The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng was delighted that he had successfully infuriated the System for the first time. The only thing that left Fangzheng depressed was that he couldn’t speak to outsiders on this day. If he wished to say anything, he could only say it to his disciples. He had to hold anything else in!

“Master, say something!” Red Boy became anxious when Fangzheng remained silent.

Fangzheng looked down at Red Boy and said, “I’ll be practicing the zen of silence today. I won’t speak to anyone. From this moment forth, I won’t speak to you either!”

“Uh? Master, what do we do if there is something?” Squirrel asked.

Fangzheng said, “Use gestures!”

With that said, Fangzheng turned and left.

This resulted in Red Boy’s misery, but even more miserable was the crowd outside! A huge crowd was gathered around the nine black pots. They wished to open the lid to see if anything was being cooked, but with Red Boy staring at them, looking like he would fight them to the death if they dared open the lid, all they could do was suppress their puzzlement. They surrounded Red Boy, using all means such as giving him red packets or sweets, hoping he would answer their question.

However…

“Hehe! This One Finger Monastery is pretty impressive! Just a young acolyte keeps to the rules so well. He doesn’t accept any gifts!” A tourist nodded in amazement.

“Indeed. If it were any typical monastery without rules, its acolyte would have long taken the gifts and spewed everything.”

“Humph. One Finger Monastery is no typical monastery. Abbot Fangzheng isn’t a typical monk either.” Dog Song never missed the chance to help Fangzheng toot his horn.

However, everyone had to agree when they saw Red Boy’s response. At the same time, they felt even more intrigued. What was being cooked in the nine pots? Why did no smell come from them? Could it be that they were really only boiling water? It wasn’t time to put in the ingredients yet?

Everyone retreated amidst mumbling.

At the same time, one villager after another in One Finger Village realized that Chen Jin’s store had closed ahead of time. Dog Song, who loved to brag, was also no longer at his usual spot!

Busybodies went to their places to take a look and saw that it was dark inside and the doors were locked. There wasn’t a single person!

Everyone exchanged looks when someone shouted.

“I know! This son of a b*tch went up the mountain ahead of time! One Finger Monastery only had a few pots of Laba Congee last year. Although everyone received a bowl, the quantity was clearly limited! With the word spreading this year, there will definitely be more people. If we’re late, it will be great already if we get the chance to catch a sniff of the Laba Congee, much less eat it! This won’t do. I won’t say anything else. Let’s go home and pack up. Time to head up the mountain!”

Everyone was enlightened as they ran home and packed up. Following that, there was a long stream of people heading up the mountain.

As the sky gradually turned dark, a BMW slowly drove into a road not far from One Finger Village. The driver was a curly-haired woman. When she saw the darkness, she said with a frown, “Ma Yuan, this is the extremely popular One Finger Village? Why aren’t there any lights in such a huge village?”

The people who had arrived were none other than Manager Xu Xun and Ma Yuan.

Ma Yuan was also dumbfounded. They had rushed back overnight. The Laba Festival was supposed to be tomorrow, so the village should be brightly lit. Why would it be so dark? Where was everyone?

With Ma Yuan silent, Xu Xun immediately frowned. She looked at the distant village which had a darkness resembling a devil with its mouth open to it, as if it were waiting for a young lamb like herself to walk in. Then, she looked at the silent Ma Yuan as the mood in the car instantly turned odd. She subconsciously looked at the SOS button in her car.

As though she was relieving the mood or placating Ma Yuan, she said, “Little Ma, how long has it been since you joined our company?”

Only then did Ma Yuan snap to his senses. “Less than a year.”

“It’s been a while then, with it almost coming to a year now. How did I treat you?”

Ma Yuan hurriedly said, “You treated me very well. If not for you giving me ample opportunities and giving me guidance to quickly adapt to the work, I wouldn’t have my current achievements.”

“It’s good that you know that.” Xu Xun secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

However, Ma Yuan was puzzled. He thought, “What’s wrong with Manager Xu today? Why is she speaking so oddly? It’s unlike her.”

Xu Xun continued. “You are very skilled and you can take hardship. You are also willing to learn. I’ve always treated you like a younger brother. Speaking of which, you don’t mind having an elder sister like me, right?”

Ma Yuan blushed a little as he hurriedly nodded. “Not at all. Not at all.”

“That’s good. Then as an elder sister, I’ll be direct.”

“Manager Xu, please go ahead.”

Xu Xun thought for a moment as though she was organizing her words. “Ma Yuan, although you are very smart, I have to tell you that you should remain grounded. You should take things one step at a time as you work hard. There are no shortcuts in life. No matter what difficulties you encounter in life, no matter how twisted it is, be it financial, social, or romantic, you have to remember to hold out. Be a man and face it! Only then can you truly grow and attain success!

“Never think of using unorthodox methods… Get it?”

Ma Yuan kept nodding without thought. He just treated it as the kind exhortations from a senior. Hence, he said, “Yes, I’ll keep it close to my heart.”

“Then, shall we head back now?” Xu Xun asked.

Only then did Ma Yuan realize that the car had slowed down significantly. Upon hearing that, he was taken aback. He subconsciously asked, “Why? We are already at my place. Aren’t you coming in to take a seat?”

“I suddenly thought of something. I’ll have to give it a miss.” Xu Xun stopped the car as though she didn’t wish to drive forward any longer. The dark village ahead of her gave her a sense of suppression.

Ma Yuan scratched his head. “Uh, alright then. I’ll go over myself. Manager Xu, are you really not coming?”

“No, go on.” Xu Xun felt relieved when she heard that Ma Yuan planned on alighting.

Just as Ma Yuan stepped off the car, there was a blinding light from behind before the screeching sound of brakes. The car happened to stop right behind Xu Xun’s car!

Ma Yuan squinted his eyes, puzzled at the development.

Xu Xun was like a cat who had its tail stepped on as she asked nervously, “Where did that car come from?”

Ma Yuan was also puzzled. “I have no idea. This driver sure is clueless. He nearly collided with us despite our bright tail lights. Wouldn’t a person have been sent flying if they had been standing here?”

Xu Xun looked at Ma Yuan warily and looked at the car behind her. A chill rose within her heart as she thought, “I’m doomed! This child looks honest, but he’s actually such a good actor! He’s still acting at this point in time! Does he really think I can’t tell?”