The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“How do I look? Can you recognize me?” Ding Yu came in front of Fangzheng and asked very seriously.

Fangzheng also said in grave seriousness, “It’s obvious you are a woman in man’s clothing, but… It’s hard to tell that it’s you.”

“That’s good enough. The restaurant’s lighting is dim. When the time comes, I’ll lower my head and appear a little intoxicated. I doubt she will recognize me. Hey! They’re here! They are here! Hide me from them!” Ding Yu quickly ran behind Fangzheng.

Fangzheng looked in the direction of the sound and saw a taxi stop. Following that, a boy alighted. He had a crisp haircut, making him look spirited. He dressed simply, but he appeared to have good taste. Clearly his outfit was the outcome of him meticulously matching clothes. The boy carefully opened the door as a girl walked out. She was tall and curvy in the right places as her long hair cascaded down like a black waterfall. She flicked her hair to her back as the sunlight illuminated her face. The reflection made her appear glowing. The girl did not look as excited as the boy. She appeared very calm and polite. The way she walked and spoke appeared very demure.

“How is she? Isn’t she a perfect example of a goddess?” Ding Yu peeked her head out from behind Fangzheng and asked seriously. There was no hint of envy or hate from her face. Her eyes were clear.

Red Boy nodded. “She’s pretty, but I think you are prettier.”

Ding Yu was amused the moment she heard that. She pinched Red Boy in the cheeks and smiled. “You sure have a glib mouth. I’ll treat you to lots of ice-cream later! But I know myself. I’m just an ugly duckling. How can I compare with a swan like her? Alright, let’s not talk about this. I’ll go in now. Help me watch my clothes.”

“Our job is to watch your clothes?” Red Boy verbalized Fangzheng’s puzzlement.

“Of course not. There’s all sorts of work that will require your help later. I can handle this alone.” With that said, Ding Yu ran in.

Fangzheng and Red Boy exchanged looks before Fangzheng said, “Let’s go. Go in and take a look. To be honest, I’m a little worried about Patron Ding’s violin skills.”

Red Boy nodded in agreement. “There is no such thing as a free lunch. Since we will be eating her meal, we should sever the karma. It’s not right if we don’t do work.”

Following that, the both of them walked into the restaurant.

It was a very posh restaurant. The facade was black in color, and there was a huge eye-catching logo. When the big metallic door opened, it would produce grinding sounds like it had rusted, but that was not the case. The heavy feeling made one feel good. Once inside the restaurant, there was a woman in a suit standing with her back straight at the entrance. She smiled and nodded. “Welcome.”

Fangzheng and Red Boy turned a little horrified. They had never entered a high-class restaurant before and were completely unsure what to do.

Thankfully, one was an abbot, a powerful monk, while the other was a great demon king from the mountains. They were still able to maintain their calm at critical points. They smiled in reply as they calmly walked in. They tried their best not to make a single sound while walking as though they were very used to such occasions. Then they were led to a table by the woman. The beauty smiled and asked, “Sirs, what would you like to drink?”

Red Boy coughed dryly and said in all seriousness, mimicking what he had seen from the Internet, “Bring me the menu. Master, I actually like Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. Latte would do too. What about you?”

Fangzheng did not say a word because the woman had handed him a menu politely. Fangzheng did not even look at the offerings available, but at the price on the right, as well as a paragraph of text at the top. Fangzheng really wished to smack Red Boy to death! On it were the words: This store provides plain water free of charge, but charges ten yuan for sitting at the table.”

As for the coffees, the cheapest started at fifty yuan!

As for tea and other things, Fangzheng didn’t even bother taking a look. If water was ten yuan, how cheap could tea be?

Red Boy did not look at the menu as he continued posturing. “Master, I recommend you to try latte. It tastes pretty good.”

Fangzheng placed the menu in front of him and smiled. “Order whatever you would like to drink yourself. Pay for it too.”

Red Boy scanned the prices and immediately, his face turned red. The first page listed the coffees. All of them started at prices of tens of yuan. From the cups the other customers were drinking, he could see they were all tiny too. It wouldn’t be enough for him to fill his mouth! Therefore Red Boy coughed dryly as he said, “Actually, tea would be fine for me too.”

But when he flipped to the back, he saw that a pot of Longjing tea from West Lake cost 256 yuan!

A black cloud instantly hung over Red Boy’s head. He nearly cursed out loud! Wasn’t this daylight robbery? How much money did they earn from an incense burned on the mountain? More importantly, the joss sticks were efficacious!

Red Boy looked pitifully at Fangzheng. Helpless, Fangzheng could only cast A Golden Millet Dream!

The waitress was waiting for the monk to make his order when she suddenly thought of something. When she took another look, where were they?

“Eh? Strange. Did I see wrong?” The waitress did not think any further as she turned to leave.

Fangzheng and Red Boy heaved a sigh of relief… They peeked their heads over and began looking for Ding Yu. Ding Yu had walked to the side of a table not far away from them. Seated at the table were the boy and his goddess. It was unknown what the three talked about. Ding Yu gave a gentleman’s bow before she began playing the violin.

This scene attracted the looks of many. They knew what was happening, and they smiled as a kind gesture while looking over.

The boy was clearly a little nervous. The goddess across him maintained her smile as though she was a little pleasantly surprised, but she accepted it calmly as though she had expected it.

“Master, why do I feel that Sister Ding Yu can’t be counted on,” mumbled Red Boy.

“You are already calling her sister? You could be her ancestor, alright?”

“She will buy me ice-cream and nice food,” said Red Boy boldly in an assured manner.

Fangzheng was instantly rendered speechless. This prodigal disciple of his really sold his allegiance to the highest bidder! He was not principled at all! However Fangzheng was accustomed to it. He whispered, “To be honest, I also don’t think someone who has only practiced for less than half a month will be able to play anything nice.”

“Won’t it be over if she doesn’t play well?”

Fangzheng did not reply as Red Boy continued. “If she screws up, there won’t be work for us later, right? Wouldn’t we lose our value? Won’t we not have our meals settled then?”

Fangzheng ruminated over it, and it did sound reasonable! “Let’s… Uh.”

Before Fangzheng could begin his sentence, melodious violin tunes sounded. It was pleasant to the ears, nothing like the scratching on a blackboard. On the contrary, it sounded great!

Fangzheng and Red Boy exchanged looks and saw the shock in each other’s eyes. It was too much of a miracle! If Fangzheng’s memory served him right, a violin player needed to practice for a year or two before being able to play a nice tune. Could this somewhat carefree Ding Yu actually be a violin genius?

However Fangzheng noticed that the goddess had frowned a little. Clearly she was not very satisfied with the music. However she did not interrupt it either. All she did was to listen silently, but her brows knitted tighter as the tune continued.

Fangzheng called out to Red Boy as they walked over. Since no one could see them, no one did a thing to them.