Chapter 150: Chapter 136: This Humble Monk Fahai
"Aside from some spleen deficiency and stomach coldness, there’s nothing majorly wrong with you, Uncle. What did you eat for lunch?" Lin Miao asked, puzzled as a middle-aged male patient had arrived in the afternoon.
He said after eating lunch at home, he inexplicably felt uncomfortable in his stomach, then started vomiting, and vomited everything he ate until only the bile remained.
When he arrived, his face was frighteningly pale.
But after checking the tongue coating and feeling the pulse, Lin Miao discovered it didn’t seem like food poisoning from consuming something unclean.
If it’s not a food issue, and the body is generally healthy, that left Lin Miao puzzled. He was starting to think towards psychological factors because he really couldn’t figure out what could cause these symptoms.
"I ate beef and chestnuts at lunch..."
"You ate beef and chestnuts for lunch?" Lin Miao exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, the beef was fresh, just bought, and the chestnuts were given by the neighbors. I ate quite a bit before, and there was no problem." The patient replied with certainty.
"Did you stew the beef and chestnuts together in the pot?" Lin Miao immediately thought of a situation of food incompatibility causing vomiting.
"Yes, chestnut stewed beef, I heard of it from someone, never had it myself before." The uncle who was almost half-dead from vomiting said.
Lin Miao finally understood what was going on,
"What’s wrong, Mr. Lin, are beef and chestnuts inedible?" The patient was also confused, never hearing that these two should not be eaten together.
"Beef and chestnuts are both edible, but combining them is not quite suitable. Beef is sweet and warm in nature, benefiting the spleen and stomach and strengthening the waist and kidney. Chestnuts too are sweet and salty, also warm, benefiting the qi and thickening the intestines and stomach, supplementing kidney qi. From a medicinal perspective, there is no direct conflict, but if stewed together, changes occur, reducing nutritional value. Both are hard to digest; overeating them can cause stomach discomfort and vomiting. You must have eaten quite a bit for lunch?" Lin Miao explained.
Of course, this isn’t absolute, as some people with weak digestion would naturally react.
"I indulged in the delicious beef, ate a bit more, had no idea it’d be like this." The uncle said embarrassingly.
"No problem, I’ll prescribe some medicine, take it for a while, and remember not to stew beef and chestnuts together again." Lin Miao chuckled. Now that he knew the cause, prescribing the right formula would be effective.
This uncle can afford beef, likely indicating a decent family condition, so Lin Miao didn’t scrimp; he prescribed a prescription of Li Zhong Tang with the pricey main ingredient ginseng. If he were of ordinary means, Lin Miao would’ve prescribed Huang Qi Jian Zhong Tang or Xiao Jian Zhong Tang instead.
Noble people use expensive medicine, while the poor use good medicine.
Everyone gets what they need.
"Mr. Lin, does everyone who eats beef and chestnuts end up with stomach discomfort and vomiting?" Xia Zhu asked.
"Not necessarily, only some with spleen and stomach imbalance might have reduced digestive capability. A little wouldn’t be problematic, but too much is dangerous. Most people won’t have severe consequences if consumed appropriately." Lin Miao explained.
This convenient medical diagnosis point’s general practice is quite a training ground. They not only face common illnesses, like colds and flu, but also encounter bizarre conditions. Without careful diagnosis, a doctor might fail to determine the cause, prescribe the wrong things, and harm the patient, which would be troublesome.
Medicine is an empirical science, at least for now, as inspection methods hadn’t been invented yet, and human experience is irreplaceable.
As a doctor ages, their skills improve—this speaks of insight. With richer experiences comes accurate judgment.
Most ordinary doctors follow this path of growth and accumulation, except for a few geniuses.
In the evening, after closing the clinic, I headed home.
As soon as I entered, Mr. Xie Shouchang came up to me, "Sir, there’s someone claiming to be a monk from Shanglin Temple waiting in our front yard, insisting on seeing you."
"A monk from Shanglin Temple, why did you let him in?"
"I had no choice; he stood at our door and wouldn’t leave, and there were too many onlookers. What could I do?" Mr. Xie said with a pained expression, "Isn’t this drawing too much attention?"
"A monk from Shanglin Temple, I fear this is not a friendly visit," Lin Miao mused to himself, suspecting they had come to settle scores with him.
"Let’s go meet him!" Lin Miao signaled Xia Zhu and Sun Youwei to return to the inner courtyard through the covered corridor before bypassing the shadow wall to meet the monk directly.
"Monk, where are you from? What’s your business here?" Seeing the monk standing straight as a pine tree in the courtyard in his gray monk robe, Lin Miao asked directly.
"You must be Mr. Lin. This humble monk is Fahai, a disciplinary monk from Shanglin Temple in the city!" The gray-robed Fahai clasped his hands and bowed in greeting.
Fahai?
Isn’t Fahai from Jinshan Temple!
Lin Miao was momentarily bewildered; the thick-browed, broad-eyed, somewhat robust middle-aged monk before him indeed had a naturally authoritative presence.
"What matter brings someone from Shanglin Temple to seek out someone like me?" Lin Miao asked coldly.
"This humble monk has come to apologize for the incident involving Mr. Lin and Miss Sun at our humble temple a few days ago," Fahai bowed once more.
"Apology is not necessary. Monk, please leave," Lin Miao replied, extending a hand to point towards the door. The incident happened days ago, and only now do they come to apologize; what sincerity could there be in that?
"Mr. Lin, our humble temple truly lacked discipline, which led to Faming, who failed to adhere to Buddhist precepts and acted disgracefully. Upon finding out, the abbot immediately demoted Faming from his position as guest monk and confined him to meditate in the Cliff Cave behind the temple for ten years. The monks Guangji, Guanghe, and Guangming also received their due punishments. We hope Mr. Lin can be magnanimous and not hold a grudge against Shanglin Temple," Fahai said.
