"You have brought joy to many today, Lin Mu. That is no small feat."
"Thank you, Abbot," Lin Mu replied. "It's funny. I've faced beasts, blades, and betrayal… but this—feeding people, watching them smile—it feels just as aningful."
The Abbot gave a knowing nod. "Perhaps one day you will understand why the Buddha smiled beneath the Bodhi tree. Not because he conquered the world—but because he understood how little needed conquering."
Lin Mu took another sip and let out a breath.
"Maybe I'll cook again tomorrow," he said.
The Abbot chuckled. "We'll prepare more bowls."
Having said that, the old man departed, leaving Lin Mu alone with his thoughts. Today had been good, and he had fun despite only doing so chores. But to the others, it had been a day of great joy.
With a smile on his face, Lin Mu returned to the courtyard and sat down to ditate.
Ti passed rather quickly for him, and by the ti he opened his eyes, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
"Hmm… It's a bit late. Looks like I missed breakfast," Lin Mu muttered to himself as he went to check the courtyard.
Only ng Bai was present there, diligently working on his formations.
"Ah, Master. You're up!" ng Bai said upon seeing him approach.
"Yeah. You didn't tell it was late," Lin Mu spoke.
"I didn't want to disturb you in the middle of cultivation. Besides, I can still work on the formations anyway," ng Bai replied.
"I suppose." Lin Mu walked over to take a closer look at his student's progress.
Fifteen talismans had been neatly prepared on the table, each of them showing almost perfect penmanship. However, that did not an they were truly complete. Lin Mu could detect several flaws in the talismans, mostly caused during the infusion of Qi while writing the runes.
"You need to speed up the flow of Qi for these runes and slow down for these," Lin Mu began to correct the mistakes, pointing them out with practiced ease.
ng Bai nodded and listened attentively.
Lin Mu observed him write for two more hours, offering guidance as needed. Only when he felt the output was satisfactory did he stop.
By now, it was ti for lunch, but Monk Hushu was nowhere to be seen.
"Do you know where Monk Hushu went?" Lin Mu asked the boy.
"I don't," ng Bai shook his head. "He might just be doing his duties or sothing," he added.
"I see." Lin Mu wondered if the monk was ditating sowhere. "You can continue practicing your spear technique for now. I'll go out for a bit," he stated.
"Alright," ng Bai said as he took out his spear and began to practice with careful, deliberate movents.
Lin Mu stepped out of the courtyard and spread his immortal sense.
SHUA
His sense enveloped the entirety of the residential peak. He saw monks ditating in temple halls, by the roadsides, upon rocks, on the bare ground, and within their own quarters.
Others were diligently doing their chores—sweeping leaves, drawing water, copying scriptures, or quietly observing nature in focused contemplation.
Yet, among them all, Monk Hushu was absent.
'Perhaps he's busy,' Lin Mu thought. It didn't seem right to disturb the man, so instead, he made his way to the kitchen to see what was happening there.
After all, he had spoken of making food again today.
However, upon arrival, he was swiftly blocked.
"Absolutely not!" declared the monk in charge of the kitchen, his arms crossed firmly.
"Huh? But why?" Lin Mu asked, genuinely confused.
"Amitabha, honored guest, if we let you cook, we might end up spoiling all our juniors," the monk replied solemnly.
"But I just used the common ingredients you all use. Vegetarian ones, too," Lin Mu said, puzzled.
"That's exactly why," the monk replied. "Your cooking is far too good. The pupils will not learn what it is to stay humble with food like that." He shook his head with emphasis.
"Oh…" Lin Mu finally understood. It was not about the ingredients, but the quality of the food itself.
Once or twice might be acceptable, but if he prepared food like that every day, the monks would beco distracted by it. Their minds would linger on the taste of their next al, disrupting their spiritual focus.
The simplicity and occasional blandness of temple food were intentional. It taught discipline, detachnt, and gratitude. Lin Mu's food, however, was far too enjoyable, embedding a strong desire within the newer monks—sothing that could hinder their cultivation of mindfulness.
Having been, in effect, gently kicked out, Lin Mu could only smile wryly and leave the kitchen.
"Guess I can do so other chore," Lin Mu muttered and decided to head toward the open training grounds.
There, several junior monks were engaged in daily work, cleaning and maintaining the area.
They noticed his approach and quickly straightened up.
"Amitabha, honored guest, how may we help you?" One asked, clearly surprised.
"Oh, I'm here to help you," Lin Mu replied casually.
"Help… us?" The junior monks blinked in unison.
In response, Lin Mu pointed to the brooms in their hands.
"I'll help clean, too," he said with a calm smile.
"H-how… How can we ask the honored guest to do that?" one of the monks stamred, clearly embarrassed.
"It's fine. I insist," Lin Mu said as he picked up one of the brooms and began to sweep the ground himself.
The monks stood there, caught between reverence and confusion, not knowing what to do.
"Is this… is this fine?" one of the junior monks whispered.
"It should be… The honored guest wants to do it himself, so we can't exactly say no," another replied. "Huh… where did he go?"
But when he turned around, Lin Mu was nowhere to be seen.
"There!" Soone pointed in the distance.
"How did he get there already?" the monk gasped, and then noticed the ground. "The leaves… they're all cleaned?" he couldn't believe his eyes.
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