The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Monkey had not experienced the war of the firecrackers that happened during the mid-autumn festival. But he had followed Fangzheng to Sun Qiancheng’s ancestral grave during the Qingming festival. Back then, the young lass Mengmeng, was there too. He had a good impression of her and having seen Sun Qiancheng before he remembered something.

Eyes wide in realization, he tugged Fangzheng’s robe. “Abbot, I saw that girl!”

“You saw her?!” Fangzheng, who was about to dash down the mountain, suddenly turned his head.

“While we were borrowing the hoe, I saw two women speaking to her at the foot of the mountain. I only glanced at them at the time.” Monkey scratched his head.

“Could you still recognize them?”

Monkey shrugged and shuffled his feet. “I only took a cursory glance. I… don’t really remember that well.”

“Let’s go!” Fangzheng grabbed Monkey and entered the temple hall. “Kneel down and try your best to recall the scene you saw Mengmeng!”

Fangzheng sat down cross-legged and began striking the wooden fish. He was out of options. His mind was in turmoil. He needed to calm down to cast his powers.

Monkey quickly calmed down after hearing the ethereal sounds of the wooden fish. Lone Wolf and Squirrel squatted outside the hall, watching silently. They were gripped with the very same anxiety and could not sit still.

They did not know that the person who was most shook by the incident was Fangzheng. Fangzheng had a cell phone. He kept up with the news and it wasn’t rare to read articles regarding kidnapping. The abduction of a child would not just harm the child but the entire family! A child was a family’s treasure, it’s heart and soul. Once they were abducted, the family would crumble… It would be fine if the child was sold to a kind family but if they were sold to villains, the children would have to suffer through unspeakable acts of evil. Recalling Sun Qiancheng’s panicked stat, Fangzheng’s heart once more descended into turmoil.

Even striking the wooden fish could not calm him down. Fangzheng had no choice but to recite the scriptures until his mind gradually calmed. He sighed. “This Penniless Monk is still lacking in his mental cultivation, becoming so flustered once trouble is encountered…”

As Fangzheng calmed down, he used the Thousand-armed and Thousand-eyed Guan Yin’s powers to delve deep into Monkey’s memories.

When Fangzheng opened his eyes again, he had appeared at the foot of Mt. One Finger, by the entrance of One Finger Village. His point of view was the cursory glance by Monkey. Indeed, two women were chatting with Mengmeng by the village entrance.

Fangzheng took a deep breath. “Stop!”

The entire imagery froze as with a thought, Fangzheng appeared behind Mengmeng. He squatted down and looked at the two women. One had sallow skin. She wore a headscarf, a checkered shirt, and a pair of old-fashioned jeans. The other person had a protruded mouth with tiny eyes. She had a mole on her chin and she wore a pink sweater. She held a lollipop in her hand as she had a crafty smile while speaking.

Mengmeng looked like she was shaking her head. The girl had manners and did not take things that were offered to her that easily.

Seeing Mengmeng’s adorable face and the two women’s wretched looks, pangs of burning anger arose in Fangzheng! He was enraged! To think that such deeds which incurred the wrath of both god and man alike were still done by people. Were they unafraid of going to hell?

“System, does this world really have hell?”

“Hell is in the heart.” The System answered ambiguously before advising him. “The pangs of fury in you is intense. You should extinguish them.”

Fangzheng was taken aback before he smiled grimly. “Why? Do you not plan on getting This Penniless Monk to redeem them?”

“Amitabha. A vile person will be bedeviled by someone of the same ilk. Those of evil who have no good inside of them should be dealt with by the Wisdom King’s wrath. Redemption is directed only at people who still have good in them. I wish you the best of luck…”

“Thank you, but aren’t you giving me any practical aid? What’s the point in simply making remarks?”

“It will depend on you,” said the System as though it was a matter of fact.

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. Since he was not getting any help, he gave up on the thought. Since he had seen the duo’s appearance, Fangzheng did not hesitate to descend the mountain. He arrived at the foot of the mountain to see the village in turmoil. Those with cars had drove out of the village to seek out the perpetrators. Those without cars stayed in the village to search everywhere. All holes, big or small, even drains were searched… Wang Yougui led the police to investigate the area.

Fangzheng saw the police from afar. They were familiar to him. One of them was Lu Liang, a native policeman. He had been part of the investigations when the case of the missing undergarments were underway. Fangzheng did not plan on greeting him. Instead, he used A Golden Millet Dream from a distance.

Lu Liang was searching the area for clues when he suddenly felt his vision blur. A scene appeared in front of him with two women chatting with a girl before taking out a lollipop!

“Is that Sun Mengmeng?” Lu Liang’s heart skipped a beat as he yelled. No sound left his mouth. He charged forward and just as he was about to grab Sun Mengmeng, his arms passed right through her.

“A hallucination?” exclaimed Lu Liang.

“Amitabha!”

Lu Liang looked up and saw a gigantic Bodhisattva figure on Mt. One Finger. Bodhisattva sat on Mt. One Finger with a look of pity across her benevolent face.

“Guan Yin Bodhisattva?” Lu Liang jumped in fright. What was happening?!

Everything disappeared the next moment. When his eyes finally focused once more, he was surprised to discover himself by the eastern entrance of the village! It headed straight for Mt. One Finger! Far off, Wang Yougui and company were running over to him…

“Lu Liang, are you a rabbit? Why were you running away so fast!?” shouted Wang Yougui.

Only then did Lu Lian recall that he was not at the village entrance previously. How did he arrive where he was? Upon recalling the dream-like scene before, he subconsciously looked up at Mt. One Finger. Unfortunately, Bodhisattva was no longer on the mountain. He understood that the dream had been shown to him for a reason. Lu Liang recalled the appearances of the two women. He was shocked to realize he could remember them vividly, as though they were right in front of him.

Lu Liang quickly used his cell phone to make a call. “Dad, I need your help.”

“Hey, you need my help? Why would a college graduate like you need an old artist like me?” A teasing voice on the other end of the line responded. His father’s name was Lu Hui. He was a former policeman and had been a facial composite artist for decades. Unfortunately, with the advancement of scientific technology, his ability to create a composite from a simple suspect description from an eye-witness’s account was no longer highly regarded. At least, his skills were not highly regarded by his son, Lu Liang. Lu Liang had thought that with advanced technology, computers could produce facial composites and even three-dimensional pictures. There were cameras everywhere, all they needed nowadays was a recording.

“Hey, dad, stop pulling my leg. Something major has happened. A child from One Finger Village has been kidnapped. I know what the two look like. I need you to draw it for me and send it to all units. By working together in this investigation, we will be able to quickly…” As Lu Liang spoke, he heard a roar on the other end of the line.