The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Master, someone is crying over there,” exclaimed Lone Wolf after suddenly lifting his head.

Fangzheng was holding mushrooms in his hand when he heard Lone Wolf’s alert. He carefully listened and indeed, he heard the sounds of someone wailing a distance away.

Fangzheng gathered his disciples and immediately ran over. Who would run into the mountains and cry? If it were any ordinary person, they would definitely not dare enter. There might not be monsters in the woods, but people were ultimately afraid of such stuff. What would happen if they bumped into one?

Lone Wolf ran the fastest as he charged ahead. Following that, he heard Fangzheng hear Lone Wolf’s angry roar. “Stop!”

Following that, there were a series of horrified cries. “Brother Wang, a wolf!”

“F**k, what a huge wolf!”

“Run!”

“Count yourself lucky. We will seek you out again!”

…

When Fangzheng and company arrived, they saw Lone Wolf standing in the corner looking innocent. On the ground, there was a person hugging his wallet tightly. He was sprawled on the ground with his face swollen. There were footprints everywhere on his body and there were bruises all over his arm. His eyes looked turbid. Clearly, he had been punched senseless. He was murmuring, “Lord Wolf, don’t eat me. I need to save my wife and child.”

When Fangzheng heard that, he frowned. He squatted down and took a look, only to exclaim in surprise, “Zheng Jiaxing?”

Zheng Jiaxing’s village was not very far from One Finger Village. Fangzheng had spent many years down the mountain, so he had been to all the nearby villages. Although he did not know every family, he knew the ones who he had seen most often. Zheng Jiaxing was a few years older than Fangzheng, but they were still both children back then. Everyone had fun playing games like marbles, origami, hide-and-seek. Therefore, Fangzheng was quite familiar with him.

Later on Fangzheng stopped schooling and became a monk on the mountain. As for Zheng Jiaxing, he got married and had a child. Fangzheng had been envious of him on this particular point.

However Fangzheng never imagined to see Zheng Jiaxing in such a place. Furthermore, Zheng Jiaxing looked to be in quite a wretched state.

Monkey curiously tugged at the wallet in Zheng Jiaxing’s embrace, but Zheng Jiaxing only turned agitated as he screamed crazily, “Don’t snatch my money! Don’t! This is meant to save a life! I beg you, don’t snatch it from me!”

His shout frightened Monkey who quickly let go and retreated to the side as he looked innocently at Fangzheng.

When Fangzheng saw this, he took out his Buddha Beads in resignation. He began chanting the Buddha Beads and the Clear Minded Chant.

When singing the Clear Minded Chant, his voice seemed to come from the heavens. It was mild and calm. Upon hearing the chant, the muddled Zheng Jiaxing suddenly jolted awake. His mind cleared up, and he saw everything in front of him. Wang Laosi, who was like a ferocious devil, was gone. Instead there was a white-robed monk. Beside him were a huge mighty-looking white dog, a squirrel, a monkey, and a child. Upon a careful look, Zheng Jiaxing exclaimed, “Fangzheng?”

“Patron, you are finally awake. It’s This Penniless Monk. How are you?” asked Fangzheng out of curiosity.

Zheng Jiaxing looked warily at his surroundings before asking, “Fangzheng, did you see anyone else?” As he said that, Zheng Jiaxing tightened his grip on his wallet.

Fangzheng nodded. “This Penniless Monk did not see them, but he heard them. However they were chased away by This Penniless Monk’s Guardian. Who are they? Why did they beat you? They even looked like they were trying to snatch away your money.”

Upon hearing that Wang Laosi and company had left, Zheng Jiaxing turned better. He quickly got up and said, “Fangzheng, thank you for helping me. I can’t say much. I have to rush down the mountain and head to Songwu County. My wife is waiting for me to bring this money for a checkup.”

Fangzheng nodded. “This Penniless Monk can’t feel at ease when you are in this state. Let This Penniless Monk follow you.”

Zheng Jiaxing was also afraid of Wang Laosi and company. Besides, Fangzheng had a huge dog beside him which could scare away Wang Laosi and company. It was like having a protective talisman with him, so he immediately agreed.

Zheng Jiaxing led the way as Fangzheng followed. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they saw Wang Laosi and company from a distance. However when they saw Fangzheng following behind Zheng Jiaxing, they drove away after some thought.

Fangzheng’s reputation was quite illustrious in the neighboring villages. Village scum like them did not wish to cross Fangzheng. It would not benefit them in any way.

Zheng Jiaxing heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Wang Yougui and company leave. The regular bus had already left, so Zheng Jiaxing had to borrow Wang Yougui’s motorcycle which Fangzheng drove. Since Zheng Jiaxing was injured, he sat pillion. Lone Wolf, Monkey, and Red Boy returned to take care of the monastery, while Squirrel tagged along with Fangzheng.

They arrived at Songwu County’s People’s Hospital and soon found Li Na who was awaiting the checkup. However Li Na had been unconscious all this while. A woman had been taking care of Li Na. Her name was Tao Ying. She was a good friend of Li Na’s.

Zheng Jiaxing did the paperwork, while Fangzheng watched by the side. He activated his Heavenly Eye and saw nothing. It implied that Li Na was not in too great a danger.

The check up results did not take long to come out. Although she had affected the fetus, it was not severe. However the doctor reprimanded Zheng Jiaxing sternly and instructed him to take good care of his pregnant wife for she could not handle such ordeals.

Zheng Jiaxing nodded his head incessantly in acknowledgment. Since Li Na was hospitalized, and Zheng Jiaxing had no intention to return home, he decided to accompany her at the hospital.

But at this moment, Zheng Jiaxing’s phone rang.

“Jiaxing, how’s Li Na?” It was Zheng Jiaxing’s mother.

“She’s fine. Everything is pretty good. She will be under observation for another two days in the hospital before she’s discharged.”

“That’s good… Aiyah, Old Man, what are you doing? Don’t snatch the phone from me!” After some quarreling, Zheng Huo snatched the phone. “You good-for-nothing son! I’m waiting for you!”

With that said, he hung up. Zheng Jiaxing had an ominous foreboding. With the way Wang Laosi and company did things, it was likely they went to his parents after failing to find him! With this thought in mind, Zheng Jiaxing turned uneasy.

Fangzheng sat down and asked softly, “Are you facing trouble?”

Zheng Jiaxing weakly nodded, his forehead covered in sweat.

“Can you tell This Penniless Monk? Perhaps This Penniless Monk can help.”

“You…” Zheng Jiaxing did not believe Fangzheng could help, but since his mind was a mess, he wished to confide in someone. Fangzheng was no doubt a good choice. Therefore Zheng Jiaxing recounted how he had begun gambling and how he had lost himself to it, causing his family to be nearly in ruins.

After Fangzheng heard that, he felt anger rise in him! He never expected that such cancer of society resided under Mt. One Finger!

Squirrel whispered into Fangzheng’s ear, “Master, such people are too vile! However this Zheng Jiaxing isn’t a good thing either!”

Fangzheng understood Squirrel. Zheng Jiaxing was naturally at fault for not being able to resist temptation. But the root of the problem were that Wang Laosi and co. who were the true cancer of society, devils!

“Patron, what do you plan on doing next?”