The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Squirrel continued looking into the distance before shaking his head. “There’s only blue skies and white clouds. Nothing else.”

“That’s right, there’s nothing indeed. But if you frame all of that and add Master into it. Take another look. What feeling do you get?” Squirrel looked up. One minute passed, two minutes, three minutes…

Red Boy lost his patience and asked, “Do you actually see something?”

“Junior Brother, after lifting my neck for so long, it cramped up. Help me…”

Red Boy: “#$%#…”

After massaging Squirrel’s stiff neck, Red Boy asked, “Alright, now tell me. What did you see?”

“I didn’t see anything. It just seems like… Master has fallen asleep.”

Red Boy: “#$%…”

“Aiyah! Junior Brother, you know I’m stupid. Quick, tell me. What’s the mystery behind this matter?”

Red Boy sighed. “Why can’t you tell? The boulder is in the middle of the stream, just like the Dizhu Pillar Rock, a mountain that stands in the middle of the Yellow River! Behind him is a waterfall, and at the top of the waterfall is a boulder. Beside the boulder are strange but beautiful ancient trees. There are a few clouds in the blue sky. Now, with a monk silently sitting cross-legged there with meditation beads in hand, don’t you find it a Zen-like picture?”

“Seems like that’s true! But, is that of any use?” asked Squirrel naively.

Red Boy looked up and spoke with great profoundness. “Yes, definitely! It’s very useful!”

“What is it useful for then?” pressed Squirrel.

“Posturing!” Red Boy enunciated each syllable.

Squirrel: “#$%…”

In fact, Fangzheng was indeed posturing. In fact he was imitating the ancient man named Jiang Ziya. Unlike Jiang Ziya, who did it to impress King Wen, Fangzheng was doing it to impress a group of ordinary people.

Fangzheng was in meditation, and although Red Boy felt that Fangzheng was posturing, he could only aid the posturing as his disciple. Therefore Red Boy went to the side of the boulder and sat cross-legged. However he did not meditate over the Zen and instead fell into a daze.

Squirrel sat on a tiny rock beside Red Boy and mimicked Fangzheng. He did quite a good job at first. But not long later, there was a soft snore…

Red Boy immediately rolled his eyes as he had a look of disdain!

“Brother Meng, where are we going?” Lin Lei, who had constantly been afraid, tailed behind as he kept pestering Xia Meng with questions. He held Lin Zicheng, who was still in the form of a hazel grouse, in his hand. However, he carried it without much thought, making the insufferable Lin Zicheng feel like his wings were about to be snapped off! As he cursed Lin Lei, he was struck in the head a few times before realizing that Lin Lei really did not know what he was saying. After suffering some physical abuse, he no longer made a sound.

Xia Meng came to a stop and said, “The other person walked all the way here. As for where he went, I wasn’t sure at first, but now I know.” As he spoke, Xia Meng looked at Fangzheng who was sitting on the boulder! From this angle, they could see Fangzheng sitting beneath the waterfall, as though he was one with the heavens. Behind him was the sun and as its rays fell on Fangzheng, it illuminated his back like he had a blinding Buddha light. It made it impossible to discern Fangzheng’s face, but with the background, the sunlight, and the clothes, it formed a picturesque scenery of Zen.

“A monk?” Lin Lei was astonished.

Lin Ying’s eyes lit up instantly. She looked from a different angle and saw that the monk was a handsome monk. He was very pretty! Unfortunately his eyes were closed. She had no idea what sort of bearing he would have if he opened his eyes. However, the Zen-like picture had already stirred her young maiden heart. Her curiosity was piqued about the monk’s identity and why he was there. Of course, she was more eager to ask the monk if he had seen her elder brother, Lin Zicheng.

However, the one with the greatest reaction was Lin Zicheng. He instantly recognized Fangzheng! A person that could turn him into a hazel grouse with a thought was definitely no human! This was a god, a living Buddha! If he wanted to transform back, he needed the monk’s help! Therefore he tried his best to escape from Lin Lei’s grasp so that he could plead with Fangzheng to turn him back.

However, Lin Lei held him tightly. When he struggled, he only ended up being tied up by a rope. He was only a bit short of being tied up in bondage now. Instantly, he was too down for tears. His shouts were soundless, and he felt helpless and was in despair.

Xia Meng was different. He was certain that the monk was the person he was searching for! The monk was definitely no ordinary person for being able to silently disarm Lin Zicheng and persuade Old Liang to leave with a few words! Therefore Xia Meng held his bayonet tightly and walked over as he looked up to ask Fangzheng. “Venerable One, did you see anyone walk by here?”

However Fangzheng did not open his eyes. He did not even move, as if he were an old monk in meditation.

Xia Meng frowned and just as he was about to ask again, he heard a child’s voice from the rock behind. “Patron, my master is in Zen meditation. If there’s nothing, please do not disturb him.” Following that, a child wearing a dudou with his buttocks exposed walked out from behind the boulder. He had golden hoops around his neck, hands, and feet. At his glabella was a red dot, making him resemble the legendary Red Boy. His hands were pressed together, making him look quite like a young monk.

Red Boy was adorable to begin with due to his supple, milky skin. Now that he was acting obedient, he naturally looked very adorable.

Lin Ying’s eyes lit up when she saw Red Boy. She cried in her heart, “This child is so pretty! How adorable!”

Lin Lei whispered, “Why would there be a child in the remote mountains? Could he be a demon?”

Lin Ying rolled her eyes at him. “Have you read Journey to the West too much?”

Xia Meng had not thought of the possibility of a child being nearby. He returned the polite gesture and said, “So there’s also a young master here. Young Master, might I ask if you saw anyone pass by here? Or did you see something pass by with a person?”

Red Boy smiled faintly. “Patron, are you talking about a golden winged roc that flew off with a person in its beak?”

“Kid, what nonsense are you talking about? What golden-winged roc? Why don’t you say you saw Sun Wukong?” Lin Ying was amused with anger.

Red Boy blinked at Lin Ying and said, “Female Patron, since you know it’s impossible, why ask me?”

Lin Ying was stunned.

Xia Meng said, “Young Master, are you sure you didn’t see anything?”

Red Boy shook his head. “I didn’t see a thing, but I just came, so I don’t know if someone had come previously. If you would like to ask, ask my master. However, Master is in Zen meditation at the moment and cannot be disturbed. If you would like to ask, try waiting. Oh, I recall that Master said that if anyone came asking, I should let them wait.”

Xia Meng wanted to comment but Red Boy immediately continued, “My master hates being disturbed while meditating. That’s why he came all the way into the mountains to meditate. If you disturb him, you can forget about getting anything out of him.”