Lunchtime finally arrived amidst Zuo Ningyuan's anxious anticipation.

Xiao Yunying particularly liked one of the mushroom hot pot dishes, and ate four or five bowls before putting down her chopsticks.

Luo Sheng asked, "Have you finished eating?"

Xiao Yunying glanced at the nearly empty clay pot, then belatedly realized her face was burning: "I'm full."

"I have another bowl here, you can have it."

"No need, I'm full. You should eat it while it's hot. This mushroom hot pot tastes really good."

Chen Yuancheng looked up at the sound: "If you like it, have the monks make it again tonight. There's a kind of mushroom in this pot that's only available this season. After spring, we won't be able to eat it until next year."

Chen Yuanxuan said in a low voice, "It tastes good, but there's no meat."

Xiao Yunying said, "Monks have a precept that they cannot eat meat. We'll have your older brother take you to eat meat when we return to the city tomorrow."

Chen Yuanyao put a piece of bamboo shoot on her younger brother's plate: "Why are you still thinking about eating meat? You finally lost a little weight, don't gain it all back."

Chen Yuanxuan put the bamboo shoot in his mouth: "No, my big brother is already looking for a martial arts master for me. Once I start learning martial arts, I won't gain weight again."

Xiao Yunying looked at him: "You're going to learn martial arts too? You didn't get this idea after seeing Xin'er start learning martial arts, did you?"

"Yes, I used to be quite lazy, but after I learned that Sister Xin'er started learning martial arts, I felt that if a little girl could do it, I couldn't be inferior to a little girl. Moreover, learning martial arts can not only strengthen the body, but also protect the people around you. There's no harm in learning it."

“You’re honest, and your self-awareness is correct.” Xiao Yunying smiled. “It’s just that practicing martial arts is very tiring and difficult. Xin’er has cried several times. Can you persevere?”

“Xin’er cried, but she didn’t give up, did she? If Xin’er can persevere, I can too.”

"Not bad, you have perseverance. Let's see who's better between you two in the future."

Luo Xin swallowed the food in her mouth, looked at the table to make sure there was no teapot, and then looked up and said, "Mother, I want to drink water."

Xiao Yunying glanced at the table and said, "There's no tea. I'll go check on it."

Upon hearing this, Ling Qi, who was eating, put down his chopsticks and said, "It was probably the monk's oversight. I'll go get some tea right away."

Xiao Yunying gestured for him to sit down: "You eat, I'll go out and take a look."

"How could this be..."

"Let's leave it here. I'm already full, so I'll just go out for a walk to digest."

"Sit down and eat," Chen Yuancheng said to Ling Qi, then turned to Xiao Yunying and said, "The kitchen here isn't cooking. If you want tea, you'll have to go to the kitchen in the back of the temple to get some water."

Xiao Yunying stood up and said, "It's alright, it's not far. I'll find out where it is and go. You guys eat."

She followed the path she had come from and returned to the back courtyard of Liangshan Temple through the back gate, where she stopped a young monk and asked him for directions to the kitchen.

The monk led her directly to the kitchen before leaving. Xiao Yunying thanked him and told the monk, who was busy in the kitchen, that she wanted tea.

“Please wait a moment, benefactors. We just fetched some spring water, and it hasn’t been heated yet. We’ll make hot tea for you in a bit and send it over.”

"No need for you to make another trip, I'll just wait here for a while."

With nothing else to do, she started chatting with the monk, specifically asking about the recipes for the mushroom hot pot and other vegetarian dishes, and inquiring about the ingredients and seasonings used in them.

Once the water was hot, the monk took out tea leaves from the cupboard and brewed them. Because there were many of them, Xiao Yunying ordered two pots of tea, placed them along with the teacups on a large tray, thanked the monk, and left.

As she was leaving the backyard, she was so focused on the tray in her hand that she almost bumped into a monk who was rushing in.

The other person reacted quickly, grabbing her waist with one hand for leverage and using the other to help her stabilize the tray.

Once she had regained her footing, the other person hurriedly withdrew his hand, took a few steps back, and clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect.

"Benefactor, this humble monk has been rude."

Xiao Yunying breathed a sigh of relief, and then realized that the monk in front of her was the one who had interpreted her fortune: "I should thank the master. If these two pots of hot tea had spilled on me, that would have been terrible."

"It was because I entered in such a hurry that I did not see you, benefactor, and you were frightened for no reason."

Luo Sheng, who was not far away, strode over and said, "Master, you have quite the skill."

Xiao Yunying asked in surprise, "Why are you here?"

Luo Sheng walked to her side and took the tray from her hands with one hand: "I was worried because you haven't come back for a long time, so I came to check on you."

"What's there to worry about? I can't lose it. The freshly boiled spring water was just a little late."

Luo Sheng nodded and looked at the monk: "Master, your skills are quite good. Have you practiced martial arts?"

The tone of the question was not like a question. The monk seemed to be startled by Luo Sheng's sharp tone before he spoke, "When I was young, I did learn some martial arts to strengthen my body, but it was just the tip of the iceberg."

"Martial arts practitioners have keen senses, and since you are a monk, you should act more cautiously. In the future, you should not be distracted while walking, lest you bump into someone."

Xiao Yunying didn't understand why Luo Sheng was being so aggressive at the moment. Thinking that she still had something to ask the monk, she tugged at Luo Sheng's sleeve, signaling him to stop talking.

The monk was not angry, and bowed to Xiao Yunying again: "It was my rudeness. Are you hurt anywhere, benefactor?"

"Master, please don't be so polite. I'm not injured. It's fate that we met here. I was just thinking of finding some time to talk to you. Do you have some free time?"

"You probably want to go to the peach grove behind the mountain to admire the flowers this afternoon. You can come to me tomorrow morning to ask for my advice."

"Master, you are truly a genius. It's settled then."

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