From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

As soon as Zhang Zhixuan and his companions sat down in the bustling breakfast shop, the shop assistant immediately came to greet them.

"What would you like to eat?"

Without a second thought, Master Zhao immediately ordered, "Three bowls of fried dough sticks and three sets of sesame flatbread with pork tenderloin!"

"Okay! Coming right away!"

The waiter had a loud voice and quick hands and feet. He moved between the tables and chairs and soon brought out three bowls of fried dough sticks and three sets of sesame flatbread with pork tenderloin.

Once the food was served, Master Zhao said with a smile, "The fried dough sticks here are really authentic! Eat as much as you like, and if you're still hungry, order more—it's all on my tab!"

Zhang Zhixuan smiled and agreed, his gaze falling on the stove at the entrance of the shop. The chef was right there at the entrance, and the dishes were made right in front of the customers. The main feature was that everything was made to order, with absolutely no pre-made dishes!

The shop's signature breakfast dish is this bowl of Tianjin specialty "Gaba Cai".

The local "gaba" is actually rice crust, which is made by grinding mung beans and millet into a fine paste in a certain proportion and spreading it into a thin rice crust in a large flat pan.

After cooling, cut into small diamond-shaped pieces, put them in a strainer, and gently blanch them in the boiling old brine until they are soft but not mushy. Then, put them into a white porcelain bowl.

Then pour on another spoonful of a thick, savory, and mellow old-fashioned braising sauce that has been simmered overnight with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, and soy sauce.

Drizzle with freshly made sesame sauce and red fermented bean curd sauce, and add a spoonful of secret-recipe chili oil.

Finally, grab a handful of chopped fresh cilantro, sprinkle it on top, and a bowl of hot Gaba Cai is ready.

After the waiter brought the gaba dish to the table, the steam and aroma wafted over. Zhang Zhixuan picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of gaba that had soaked up the braising sauce, and put it in his mouth. The first taste was the rich, salty aroma of the braising sauce, followed by the refreshing fragrance of mung bean noodles.

The rice crust is soft but not mushy, with a slight chewiness, the sesame paste is smooth, the fermented bean curd is salty and savory, the chili oil is mildly spicy, and the cilantro is refreshing.

The layers of flavor melted in his mouth, and with one bite, warmth spread from his throat to his stomach. In an instant, Zhang Zhixuan felt that most of the fatigue from staying up all night had vanished.

Lin Shuyao stared at the bowl of fried vegetables in front of her, her little face slightly furrowed. Seeing Zhang Zhixuan eat, she hesitated for a moment before taking a small spoonful. After that bite, her brows relaxed, she smacked her lips, and then she kept eating one bite after another, unable to stop.

"How is it? This fried dough stick tastes pretty good, right?" Old Master Zhao took a bite of the sesame flatbread sandwiched with pork tenderloin, his mouth greasy with oil, and said with a big smile.

"Delicious! So delicious!" Lin Shuyao exclaimed, praising the food as she ate.

Zhang Zhixuan nodded and sincerely praised, "It really is delicious, living up to its reputation."

As the two were eating, they suddenly heard a loud argument coming from the next table.

The argument drowned out the lively atmosphere in the breakfast stall, and the surrounding diners all stopped eating and turned to watch the commotion.

Zhang Zhixuan and the other two followed the sound and suddenly found that the two arguing people were quite interesting.

The two people arguing were a monk and a Taoist priest, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.

The young monk, with a shiny bald head, wore a gray robe and clutched a string of prayer beads. His face was flushed red. At the height of his fervor, he slammed his hand on the table and argued with the Taoist priest beside him, "Master! Cilantro is one of the five pungent spices in Buddhism. Eating it raw ignites anger and anger, while eating it cooked disturbs the mind and stirs emotions. It disrupts meditation the moment it enters the mouth! I repeatedly told you not to add cilantro, but you insisted on putting it in my bowl. Aren't you deliberately trying to sabotage my practice?"

The young Taoist priest standing nearby, dressed in a blue robe, carrying a peach wood sword and with a Bagua amulet at his waist, was handsome but quick-tempered. He retorted sharply, "You monk, how can you be so ungrateful? Eating Tianjin-style fried noodles without cilantro is like eating for nothing! I kindly added a spoonful for you, letting you taste the authentic flavor, and you turn around and bite me! Besides, you're a monk, slamming your fist on the table and glaring at me over a spoonful of cilantro—isn't that disrupting your meditation?"

