thefictionvixens Chapter 5 First Encounter with Krillin
Chapter 5 First Encounter with Krillin
Shang Yun got up and straightened his clothes. Although his clothes were covered in pudding, they were still clean. It seemed that his predecessor had been a diligent person. Shang Yun now wanted to pursue inner purity, but he couldn't do it yet. He could only remind himself through external cleanliness.
As everyone knows, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng's verse goes: "Bodhi is not a tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand; originally there is nothing, so where can dust alight?" The verse is simple and easy to understand, advising people to be free from distracting thoughts. The human mind is inherently pure and flawless, so why would it need to discard distracting thoughts? However, as we grow older, the thoughts in our hearts naturally increase.
I know, but I just can't do it.
It would be better to settle for second best and first learn Shenxiu's verse: "The body is a Bodhi tree, the mind a bright mirror stand; constantly wipe it clean, lest dust should settle on it."
Very few people can even do that, and Shang Yun certainly doesn't think he can. He should put aside his inner thoughts for now and focus on taking care of external matters first.
After tidying his clothes, Shang Yun quickly ran out of the house. His fifth senior brother had been gone for a while, and he dared not rush over now, or he would surely get beaten. Although he wanted to escape, it would be best to avoid a beating before running away. He thought of the original story, where Krillin ran away because he couldn't take the beating anymore.
When he entered the sect yesterday, his fifth senior brother had already shown Shen Yun the way, so Shen Yun didn't hesitate and ran straight to the kitchen. From afar, he saw his fifth senior brother's fat body blocking the kitchen doorway, his hands on his hips, as if he was on the verge of getting angry at any moment.
Shang Yun quickened his pace and pretended to be out of breath as he said, "Fifth Senior Brother, I'm here. I went to the toilet just now. I'll go wash my hands and cook now."
"Hurry up, the eldest brother and the others will be back soon." The fifth brother waved his hand impatiently and left.
"Okay." Shang Yun quickly replied, not daring to refuse, for fear of being beaten. If he got hurt, it might affect his escape.
Upon entering the kitchen, one immediately sees three stoves, each with a large pot. Good heavens, they're huge! Enough for Shang Yun to take a bath in. There are only a dozen or so people in the entire temple, so they really can eat a lot. But it's understandable; they're martial artists, after all. Think of Sun Wukong.
It's too late to run away now. My senior brother and the others are probably going up the mountain right now. If we run down the mountain now and run into them, we'll be in big trouble. We can only cook now, but we don't have much time. What should we cook?
Shang Yun was thinking about what to cook, and he had already started picking up firewood and busying himself with starting a fire. No matter what you're making, the first step is to get the fire going.
Looking back at the dishes on the side, there were so many kinds, including chicken, duck, fish and meat. Monks can eat meat, but they have to hide it. Fortunately, all the meats were cleaned. If they were to cook each one separately, how long would it take? Shang Yun thought to himself, "I might as well just stew them all in one pot."
"That's right!" Shang Yun recalled what his predecessor had seen on Douyin (TikTok): putting a lot of ingredients in a pot, stewing them, and then dividing them into plates; one pot could even produce 18 dishes.
Thinking of this, Shang Yun quickly got to work. He gave the ingredients a quick rinse, making sure there was no dirt in them. He skipped washing the meat, as it was too much trouble. He put all the ingredients into the pot, added water and seasonings, and then covered it.
Steam another pot of rice and cook a pot of seaweed and egg drop soup.
Alright, just wait and see.
Soon the aroma wafted out. Shang Yun first picked out the cooked dishes and ate them. After all, he needed to have enough energy to escape later. Feeling that the time was almost up, he didn't care whether they were all cooked or not. Since they weren't for his own consumption anyway, he took out all the dishes and simply divided them into more than 20 dishes.
"Shang Yun, what dishes are you making? Bring them up quickly, I can smell the aroma from down the mountain. It's our eldest brother returning, followed by the other disciples."
"Senior Brother is back. Please sit down. I'll bring it to you right away," Shang Yun said with a fawning smile, bowing low.
Soon, the food was laid out on a long table, and the disciples sat around it, waiting for their eldest brother to speak.
"Let's eat." The eldest disciple said while eating, "We made the right choice in recruiting Shang Yun. He's doing a really good job. The previous menial disciples couldn't compare."
"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Brother." Shang Yun replied with another fawning tone, "Senior Brother, you and the other senior brothers eat first, I'll go chop some firewood and come back."
The eldest brother, without looking up, grunted in response, his mouth full of food.
Shang Yun carried a bamboo basket and an axe down the mountain, not daring to take anything extra for fear of arousing suspicion.
At this moment, the eldest brother looked up at Shang Yun and said to the fifth brother, "This Shang Yun is not bad. Keep an eye on him and don't let him get away."
Fifth Senior Brother, whose head seemed to be completely submerged in the bowl, replied amidst his busy schedule, "Don't worry, Eldest Senior Brother, Shang Yun is very honest and only wants to follow us in our cultivation."
Shang Yun jogged carefully all the way down the mountain and headed straight for the place he had agreed to meet with Ke Lin, which was a noodle shop in the village at the foot of the mountain.
Shang Yun arrived at the noodle shop, panting. He was afraid that if he was late, Klin would leave, so he didn't dare to stop for a moment. Now Shang Yun was very glad that he had eaten something in advance, otherwise, with his small body of ten years old, he might not have been able to hold on.
Finally arriving at the noodle shop, Shang Yun rushed inside. There weren't many people. Shang Yun immediately spotted Krillin sitting by the window; Krillin's appearance was so easily recognizable: bald head, no nose, short stature, and wearing the same training clothes as in the manga. Krillin was eating noodles at that moment.
"Krillin! I'm here!" Shen Yun shouted, panting heavily as he walked towards Krillin.
Hearing someone call his name, Klin stopped eating his noodles and his first reaction was to grab the package on the table and jump out the window.
Seeing Klin jump out of the window, Shang Yun quickly followed suit, by which time Klin had already run more than ten meters away.
Shang Yun's strength had recovered by this time. After all, he had learned the Heart Sutra, and although he had only just begun, it was enough to restore his strength.
As Shang Yun chased after him, he shouted, "Kelin, it's me, Shang Yun."
"Shang Yun? It's you?! I thought my senior brothers had caught up with us." Kelin stopped and turned to look at Shang Yun, exclaiming with delight.
"Yes, Senior Brother Klin." The two hugged each other excitedly.
It's hard to believe that two people who have only met once can be so close. Perhaps they have similar experiences: both are orphans, both are teenagers, both want to live a good life, both are confused about the future, and both want someone to accompany them in their most helpless moments, so they don't have to be alone.
“Senior Brother Kelin, I was worried that you would abandon me. After descending the mountain, I didn’t dare to rest for a moment. Luckily, you didn’t leave. By the way, why did you run away as soon as you heard me call your name?” Shang Yun spoke first.