A Bite of Douluo Continent

The body trembled slightly, trying to huddle together in the cold winter. The already thin body looked even more emaciated, and the skin covering the bones was full of cracks and frostbitten blue marks.

The intense numbness and tingling sensation made Qi Han, who was experiencing the same pain, suffer terribly.

This situation...

Could it be that the original owner of this body is now a beggar?

Something seems off...

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a Fujian dish, so where did all this snow come from in Fujian Province?

As Qi Han pondered, the consciousness of this body gradually faded. He could clearly feel that the body's vision was beginning to blur, its eyes were beginning to close, and even the pain in its body seemed to lessen somewhat.

Clearly, if he didn't receive help, this frail little beggar would freeze to death in the cold wind.

"The child is still alive!" A somewhat indistinct voice appeared nearby, and then the little beggar's consciousness fell into complete silence.

Qi Han's consciousness did not become clouded at this moment, so he could feel that a very warm garment was covering his body. Then, his body was slowly lifted up and placed somewhere.

"Xuan Quan, if you give him your clothes, you'll freeze." It was a deep voice that seemed to have a comforting power, and it wasn't the same person who had spoken earlier.

Gu Xuan said with a hint of stubbornness in his young voice, "Master, I am only suffering from the cold, but if this child were to lose these clothes, he probably wouldn't survive until today. In comparison, this disciple is willing to endure the cold."

"But there are far too many people in this world who are starving and freezing, and you can't save everyone."

"If we can't save everyone, then we'll save whoever we can!" The voice was young and innocent, yet it held firm to its principles.

"Hehe, fool, since that's the case, then do as you wish."

"Yes, Master!"

Hearing the conversation between the two, Qi Han roughly understood his situation.

The owner of the younger voice was the person who saved him and gave him clothes.

The other voice came from the master of the person who saved him.

The coat kept the cold wind away from his fragile body, but the severe hypothermia prevented his body from warming up again.

Soon, the commotion and noise subsided, and Qi Han felt himself being picked up again and carried into a warm room, where he was placed on a soft bed.

The clothes on his body were removed, but the closed room blocked the cold wind, preventing the body's condition from deteriorating further.

He soon heard the sound of water, and then it seemed as if someone was wiping his body with a warm towel to warm him up.

Then, I covered myself with the blanket.

After that, someone did the same thing every day, carefully feeding the body with thin porridge to replenish its nutrition.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

The body finally awoke again, and Qi Han also took this opportunity to regain his sight.

He was lying in a room that wasn't very spacious, and it wasn't decorated in any fancy way. It was simple but very clean.

Even Qi Han's bedding was the same, tightly filled with thick cotton wadding to prevent the cold wind from penetrating, yet it looked extremely simple.

"Squeak..."

A soft voice rang out, and a rather tall and thin figure entered the room. Looking at Qi Han, who had already opened his eyes, a look of surprise appeared on his face. "Oh! You're awake!"

The voice was familiar; Qi Han recognized it immediately—it was the person who had saved him that day.

He was a boy who looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years old. He was quite handsome, but he had no hair on his head. There were faint bluish-black stubble on his scalp, and a very obvious ordination scar on the top of his head.

It turned out to be a young monk.

The body's gaze quickly settled on the top of the young monk's head. Noticing this, the young monk chuckled and sat familiarly on the edge of the bed. "How about it? Isn't this ordination scar pretty? It's called 'purity of mind.' My master gave it to me when I first took refuge in Buddhism. He said if I behave well, I can get a second ordination scar in a year!"

"Oh, by the way, my name is Xuan Quan. This is the Dharma name my master gave me. We monks don't use our secular surnames. What's your name?" The little monk asked enthusiastically.

The body paused for a moment, then spoke softly, "Chen Yu."

"Chen Yu?" The little monk chuckled. "A good name, meaning abundance year after year."

"Oh, by the way, you must be hungry, right?" The young monk seemed to remember something, picked up a bamboo basket from the side, and took out a large bowl of porridge. "Have some porridge. We monks don't eat meat, so there's no meat or lard here..."

"Thank you," Chen Yu said softly, slowly taking the bowl of porridge and swallowing it down in large gulps.

"Take your time. If it's not enough, I'll get you more." The little monk smiled adorably. "The temple doesn't have much money, but it has a lot of land, so there's plenty of food."

The young monk looked around and quietly approached Chen Yu, "I'll let you in on a secret, the temple's land doesn't have to pay land tax, and all the harvest from the land belongs to us!"

Chen Yu slowly drank the porridge until not a single grain of rice could be seen in the bowl, then slowly put the bowl down.

After replenishing his energy, he gradually regained his spirits and looked steadily at Xuan Quan, saying, "I will repay the life-saving grace."

“It’s alright, it’s alright.” Xuan Quan waved her hand. “Master said that we monks must be free from worldly desires and wants, so I’m helping you not so that you can repay me.”

“However,” Xuan Quan seemed to remember something and chuckled, “if you really have the ability to do something in the future, you can do more good deeds. Master said that doing good deeds can accumulate good causes and bring good results.”

Chen Yu remained silent. "I didn't understand."

"Hahaha..." Xuan Quan chuckled dryly, pondered for a moment, and nodded emphatically, "Actually, I don't understand either, just remember to do good deeds!"

Chen Yu stared at Xuan Quan for a moment, then said, "Okay."