"You! You're spouting nonsense!" The little monk was so angry that his face turned purple, and his hands clenched so tightly that they cracked, as if he was about to throw a punch.

The young Taoist priest retorted sharply, "How am I spouting nonsense? Go ask the people in this shop, how many of them eat 'ga ba cai' without adding cilantro?"

The two argued more and more fiercely, and it looked like their verbal sparring was about to turn into a physical fight. The diners around them watched with great interest, and some even joined in the commotion.

"This monk and the Taoist priest are truly interesting."

Zhang Zhixuan laughed heartily, put down his chopsticks, stood up, walked to the counter, and said, "Manager, give that monk and the Taoist two more bowls of 'Gaba Cai' (a type of Sichuan dish). No coriander for the monk, but more coriander for the Taoist."

After saying that, he paid for both bowls.

The shopkeeper was also enjoying the commotion. Seeing Zhang Zhixuan's move, he guessed that he was trying to smooth things over between the two. He took the money and instructed his shop assistant to do so.

Two bowls of "Gaba Cai" (a type of Sichuan street food) were placed in front of the monk and the Taoist priest who were arguing fiercely. The two were immediately taken aback: "Waiter, is this the wrong dish? We didn't order it!"

The shop assistant chuckled, pointed at Zhang Zhixuan who was eating a sesame seed cake, and said with a smile, "The gentleman who invited you two specifically instructed that monks should not add cilantro, but Taoists should add more."

Upon hearing this, the anger on their faces instantly subsided by more than half, leaving only expressions of embarrassment.

The argument stopped, and the noise in the store instantly ceased.

The monk and the Taoist priest looked at each other, got up from the table, walked to Zhang Zhixuan, and each bowed.

The young monk put his hands together, his face full of guilt, and spoke first: "Amitabha, thank you for helping me out. I was just being attached to appearances."

The Taoist priest scratched his head, bowed to Zhang Zhixuan, and said with an embarrassed smile, "Thank you for helping me out, layman. I was too impulsive and didn't consider the Buddhist precepts of this master."

Zhang Zhixuan smiled and clasped his hands in return to the two men, saying gently, "Gentlemen, it's nothing, don't worry about it. If you don't mind, why don't you sit down and we can eat and chat?"

"Since you've invited us, we'd be honored to accept!" The two readily agreed. Master Zhao and Lin Shuyao moved aside, and the monk and the Taoist priest also brought their bowls and sat down.

After some casual conversation, Zhang Zhixuan learned that the monk and the Taoist priest came from Bishan Temple on Mount Wutai and Shangqing Sect on Mount Mao, respectively. The young monk's Buddhist name was Wuming, and the young Taoist priest's Taoist name was Qingxuan.

Both of them were sent down the mountain by their master to cultivate and gain experience. A few days ago, they met on the road and found that they were of similar age and got along well. So the monk and the Taoist decided to travel together.

While passing through the vicinity of Tianjin, I happened to see a "Notice to Exorcise Evil" posted by the police station, saying that a ghostly calamity had occurred in Linshuigu Town, Tianjin, and that a hermit was invited to exorcise the evil spirit.

After discussing it, the two decided to tear down the notice together and prepare to go to Linshuigu Town to join forces to eliminate the evil.

"Ghostly calamity? What ghostly calamity?" Zhang Zhixuan was immediately intrigued upon hearing this.

The young Taoist priest Qingxuan took out the exorcism notice, spread it on the table, and said, "This notice says that the Linshuigu ferry crossing is haunted every night at midnight. There is a headless scholar ghost dressed in a long robe from the Wu Ming period, who asks everyone he meets, 'Where is Songjiang?' In the past half month, it has scared several passersby into madness, and more than a dozen villagers have disappeared without a trace at the ferry crossing. The local police have investigated for a long time but have no clue. They can only post this 'exorcism notice' and ask us outsiders to solve it."

Zhang Zhixuan's heart stirred upon hearing this.

Before long, I will be going to Panlong Mountain. When I travel by water, I will have to cross the Linshuigu Ferry. This will be a good opportunity to explore the route.