The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng did not know that his smack would result in him becoming a trashy monk. If he were to hear the woman’s thoughts, he would probably feel helpless against them.

The leader, He Ming was taken aback, “Village Chief Lei, your village has a monk?”

“This Venerable One came just today. He came just before you,” whispered Village Chief Lei.

Fangzheng pressed his palms together, “Amitabha, This Penniless Monk is One Finger Monastery’s Fangzheng. Greetings, Patrons. This is This Penniless Monk’s disciple, Jingxin.” He introduced Red Boy as well.

The woman was taken aback when she heard that. She was only concerned about preventing Fangzheng from hitting the child. Now, upon careful look, she realized that the child was not from the village. However, the woman pouted all the same, “You should not beat him even if he’s your disciple, right?”

“That’s right! How can you beat me as you wish?” Red Boy shouted immediately when he saw someone backing him.

Fangzheng rolled his eyes at Red Boy in exasperation, “This Penniless Monk’s disciple has quite a rogue nature. If he is not strictly disciplined…”

“Come on. How old are you? What do you mean rogue nature? Regardless, children nowadays mature early. They know many things. Beatings and scoldings will affect a child’s mental wellbeing, especially their development! What happens if something terrible happens from your beatings? What cannot be reasoned in a calm setting? Also… W^%E^&Y” The woman continued on incessantly, nearly giving Fangzheng a lesson on child education right there on the spot.

Fangzheng stared at the woman, dumbfounded. He always believed that he was quite a loquacious person but compared to the woman, he finally understood the might of pea-brain duck that droned on incessantly. How terrifying!

Red Boy was also dumbfounded. He believed that he had escaped the evil clutches of Fangzheng, but the scene before him seemed problematic! But when he thought about Fangzheng, Red Boy resolutely made the decision to temporarily come under the loquacious woman’s charge. At the very least, he would likely gain a little more freedom.

Fangzheng ignored Red Boy. Since he could not run off and was only able to stir trouble, Fangzheng could not be bothered to reprimand him. Furthermore, Fangzheng had a feeling that Red Boy was about to suffer.

“Venerable One, why did you come all the way here?” He Ming came over and asked out of curiosity.

Fangzheng smiled bitterly, “This Penniless Monk has been living an ascetic life and ended up walking all the way here muddle-headedly. Patrons, your act leaves This Penniless Monk ashamed at my inadequacies. Your actions are truly great kindness.”

“Haha! Venerable One, you are being polite. We are also just a bunch of people with nothing better to do. We just came to help since we are free. By the way, Village Chief, let’s quickly unload the carriages and let the horses rest. We have to return tomorrow,” exclaimed He Ming.

Village Chief Lei smiled in response. He led people to carry the water down and distributed it on the spot. It had long been decided how much each household was allocated. The horses were also brought to a special stable in the village to be fed.

Village Chief Lei sighed, “These two horses have really done great deeds for our village. Our village’s water all depends on them. This coming and going has already gone on for as long as half a year…”

He Ming nodded and smiled. “That’s right. These two old horses have done great deeds. All of you have to take good care of them in their twilight years.”

Village Chief Lei roared with laughter, “Definitely!”

As they conversed, the water was fully distributed. The volunteers followed the villagers amid laughter.

Fangzheng asked out of curiosity, “Where are they going?”

“Since they have come here often, everyone has friends in the village. They would stay in their respective friends’ houses,” explained He Ming.

Village Chief Lei said, “Alright. Let’s not just stand here. Let’s go. Same old rules. It’s time for dinner.”

Fangzheng was taken aback. There was dinner?

Red Boy’s eyes lit up and asked, “Is there meat?”

Village Chief Lei was taken aback. Meat?

Fangzheng raised his hand, about to smack Red Boy, but the woman quickly carried Red Boy to the side. She said angrily, “Monk, why do you act violently so easily? Was what I said before useless? As a monk, shouldn’t you… %$#…$&”

Fangzheng immediately raised his hands in capitulation, “Amitabha. Patron Lei, this young disciple of mine is young and ignorant. Please don’t mind him. How can monks eat meat?”

The woman interrupted immediately, “Monks don’t eat meat, but this child has yet to have his hair cut. You can’t call him a monk, right? Can’t he eat a bit of meat? The child is still young and growing…”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. The woman had rendered him completely speechless. Wasn’t her treatment of children too lax?

He Ming hurriedly said, “Yao Yuxin, he’s the Venerable One’s disciple. How he should be taught is up to him. Why are you interfering?”

Yao Yuxin did not buy it as she raised her head, “Was what I said wrong? Venerable One, tell me. What’s wrong with what I said?”

Red Boy chuckled sinisterly. He had finally encountered someone that could subdue the darn baldy after all this time. He decided on following the female patron for at the very least, he would no longer be bullied.

Fangzheng shot a glance at Red Boy and shook his head, “Female Patron, we can leave the topic of monks eating meat to another time. As for him, if you like to educate him, go ahead. This Penniless Monk will not interfere.”

Village Chief Lei noticed that the atmosphere had turned for the worse, so he quickly interrupted, “Alright, let’s stop discussing this matter. Let’s go. The celebration will begin soon.”

Therefore, the group of people entered the village and reached its center after a short walk. Indeed, there was a road intersection with a flat terrain. It was very wide and in the middle, there was some firewood. The volunteers and the villagers started busying themselves.

The moment Fangzheng and company arrived, they heard a commotion. A few old grannies were walking over happily with two chickens in hand.

Upon seeing this scene, He Ming rushed over, “Auntie! Auntie! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t! Don’t kill the chickens! We already said that we just need some fire here and to have some fun. If you kill the chickens, we might not dare come again.”

“Hey, Team Leader He, you came all this way to give us the water of life. Why can’t we kill two chickens to nourish your bodies? We might be poor, but we can still afford two chickens. Don’t worry, these are not egg-laying chickens. These chickens were raised a few months especially for all of you. Look, they are really plump. Heh heh,” the old granny said with a chuckle. The way she looked at He Ming and Yao Yuxin was like they were her children. It was filled with geniality and fondness. It was obvious how heartfelt her treatment towards them was.

He Ming obviously did not want any of the chickens. He shook his head vehemently. “Auntie… This makes it difficult for us. We brought the water voluntarily. Look, the bonfire has already been prepared. Isn’t it nice if all of us sing and chat? Let me tell you, I specially brought a projector today. We can all watch a movie together.”

“That’s even better. That makes stewing these chickens for you even more important!” exclaimed the granny.