The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

At the instant Fangzheng put down his drumming stick, he felt invigorated. He felt like he could ascend to heaven! He laughed out loud. “Awesome!”

Across him, Monkey felt the same way. Although he was striking the Yongle Bell, he had to work hard at counteracting the negative emotions in his heart because of the Kui War Drum. After a long and intense fight, he had managed to slay countless nefarious thoughts with the help of the Yongle Bell. Monkey no longer felt like he was a monkey, but a monkey king! He began screeching randomly.

Although Red Boy, Lone Wolf, and Squirrel benefited as well, it was much lesser in intensity. They did not undergo profound feelings as much as the duo did. But even so the thunderous drumming and the dragon-like roar of the bell, and the combination of sounds that had been produced, left their hearts shaking! Just the auditory sensation was an indescribable pleasure.

“Master, is that all? I haven’t had enough!” cried out Squirrel indignantly.

“That’s right. Although the drumming is harsh on the ears, making me feel disgusted, the accompanying bell gong sounded extremely good. It’s like two peerless experts were fighting. It was so delightful,” added Lone Wolf. He did not know that the experts were the good and evil in his heart, but he naturally felt comfortable when good prevailed over evil.

Red Boy said, “Master, the feeling was indeed good. Why don’t you hit it for another hour?”

“The morning bell and evening drum are struck only at the appointed times. They are not to be struck past that. That is the rule. Also, Jingfa, in the future, you are to stay at the bottom of the drum tower to prevent anyone from going up the drum tower, got it?” said Fangzheng.

“What? You want me to look at that ox!?” Lone Wolf jumped in fright as his legs trembled! He had been up the drum tower before. It was truly frightening…

Fangzheng scolded him in a joking manner. “Look at how useless you are. With that gut of yours, how are you to be One Finger Monastery’s Guardian Protector? If you can’t do it, why don’t I find some other wolf cubs to give it a try?”

Lone Wolf immediately turned anxious when he heard that. He had been cast out by those wolf cubs, so he had no intention of going down the same path at the monastery. He hurriedly shouted, “Master, I’ll definitely fulfill the mission!”

Fangzheng smiled helplessly when he saw this. Fangzheng was still rather assured when it came to Lone Wolf. Although he was a little clueless at times, he always completed any mission he was assigned perfectly. He was a serious fellow deep down despite looking silly. At the very least, Fangzheng found him more reliable than Red Boy!

After the striking of the bell and drum was over, Fangzheng took a cold shower and went to bed feeling invigorated.

At that moment…

“Have you thought about it? Do you want to have a chance at the draw? You have amassed quite a large pile of merit,” asked the System suddenly.

Fangzheng thought about it and said, “What level would the drawn item roughly be?

“That’s hard to say, but in general, it’d definitely be something good!

Fangzheng licked his lips. He had endured for quite a while and was truly quite tempted. He had already experienced the benefits the bell and drum brought him. What else could be there for him to enjoy? The more he thought, the more excited he became. Finally, Fangzheng still said, “I’ll temporarily not draw!”

“Hehe, you sure can endure. Alright, it’s up to you.” The System disappeared after saying so.

Fangzheng heaved a sigh of relief. To be honest, enduring such temptation was truly not your run-of-the-mill discomfort. However Fangzheng knew that he was not lacking anything. Since he was not lacking in anything, why be in the hurry to draw? He could amass more for an even bigger one. Wouldn’t that be great?

With this in mind, Fangzheng flipped around and fell asleep. The struggles of his inner psyche were far more exhausting than training his physical body. Although the feeling of extricating himself felt great, the mental exhaustion was not something that could be ignored.

Fangzheng slept all the way to the next day…

Before daybreak, Fangzheng and Monkey arrived at their spots. They struck the bell and hit the drum at the appointed time.

Having had the mental demons which plagued him removed, Fangzheng no longer felt any mental burden while hitting the drum this time. He didn’t even feel any discomfort. The devilish nature in the drum did continue attempting to influence Fangzheng, but with the help of the Diamond Sutra, Fangzheng was able to stand firm in his fight against evil. The state of his mind elevated quite substantially as a result. He felt as though he had transcended to a new state, making him feel extremely good.

“This drum is indeed something good! Haha!” Fangzheng finally understood what the System meant when it said: ‘Perhaps it will become an opportunity by a stroke of luck. Who knows?’

It was indeed an opportunity, a really huge one! Fangzheng had no lack of objects with Buddhistic qualities. They were everywhere in the monastery. However when there was a large number of objects, even though they formed a clean and pure world, it was like a tranquil pool of water without fish. Without any evil aspects present, Fangzheng had no way of knowing how to further enhance himself. At the moment, to attain further progress he didn’t have to gain more Buddhistic qualities, but he had to dig out the evil in him!

The Kui War Drum perfectly fixed that flaw.

“There are deficits in between Heaven and Earth, with there always being one thing missing for the major path to be close. This Kui War Drum is exactly what One Finger Monastery was missing. Only with deficits is there perfection in Heaven and Earth, allowing the possibility of improvement. Bring flawless is less desired, as it seals off one’s path,” said Fangzheng as he sighed inwardly.

Before the bell and drum sounded, a van was slowly cruising in Songwu County prior to daybreak.

The driver was an elderly man in his fifties. His face was covered in wrinkles, but he looked to be in the pink of health. His face was rosy, and his eyes were bright like a hawk’s. He held the wheel with both hands which were lined with thick calluses.

The man was dressed oddly. He was dressed in an ancient Tang suit. He wore a string of large Buddha Beads on his neck, but there was nothing Zen-like about him. Instead, he gave off quite a fierce feeling.

Sitting beside him was a young man whose legs were lifted onto the dashboard. He was playing on a tablet while leaning back in his seat. As he did so, he said with a laugh, “Uncle Da, are you certain that the Mt. Tongtian mountain range has any treasure? It would suck if we were to return empty-handed after coming all this way.”

“Certain my ass. What can we see from satellite photos? However, from the way things are going with the mountain range, there should be treasure. We will see when we get there. If there’s really nothing, just treat it as a sightseeing trip.” Uncle Da’s voice was loud. It felt as though there was a bellicose fire in him.

Sitting behind them was a woman. She said with a smile, “Zhang Zi, Uncle Da has a sharp eye in our line of work. If he says there’s something, it’s highly likely there really is something.”

“I was just making a passing remark. Would I have come along if I didn’t trust Uncle Da? Besides, one can always rub off some benefits by following Uncle Da. That is something I’ve been hearing ever since I was a child,” said Zhang Zi with a smile.

Uncle Da chuckled. “If not for your father, would a kid like you be able to join me? Dream on! Mute, have you prepared all the stuff?”

“Uh!” Sitting beside Ying Zi was a man in his forties. He wore a t-shirt and bermuda shorts. He had a squarish face and quite an evidently honest, but dull look. His eyes were slender as he kept them narrowed. If one didn’t look carefully, there was no way to see his pupils. Mute forcibly answered to indicate that everything was ready to go.

Only then did Uncle Da say, “Nice. You always manage to prepare all the good stuff no matter where we are.”

The moment his voice faded, a bell and drum gong sounded. The rumbling drum and the clanging bell were not harsh on the ears, but it left everyone’s hearts palpitating!

Zhang Zi, who was a little sleepy, felt his turbid mind suddenly turn clear. He exclaimed, “What drum and bell is that? Why is it so f**king comfortable to listen to it?”