean white cloth robe greeted us with a smile. The staff here were all local lay Buddhists; sometimes, they would even have a brief discussion about Buddhism with someone wearing a monk's robe—quite unique. However, seeing that we were neither monks nor laypeople, he didn't pay us much attention. We found out that all the private rooms on the second floor were booked, so we had to sit in the main hall.
On the walls of the restaurant hung a commentary on the Diamond Sutra here, a copy of the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch there, and numerous maxims encouraging people to do good were hidden among the artificial hills and plastic flowers. A faint scent of sandalwood wafted through the air without affecting one's appetite. I asked Xuanzang, "Teacher Chen, isn't this a nice place?"
Xuanzang nodded and said, "That's right, that's right. It's a waste to just eat."
When the menu arrived, I flipped through it and said to the waiter, "Your fish dishes are the best here, right? I'd like one."
Seeing Xuanzang's surprised look, I smiled and said, "Don't worry, teacher, this is absolutely the most authentic vegetarian food. We don't put any onions, garlic, or MSG in it." The waiter chimed in, "Yes, our fish is made with tofu skin and gluten."
I also ordered a Four Happiness Meatballs, a Braised Pork Strip, and a Kung Pao Chicken—there's no issue of meat and vegetables here, it's all tofu, dried fruit, and mushrooms. I handed the menu back to the waiter, and seeing Xuanzang's strange expression, I reassured him, "Just eat without worry. I can tell you this, unless the chef cuts his hand while cooking, you won't get any meat here no matter how much you cry and beg."
Xuanzang said, "What you're saying... is even more disgusting than eating meat!"
When the dishes arrived, I secretly exclaimed in amazement. The fish was made...it really looked like a real fish, and you could even see the handmade fake bones when you picked it up with your chopsticks. The braised pork strips were made...it really looked like braised pork strips, and there was even a difference between the skin and the lean and fatty parts. The meatballs were made...well, they really looked like meatballs.
I broke off a pair of chopsticks for Xuanzang and handed them to him, saying, "How about it, Teacher Chen? Is this a good enough vegetarian dish?"
Xuanzang smiled slightly and said, "You've become attached to appearances, you've become attached to appearances."
I asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Xuanzang said, "Since you know they are vegetarian, why do you insist on making them look like birds and animals? Isn't that just focusing on the appearance?"