The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Ji Han pointed at the mountain and said, “If we want to go to Tuyao Fort, we have to cross those two mountains. Tuyao Fort is too remote, and roads can’t be paved there. Typically, outsiders don’t even know where they are going when they arrive…”

With that said, Ji Xiang commented. “Not like any outsiders ever come, though. It’s all people from Tuyao Fort coming back and forth.”

Ji Han rolled his eyes at Ji Xiang, as if to say: “Why can’t you cooperate with me? Can’t you increase your value a bit?”

Ji Xiang turned her head and pouted, as if she didn’t care.

Fangzheng found it amusing when he saw the two kids guys acting all funny and conniving. However, he was not too fond of Ji Han’s conniving. After all, he was a child—even if he was a little on the older side, it was better for children to be purer.

Although Fangzheng had been as conniving as a monkey when he was young…

Ji Han took the lead and rushed to the side of a big tree. He pointed at the tree and said, “This is the entrance. Going up the mountain from here will make you encounter the least shrubs. It’ll be easier to walk. I’ll walk in front while you walk in the back, so that you can’t get hit by a branch.”

Fangzheng walked over and looked around. He sadly realized that these trees all looked the same… If one wasn’t a local, there was no way to distinguish which tree was which. However, Ji Han was right. There weren’t many shrubs behind the trees, making it much more convenient to walk. However, the path wasn’t flat either. There were rocks everywhere, protruding and depressing. One could tell at a glance that it was not easy to traverse the area.

Ji Han and Ji Xiang were like two little monkeys as they skipped along with great ease.

Upon seeing this scene, Fangzheng subconsciously recalled the description of the Eighteen Oddities in Yunnan—Grannies climbing mountains faster than monkeys! He couldn’t help but mumble. “Indeed, the ancients do not lie!”

Fangzheng followed Ji Han and Ji Xiang up the mountain.

Meanwhile, the Internet was flooded again…

Just as everyone was crazily scolding Fangzheng for his actions and praising the brave minorities, the youth who had first released the news posted a follow-up video. It was the video of the police intervening. He also stepped forward to clarify. “I’m sorry, I imagined that the situation was as we thought before, but in fact, this fake couple were human traffickers. Chang Feng isn’t a gangster or a thug. On the contrary, he’s a hero. He used such a special method to stall the human traffickers and protect the child. He managed to last all the way until the police arrived. Now that the human traffickers have been caught, I would like to clarify the matter and give my apologies to Brother Chang.”

The originally raging Internet was instantly silenced by this video. It remained silent for a long time.

Following that, ellipses representing silence appeared and started flooding the screen.

Then, someone said, “I didn’t expect it to take such a turn. Alright, I apologize for my earlier cursing. Chang Feng, I’m sorry.”

“Chang Feng, I’m sorry.”

“Chang Feng, I’m sorry. If I had known earlier, I would have waited. Indeed, we shouldn’t be in a rush to comment on the news. It’s only right to speak after being aware of everything. F**k, Abbot Fangzheng has given us several lessons on this, but I forgot again.”

Following that, the words “Chang Feng, I’m sorry” flooded the comments.

At that moment, someone jumped out and said, “Brothers and Sisters, have you all forgotten something? Chang Feng seems to have lost his job because of our insults! I think we can’t let a hero get injured after his contributions. Should we head over to his workplace and say something?”

“Agreed!”

“Count me in!”

“Let’s go!”

…

After that, this huge apology team charged towards Hengxin Real Estate Company’s public WeChat. As soon as everyone commented, they realized that Hengxin Real Estate had turned off comments to ward off the cursing.

The apology army was instantly left with no choice but to retreat.

However, the apology was a spur of the moment thing to begin with. After hitting a wall, everyone dispersed. There were no strong feelings about it.

Fangzheng didn’t know that there had been a commotion on the Internet due to Chang Feng.

At that moment, Fangzheng looked at Ji Han and Ji Xiang in surprise.

“Brother, don’t go over there. The grass over there is a bit hard. Some blades of grass are like saws. You might accidentally cut your feet while walking through them. I’ll head over and take care of it first.” Ji Han ran over and used his feet to step on the weeds. After flattening all the saw-like grass that he mentioned and opening up a path, he grinned. “Alright, Brother Chang, come over.”

As Fangzheng walked on the flat grass, he had mixed feelings. For the first time, he felt a little uneasy being taken care of by this young adult.

As they continued on, Ji Han suddenly shouted. “Stop. Ji Xiang, come over here. The shrubs up ahead are too dense. Probably no one has walked past them for a while and the path is almost sealed. We have to open up a path, otherwise it won’t be easy to walk.”

Ji Xiang didn’t have the spoiled air of a girl at all. With a grunt, she ran over.

Fangzheng saw that the two children were not tall, and they were very agile. They were very familiar with the plants and trees in the forest, and they were able to freely come and go as they navigated the shrubs they described as dense. Therefore, what they did was basically to open a path for him…

Upon seeing this, Fangzheng felt a lump in his throat. He went forward and asked, “Do you need my help?”

