The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Xu Yin suddenly had an ominous feeling. He looked at the black-shirted man in shock. “All of you…”

“Brother Xu, the person you brought back is no monk. He’s a god of gambling, isn’t he?” questioned the black-shirted man amid sobs.

Xu Yin said in shock, “No, what… happened to all of you?”

“Brother Xu, this monk won all of our money! Tell us what to do. All the money for my meals for next month is gone!” The black-shirted man was really on the brink of crying. Without money to eat, how was he to survive?

“Family Carrier, we have lost all our money too!” The other man and woman shouted as well.

Xu Yin looked at the rest of the people, and there were about twenty people gathered around. None of them had survived—the fanning ones, the water-pourers—all of them had lost their money! They did not even have a single cent left!

Xu Yin instantly fumed. “I just got you to play a few rounds with the Venerable One. What were you doing playing with such large stakes? That goes against the rules!”

“Family Carrier, we were going according to the rules. It was one yuan per big blind, and we had a ten yuan cap, but we can’t beat the monk’s triple As every single time! He hits the cap, takes out ten yuan, and shows his hand! One round doesn’t take more than three minutes! We didn’t have much money in our pockets in the first place, just a hundred plus each. It was all gone in the blink of an eye,” said the black-shirted man bitterly.

“What about you? Why did you join?” Xu Yin looked at the others. According to the plan, rookies were given all sorts of favorable treatment. They went easy when it came to gambling, allowing the rookie to win so as to reduce the rookie’s wariness and make him or her happy. Why did Xu Yin feel that something was amiss from the moment he first met the monk? The tactics that had a hundred percent success rate failed repeatedly, and for some reason, it felt like they were the ones being scammed!

But the moment they thought about how cooperative Fangzheng was, to the degree of handing over his cell phone and remain in the area without insisting on leaving, they couldn’t help but find him a rare catch. Besides, he had money in his pockets and bag. He did not make a fuss, so Xu Yin did not make things difficult for Fangzheng or shout at him either.

The others looked at Xu Yin with aggrieved looks. “Family Carrier, we didn’t want to play either. But for some reason, we had the urge to gamble a little while watching them play. As a result, one by one, we joined the game and ended up losing all our money.”

Xu Yin fumed while looking at the incompetent fools in front of him. With twenty people, each losing a hundred or two meant that the monk had earned about three thousand yuan without even spending a cent upon entering their compound! This was f**king not right! Unbeknown to him, the monk beside him was no ordinary monk. It was not difficult for him to create illusions and desires for the people present.

At that moment, Fangzheng stood up. As he looked at the red-eyed faces, he stuffed the wad of bills into his bag and then patted at it. The way he acted caused everyone’s eyes to turn even redder! Only then did he press his palms together towards the crowd and bow. “Amitabha, thank you for going easy on This Penniless Monk, Patrons. Truth be told, This Penniless Monk really doesn’t know how to play cards. By the way, Patron Xu, when will Dacheng come?”

Everyone rolled their eyes collectively when they heard Fangzhen’s claim of not knowing the game. They even had the urge to rush forward and bite him to death! However no one said a word with Xu Yin present. They waited for him to handle the situation.

When Xu Yin heard the question about Dacheng, he immediately lost his anger. Fangzheng had been invited by Liu Dacheng, but now Liu Dacheng was absolutely not going to show himself. If he did, too many things could be exposed. After all, Liu Dacheng did not look anything like a company’s CEO. Besides, would they really bring Fangzheng around on a vacation? Could Liu Dacheng have such money to spend? However Liu Dacheng was a critical element, so if they did not handle the matter properly, it was likely that they would be exposed. It would be a bane for their brain-washing lessons in the future.

Xu Yin hurriedly explained, “CEO Liu is on a case these few days. He’s on a business trip and is very busy. He temporarily can’t come, but he said that he would definitely come since his former classmate was here. He is now speeding up the matters that are on his plate. The earliest he can come is tomorrow, and at the latest the day after tomorrow.”