"You did something wrong, and just a simple self-penalty of three glasses fixes everything?" Lin Miao laughed angrily, "I have never realized how shameless the monks of Shanglin Temple are. Well, the upper beam is not straight, so the lower beam is bound to be crooked!"
"Mr. Lin, please be cautious with your words. Do not insult our humble temple’s reputation!" Fahai’s eyes sharpened.
"You’ve waited so long to apologize because you wanted to see how things would unfold, to see if I would make a big deal out of it. If not, you’d come by perfunctorily, apologize, and erase what happened as if it never occurred, right?" Lin Miao sneered.
Fahai closed his mouth, seemingly at a loss for words.
"And as for Faming, ten years of meditating in the Cliff Cave — isn’t that just to keep me from finding trouble with him, offering him protection? Those martial monks who attacked me were ruthless, especially Guangming, who seemed intent on taking my life. Had I not been somewhat capable, wouldn’t I have been beaten to death by him already? Would I still be standing here, talking to you?" Lin Miao lashed out, "You monks, you forsake your families, claiming detachment from worldly pursuits, preaching emptiness, yet are just a bunch of hypocrites."
"Mr. Lin, please be cautious with your words. Do not insult the Buddhist Dharma and the honor of Shanglin Temple!" Fahai’s face was stern, clearly angered internally at this point.
"What’s wrong? A few harsh words and you’re angry to the point of retaliation? Want to fight me too?"
When you’ve done wrong, to lower oneself and seek forgiveness is the right path. Yet to come with an attitude as if I should be grateful for your presence here, there’s no sincerity in this apology.
Such arrogance from the monks! Where is their humility and courtesy as people who have forsaken worldly life?
"Mr. Lin, this humble monk sincerely came on behalf of Shanglin Temple to apologize. Since you feel our sincerity is lacking, what should our humble temple do to satisfy you?" Fahai, mindful of his Buddhist training, refrained from leaving in anger and asked through clenched teeth.
"Wasn’t it your guest monk Faming who conspired with Mr. Xue? Not only did he break the Buddhist precepts, but he also broke the laws of the Da Li Dynasty. He should confess to the authorities, make all his wrongdoings public, and face legal judgment," Lin Miao deliberated before speaking slowly, "Regarding those martial monks who attacked me — Guangji, Guanghe, and especially Guangming — they should be stripped of their martial arts and expelled from Shanglin Temple. Is that request excessive? The rest, handle as you see fit."
Fahai’s mouth twitched. Handing over Faming and bringing the truth to light for the authorities to judge would tarnish Shanglin Temple’s 800-year reputation instantly. Wouldn’t Shanglin Temple be drowned in public scorn?
How could he possibly accept that?
"Junior Brother Faming was misled by Mr. Xue, which led to his great mistake. The ten years meditating in the Cliff Cave is already a severe punishment for him. Mr. Lin, isn’t Miss Sun unharmed and back safely? Why not forgive where you can?" Fahai emphasized heavily.
"Misled? Do you take me for a fool?" Lin Miao laughed angrily, "To become a guest monk, Faming certainly isn’t an idiot. Everyone in Dongshan City knows what kind of person Mr. Xue is. To associate and trust such a person means there’s a premeditated connection between them. Anyone with a bit of sense could see that Mr. Xue had ulterior motives. Just being misled can’t sweep this under the rug so easily. Impossible."
Fahai was silenced for the moment by the rebuke.
"Mr. Lin, it is better to resolve grudges than to form them. Our humble temple wishes to avoid conflict with you. This humble monk hopes you will contemplate calmly, not to harm yourself or others."
"Monk, are you threatening me?"
"This is not a threat, but advice," Fahai said, "The foundation of Shanglin Temple’s 800 years is beyond your imagination. Young man, if you wish to go further, you must learn to forgive."
"Forgiveness is for those who truly repent. Monk, do you think your visit today sincerely represents repentance from Shanglin Temple? It seems your Buddhist training hasn’t rid you of greed, anger, or ignorance. It’s like you’ve trained for nothing. Forget it. If you want to fight today, I will oblige; if not, then leave. You’re not welcome here!" Lin Miao sternly reprimanded.
"Mr. Lin, take care of yourself. This humble monk bids you farewell!" In the end, Fahai did not make a move, knowing well that a fight would leave both Lin Miao and himself in a bad spot.
After all, he also knew that Shanglin Temple was at fault from the start.
As the monk left, Lin Miao did not stop him. This monk’s abilities were certainly no less than Si Miaoxue’s, and Lin Miao was no match for him.
Yet, even if he couldn’t win, he couldn’t admit defeat to his face. Lin Miao also realized that Fahai dared not truly make a move in his home.
This was not Shanglin Temple, and they couldn’t keep the matter under wraps. Once the news got out, it wouldn’t just be Shanglin Temple’s reputation at stake.
Lin Miao longed to dismantle Shanglin Temple, yet he also understood he lacked the strength to do so for now.
The power of Shanglin Temple was indeed formidable. This 800-year-old ancient temple concealed such a potent force within.
They may not be a martial arts sect, but they rival the top sects.
You could say that even a rising star like the Green Blade Sect couldn’t compare to the unobtrusive yet powerful Shanglin Temple. There was a reason they had stood firm for 800 years.
And sometimes, that reason is simply a bigger fist.
A gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years.
Shanglin Temple’s present state wasn’t built in a day. One day, he would dismantle this "sanctimonious" temple.
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