Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

“You understand a lot.”

"Because I've done it, believe it or not. Sometimes when we were having dinner at the Guanglu Temple, my master and I would open cans in the back kitchen, one after another, and then plate them up and send them off. It wasn't a kitchen, it was a reverse canning factory, and the banquet was held right next to the canning factory. Sometimes I think it would be better to have everyone go to the food factory in the imperial kitchen and get it directly from the production line. That would actually taste better. Here."

He pointed at the ground. "The food here has soul. Exclusive recipes, meticulously prepared, and free. Since I've already paid for it, do you know what it means to eat it for free?"

"What does it mean?"

"It means the chef who serves the food will never have a shaking hand, because it doesn't matter to him whether the price is more or less. If he says one dollar, it's one dollar. It's almost the same anyway."

“I really admire the master chefs in this temple.”

From the entrance, you can see many monks in robes busying around inside. Some are young monks, sweeping and mopping the floor, while others are getting food from behind the window. Some are even eating directly from the food window.

The whole dining hall was filled with the aroma of meat, especially the soup pots of squat pork knuckle and other braised dishes, which exuded an extremely mellow and distinctive aroma.

"It's quite impressive that someone can resist eating vegetarian food in this environment and with this kind of smell. By the way," he asked Wen Yuan beside him, "what kind of martial arts do the monks practice?"

"Hard Qigong. Actually, a lot of hard Qigong originated from places like Shaolin. But none of the monks practiced cultivation, at least not openly. After all, this practice of prolonging life in this life is further and further away from nirvana and transcendence. Perhaps one of their branches will follow this path in the future, but not now."

"Hmm," Shangluo nodded, "I wonder what will happen after we start the path to becoming a celestial being."

He looked around and saw that Phaethon and the other two had not arrived yet.

"Where are they?" Han Xingzhi asked from the side. "I need an autograph, an autograph, an autograph. Can I sign it during lunch?"

Although Wen Yuan didn't say anything, he was looking at her with anticipation.

"Wait, let me ask." He asked Phaethon on the Fetion card.

"Ha, tsk, tsk." Shaking his head, Shangluo replied, "They're coming over later. They want to brew all kinds of flavors. Let's eat first."

The dining hall is quite large, but there aren't too many customers, after all, it's quite expensive here.

We found a spot near the edge of the dining area, a large table that was convenient for picking up food, and a few people sat down first.

"Let me get something to eat first."

Shangluo stood up first. He'd eaten everything else before, like pork knuckle and the like, and he could find them elsewhere. He was just curious about what the monks in the temple ate.

He went straight to the vegetarian food stall. The monk inside saw him and asked, "Young donor, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time here?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then I suggest you have a smaller bowl. I'm afraid you won't be able to swallow it all. If it's not enough, come back for more, otherwise it will be wasted."

Shangluo nodded: "Then a small bowl."

He always respected the opinions of professionals. The chef inside said this, which meant that many people might not be able to eat this thing.

Shangluo had a premonition, because there was nothing in the stall except a metal bucket and bowls and chopsticks, with no choice at all.

As expected, after opening the tube, the chef scooped a spoonful from it with a slotted spoon and placed it in a small bowl along with the soup. Of course, he still folded the noodles with chopsticks to make them look better.

A bowl of noodles was served. It was a small bowl, probably only enough for two mouthfuls. The soup was slightly green, like a vegetable soup. There were noodles in the soup, but they were not the chewy plain noodles, but rather a mushy noodle, and they didn't look like dried noodles at all.

There was no garnish at all, just two leaves.

That's all there is to it. Not a speck of oil, nothing else.

"." Wen Yuan looked at him, "Do you want to become a monk too?"

"If this is what monks usually eat, then being a monk would be a bit too bitter. Have you ever tried it?"

"Of course I've tried it, but the taste is hard to describe. No, it can be described in one word."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll know once you taste it yourself."

Shangluo took a bite.

