The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Although you redeemed a person this time, you indirectly also saved many living beings. Therefore the merit is quite substantial. However I suggest that you do not make the draw. Save it up and do the draw later in one go. You now have food and drink, as well as three depictions of Buddha. You aren’t lacking the trivial items, so it’s best to save up to get a big item.”

Fangzheng thought about it and indeed, what the System said was reasonable. He now wore the White Lunar Monk Robe and Savior shoes. He had Buddha Beads in hand, and he had three Buddha depictions and a wooden fish. He consumed Unrooted Clean Aqua, Crystal Rice, Frost Bamboo. All of this made it seem like he was not lacking any of the trivial stuff. Of course it was not that he had all the small things, but compared to the small things, he was more in need of the bigger ones! Accumulating some merit to make a draw for a big item was something very necessary.

“Alright, I’ll heed your advice.”

With that said Fangzheng put away his cell phone and stretched his back. He called out, “Jingxin, is the rice not ready? Your master is hungry.”

“Master, it’s almost done! Today we disciples are going to give you a huge pleasant surprise!” shouted Red Boy from the kitchen.

Fangzheng was astounded. A huge pleasant surprise? What sort of surprise could they do? A curious Fangzheng wanted to head to the kitchen to take a look.

Squirrel immediately jumped out, extending his tiny paws with his body outstretched to block Fangzheng’s foot. “Master, you can’t peek. You can only see it when we are done.”

Fangzheng glanced at the kitchen. The door to the kitchen was shut. Monkey was at the window and everything else was obstructed. He could not see a thing. Fangzheng became intrigued by their furtive behavior.

“Jingkuan, shall we… negotiate? Tell me, what are they up to?” Fangzheng squatted down as he asked Squirrel nicely.

Squirrel did not fall for his schemes and shouted, standing firm for the cause of justice, “No! Senior Brothers and Junior Brother said it absolutely cannot be leaked!”

“Really?” asked Fangzheng with a chuckle.

“Really!” Squirrel was extremely adamant.

“You really can’t say?”

“Absolutely not!”

“What can’t you say?”

“I can’t say that we are cooking mushroom soup— Uh, Master you tricked me! Boohoo… You didn’t hear it! You didn’t hear it!” Squirrel realized that he had been bamboozled. He crawled up to Fangzheng’s shoulders from his trouser pants and tugged at Fangzheng’s ears. He began acting scoundrelly.

Fangzheng laughed upon seeing this. He quickly cajoled. “Yes, nothing was heard. Haha!”

At that moment, the kitchen’s door opened. A rich aroma wafted out. Fangzheng nearly salivated when he caught a whiff of it. When he turned his head, he saw Red Boy carrying a large pot of soup over. The pot had a mix of red and yellow soup, with things of different colors floating.

Thud. Red Boy placed the huge pot on the table and said with a smile, “I knew Jingkuan wasn’t reliable. He was indeed tricked by Master. Master, take a look. These are the fruits of our morning labor. It’s all good stuff.”

Squirrel blushed when he heard that. Thankfully, he had long fur. Others could not see his blushing face.

Fangzheng came over to take a careful look and asked with a look of speechlessness, “Jingxin, who was the one who plucked the mushrooms?”

“The four of us went down the mountain and plucked them in Mt. Tongtian. How is it? Aren’t they beautiful? Aren’t they fragrant? Tsk, tsk. This basically looks, smells, and tastes good,” said Jingxin smugly with a smile.

Fangzheng smiled. “It’s indeed beautiful and smells good. Then, why did you think of plucking mushrooms?”

Red Boy blushed. “Master, I have a stomach ache. I’ll make a visit to the bathroom.” With that said, he ran off.

Fangzheng could only ask Squirrel, Monkey, and Lone Wolf.

Lone Wolf sprawled on the table and salivated. “Master, Junior Brother said that it has been exhausting on you the past few days, so he suggested we pluck some mushrooms to supplement you.”

“Oh, I see.” Fangzheng smiled as he looked at the colorful mushrooms in the pot. Monkey, Squirrel, and Lone Wolf did not understand Red Boy, but Fangzheng did. How could the punk be up to any good? He was worried for him? The fellow was hoping that a mouthful of the mushroom soup could send him to heaven!

However Fangzheng did not say a word and smiled. “It’s quite rare that you disciples are so filial. In that case, as your master, I shouldn’t stand on ceremony towards your piety.”

With that said, Fangzheng asked the System. “System Bro, can the White Lunar Monk Robe detoxify?”

“Of course.”

Fangzheng was immediately delighted as he immediately drank a mouthful before hearing the System say, “Of course not. Clothes are clothes. The robe can defend against external harm, but it can’t defend your internals. To think you asked such a question. How did you live to this age? Did you graduate from elementary school?”

Fangzheng’s face turned green when he forgot. In his joy, he had forgotten that the rascal System liked to pause in the middle of sentences! And apparently, he had just drank some…

“System, why didn’t you say so earlier? You only mention it after I drink it? Do you want This Penniless Monk dead? This Penniless Monk finally understands why you chose me. You caused my predecessors to die and traveled from afar to scam me!” Fangzheng was too down for tears.

“Say so earlier? I already said it early enough. You were just being greedy. Yet you want to blame me? Of course, your predecessors did die quite early. If you end up the same as them, I don’t mind finding a new Host.”

“You sure are ruthless!” Fangzheng felt his stomach aching. He could not help but quickly pluck out a meditation bead. With a thought, he activated the Divine State, and the huge words—Poison Immunity—appeared!

Indeed, the pain in his stomach vanished the next moment.

Fangzheng heaved a sigh of relief. He kept cursing how vile the System was and when he looked up, he was stunned.

He saw Lone Wolf, Squirrel, and Monkey looking at him eagerly.

Lone Wolf licked his lips. “Master, can… Can we try?”

“No!” Fangzheng rejected them decisively. The poisonous mushroom soup had nearly poisoned him to death. He had even used a Buddha Bead and his Divine State to escape death. If these animals died, wouldn’t he need to waste even more Buddha Beads and merit? Besides, Fangzheng had a deeper consideration.

“Master, you can’t be that selfish, right? This mushroom soup smells great. Can’t you give us a little?” Monkey looked at Fangzheng with infinite anticipation.

Squirrel came over and blinked his large doe-like eyes. “Master, Monkey, and Lone Wolf are so large. They will definitely drink a lot of your mushroom soup. Look at me. I’m so tiny, and my stomach is tiny. I won’t be able to drink much. Why don’t you give me some?”

The little guy, Squirrel, had instantly betrayed his fellow disciples. Immediately they rolled their eyes at him, but the little guy ignored them. He continued looking at Fangzheng with watery eyes, looking with extreme desire.

However…

Fangzheng said sternly, “No! This is something your junior brother gave to honor me. How can it be given to others? Of course, if your junior brother is agreeable to letting you drink, I have no qualms letting you drink a mouthful.” With that said, Fangzheng shouted, “Jingxin, are you willing for me to share this pot of soup with your senior brothers?”