“There’s no need, Brother Chang. You are now our boss. How can we make you work? I’m a guide, so this is what I should do. Besides, Brother Chang, if your clothes were to pass through here, they would be torn in seconds. It’ll be fine later. We’ll be quick.” As Ji Han spoke, he quickly turned the shrubs around and piled them on other branches. After all, he didn’t have a machete, so it would be very difficult to chop away the tough branches.

It was the same with Ji Xiang. The two of them were indeed deft and quick. In the middle of the tiny amount of shrubs, a small path was opened after about ten minutes, one that was enough to allow one person passage.

Ji Han held up a few branches that he really couldn’t pull away and said, “Brother Chang, we can’t settle these. You’ll have to bend down slightly when passing through later.”

Fangzheng responded and walked through the path they had opened up. Although the path wasn’t long, Fangzheng walked with a heavy heart. The more the two children took good care of him, the more he felt bad.

He offered his help a few times, but every time he saw Ji Han’s proud and excited gaze, he shrank back.

This was because he could sense that this job was a form of striving for self-improvement and self-reliance to him. It was something to be proud of! This was a pride he deserved. Fangzheng could give him money, but he could not deprive him of his pride.

Hence, Fangzheng gave up.

Following that, the path began to steepen, and it became harder to walk. Some places were just a huge ditch! A rope was needed to traverse them, and with Ji Han afraid that Fangzheng wouldn’t know how to cross, he and his sister, Ji Xiang, led Fangzheng with one taking the front and the other taking the rear.

As he passed by the stream, Ji Han insisted on carrying Fangzheng across the river. Fangzheng had no choice but to let him carry him. Although Ji Han was only in his teens, he was quite strong. He took off his shoes and let Ji Xiang take them. He still managed to walk very quickly despite carrying Fangzheng.

Ji Xiang followed behind Fangzheng to prevent him from falling.

After crossing the stream, Fangzheng saw that Ji Han’s feet were completely red. It was a result of the stream’s ice-cold water!

The water here was spring water that came down from the mountains, and it was still winter. Although Yunnan was said to experience spring all year round, that concerned the temperatures in the cities. The temperatures in the mountains were still quite cold. There were even snow caps on the mountains that had yet to melt…

With that water mixed together, the coldness of the stream was obvious.

Although Ji Han and Ji Xiang often walked, they were also afraid of the cold water. As they warmed their feet under the sunlight, they continuously rubbed their feet to heat them up.

Upon seeing this scene, Fangzheng’s nose scrunched up slightly. At the same time, he was thinking how much money he should pay when he arrived.

Although money stank, one had to admit that sometimes, it could express certain feelings.

Fangzheng suddenly realized that the money in his pocket was probably inadequate to pay the two children—their service was just too good.

After passing through the stream and crossing over a mountain, the sky had already turned dark. Standing on the mountain peak, one could see the sun shrinking in the horizon, leaving behind only a sliver of red. Deep in the mountain, due to the trees blocking it, it was already barely visible.

“It looks like we won’t be able to reach Tuyao Fort today. There’s a temporary resting place ahead. Let’s head there.” Ji Han pointed into the distance. However, Fangzheng couldn’t see what lay ahead with the ever present trees in the mountain.

“Are we still far from Tuyao Fort?” asked Fangzheng.

Ji Han said, “We’re quite close. We’ll be there once we get over that mountain. If we walked fast, it’d take about two hours. However, it’s already dark, so it wouldn’t be easy. It would be midnight by the time we arrived. Therefore, our village built a house on this mountain to provide a place for everyone to rest.”

When Fangzheng heard that, he sighed inwardly. If he hadn’t met the human traffickers and stalled for time, with the siblings’ speed, they would most likely have reached home before nightfall. Thinking of how the two children had to travel through the mountains alone and spend the night here, Fangzheng felt poignant.

At that moment, Fangzheng saw that Ji Xiang looked a little anxious, but she was also embarrassed to say it.

Fangzheng asked, “Ji Xiang, what’s the matter?”

Ji Xiang looked at Ji Han and then at Fangzheng before saying, “The chickens at home haven’t been fed yet… Besides, the chickens are kept outside. I wonder if they have returned. I’m afraid a weasel will steal the chickens.”

Upon hearing this, Ji Han turned anxious, but in consideration of Fangzheng, he didn’t say a word.

When Fangzheng saw this, he hurriedly said, “In that case, let’s not rest. Let’s rush to the village.”

“But…” Before Ji Han could finish his sentence, Fangzheng interrupted. “Don’t underestimate me. If we really start running, I might not be slower than you.”

Ji Han and Ji Xiang really wanted to return home as soon as possible. Seeing how confident Fangzheng was, the two of them believed him.

Ji Han said, “Alright, let’s continue moving forward! However, Brother Chang, you have to follow us closely. Don’t fall behind. Ji Xiang, you take the rear.”