Indeed, it can be summed up in one word: it's completely tasteless. It feels like a "quickie meal" made just to fill someone's stomach, devoid of even a hint of oil. One bite and you're left with nothing, a complete loss of hope.

"By the way, I see you usually enjoy eating steamed bread, so this is a little different?"

Shangluo shook his head. "Completely different. I can relate to some...different feelings. Steamed bread may be simple, but the person who made it wanted to create a delicious taste within its simplicity. But this bowl of noodles, the person who made it didn't want it to taste good. I completely understand his wishes. Indeed, one bowl is enough."

One more chapter to wait.

Chapter 544 Sniffing

"I feel"

After eating a bowl of noodles, Shangluo's eyes were empty.

"Hey? Are you okay? It just doesn't taste good. Are you okay?"

"I feel like I've eaten something that has made me feel pure and free from desire. I'm not hungry at all. Not in the sense of not being hungry after eating a full meal, but rather that nothing tastes good anymore. I feel as if a thin layer of fog has separated me from the world, and all five senses have become unreal."

He shook his head suddenly:

"Good guy is awake."

"Are you the Tianyi noble?" Wen Yuan asked in wonder, "How can you actually eat out the soul from the outside?"

"Well, after becoming a celestial being, I can occasionally eat these things. But in this temple, I guess the chefs are too focused. They think this food shouldn't taste good, so to me, this food is nothing."

"Wait, you can sniff out the soul of the person who cooked?"

"What do you mean by sniffing? I'm not a dog. But after becoming a celestial being, I'm indeed much more sensitive. For example, the steamed bread Zhu Ling made for the panda is especially delicious."

"That's it!" He immediately grabbed his phone and called Lu Huaiyang, "Master! The case can be solved! I caught a very powerful person to show my support!"

He spoke into the phone, looking at Shangluo as he spoke.

"You're asking me where I am? Why? We're very close."

He put down the phone and slowly looked towards the other corner of the restaurant. Lu Huaiyang, wearing a bathrobe and sunglasses, was sitting there, eating a bowl of noodles.

Holding a bowl of noodles, he sat over here.

"I didn't expect you, Shangluo, to have the ability to sniff out scents. Have you considered applying for the Jin Dog class?"

"Forehead"

"It's just a joke. Come over to our place when you have time. I have something for you to try."

"Tian Yi Guiren can do it too, why not let them go?"

"Because you can't force or persuade Tianyi Guiren to do anything they don't want to do. They come and go as they please."

"So I can do the job, right?"

"Shang Tianjun, are you considering the overall situation? Can you help me?"

"Okay, sure, but you don't necessarily have to let me go. Wait a minute."

Shangluo reached into his chest and pulled out a huge dog head. The dog head went straight from his chest, across the table, and into Lu Huaiyang's face. Wen Yuan on the opposite side was startled. Lu Huaiyang remained calm, but his hand had already started to touch his thing.

"Ah!!! Sorry, it's a mistake. Wait." Shangluo stuffed the dog's head back in, reached in and touched it, and sent a message to Aheng by the way.

When he took it out again, it had turned into a furry puppy the size of a teacup.

"Just take him with you. His name is Ah Heng, and he's an operator I moved from the Netherworld."

"Would he have liked it?"

"Aheng said it's no problem. He'll tell you if he wants to eat or go to the bathroom. I'll send you his Feixin number."

"Why does this look like an instruction manual? Okay, got it." Although it was a bit strange, Lu Huaiyang still looked at the teacup dog in front of him while sending messages on his Fetion card.

"Okay, he said he can probably do it. Once this is over, I'll take him back to the police station."

"By the way, Captain Lu, why are you here?" Shangluo asked.

"The cabinet is meeting here today, and as usual we are here to listen. Well, it's definitely not because we can take a bath here at public expense, you understand?"

"I understand, I understand. But how did you listen, Captain Lu?"

"I'll just have to wait until Elder Wen finishes his meeting before meeting with him."

"From what I heard, I thought you were going to hide on the ceiling and take pictures of the people eating and draw all the seating arrangements."

