Chapter 267: Are You Really All Right?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Herlyee Translations

Ji Zhao was stunned for a moment before she smiled. “Master, why are you saying this?”

“Benefactor, you’ve come from afar, haven’t you?”

The benevolent-looking monks smile was filled with understanding.

“Ahem.” Ji Zhao cleared her throat and couldn’t help but smile. “Master, don’t you think that if a friend comes from afar, it will be a pleasure?”

“Benefactor, there’s no need to panic.” Wuzhi looked into her eyes and sighed softly. “Benefactor, you are a blessed person. As long as you are devoted to Buddhism and be kind, you will be able to achieve your wish.”

Ji Zhao fell silent.

She caught the implication in the monk’s words.

“Since the master has already started his lecture, we can’t disturb you.” Zhao Lanhua also realized that the situation was a little strange. She gently tugged at Ji Zhao’s sleeve and smiled at the monk sitting on the high platform.

Wuzhi smiled and gently knocked on the wooden fish in front of him. Then, he slowly spoke…

About an hour later, as Wuzhi stood up and left, today’s lecture ended.

“Master Wuzhi is indeed an eminent monk!”

“That’s right. After hearing Master Wuzhi’s insights on the Lotus Sutra, I also feel that the Buddhist Dharma is boundless!’

The people around him were full of praise for this Grandmaster Wuzhi, but Ji Zhao felt that there was something strange about this Grandmaster who had appeared out of nowhere.

When she heard him preach the scriptures just now, she only felt sleepy.

She did not comprehend any Buddhist Dharma at all?

“Ah Tao, let’s go and try the vegetarian food made by Master Wuzhi.” Zhao Lanhua wrapped her arms around Ji Zhao’s arm intimately and said with a smile, “You don’t know, but it’s not easy to taste the vegetarian food made by Master Wuzhi himself. You have to reserve it seven days in advance!”

Filled with curiosity, Ji Zhao had no choice but to accompany Zhao Lanhua to the small kitchen of the Earth Temple.

At that moment, there was already a line outside the small kitchen. Everyone was holding a wooden bowl in their hands, and everyone’s faces were filled with excited smiles.

More importantly, Ji Zhao could smell the fragrance of meat wafting out of the kitchen.

If she wasn’t wrong, this fragrance should come from…

Red braised pork!

This Master Wuzhi was really unique!

Could it be that this Master Wuzhi was a fake monk?

Just as Ji Zhao was frowning and deep in thought, the door to the small kitchen was already opened.

Everyone walked in through the side door on the left in an orderly manner. A few seconds later, they walked out of the small door on the right.

Soon, it was Ji Zhao’s turn.

As expected, there was an extra portion of red braised pork in her bowl.

“Didn’t they say that monks don’t eat meat? Looks like Master Wuzhi isn’t really a Buddhist?’

“Patron, why don’t you give it a try?” Wuzhi extended his arm to her, indicating that she should taste it first.

Ji Zhao looked at him suspiciously. She picked up the red braised pork with his chopsticks and took a small bite.

The juice was clear and sweet, and it melted in her mouth. Although there was a faint fragrance of meat, Ji Zhao could still taste it.

The red braised pork in the bowl was not real meat.

The ingredient used for this red braised pork was tofu.

To be able to make the tofu taste like meat, Master Wuzhi’s culinary skills were indeed extraordinary.

“I’ve offended you,” Ji Zhao apologized sincerely. “I hope Master can forgive my rudeness.”

“Benefactor, you don’t have to do this.” Grandmaster Wuzhi smiled. “I’ve already said it just now. Benefactor, you are a blessed person. Namo Amitabha!”

“Grandmaster Wuzhi, I feel that there’s a hidden meaning behind your words,”

Ji Zhao said bluntly. “Grandmaster, if you have something to say, why don’t you just say it?’

“Fate is predestined. Benefactor, you came from afar. You can treat all of this as a cultivation or a dream.” Grandmaster Wuzhi put his palms together and sighed softly. “You have to know that everything in the dream is like looking at flowers in the fog or trying to scoop up the moon from the water. In the end, it’s all for naught. ‘

“I’ve read a lot of books in the past. Those eminent monks in myths and legends always say some mysterious words that are hard to understand. They say that heaven’s secrets can’t be revealed, but I think everything is nonsense,” Ji Zhao said sharply. “Looking at flowers in the fog, at least there are flowers; trying to scoop up the moon from the water, at least there is a moon. What do you think, Master?”

“If you insist on treating everything in your dream as real, you will hurt yourself in the end.”

Wuzhi sighed softly. Then, he took off a Bodhi bracelet from his wrist and handed it to her. “Since you insist on staying in the dream, I have no right to ask. It’s just that this Bodhi bracelet was asked by an old man with gray hair to pass it to you. Please accept it!”

When she saw the golden Bodhi bracelet, Ji Zhao could not help but be stunned.

That was her grandfather’s bracelet!

“Master, this is my…”

“Fate is determined by the heavens. Benefactor, why don’t you think about it carefully!” Looking at her stunned gaze, Wuzhi sighed softly. “Benefactor, you are immersed in the world of dreams, but you don’t know that in the world of reality, there are also people bitterly waiting for you to wake up.”

After returning to the Shen residence, Ji Zhao locked himself in her room.

She stared at the Bodhi bracelet in her hand, her eyes flickering with a dark light.

Grandmaster Wuzhi said that everything she experienced was a dream.

Was she about to wake up?

But how could this be a dream?

Now, she had completely integrated into the world in the book and even fell in love with Shen Yao.

Squeak—

The door was slowly pushed open and Shen Yao slowly walked to her side.

“Ah Tao?”

“Huh?” Ji Zhao subconsciously looked up and met Shen Yao’s worried eyes. ‘What’s wrong?” Shen Yao sat beside her and asked gently, ‘Mother said that after coming back from the Earth Temple, you were a little strange. You even locked yourself in the house? What exactly happened?’

“Shen Yao.” Ji Zhao wanted to say something, but she did not know where to start.

In the end, she forced a smile. “I’m fine. Perhaps I’ve been a little tired recently.”

“Are you really fine?” Shen Yao stared into her eyes and confirmed again.

Ji Zhao shook her head and grabbed his arm. She looked up and smiled. “Can you lend me your shoulder?”

“My pleasure.”

Shen Yao sat upright on the soft couch. Ji Zhao tilted her head and leaned on his shoulder, gently closing her eyes.

“Have you and Father already visited the village chief?”

“Yes.” Shen Yao nodded slightly. “I have to go to the county office tomorrow morning. I can only participate in this year’s Imperial Examination after I regain my student status.”

“Regain your student status?”

“Four years ago, when the news of my failure spread back to my family, my father could not believe it, so he asked the village chief to accompany him to Thunder Mountain County to find out more. Unexpectedly, he received ten beatings by the county magistrate of Thunder Mountain County. At that time, the village chief also realized the strangeness of the matter, so he begged the county office of Dingyuan County to cancel my school record..”