The courtyard’s open sky: Tan Wenbin held a bowl of some nameless broth in his hand, spooning and slurping as he slowly circled about, admiring that lotus basin he loved most.
Lin Shuyou had also gone to ladle himself a bowl and, thinking to ask the others if they wanted any, looked up to see Runsheng sitting motionless in a shadowed corner and Little Yuan perched on a bench by the water channel, eyes closed in contemplation.
Ayou had no choice but to carry his bowl over and stand beside Tan Wenbin.
“Bin-ge, since you like that basin so much, let’s make one like it at Old Man Li’s house,” he said.
“That would require Old Man Li agreeing to have the dam dug up, the house torn down, the foundation excavated ten meters deep to set a formation, and then annual maintenance,” Tan Wenbin replied.
“If it’s like that, impossible. Bin-ge, you really know a lot.”
“Hm. You should, like me, read more formation manuals.”
Li Zhuiyuan was replaying his memories.
The first node was the three incense incident on the way to Fengdu last time.
Zhao Yi had been spared a life, but in truth he had benefited from the first two incense sticks.
The second node was when Zhao Yi was sent by him to Su Luo’s place to deal with the Buddha’s contingency.