The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Red Boy, who was hiding outside, was stunned. He scratched his head as he walked out, subconsciously wishing to nod his head. Although Fangzheng was also an unlucky fool, Red Boy wished to gain more freedom. It would naturally be for the best if the darn baldy was poisoned to death. However when he saw the earnest-looking Squirrel, Lone Wolf, and Monkey’s naive eyes, Red Boy realized he could not bring himself to affirm those words!

A series of images could not help but flash across Red Boy’s mind—the stingy Squirrel had given him his pine nuts; he had secretly eaten Monkey’s bamboo shoots, but was met with laughter; Lone Wolf, who always lay languidly and ignored him, would be his stead and run around crazily outside when he was in a bad mood, eventually hanging out his tongue and bubbling at his mouth in exhaustion…

At that moment, Fangzheng asked again, “Jingxin, are you willing to let me share this mushroom soup of mine with them?”

Red Boy turned agape as he finally shook his head and said, “It’s my act of filial piety towards Master. It’s pointless if others drink it. But of course, if my senior brothers want to drink it, I can pluck some more to make for all of you.”

“For real?” the naive Squirrel immediately exclaimed in excitement.

Monkey laughed loudly. “Junior Brother, if that’s the case, I can only bear with it.”

Lone Wolf jerked his head away, as though he did not appreciate the nice gesture. “If you aren’t letting us eat, just say so. Why do you need to give excuses? But I can wait. When the time comes, I’ll give you some face by forcing myself to take a mouthful or two.”

Red Boy heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that as he looked at Fangzheng.

Fangzheng chuckled. “In that case, no more standing on ceremony.” With that said, he sat there and gulped down the mushroom soup and ate the mushrooms.

Red Boy stood at the door watching this scene, his eyes flickering with an uncertain glow. He looked like he was considering certain things, but also like he was feeling a struggle. Eventually, he did not stop Fangzheng.

The pot could not be considered a lot. Fangzheng was able to finish it alone. After he finished it, there was not one bit of soup left! He patted his tummy and said, “Jingxin, accompany me on a walk.”

Once he said that, Fangzheng stood up and walked outside. Red Boy was stunned. As a demon king, he naturally knew which mushrooms were poisonous. The pot of poisonous mushrooms did not seem to do a thing to the darn baldy! How was that possible? Were the poisonous mushrooms in this world that mild? Or was the poison slow to act?

No matter what was on Red Boy’s mind, he could only follow Fangzheng obediently. Behind them, Monkey cleaned up the remaining cutlery on the table bitterly as he sighed. “Master sure is stingy. Couldn’t he leave a tiny bit for us? I didn’t get to drink a single drop of that fragrant mushroom soup. Sigh. He even licked it clean. Sigh.”

Squirrel and Lone Wolf nodded. They shared the same sentiments! They had waited for so long, yet not only did they not have their meals, they even failed to get a mouthful of soup. They weren’t happy!

But there was someone who was more unhappy.

While he followed behind Fangzheng, thoughts were repeatedly going through Red Boy’s head. Simultaneously he lamented, “What’s going on? Didn’t the Internet say that every human would die immediately if they ate poisonous mushrooms? Why is this darn baldy still fine? Did he know of the poison beforehand and deal with it? That can’t be. He didn’t even check his cell phone.” Red Boy only thought of Fangzheng as an ignoramus, one that needed to search on the Internet whenever he encountered any situation. He also felt that Fangzheng could only repeat ad verbatim what he read on the Internet to boast his knowledge to fool his silly senior brothers.

He obviously wasn’t aware that although a lot of Fangzheng’s knowledge came from the Internet, Fangzheng was one who liked to think and remember. He was a person who liked to read widely! Furthermore, with all the System’s artifacts aiding him, he had long reached the point of having an eidetic memory. By seeking out books on the Internet to read daily, he was no longer that ignorant youth. He would repeat things ad verbatim only when he encountered something he really did not know. However, he really knew most things!

Red Boy followed behind Fangzheng, thinking that Fangzheng had no idea about the poisonous mushrooms. He deliberately acted casually as he whistled and followed closely behind. Meanwhile he was wondering to himself, “Why isn’t this darn baldy succumbing to the poison yet?”

However Fangzheng remained fine as the duo walked down the mountain, heading straight for the Mt. Tongtian mountain range. Fangzheng did not say a word the entire journey.

Red Boy began feeling a little afraid as he thought, “Why did this darn baldy bring me here?”

At that moment, Fangzheng came to a halt and pointed ahead, “My dear disciple, there are a few mushrooms on the toppled tree up ahead. Go pick them.”

Red Boy was taken aback as he asked, “Master, do you know about mushrooms?”

Fangzheng smiled. “This is a Golden Oyster Mushroom which also goes by the name pleurotus citrinopileatus. It’s a wood-decay fungus. It grows like tiny paper fans. It typically grows in toppled branches on the ground in forests. The tree up ahead is an example. That mushroom is a Golden Oyster Mushroom.”

The moment Red Boy heard that, his heart quivered, but he remained silent. He obediently went over and plucked the mushrooms.

Fangzheng did not say anything as he continued walking. Not long later, he suddenly pointed to the bottom of a tree. “My dear disciple, pluck that mushroom.”

“Master, what is this mushroom?” Red Boy was feeling guilty as he deliberately tested Fangzheng to see if he really had any knowledge of mushrooms.

Fangzheng smiled. “This is the Lion’s Mane Mushroom, one of the three main fungi in the northeast. This type of mushroom tends to grow at the roots of withered trees. As it looks like the brains of a monkey, it’s also called the Monkey Head Mushroom. Although Monkey Head Mushrooms also grow in the south, the ones in the northeast are better in nutritional value. The two varieties are completely incomparable. Therefore, the northeast is known as the home of the Monkey Head Mushrooms! This Monkey Head Mushroom is good stuff. It’s very nutritious, and its best effect is that it’s good for the stomach. It helps stomach-related diseases and aids digestion. It is very therapeutic towards the duodenum. There are also many benefits to the stomach, intestines, spleen, and kidney. Furthermore it even helps resist cancer.

It’s absolutely a treasure.”

Red Boy felt his heart jolt when he heard that. How did the darn baldy know so much about mushrooms? He clearly wasn’t checking his cell phone!

Although Red Boy was shuddering in fear, he did not let it show on his face. He obediently plucked the Monkey Head Mushroom and as he was about to return…

Fangzheng said, “Monkey Head Mushrooms have a particularity. They grow in pairs. If you find one under the tree, it means there’s another one on the other side. Jingxin, go take a look.”

Red Boy looked suspiciously at Fangzheng and walked over. Indeed, he saw another Monkey Head Mushroom!

At that moment, Red Boy finally understood that the darn baldy was not clueless about mushrooms. On the contrary, he was very knowledgeable about them!

Red Boy fell silent when he realized this. He stored the mushrooms away and silently stood behind Fangzheng.

Fangzheng did not say a word and instead continued going forward with Red Boy. This would not have mattered usually, but this time the trip clearly served to showcase how much Fangzheng knew! He would point out all the mushrooms whenever he walked past one. He completely knew which mushrooms were poisonous or delicious, and the environment in which they lived. He did not fail at a single one!