From a glance, it was obvious Zhu Xiaohao's accident was a deliberate attempt to trap us here.

The abbot told us our food would be ready shortly and kindly added that Zhu Xiaohao's portion would be sent to the room, drawing yet another burst of piety and gratitude from Zhu Xiaohao. What a clueless idiot–thanking the culprits and pointing fingers at his would-be rescuers! 

Upon exiting the meditation room, I noticed that there were two other monks in the courtyard. The thin one sat on a bench at the entrance of the side hall, using a butterfly knife to trim his fingernails, while the other monk crouched under the old locust tree at the entrance of the courtyard, staring aimlessly with his one glass eye. Their expressions had an air of hostility, especially Glass Eye who stared greedily at Bingxin as if to strip her naked with his eyes. The monks’ intentions couldn’t be any clearer–their jobs were to ensure we wouldn’t leave.

"These baldies won't...