His gaze was calm with a faint smile at his lips.

Yet something felt off.

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Shou realized what it was.

This person had none of the vitality one would expect from a twenty year old.

Even for a monk, this was hard to understand.

His own disciple was intelligent and flawless in handling matters, yet still carried the natural spirit of youth.

So what was wrong with this monk?

And why did he keep calling him "little benefactor" everytime he looking at him as if he were a junior?

Could it be...

Recalling certain legends from modern Chan Buddhism, Xiao Shou asked curiously, "Are you perhaps a reincarnated eminent monk cultivating again?"

"What do you think?" Monk Tongchan replied ambiguously.

With his eye of ishvara active the entire time, he could clearly perceive the thoughts of the person before him.

What a cunning monk.

Completely unaware that the monk’s abilities perfectly countered him, and knowing nothing about the other party, Xiao Shou forced a smile and said, "I think you must be several thousand years old, so old that your eyesight has gone bad."

Otherwise, how could he keep calling a middle aged cultivator "little benefactor"?

"Heh... you are quite humorous. But now that we are speaking face to face, could you explain to this monk what you mean by protagonist, supporting character, and plot? And where exactly you come from?"

Tongchan calmly sat cross legged on the cushion opposite Xiao Shou.

He casually took out a simple low wooden table, placed a teapot and cups on it, and began brewing tea with careful precision.

At that moment, Xiao Shou had no time to comment on how this monk behaved like an old man.

His mind was in turmoil.

How much did this person actually know?

From his tone, it sounded as if he knew everything, yet could not fully understand what he knew.

He did not seem to grasp the meaning of protagonist or supporting character.

Had he never even read storybooks before?

If he had, it should be easy to guess that the protagonist referred to the main character, the supporting character were the other characters in the story, and those who died were merely cannon fodder.

But how much of the overall plot did he know?

Because of this question, Xiao Shou carefully reviewed the novel Longevity Love in his mind, along with the changes that may have occurred after he transmigrated into this body, perhaps due to a butterfly effect.

At the same time, he tried to estimate how much the strange monk before him actually knew.

He had never told anyone about being a transmigrator.

Perhaps before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, a high level cultivator or someone with special techniques might have been able to see that his soul did not match the body.

But after advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, both his soul and body had been reforged, and now they were completely aligned.

The original owner had already taken back his own soul memories.

Now, inside and out, this body was completely filled with his own aura.

There was no way he could be exposed.

If anything had been revealed, it was probably by Yu Lin, the transmigrated supporting character.

As for himself, there should be nothing suspicious.

Even if this strange monk had some special eye technique or divine ability like Chen Zhiyi that could see through disguises, there was no way he could tell that his soul came from another world.

Thinking this, Xiao Shou felt a bit more confident and immediately played dumb.

"What protagonist and supporting character? Are you talking about storybooks? I do not understand what you are saying, Master."

"Heh... no matter. This monk already understands."

After seeing the chaotic mess inside his mind, so overwhelming that it almost made his head split, Monk Tongchan once again made up his mind.

After returning, he would sort through everything he had read this time.

In the future, he would absolutely never look into this young man’s mind again.

It was simply too much of a strain on his mental capacity.

Heh?

Was that a cultivator version of a cold laugh?

What exactly was he laughing about?

And what did he mean by understanding?

If he was going to act mysterious, there should be a limit.

This "little benefactor" here did not understand anything at all.

On the verge of losing his mind, Xiao Shou stared blankly at the monk in front of him, the corner of his mouth twitching as he asked, "What exactly does Master understand?"

"More or less everything."

At this point, even without using his ability, Monk Tongchan could easily read the thoughts of the young man before him.

For some reason, he felt a strong sense of accomplishment from this, even greater than when his cultivation advanced to a new level.

He found it endlessly amusing and could not help but continue teasing him.

If thoughts could take form, Xiao Shou felt his eyes would probably be spinning in spirals right now.

Never skilled in scheming or reading others’ intentions, he felt completely out of sync with this monk and could not help but ask in frustration, "What kind of Zen riddle are you playing at, Master?"

"This Zen is not Zen... come, drink some tea."

Having completely seen through Xiao Shou’s tendency to retreat like a turtle, Monk Tongchan continued his mischievous teasing and poured him a cup of tea, inviting him to drink.

The faint, elegant fragrance of the tea immediately drew Xiao Shou’s attention.

As if enchanted, he picked up the cup and drank it in one go.

In an instant, it felt like a clear spring flowing into his stomach and cool mint passing through his throat.

All his inexplicable irritation vanished.

A refreshing sensation spread from his throat through his internal organs, quickly flowing through his entire body, making him feel as if he had been completely cleansed.

Empty, light, yet his spiritual energy lost its restlessness and gained a sense of calm.

This feeling...