The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Song Yuan was already trembling from the cold. His sons subconsciously huddled around him to block the wind for him.

Half an hour later, Song Yuan was still trembling.

Even the three brothers began to tremble.

An hour later, Fangzheng remained motionless, but Song Yuan persisted. However, the color in his face no longer looked right. The brothers also wished to move about from the cold, but they held back when they saw their father remain motionless.

Upon seeing this scene, the other visitors could tell that something was amiss. Even the onlookers were beginning to jog in their spot due to the cold. However, the scene before them was just odd. It felt like a scene from a novel.

Hence, driven by curiosity, people stopped to figure out what was happening.

As time passed, more people saw the crowd and went over to ask what was going on out of curiosity. The explanations retained even more people.

There were quite a number of onlookers who began to take photos and posting them on Weibo.

As the amount of onlookers grew, reporters also came. They took photos and posted about the situation as news.

Instantly, there was a flurry of discussion on the Internet. However, no one knew why the four were standing in front of Fangzheng without moving.

They did know, though, that Fangzheng had been sitting there reading since early in the morning. He had ignored everyone, as though he were completely engrossed.

As such, it did seem possible that he wasn’t aware of the four people as he continued reading the Buddhist scriptures.

However, people were confused. Why were the four standing there without any good reason? Weren’t they cold? Couldn’t they find a spot to warm themselves first? Couldn’t they greet Fangzheng after he was done reading?

The discussions continued, and someone recognized the three to be the heroes who had risked their lives the day before. Others recognized the elderly man as the father of the three heroes. Hence, the tide of discussion slowly changed…

“Wow, is that Song Xianhe who saved Abbot Fangzheng yesterday? How cool. From his gentle and refined looks, I would never imagine him to be a hero.”

“I saw yesterday’s video. Don’t be fooled by his looks. When he takes action, he’s freaking cool. The sleek moves he used instantly sent that bad guy flying.”

“Brother, they’re talking about you. You have become a hero,” Song Xianshu whispered, and he didn’t realize the smug look on his face.

Song Xianhe nodded slightly before looking at his father, afraid that he would be angered for disturbing Fangzheng’s reading with their talking. But Song Xianhe realized that the corner of Song Yuan’s mouth had pricked up. Clearly, he was happy for them.

At that instant, despite how staid he was, to hear his sons being praised by others resulted in a gleeful glint appearing in his eyes. As for Song Xianhe, to be praised by others? He was no stranger to it. Many people had sucked up to him in the past. He had majored in Psychology, so he naturally knew what was on those people’s minds. It was just flattery on the surface, empty words said because of particular motives. He had grown numb to such praise a long time ago.

But the very next moment, he realized that it wasn’t that he had grown numb to praise, but that he had never heard sincere praise before! Today, he suddenly heard praise that came deep from the heart. This new experience made him feel a sense of pride despite being accustomed to success.

He felt like he was on cloud nine. He enjoyed the feeling greatly as he thought, “Is this the feeling of being a hero? Is this the feeling of being a good person? It’s really… not bad!”

At this moment, people began to talk about Song Xianshu.

“That’s the second brother, Song Xianshu, right? I heard he chased after that criminal, Xizi, all on his own. He apparently fell off the cliff. Indeed, good people deserve kindness. He didn’t die!” someone said.

“That’s right. He might not be tall, but he’s really brave. Look at his eyes; he’s so cool!”

“This is what a man is!”

“I wonder if they are married…”

“Second Brother, they are praising you. How does it feel? Nice?”

“Shh!” Song Xianshu said in all seriousness as his face tensed up. However, his small eyes seemed to look more spirited and cooler. Indeed, it attracted the secret screams of many girls. Deep in his eyes was a gleeful smile. He also fell in love with this feeling.

When Third Brother saw his elder brothers getting praised while he didn’t receive any compliments, he felt somewhat melancholic. Hadn’t he also helped yesterday? Why had people forgotten about him?

At this moment, he heard someone say, “I remember that baldy too. He’s especially powerful! He dashed out instantly the moment someone pulled out a knife. He wasn’t afraid of the knife and instantly sent the person flying…”

“I remember it too! His bald head is just too shiny, even shinier than Abbot Fangzheng’s. It’s so eye-catching.”

“Although he has quite a temper, he’s quite a simple and honest guy. I quite like this bro.”

“Yeah, no matter what, he’s a hero. If it had been me, I wouldn’t have dared to do a thing to that knife-wielder. I might have barely managed to raise my hands in surrender. Hehe…”

“Yeah, I’m impressed as well. These three brothers really can be considered heroes. The one in the middle is their father, right? I wonder how he educated them. How admirable.”

Upon hearing this, Third Brother couldn’t even close his mouth. If not for the fact that it wasn’t an appropriate moment for him to laugh heartily, he would have long guffawed. Even so, he looked at Song Yuan with delight, as though saying, “Dad, look! We are heroes too. Hehe…”

When Song Yuan saw this, the smiling glint in his eyes intensified. They were his children after all. A father was always honored by his sons. Which father wouldn’t be happy to have his children deemed as heroes?

However, when Song Yuan looked at Fangzheng, he realized that Fangzheng remained immobile. He was slowly flipping the pages as though he was unaware of everything that happened around him.

Upon seeing this, the look in Song Yuan’s eyes gradually calmed down. He took a deep breath and looked at the three brothers. They immediately stood there by the side, waiting in obedience and silence.

As there was more discussion, more people started lauding them with praise. There was also more puzzlement. The Internet had the same vibes. There was an increase in both praise and puzzlement.

For the first time in their lives, the three brothers experienced being the center of attention. It was also the first time they were being praised by everyone around them. And this was the first time they were being praised in front of their father. Seeing how their father couldn’t hide the joy in his heart, they realized this was the same joy they had seen when Song Yuan was released from prison. It was the same joy and smile he had shown when he saw the three of them at the prison gates!

That had been a joy that came from the heart. At that moment, his happiness had been extremely pure, leaving anyone who saw it with a refreshing and comforting feeling. But later, as time went by, Song Yuan’s deep joy had been seldom seen despite him becoming able to live a luxurious life.