The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

However, no one knew who she was even after discussing it all day. Nor did anyone know who her backer was. However, there were still certain things that had been dug out about her.

“I heard that the owner of the Dharma Characteristics Monastery personally came to receive her when she arrived.”

“I heard that she received a police escort when she got off the plane.”

“I heard that the owner of the Dharma Characteristics Monastery was accompanying her prior to this.”

…

No one knew who Wanderer Tranquil was or what forces she could muster. However, they knew plenty about the owner of the Dharma Characteristics Monastery! To be able to build Mt. Dharma Characteristic and the Dharma Characteristics Monastery alongside the Hoàn Kiếm Lake within a year and take over the rights to host the Southeast Asian Religious Summit from Vietnam’s biggest monastery without any words of grievance from the other party was clear evidence of the might of the owner. Perhaps not elsewhere, but in Vietnam, the owner definitely stood at the absolute pinnacle!

Furthermore, the owner hadn’t personally received even the Nguyen family’s patriarch when he came. Instead, it was Nguyen Minh Cach who had to rush over to send his greetings… It was evident how far the owner’s influence reached in Vietnam.

So who would dare belittle the female Daoist who was so well taken care of by this entity?

Similarly, Wanderer Tranquil was mysterious. Then what about the monk she invited who was the recipient of her favor?

Unable to figure out Wanderer Tranquil’s background, the crowd began casting their gaze onto the monk.

When they carefully sized him up, the first thing that caught their eye was the kasaya with nine patches he wore. Their first reaction was: “How poor is this monastery? Even the abbot’s kasaya needs patches…”

However, their second thought was to quickly search about the young monk’s past. Whatever they couldn’t find was answered by the people around them.

There was no lack of monks from China at the summit. After seeing Fangzheng and recognizing him, they explained to the crowd with suppressed voices.

When everyone heard of Fangzheng’s list of achievements, especially his crossing of the river on a reed, and the descent of a Buddha… They were left with mouths agape!

This made many of the religious figures look at Fangzheng in a different light. From an inconspicuous young monk, he had turned into an eye-catching poor monk, before then turning into a magical monk. Finally, he became a frivolous fake monk who knew how to sell himself!

That’s right, to the religious figures from overseas, what their Chinese counterparts mentioned was too over the top. They were religious people. They knew very well if there was a God in the world and where He was.

In fact, in many religious texts, it was mentioned how divine powers couldn’t appear in the world.

Furthermore, although some ancient texts had stories of true gods walking the human world, the modern person had never seen that. Furthermore, as religious elders, they knew what God was. It wasn’t an existence that stood high and mighty, with all life in His grasp. Instead, it was an existence to spiritually find refuge and respect in. It was a way to be self-disciplined and also a driving force forward. By approaching God, to become God, be made one with God…

Therefore, they didn’t treat their Chinese counterparts seriously. Instead, the more they looked at Fangzheng, the more contempt there was. They even began looking at China’s other religions with contempt.

However, none of that mattered to Fangzheng. This was because his attention had diverted from Nguyen The Thao who had just left. At the same time, the seal he had produced dissipated as he sighed inwardly. “What a lucky child.”

That’s right. Fangzheng had been thinking of a way to teach Nguyen The Thao a lesson. As Red Boy always claimed, Fangzheng was never a magnanimous person. He never let a grudge hold as he always sought revenge immediately. He had a temper, and if offended, he would secretly make the perpetrator begin to doubt life itself without knowing who did it! Or even if the perpetrator knew who was behind it, there would be no way for them to point at Fangzheng.

However, Wanderer Tranquil’s appearance had shattered Fangzheng’s nasty thoughts.

Retracting his gaze, he sized up Wanderer Tranquil. She was wearing brand new Daoist robes that he had never seen before. They were still purple, but they exuded an even greater magnificent flair. The robes lacked a hint of submission and exhibited more carefree vibes. Clearly, they weren’t used for consecrating the heavens, and she still preferred being a little at ease.

However, what truly surprised Fangzheng was that he met her there! If he remembered correctly, Wanderer Tranquil had been in the mountains for more than a decade. She hadn’t left the mountain and had everything she needed sent to her.

Then, why would she suddenly attend a so-called religious summit in such an out-of-character move?

Furthermore, it was apparently Wanderer Tranquil who had recommended Fangzheng. This puzzled him even more.

“Amitabha. Perfected One, long time no see.” Fangzheng stepped forward and bowed.

“Master Fangzheng, long time no see. It’s too noisy here. Let’s take a walk outside.” Wanderer Tranquil’s eyes were extremely clean and pure. Furthermore, her words and actions seemed to ignore the feelings of others. She did whatever she wanted to do, leaving others to their own devices regarding their feelings. It was as though there weren’t any outsiders in her world she needed to keep things from.

Many people found her words odd. What did she mean by noisy? Who was being noisy?

However, no one stood forward to argue with her. They watched as this fairylike Wanderer Tranquil and monk in tattered robes walked off. The scene made everyone feel uncomfortable. It was unknown who said: “It’s like sticking a lovely flower in…”

“In what? I’m giving you a chance to finish your sentence!” At this moment, Xiaoxun grabbed a teapot and went over with a grin. She looked like she would smash it over the person’s head if she wasn’t satisfied with the sentence. The person immediately said, “In a vase.”

“That’s more like it.” Xiaoxun smiled.

…

Meanwhile, Fangzheng and Wanderer Tranquil walked out of the banquet hall. They came to a corridor outside by a side door and watched the stunning vista of Hanoi. The two didn’t say a word as they silently walked. In the corridors filled with ancient vibes, beyond the red pillars were awnings. They hung high with the moon in the backdrop, scattering a silver glow on the two figures that seemed out of this world. There was a tranquil, immortal air to the scene.

“Perfected One, why did you invite This Penniless Monk to such a gathering?” Finally, Fangzheng asked the question on his mind.

Wanderer Tranquil didn’t appear surprised by his question as she said with a chuckle, “Simple. I wanted to meet you, so I called you over.”

Fangzheng was instantly rendered speechless… He pointed at himself and then looked at Wanderer Tranquil beside him. With the silver moonlight hanging over her, it looked like a divine halo that was infinitely sacred, elegant, beautiful, and out of this world. It was like a fairy had descended into the mortal world! Being a fake monk, his heart raced, thinking, “Have I caught her fancy?”

Upon having this thought, his face blushed a little. After all, this was the first time he was encountering something like it! As an innocent young monk, he was quite at a loss…