Chapter 11: The Top Student

Chen Shuhan looked like a student, still quite young.

But even at his young age, he was already a teenager, not much younger than Qin Qing. Not only did she feel uncomfortable with someone so grown-up bowing to her, but the mere act of someone bowing to her was quite awkward.

He had a delicate appearance and dressed neatly, completely unlike his stout father.

When Qin Qing declined his bow, he simply nodded in greeting, then respectfully placed the gift box on a rock beside her. It was clear that his respect didn’t stem from any particular admiration for Qin Qing, but rather from simply obeying his father.

After delivering the gift box, he quietly retreated and stood beside his father.

Having already accepted 100,000 yuan, a small gift box wasn’t going to make a difference. Chen Daguang looked expectant, so Qin Qing didn’t refuse.

She also felt it would be impolite to open it in front of him.

Mumu, however, didn’t care about such formalities. It immediately jumped over, sniffed around, and then, losing interest, lay down on the ground.

The onlookers, who were watching the spectacle with confusion, became impatient. Someone asked Chen Daguang, “Hey, big brother, don’t just say thank you. What exactly happened? Tell us about it.”

Chen Daguang was eager to impress Qin Qing, so he didn’t hold back, recounting the entire story of Fang Chang and himself in detail. He seemed quite skilled at storytelling, particularly emphasizing how wise and divine Qin Qing was, how sharp her insight, and how benevolent her heart. He then described how insidious, heartless, and cruel the swindler Fang Chang was. As for himself, he naturally portrayed himself as honest and simple, a loving brother, and someone who enjoyed helping others, otherwise, how could he have been deceived by someone close to him?

He exuded an aura of “Look, I am just this honest and simple.”

Qin Qing noticed that whenever Chen Daguang praised himself, Chen Shuhan, standing beside him, would lift his eyelids, press his lips together, and then subtly twitch.

Was he… trying to hold back laughter?

Well, she had to admit it was quite amusing.

As Chen Daguang vividly narrated, the surrounding crowd occasionally uttered sounds like “Oh~,” “Huh?” and “Wow!”

If he ever stopped doing business, he could probably make a name for himself as a storyteller.

But Qin Qing’s attention was no longer on them; her gaze was fixed on a passing Daoist priest.

This middle-aged Daoist priest was 175 cm tall, and by the looks of it, probably weighed 175 kg. He had a small topknot, wore a loose, dark blue Daoist robe, and black cloth shoes. The shoes were muddy, but his exposed socks were remarkably white.

He had just arrived from outside and was heading towards the main entrance of Baiyun Temple. In his left hand, he carried a winter melon in a net bag. The melon looked fresh, with white ash still clinging to its skin and fresh moisture on its stem.

The winter melon was about twenty centimeters in diameter, weighing at least thirty to forty catties, yet the Daoist priest carried it effortlessly with one hand, his body perfectly straight, his hand steady. In his other hand, he was even munching on an unpeeled cucumber. As he munched, he slowly ascended the stone steps to the main entrance of Baiyun Temple, strolling leisurely, and entered the temple.

As he passed the cluster of people around Qin Qing, he chewed his cucumber and glanced over, then walked away without interest. His pace didn’t falter in the slightest.

Qin Qing’s attention wasn’t drawn to him because of his seemingly great strength. Rather, it was because in the System Panel above this Daoist priest’s head, the top-ranked skill in the “Skill” column was a skill with a rating of 90.

[Skill 1: Vegetarian Cuisine – 90]

Qin Qing remembered that the beef noodle soup she had eaten a few days ago at the Police Station, the boss’s braised beef skill was only 60. How delicious must a vegetarian cuisine skill rated 90 be?

Her eyes lit up, and her mouth quickly began to water.

After a morning of hard work (which was just sitting there being thanked by Chen Daguang, by the way), Qin Qing felt she deserved to treat herself.

“Hey…” She called out to Chen Daguang, “You often come to Baiyun Temple. Do you know if the temple’s dining hall is open to the public?”

Qin Qing remembered that some Daoist temples offered dining services, and some even offered accommodation.

A senior fellow apprentice, who shared the same mentor as her, once went to a Daoist temple for healing after a breakup. He returned to work within a few days because eating vegetarian meals had made him look pale. After that, he found even the school cafeteria food delicious.

Chen Daguang quickly replied, “Yes, Master. Baiyun Temple’s Dining Hall offers a self-service vegetarian banquet during the early morning and at noon. For lunch, it’s open from eleven o’clock until one o’clock in the afternoon. Although there’s no meat, it allows one to fully enjoy the elegant taste of vegetarian food.”

Qin Qing checked the time: 10:40. Goodness, wasn’t that perfect timing? If she strolled over, the timing would be just right.

She patted her bottom and stood up: “Alright, that’s enough for today. We’re closing up shop.”

The surrounding people had just listened to a storytelling session of “The Adventures of Honest Old Chen” and were wondering if Qin Qing truly possessed such miraculous fortune-telling abilities, wanting to try her out. Unexpectedly, she was leaving, and many tried to stop her, saying it wouldn’t take much time to tell two more fortunes.

Qin Qing waved her hand: “I have something to do today. Come early tomorrow!”

