Flashback: The Cave (2)

Seeing his lack of reaction to her situation, Mei Lin complained, breaking the silence. "Ugh, the trouble I went through convincing my Shijie to cover for me. I just hope that little nun doesn't rat me out accidentally."

"Little nun?" Zhang Wei asked. "The one who you gave food to during your fasting?" And got punished for it, he left unsaid.

"Yes, that brat," Mei Lin sighed. "We share a room. Shijie has gotten more lenient with Mother Superior away, especially since she has been sneaking off herself. I'm just worried about the little one. I hope the kid doesn't accidentally rat me out. I would be peeved since she's been following me around like a tail. It feels… weird."

Zhang Wei chuckled. "Isn't that your Shijie's thing? Having a soft spot for kids? I'm surprised you agreed to share your room with the kid."

"Like I had a say in this," She rolled her eyes at Zhang Wei, explaining, "All of us share rooms in groups of two, but because my Shijie and I are now the oldest in our generation, we ended up with the newbie."

"So you're the temple's nanny now," Zhang Wei teased her.

Mei Lin attempted to kick him. "You don't understand. She used to follow my Shijie around and avoid me," Mei Lin was frustrated, "But lately, the kid's latched onto me. She even tried offering me sweets the other day, said she got them as alms from a kind couple."

"Well, looks like the kid has a conscience after all," Zhang Wei said with a grin.

"Yeah, a conscience and a knack for getting under my skin," Mei Lin muttered, but there was a hint of fondness in her voice.

"I found it," Zhang Wei exclaimed, holding out a square package to her that was covered almost entirely in talismans.

Mei Lin gazed suspiciously at him and then at the odd package, not willing to trust him.

"No trust," Zhang Wei clicked his tongue at her, opening the package which ended up containing some flatbread and some meat jerky. "The talismans keep the food fresher."

"But why are there so many of them?" Mei Lin mused, taking the food he offered.

"Each one individually has limited efficacy. You need quite a few of them to keep food fresh for a month" Zhang Wei explained. "It is a trial-and-error method."

"Oh, so you stack them?" Mei Lin asked, intrigued.

"Well yes, Feng Yuhan figured it out."

"So, if I stick a bunch of them in a pouch, it can make even pills last longer?" Mei Lin nodded, munching on the bread.

"I wouldn't recommend it. I don't think the sect will provide him with pills to experiment with. He got food poisoning while initially trying it out. With pills that could expire, the consequences would be a lot worse. Better to keep storing them in jade."

As Zhang Wei still ate, Mei Lin pulled up her sleeve, putting salve on the cut she had accidentally gotten from the training. Zhang Wei extended his fingers, brushing against a tiny yet intricate red mark on her elbow, almost shining in the dim light of the night pearl.

"What's that?" he asked.

Mei Lin shrugged. "A chastity mark."

Zhang Wei swallowed his food wrong from shock. "What?" He barely managed to get the word out between coughs.

Mei Lin laughed at his reaction. "It's an old tradition in our sect. Every nun who has joined the temple has it. It's supposed to be a reminder of our vows."

Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow, still recovering from his coughing fit. "And what happens if someone breaks their vows?"

"Severe consequences," Mei Lin replied, her tone becoming serious. "Excommunication, loss of cultivation, and maybe physical punishment. At least that's what is said. I haven't personally heard about anyone breaking the vow."

"But haven't you ever been tempted to break the vow?" Zhang Wei asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Mei Lin looked at him, her eyes thoughtful. "Tempted, of course. But I'm not an idiot. If the mark fades or disappears, it's proof that I've broken my vows. The consequences are far too severe to risk it all for momentary thrill or pleasure. I wouldn't be surprised if Mother Superior demanded our execution over it."

Zhang Wei's eyes widened slightly in shock. "Execution? That's very harsh."

Mei Lin nodded, her expression thoughtful. "Maybe, but the temple was founded on the principles of purity and chastity. They are the ultimate doctrines."

Zhang Wei frowned. "It sounds very idealistic. But shouldn't it be hard to enforce?"

"Fear is a strong motivator," Mei Lin explained. "The temple will know if you break your vow. It's a spiritual mark after all. And the mark itself is a constant reminder. The nuns keep a close eye on each other. It's a system designed to ensure obedience."

Zhang Wei shook his head. "That sounds more like control than faith."

Mei Lin smiled in agreement, "You said it, not me."

Zhang Wei shook his head. "Your sect is really strange."

Mei Lin leaned back on the mattress, feeling more relaxed in the secluded cave. "You know, there's more than one strange thing about my sect," she began, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Zhang Wei looked up from the book he was skimming. "Oh? What's that?"

"None of the nuns shave their heads," Mei Lin said with a grin, "Except the Mother Superior, of course. Believe it or not, even the senior nuns have hair hidden under their veils."

Zhang Wei pretended the fact enlightened him. "I've always wondered why you weren't bald underneath that veil of yours. I thought being hairless was a basic requirement of becoming a nun. But since you were, no you are, a fake nun, it didn't count."

Mei Lin whacked him on the head with a nearby book for his remark, as if proving his point.

Zhang Wei asked, "Isn't it true though? That you need to be bald to be a monk or a nun?" 

Mei Lin pondered for a moment, playing with her hair unconsciously. "Traditionally, shaving of heads is a requirement to enter the priesthood. It's symbolic. It shows you are ready to renounce worldly comforts."

Zhang Wei reached up to sit on the bed and started untangling the knots from her hair. "Explains why our dear Priestess Mei has so many worldly desires." Pausing, he asked, "How did it become the norm in your sect?" 

Mei Lin shrugged. "Vanity, mostly. The older nuns started it, and it just stuck. Even though we preach detachment, none of us are willing to part with our hair."

Zhang Wei chuckled. "That's quite the contradiction. I understand about you. But surely some of your fellow Sisters would be true Buddhists?"

"Well, even if they wish to, they can't. The backlash would be horrible," Mei Lin smiled as if in relief. "It's one of those unspoken rules. No one wants to be the first to break it." She sighed, "Don't view young nuns as kind-hearted individuals. You cannot imagine the amount of teasing and cursing that would follow if someone dared go bald."

Zhang Wei chuckled. "I see. So, it's more about social conformity than religious adherence."

Mei Lin nodded. "Exactly. It's one of the many contradictions in our sect. We preach detachment from worldly desires, yet we cling to them in subtle ways."

Zhang Wei leaned back, a thoughtful expression on his face. "So, even in a place dedicated to purity and detachment, vanity finds a way."

Mei Lin shrugged. "Human nature, I suppose. We're all susceptible to it, no matter how hard we try to suppress it."

Zhang Wei grinned. "Well, at least your sect keeps things interesting. Imagine a bunch of bald nuns looking indistinguishable from each other."

Mei Lin laughed, flicking her hair. "It's proof that there is Buddha."