The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Three words appeared in his mind: “Mole Spell!”

“What the heck is this?” Fangzheng was stunned. Mole Spell? The name didn’t sound like anything impressive. However, when he carefully read the description of the Mole Spell, Fangzheng immediately laughed!

Zhou Wu was emboldened by Fangzheng’s meekness. “Didn’t you hear that? Even the owner isn’t disagreeable with it, why the hell is it your business?”

The villagers looked at Fangzheng and just as Zhou Wu had said, Fangzheng was the owner. If Fangzheng did not give the call-to-arms, it wasn’t right for them to take action.

“Amitabha. Patrons, there’s no need to be angry. This Penniless Monk has no lack of bamboo shoots on this mountain. Everyone, feel free to take them. But, remember. You are not to waste, or else…”

“So what if it’s wasted?” Zhou Wu thought that Fangzheng was threatening him.

Fangzheng chuckled, “Wastage will receive punishment.”

“Who will deliver the punishment?” Ge Yan glared, looking fearless as though she would use her heels to beat anyone who acted smug into submission.

“As the saying goes: The gods are watching, so don’t think you can get away with anything.” After saying so, he flicked his sleeves and walked away!

The villagers were stunned when they saw Fangzheng’s departing back. Was he really not caring about the matter? Since Fangzheng showed no concern, it was not their place to do so. They could only scatter.

When Fangzheng walked over, Red Boy jumped off the wall and went up to him. With his hands behind him, he looked up and chuckled, “Master, you came back without doing a thing? That person was so arrogant and wasted so many Frost Bamboo bamboo shoots. Aren’t you going to do something?”

Fangzheng smiled and returned with a question, “Definitely, something has to be done. Didn’t your master do something?”

“Tch, you call that having done something? With just a few words? Master, you are too cowardly.” Red Boy curled his lips.

“Oh? Too cowardly? Then what do you have in mind as advice for your master?” asked Fangzheng with a chuckle.

“Such a person should be skinned and thrown into a pot of oil to be cooked crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. He can be eaten for supper!”

Dong!

Fangzheng raised his hand and struck down at Red Boy. Unfortunately, Red Boy had a strong body. The beating felt like it hit metal. Although Fangzheng had great strength in his fist, it only left a crisp sound which nearly caused sparks.

Red Boy didn’t feel any pain either. He looked provocatively at Fangzheng. It was obvious what he meant: “What can you do to me?”

Fangzheng smiled and began reciting the scriptures.

“Ouch!” Red Boy’s eyes rolled back as he squirmed on the ground in pain, shouting, “Master, I was wrong, I was wrong! It hurts, hurts…”

Fangzheng shot a glance at the profusely sweating Red Boy after reciting just one line. “My dear disciple, it’s quite a pity if those bamboo shoots go to waste. Once they are gone, collect the bamboo shoots and bring them down the mountain to feed the chickens and duck.”

Red Boy sat on the ground, angry and depressed. As he looked at Fangzheng’s back, he ground his canine teeth, crying inwardly, “If not for the lack of my divine powers, I would have eaten this darn monk!”

Although he cursed and acted belligerently, he still had to do the job. Blame it on his luck for encountering a scoundrelly master.

Elsewhere, Zhou Wu was delighted. “Has that retarded monk gone silly from reciting scriptures? He even said that the gods are watching. Gods my ass! Dear, let’s dig the bamboo shoots!”

“Heh heh, I think he was afraid as well, trying to frighten us with talk about gods. Such a useless man is nothing but trash.” After saying so, Ge Yan patted her son, Zhou Wenwu, “Son, you must learn from your father, got it? He’s unafraid of anything regardless of the number of people he faces. Whoever bullies you, punch him! If there’s really anything, both of us will support you!”

Zhou Wenwu had also seen all that happened today. He felt that his parents were awesome, unafraid despite being only two people against so many. He nodded immediately, “Yeah, I got it! I’ll beat anyone who dares provoke me to death in the future!”

Zhou Wu laughed out loud, “That’s my boy. Make way. This bamboo shoot looks perfect. Let’s dig it and take a look!”

Ge Yan and Zhou Wenwu made way. Zhou Wu folded the tool into that of a tiny hoe and struck it down. The tool was too small after all, breaking the bamboo shoot midway.

Zhou Wu curled his mouth, “F**k, it broke. Forget that. Let’s find another one.” As he said that, he prepared to walk off but at that moment, Zhou Wenwu exclaimed, “Dad, your face!”

“What’s wrong with my face?” Zhou Wu felt his face itch with Zhou Wenwu’s exclamation. He reached out his hand and touched his face. His skin seemed to protrude a little and it had a hair sticking out of it… He immediately felt an ominous foreboding.

Ge Yan looked up when she heard Zhou Wenwu’s cry. She was frightened as well. “Aiyah, Old Zhou, why is there an additional mole on your face?”

“What? How is that possible! When has my face ever had a mole?” Zhou Wu quickly took out his cell phone and used the front-facing camera. Indeed, there was a mole that looked like a mosquito bite underneath his left eyelid. There was a tiny black hair sticking out of it.

“What’s that? It wasn’t there previously,” grumbled Zhou Wu.

“It looks like it just grew,” said Ge Yan.

“Forget it. A tiny mole is nothing. I’ll go to the hospital to have it checked when we leave the mountain.” Zhou Wu thought nothing of it as he continued digging the bamboo shoots. The one he dug next looked pretty good. He liked it and stored it away inside his snakeskin bag.

Although Ge Yan did not make any comment, she was still somewhat worried. The monk had mentioned that the gods were watching. Once he wasted one bamboo shoot, he grew a mole on his face. Could this really be retribution? Therefore, Ge Yan kept staring at Zhou Wu secretly. When she noticed that the mole on Zhou Wu’s face did not experience any changes, she heaved a sigh of relief and mumbled, “Darn monk, you gave me a fright.”

The consecutive few bamboo shoots Zhou Wu dug satisfied him, and so he placed them inside his snakeskin bag. However, Zhou Wu found the sixth one unsatisfying. He cursed, “So old? I don’t want it!”

Behind him, Zhou Wenwu had run into the bamboo forest to play. Ge Yan, who was worried for her son, had run over, so no one was looking at Zhou Wu. All he felt was a tiny itch on his face, but he thought nothing of it, shrugging it off as a result of the sweat. He continued digging. Zhou Wu was picky. He did not want those that were too big or too small. He only took the ones that caught his eye.

As the villagers did not like Zhou Wu, they naturally departed wherever he went. They couldn’t even be bothered to look at him.

Soon, Zhou Wu was done digging a bagful of bamboo shoots. He looked at the fruits of his labor with great satisfaction before taking out his cell phone to snap two pictures of the bamboo shoots in the snakeskin bag. Then, he switched the camera in preparation to take a picture with it. But the next moment…

“What the f**k!?” When Zhou Wu saw the person on the screen, his hand trembled in fright until he threw the cell phone away!

Upon hearing Zhou Wu shout, Ge Yan and Zhou Wenwu rushed over immediately. They screamed in unison, “Old Zhou (Dad), why is your face so black? And there’s hair?”

The villagers turned to look over when they heard that. One by one they turned dumbfounded. Dog Song was first taken aback before he laughed out boisterously, “Aiyah! Which zoo didn’t close its cages? It let a black bear escape! Heh heh, this face sure is black. Is this the black bear in charge of the stove? Its hair is rather long, isn’t it? There’s no need to buy any thread to knit woolen clothes in winter!”