Ignoring the crowd’s reactions, she tossed the gift box Chen Daguang gave her into the bag where she kept Mumu’s dog food cans. Two small folding stools also went in. She tied the drawstring of the bag and slung it over her shoulder, carrying it like a sack as she walked away.

Her rough handling made Chen Daguang’s eyes twitch. He wanted to tell Qin Qing that his gift was a piece of jade, a fragile item that shouldn’t be treated that way. But then he thought, she’s a Master, she can even calculate when a swindler from dozens of miles away will sign a contract. Couldn’t she figure out what gift he gave her?

This is called having perspective.

Chen Daguang managed to convince himself through his own imagination, but he was still stifled, his face turning red.

Qin Qing looked at the stout man with a suspicious expression.

Not only could he tell stories, but he could also perform the skill of turning red in a second?

She could see what the gift was, but the log information was so vast that she wasn’t constantly flipping through it. So she really didn’t know what was in the gift box, and she wasn’t intentionally rough with it.

Qin Qing walked off with the bag on her shoulder. Then, remembering something, she turned to Liang Jinguo, who was already lost in thought and looking utterly dejected from being squeezed by the onlookers, and instructed him: “Mr. Liang, please consider my suggestion. Once you’ve thought it over, you can have your son contact me. He has my contact information.”

Having given her instructions, she felt light and unburdened as she hurried towards Baiyun Temple.

Eating at the school cafeteria was always crowded and required queuing. Baiyun Temple had a constant stream of visitors, so she wondered if the dining hall would also be packed. She needed to get there early to secure a spot and grab some food.

Oh my, a vegetarian meal with a skill rating of 90!

As she happily mused, a large figure appeared beside her.

It was the very noticeable Chen Daguang.

He jogged to catch up, asking cautiously, “Master, are you going to the Dining Hall for a meal? If you intend to dine there, I am quite familiar with this place and would be honored to guide you.”

Qin Qing’s teeth ached from the overly flowery language.

Chen Daguang hadn’t used such flowery, half-classical, half-colloquial language when he was telling stories. Why did he suddenly adopt this manner when speaking to her?

She glanced at Chen Shuhan, who was a few steps behind, looking completely calm. She wondered if he was used to it, or if he didn’t find anything wrong with his father’s way of speaking.

His own son could tolerate it, but Qin Qing couldn’t. If this continued, she might not even reach the temple dining hall; forget lunch, she might even throw up her breakfast.

She hadn’t even spoken yet, but perhaps her expression was too obvious, as Chen Daguang asked first, “Master, is there anything improper about me? Please tell me directly.”

As he spoke, he was about to cup his hands and bow again.

Qin Qing: “No, Mr. Chen…”

“Master, please don’t call me that. Just call me Da Guang.”

Qin Qing: “…” No, she was afraid it would shorten her life; it sounded rather… that.

After all, he had paid her, so her wording was relatively tactful, or at least she thought so, though in reality, it wasn’t particularly tactful.

“Then I’ll call you Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen. We can speak more directly, can’t we? It’s less tiring for me to listen, and less tiring for you to speak, right?”

Chen Daguang was surprised: “Oh, isn’t that how Masters usually speak to each other? It makes one seem profound. Alas, I just want to try my best to emulate you, Master.”

Qin Qing: “…”

Don’t talk nonsense. When did she ever speak in such an overly flowery way? And even if that’s the speaking style among Masters, why are you trying to join in?

She clicked her tongue, swallowing all her complaints. She just said, “No need for that, just be normal, just be normal.”

Chen Daguang looked enlightened, not knowing what he had imagined, and whispered to her, “Master, I understand. When walking in the mundane world, one must be low-key. Don’t worry, I am best at being low-key.”

Qin Qing: “…”

You, low-key? That’s really hard to believe.

But she still nodded: “That’s good.”

Qin Qing and her companions arrived early, and the dining hall hadn’t started queuing yet. Several people in light blue Daoist robes, but without long hair, were busy in the dining hall, arranging dishes.

Chen Daguang took the opportunity to explain in a low voice that these were all volunteers from the temple.

Qin Qing entered the dining hall almost exactly on time.

Although there was no explicit rule prohibiting dogs, she still left Mumu outside the dining hall, as it wasn’t interested in vegetarian food anyway.

The dining hall in a religious place was not much different from a school cafeteria, just a bit smaller, and the slogans were different.

For example: “Cultivate the mind with a pure heart, eat with principle”; “Purity and peace, find truth in taste.”

And: “Every meal, every drink, consider your conduct.”

The vegetarian buffet was very cheap, 12 yuan per person, including soup and fruit.

Qin Qing took a tray and had a volunteer serve her food, then she stepped aside and didn’t take any more dishes.

She had observed carefully: there was no winter melon among the dishes currently available. She didn’t even need to check the System Panel log; she could infer that the Daoist priest carrying the winter melon was still wandering outside half an hour ago, so these already served dishes couldn’t possibly be his handiwork. Perhaps these volunteers made them.

What was the point of eating that? She was here for the winter melon… no, she was here for the vegetarian cuisine with a skill rating of 90.

Chen Daguang didn’t understand why, but he followed suit. Chen Shuhan, who had little say in the matter, could only silently follow behind.

Consequently, the volunteer serving the food froze with the ladle suspended in mid-air.