"We don't usually do this unless absolutely necessary. The reason we're doing this now is mainly because Elder Wen is more reliable—and these matters are supposed to be reported to the Emperor himself, as ministers aren't allowed to collude privately. So if they decide to work overtime elsewhere during their break, like they are doing now, then we'll tacitly agree to do the same."

“You don’t have to pay for it yourself, right?”

"They pay for it themselves, so I don't have to. Yeah, there's still funding. I also like Longchang Temple because there are no self-funded projects here."

Suddenly, Lu Liang's voice came from behind.

"Ahhh, I knew it. Dad, why are you here? What a spoiler."

"Business, business, do you understand?"

"But you're clearly off duty today! You're not on duty today at all, so why are you here?"

"Serving the court is not about weekdays or holidays."

"You actually want to come see me."

"I'm here to see Shangluo. Right?" He glanced at Shangluo.

"Ah, yes, yes, the higher-ups asked Captain Lu to coordinate the work with me."

"Well, Lord Shang Tian, see you later. I'll take this operator with me and send him back after I'm done with the job." He put the teacup dog into his pocket and walked away with the noodles.

Lu Liang walked in front and sat opposite Shangluo, and the other three people also sat opposite.

"Ah~~" Lu Liang held his chin, "I didn't even know when I had a brother like you, Shang Tianjun. He really loves you."

"Is your dad always like this?"

"That's his job, you ask. He often appears in front of me suddenly, in all kinds of strange places. Now it's okay, I only see him occasionally. When I was little, I always thought he didn't go to work every day and just followed me around."

"If only my father could talk to me more often." Phaethon leaned against the wall and shook his head. "If he could enlighten himself more often, he wouldn't be like that."

"Speaking of which." Shangluo suddenly looked at Yanqiu, "What's your family like?"

"My parents are ordinary workers. We don't come from a religious background. Our sect cultivates good fortune and affinity. My master, and my master's master, didn't come from a religious background. They just rely on 'bumping into each other'. If you bump into each other, you become a disciple. Even Sa Zu himself didn't come from a religious background."

"Oh, right." Shangluo wondered, "What did Sazu do?"

"Lawyer," Lu Liang replied. "Sa Zu wasn't originally a mage, but a lawyer. Later, he ran into three immortals on the road who taught him magic. Of the forty-nine Heavenly Transformations, one escapes. Those without great fortune wouldn't be able to see that missing thread. So, someone as unlucky as me can't practice Thunder Magic. But... it's coming soon anyway. I didn't expect being alive in this day and age to be the greatest blessing in itself. Well, Shangluo, how about I treat you to something?"

"Okay, I don't know what to eat yet."

"By the way, please give Phaethon some too. I know this is a favorite over there, but it's not available here. If you're not familiar with the area, you'll definitely think the braised pig's trotters here are the best. Let me tell you, this place's imitation meat dishes are the best."

Chapter 545 Pure Land

"So the imitation meat stall here is the most classic one? Then I'll go get some more."

He stood up and went to a stall not far away to get some food.

Less than a minute later, he came back quickly:

"Wow! This... is indeed! This is so delicious! Incredibly delicious!"

He put the plate on the table - it was a large plate of vegetarian chicken, braised.

Wen Yuan was stunned for a moment, then took a chopstick to taste it.

He ate the vegetarian chicken with a blank expression.

"How is it? Isn't it delicious?"

“Indeed. It tastes good.”

"Look, let me tell you, it's super delicious."

"But I think the braised food shop near my house sells better. But is this really that delicious?" Wen Yuan asked in surprise, "This stuff costs five cents a pound and can be used to make a big plate. It's given away as a gift when you buy roast duck. Is it really that delicious?"

"I'm telling you, the reason this thing is so delicious is because it's a vegetarian dish. The person who made it really wanted diners to taste the chicken flavor in the dried tofu, so it's really delicious."

“.”Several people were silent.

Instead, Yanqiu said, "This... This situation does exist."

"What's going on?" Lu Liang, who was sitting next to him, asked him.