Chapter 506

Jintong spent the night at Jincan Temple. He got up before dawn, even earlier than the monks attending morning service. He wandered around the sprawling monastery, looking about as if searching for something. Reaching a secluded corner and seeing no one around, he slipped through an entrance and strode down a flight of stone steps. Before long, he arrived at a basement, where the enticing aroma of wine drifted out even before he pushed the door open. Inside and outside the basement before dawn, absolute silence reigned. The faint light filtering through the skylight provided no illumination, but fortunately, several everlasting lamps hung in sequence along the walls. The wicks within their glass covers sputtered from time to time, bursting into fleeting little sparks. In some lamps, a sufficient supply of sesame oil was faintly visible, while in others, the oil was nearly exhausted.