"Oh, you agreed so easily."

“You are my benefactor, and I will agree to everything you say.”

...

Time flies.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yu, who was somewhat taciturn, quickly became acquainted with the young monk Xuan Quan.

Xuan Quan is a young monk who has recently converted to Buddhism. He was originally a poor boy who converted because he couldn't afford to eat. Perhaps that's why he empathizes with Chen Yu's plight and is willing to help him.

Because he had only recently taken refuge in Buddhism, the Dharma was still very distant for him, and he had not completely gotten rid of his bad habits of gluttony and playfulness.

The two quickly became friends.

Chen Yu did not stay in the temple any longer. When the cold winter passed and spring came and everything revived, he officially bid farewell to Xuan Quan and left the temple.

Having recovered his health and regained his strength in the temple, Chen Yu never returned to be a beggar.

He earned a meager income through hard labor, gradually saving up his savings and working his way up through various industries until he finally became a kitchen helper in a large restaurant.

Starting as a kitchen helper, Chen Yu worked his way up step by step until he was qualified to learn culinary skills. Perhaps it was his honest and hardworking character that impressed a chef who imparted all his knowledge to him. Chen Yu himself also had a talent for cooking, and he was soon made the new head chef of the restaurant.

His culinary skills became increasingly refined, but the world became more turbulent.

Amidst the chaos of war, he, who was originally in the north, followed the restaurant owner who had treated him very well all the way south, eventually arriving in Fujian Province.

The restaurant owner, exhausted from his journey, fell ill and passed away shortly after arriving in Fujian Province. Chen Yu had no choice but to find another way to make a living.

Fortunately, he had already developed excellent culinary skills, and the dishes he cooked were different from the local flavors of Fujian Province, which the locals found particularly novel.

Seeing this, Chen Yu mustered his courage and used his savings to open his own tavern, which indeed became a great success.

With his business booming, Chen Yu's income also increased, and he went from being a chef to a well-known shopkeeper.

Even after he became rich, he did not forget the request that a young monk named Xuan Quan had given him when he was still a beggar.

He would occasionally use his earnings to help the poor, giving porridge to beggars and those who couldn't afford to eat.

Over time, he became a well-known philanthropist in the city.

He gradually came to understand what the young monk meant by "good deeds bring good rewards."

Because of his reputation for charity, the prices of the dishes in his restaurant were not high, and his business was booming every day. Many of the poor people who received his help even went out of their way to help him promote the restaurant.

As a result, he earned even more money.

Occasionally, Chen Yu would think of the little monk who had saved him. He hadn't seen him for ten years and didn't know how the monk was doing now, whether he had gone elsewhere during the war, or whether he had become a highly respected monk.

Originally, Chen Yu thought he might never have the chance to meet his savior again in his life, after all, the two were now thousands of miles apart.

Until that day.

Chapter 556 You are Buddha

"Manager Chen, we have a customer!" A voice that Chen Yu found somewhat familiar rang out from outside the shop.

Chen Yu, who was keeping accounts at the counter, looked up and quickly smiled. "Little Li?"

This was a child he had once helped out, and who subsequently often helped him attract business.

As he stepped out of the store, he glanced at the figures behind the thin child and paused slightly in surprise.

Those were a few monks, but compared to the other monks Chen Yu had seen, they appeared somewhat destitute.

The leading monk looked at Chen Yu and bowed slightly. "Benefactor, would you be willing to offer me a vegetarian meal?"

Before Chen Yu could speak, Xiao Li turned his head in dissatisfaction and said, "I thought you were here to eat, that's why I brought you here! I didn't expect you to be here to beg for alms? This is outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, the monks all seemed to show some shame on their faces.

"Xiao Li, stop fooling around, you should go back first." Chen Yu said softly, then stepped forward, "You've all worked hard, please come in, there's a vegetarian meal here."

Because he had been saved by the monks before, Chen Yu felt a certain degree of goodwill towards them.

It wasn't mealtime, and there were very few customers in the shop. After preparing a vegetarian meal for them, Chen Yu sat down next to them and inquired, "May I ask where you gentlemen come from?"

The leading monk paused slightly as he ate his meal, then slowly put down his bowl and chopsticks. "We come from the north."

"The North?" Chen Yu frowned. "I heard that the war in the North has ended, and it is much more prosperous and wealthy than here, with many temples. Why did you all come to the South?"

Upon hearing Chen Yu's words, the monks exchanged glances and gave each other wry smiles.

“What you’re referring to is from before.” The leading monk shook his head. “The war has indeed ended, but the new emperor seems particularly hostile to Buddhism. He has repeatedly stated that Buddhism is not good, and now he has even issued an edict to demolish a large number of temples and expel us.”

“This…” Chen Yu frowned, not expecting things to turn out this way.

Although he never believed in Buddhism, the Buddhist community had been kind to him.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Yu spoke again, "Then, what are your plans next?"

“We originally planned to find a temple in the south and meditate for a while,” the monk said softly, his expression somber. “We didn’t expect that the Buddhist teachings and principles in the south are so different from those in the north. Since we disagree with them, it’s not good for us to stay for long. Now we have nowhere to go and we don’t know what to do next.”

“In that case…” Chen Yu pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, “There is a large vacant lot next to my shop, which I bought years ago. If you gentlemen do not mind the bustling city environment, you can build your own temple here to cultivate.”