The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“He is not an evil person, yet you are scamming him of his money. Isn’t that evil? You want to save your daughter, but with you dead, is this a good thing for your daughter? A child who doesn’t have a father from a young age. Do you know how her future life will be? Who will protect her when she is bullied? It’s the same for your wife. She suffered together with you almost her entire life. Who is to take care of her in the future? She has to bring up your daughter alone. Have you thought about how difficult that is?” Fangzheng bombarded Cao Can with questions, leaving him at a loss for words.

Moments later, Cao Can said, “But— I have already gone onto the road of no return. This is the only solution I can think of. With money, they might at least lead a slightly better life. After some time, they will forget me and be happy.”

“Whether they lead a happy life or not, why don’t you see for yourself.” Fangzheng shook his head as he turned to walk out.

Cao Can immediately chased and asked, “Venerable One, about that… I—”

“You can put reincarnation on hold for the moment. Let’s go to the living world to take a look,” said Fangzheng.

“Thank you, Venerable One!” Cao Can immediately thanked him profusely. He was happy as long as he could see his family.

But when he came home, what awaited him was two people covered in tears. Li Xiang was crying her heart out, fainting numerous times in the process. Cao Xueke sprawled over his corpse, sobbing without so much as a sniffle, but she kept shouting, “Daddy, don’t sleep. Wake up! You said you would spend time to dig earthworms with me and go fishing! Sob…”

Cao Can cried when he saw the two crying people. He went over, hoping to comfort them, but his body passed through them. He wished to shout, but they did not hear his shouting. He looked at Fangzheng in despair. “Venerable One, please, let us meet one last time.”

“Amitabha. Patron, you are already dead. The parting between life and death is forever. There is no way for you to meet them again. Look, is this the happiness you mentioned you would bring them?” asked Fangzheng.

Cao Can looked at the two and fell silent.

Time quickly passed. The mine’s boss indeed compensated them. Using the money, Li Xiang treated Cao Xueke of her illness and paid off their debt. Their lives also turned for the better, but…

“Xueke, why is your face so red?” Li Xiang looked at Cao Xueke return from school with a pained heart.

Cao Xueke lowered her head. She looked at Li Xiang, wanting to say something before she lowered her head, muttering, “I fell down in school…”

With that said, Cao Xueke ran into her tiny room.

Cao Can immediately followed.

She saw Cao Xueke sitting in bed, holding his photo. Tears streamed down her cheeks like broken pearls. She sobbed without a sniffle, “Daddy, Daddy… The school is having a sports meet soon. The others all have their fathers participate. There’s long jumps, running etc., but only I’m lacking a father… Sob…”

“They all say I’m a child without a father, but I know I have a father. It’s just someone I can’t bring to show them.”

“Daddy, they mocked me, saying I was abandoned. I fought with them, and my body hurts. Sob. But I can’t tell Mommy. She’s already very tired. Daddy, I miss you. I know Mommy misses you too.”

Standing by the bed, Cao Can was already awash in tears. However, no matter what he said, Cao Xueke could not hear him.

When Cao Can came out again, he saw Li Xiang crying secretly while squatting there. She whispered, “Old Cao, I miss you.”

“Venerable One, I…” Cao Can turned his head and looked at Fangzheng standing outside the door. He had a pleading look.

“Patron, do you still want to continue watching? They are no longer in debt, but are they happy?”

Cao Can fell silent.

Fangzheng did not say a word as he allowed Cao Can to continue watching.

Days passed as Li Xiang’s life of bringing up Cao Xueke alone did not turn happier because of Cao Can’s departure, Instead, there was more crying than smiling. Cao Xueke studied very diligently, while Li Xiang worked hard in the fields. Due to the hard work, her head was soon covered in white.

She was only in her thirties, an age where she should still look charming, but due to her over-exhaustion, her hands were wrinkled and she had a head of white hair. Cao Can slapped himself forcefully in the face twice!

He continued watching. His daughter only studied and remained silent every day, almost to the point of not speaking much. He slapped himself twice again.

However, Cao Can told himself, “At least she’s healthy.”

“At times, the difference between being alive and dead isn’t that great. People need living, not survival. Living is happiness, but survival is pain and struggle,” said Fangzheng suddenly.

The words struck Cao Can like lightning. He looked at Fangzheng. “Venerable One—”

“Patron, problems that can be resolved with death can equally be resolved by living people.”

Cao Can was stunned in his spot. He had pondered of the problem, but was it possible? But now that he was a ghost, what wasn’t impossible? The monk in front of him was definitely no ordinary monk, but a divine one! Upon coming to this realization, Cao Can plopped to his knees and exclaimed, “Venerable One, please help me! If I could redo things, I know what I should do.”

“If you didn’t die, what would you do? Would you not save your daughter?” retorted Fangzheng with a question.

“There will definitely be a solution, right?” Cao Can suddenly returned with a question.

Fangzheng was left speechless. Indeed, no matter how foolish a fool was, there were times when he would be clever. Fangzheng smiled and pressed his palms together. He gave a Buddhist proclamation. “Amitabha.”

The next moment, Cao Can heard a loud boom above him as though lightning had struck. He looked up and he saw black. He lost consciousness.

When Cao Can opened his eyes again, he was stunned to discover himself standing at the mine’s entrance! The scene in front of him was almost identical to the one in his memories. He looked ahead and then behind him. Indeed, not far away stood a monk. Beside the monk stood a monkey in monk robes, appearing very different.

Fangzheng nodded at him before turning to leave.

“Master, where do we go now?” asked Monkey.

“Home.”

“Master, can you save that child?” On the trip there, Fangzheng had already recounted Cao Can’s situation to Monkey. Monkey naturally knew their goal for coming.

Fangzheng shook his head. “This Penniless Monk obviously can save her, but there are too many tragedies in this world. How many people can be saved by using This Penniless Monk’s limited divine powers? A single person’s act of kindness, no matter how much is done, is limited. Only by stirring people to do good together will goodness be spread to become great goodness. Cao Can’s daughter’s illness isn’t incurable. It’s just very difficult and expensive to treat her.”

Monkey immediately wore a bitter expression when he heard about money. “Master, we are already poor enough…”

Fangzheng: “…”

Cao Can narrowed his eyes and looked into the sky as he muttered, “Was it a dream?”

Cao Can walked into the mine and saw many people standing outside in a daze. There was someone cursing loudly, “I really have no idea which son of a bitch did this. He actually cut the electrical lines!”

Following that, someone ran over. “Alright, alright. Orders have been passed from above. We have to do an environmental impact assessment. All mines with pollutants are not to begin work. You will be on holiday today. Also… You, quickly contact the electrician to fix the electric lines…”

Cao Can looked at the crowd that began to scatter as his mouth turned slightly agape. He could not say a word as his mind was filled with Fangzheng’s words, “The water in the lake has dried up…”