Fangzheng gave a touched look when he heard that. “Dacheng sure is a passionate person. He bought train tickets for This Penniless Monk and even got a chauffeur to drive This Penniless Monk here. Board and lodging, as well as entertainment is provided. This Penniless Monk feels a little embarrassed because of that. If Dacheng is really busy, tell him to focus on his matters and ignore This Penniless Monk. Since This Penniless Monk has nothing to do, This Penniless Monk will just stay and wait until he returns. His career is of utmost importance.”

Upon hearing the matter of the train tickets, everyone present had a blackened expression. They had spent money to buy train tickets for a target? This was really a first for them. No one had invited others in such a manner before! More importantly, Fangzheng’s ticket had been bought by pooling everyone’s money together! All of them were involved!

However when they heard that Fangzheng did not mind Liu Dacheng’s late return and that he offered to stay for a few more days, they were immediately overjoyed. Typically, someone who came to their place would figure out something was amiss no matter how foolish they were. The victim would think of various reasons to leave, which was the hardest problem they had to deal with. Therefore they typically made the victim sleep early and had little interaction with them. They could then take away the victim’s cell phone, cash, bank cards, and identification card while they were sleeping. Furthermore, with people watching the victim 24 hours a day, there would be no way for them to escape.

This was the first time in a long time they encountered someone like Fangzheng who chose not to leave.

Regardless, everyone was overjoyed. Xu Yin smiled. “In that case, let’s have our meal.”

Fangzheng nodded immediately. Xu Yin brought Fangzheng to a room where there were a table and some stools. Although they were a little old, they were still functional. It did not take long before Song Keling came in with two bowls of noodles. She placed them on the table and smiled. “It’s especially hot today. Have some soup noodles to relax yourself.”

Fangzheng looked at the bowl in front of him. It wasn’t small, about the size of two palms. There was plenty of soup, and it was filled to the brim! However the noodles could easily be seen. He could identify each noodle strand from the other. Apart from some spring onions, there was no oil at all. Yet Fangzheng realized that Song Keling looked at such a poor meal with covetous eyes. Although she instantly concealed her desire for the noodles, it did not escape Fangzheng’s notice.

“Venerable One, don’t stand on ceremony. Have some.” Xu Yin began eating as he slurped the noodles happily.

Fangzheng finally understood why all of them looked malnourished! They definitely weren’t enjoying life!

Hence Fangzheng asked, “Can This Penniless Monk eat as much as he wants?”

Xu Yin and Song Keling were taken aback as they looked into each other’s eyes. Xu Yin said through clenched teeth, “Yes!”

Then Xu Yin watched Fangzheng slowly eat. Fangzheng wasn’t fast, and his every move looked filled with etiquette. He did not make a sound while eating the noodles. Upon seeing this, Xu Yin blushed and began eating slowly as well.

As for Song Keling, she went out to eat. But shortly after she left, Xu Yin called her back.

“The Venerable One is done and wants one more. Get him another bowl,” said Xu Yin.

Song Keling nodded and went out. Shortly after, she took out another bowl of noodles. Fangzheng continued eating…

Ten minutes later.

“Venerable One, do you want more?” Xu Yin probed with a question when he saw Fangzheng having an eager look to eat more.

“This Penniless Monk has a pretty huge appetite.”

Xu Yin helplessly scooped more noodles for Fangzheng.

Ten minutes later.

“Venerable One, you…” Xu Yin looked at the empty bowl in front of him and asked.

“This Penniless Monk can still have more.” Fangzheng smiled.

Xu Yin’s face instantly darkened. Three bowls! Furthermore, he had finished all three bowls without even leaving a drop of soup! Was this monk’s stomach like a cow’s? Why was his appetite so good!?

“Song Keling, get another bowl for the Venerable One,” said Xu Yin bitterly.

Song Keling answered him with a bitter look. “There’s none left. That was all the kitchen had, so everything has been finished by him.”