Nowadays, Lord Zheng is personally appointed by the Yan Emperor as Lord Pingye, commander-in-chief of Snow Sea Pass. At least in this realm of Snow Sea Pass, he's gotten close to the threshold of where even farting might be considered a zen concept.

Zheng Fan beckoned to the two monks, signaling them to come over.

Liaofan the monk sniffed the air as he saw the mutton on the table.

"Eat up."

Liaofan looked at his master.

Kongyuan the monk then said:

"Amitabha, since Lord uses arms to force you to break your abstinence, then you should eat."

"Amitabha."

The young monk grabbed the mutton and began to eat.

Zheng Fan silently drew out a Chinese iron box, took out a cigarette, handed one to the blind man, and bit one himself. Just as he was about to put it away, he saw the old monk Kongyuan reaching out to take one as well.

"Monks smoke too?"

"Although tobacco harms the body, it's invigorating."

At this time, tobacco in the East hasn't fully become mainstream; after all, the trend of taking drugs is predominant. It's not that no one uses tobacco, but mostly it's used as medicine, and among the people, there's always been the saying that lighting tobacco can ward off impurities.

Translated into modern terms, the common folk believe that lighting tobacco can disinfect and purify, reducing the chance of getting sick, and may even prolong life.

The fact that this monk knows tobacco harms the body implies he's indeed knowledgeable; it's reminiscent of how Lord Jingnan remarked when seeing me smoke, saying it's harmful to a warrior's physique. Since Lord Jingnan has tempered his body from a young age, he's naturally aware of the intricacies involved.

However, to Zheng Fan, it doesn't matter much. He's not pursuing asceticism, and moreover, in the past life, working one day in the studio meant smoking two packs wasn't enough. In this life, he smokes less, yet keeps strengthening and cultivating, what's there to fret over?

The old monk took the cigarette, imitating Zheng Fan and the blind man's posture, biting it into his mouth.

Zheng Fan used a fire starter to light the cigarette, then handed the fire starter to the blind man, who lit it himself and then helped the old monk to light his.

The old monk quickly stood up, courteously:

"Thank you, benefactor."

The three men all lit their cigarettes.

The old monk smoked rather naturally, evidently, even if he hadn't smoked cigarettes before, he's definitely tried tobacco.

"Old monk, you said this thing harms the body, why still use it?"

The old monk responded:

"It's but a stinking sack of skin, what's there to it? The sooner it decays, the sooner a poor monk can ascend to bliss."

"Indeed, you have a philosophical outlook."

"Pardon my inadequacy."

The blind man kept smoking silently, not speaking.

"Old monk, why come to my Snow Sea Pass?"

"A poor monk initially thought this place would be a sanctuary."

"Haha, six months ago, bodies lay everywhere here, what sanctuary is this?"

"Indeed, many have died, many peers as well. To a poor monk, the more peers die in a place, naturally, it becomes a sanctuary."

"Tsk."

Zheng Fan laughed,

and then ordered:

"Come, serve this young monk another pot of wine."

Liaofan the young monk, upon hearing this, looked up at his master while biting a sheep's leg.

"Well, since Lord Pingye uses arms to force you to break the vow against wine, then break it. The Buddha knows your hardship and won't blame you."

"Yes, Master."

When the wine arrived,

Liaofan the young monk directly pulled the stopper out of the small wine jar and drank against his mouth, "glug glug," then set down the wine jar.

"Ah!"

And then,

continued gnawing on the sheep's leg; judging by his demeanor, his alcohol tolerance must be good.

"Lord, a poor monk knows what you intend to do."

"Oh, what's that?"

Kongyuan pointed north, saying:

"Having been bestowed as Lord Pingye by His Majesty the Yan Emperor, now defending Snow Sea Pass, the biggest threat Lord needs to deal with is naturally the wild people on the snowy plains.

The snowy plains are vast, perhaps too vast. Although the wild people there are scattered, rounding them up won't be easy.

What Lord wishes is to subdue the enemy troops without war."

"Continue."

"Next, shouldn't it be Lord speaking to a poor monk?"

"Oh? What should I say?"

"Lord, for this matter, a poor monk is willing to venture." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Why would you choose to run from the temple platform if you're willing to venture for this?"

"A poor monk has always wandered through many ancient temples but never stayed long, simply because a poor monk believes Buddha may be worshipped, but people must not be bowed to. Of course, if Lord uses arms to compel, a poor monk can bow."

"You mean, you want your own temple?"

"Yes."

"That shouldn't be difficult for you."

"A temple could have a true Buddha for protection, but it needs a worldly Buddha to preside."

Essentially meaning, the temple needs a patron.

Zheng Fan chuckled slightly, remembering Siniang once saying similar words when she started a clubhouse.

"I can promise you, provided you accomplish the task first. If you succeed, I don't mind helping you establish a temple at Snow Sea Pass, even if you want to build an Ancestral Court, I'll support you."

"A poor monk thanks Lord."

"Was it a deal?"

"Indeed, it was."

"I'm just making empty promises."

"But a poor monk believes you."

"Tsk, you're quite an amusing monk, blind man."

"Yes, my lord."

"You two should communicate more, see if the training job from the temple platform can be transitioned to him."

After all, the blind man has a lot to handle, finding a helper to share some pressure would be beneficial.

Currently, the most important work is the ideological and political education for new soldiers and for the populace of the Keyan Division, and this task couldn't be handed over to others.

"Yes, my lord."

The old monk placed his palms together devoutly:

"A poor monk assures you won't be disappointed."