The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Letian immediately laughed very happily when he saw this. His laughter stemmed from the joy of having successfully pulled of a joke.

Fangzheng noticed that Letian enjoyed laughing. He seemed to laugh at every trivial matter. And it was not a fake laugh, but a genuine one. This meant that his heart was untainted and extremely clear. He laughed when happy, cried when sad, cursed when angry. All of that was expressed with a mere thought. He acted as he wished.

Fangzheng realized that he was far inferior to Letian on this aspect. He still had invisible ties that restrained him, preventing him from completely letting things go, from being completely carefree and living as his heart wanted. However, Letian was pointing Fangzheng in a particular direction, a path that he looked forward to. At the very least, he knew which direction to take in the future.

Fangzheng said, “Amitabha. Patron, what you said makes great sense. It’s This Penniless Monk who was too caught up with superficialities.”

“Abbot, you are being polite. The tea is ready. Have a sip. It might not have an excellent taste, but if you drink it often…” Letian paused as Lone Wolf, Monkey, Squirrel, and Red Boy looked over. He then continued, “You will get used to it.”

The few rolled their eyes. They thought that there would be something special, but it was just a farce!

Fangzheng thought nothing of it. He raised the teacup and took a sip. It tasted light and bitter, but after the bitterness, there was a sweet aftertaste. However, it was still overpowered by the bitterness.

“Abbot, if you find it too bitter, you can add a little honey.” Letian brought a jar over. “This wild honey was harvested a few days ago. It tastes pretty good.”

Fangzheng decisively put some honey in and tasted it… Some more, and another taste? More was better. Finally, when it was completely sweet, it tasted quite good.

Red Boy extended his hand to get some honey, but Letian put it away without a thought.

Red Boy shouted indignantly, “Why aren’t you giving me any honey?”

“Your master used a tiny spoon to scoop out the honey, but from the way you were approaching it, it appeared as though you want to take the entire jar away,” harrumphed Letian.

Red Boy blushed. He did have that intention…

Squirrel, Monkey, and Lone Wolf were each given some honey. They enjoyed it, especially Lone Wolf. He stretched out his tongue and instead of gulping the honey down, he hung the honey by his tongue and showed if off in front of Red Boy…

Red Boy looked at Lone Wolf through squinted eyes. Suddenly, he looked up at the ceiling and exclaimed, “Eh? There’s a rat!”

Lone Wolf looked up as Red Boy quickly swatted the honey blob on Lone Wolf’s tongue away before running.

Lone Wolf put on a depressed look, having lost his honey. With a whimper, he charged out and chased after Red Boy. The two ran off and soon disappeared into the forest.

Fangzheng looked at the two good-for-nothings and blushed slightly. He smiled awkwardly, “This Penniless Monk’s two disciples…”

“Yeah, they are good-for-nothings.” Letian went in for the kill before Fangzheng finished his sentence.

Fangzheng: “…”

Fangzheng had always been very interested in the Daoist religion and Daoism. However, he was at times unsure about the essential differences between the two. It was difficult to separate the two. Today, he had a good conversation with Letian, so he decided to go with the flow and ask whatever he wanted to know.

Letian did not hold back either. Perhaps it had to do with him not having conversed with others for too long a period of time, but he was quite a chatterbox. As he drank the tea, he went on and on.

Fangzheng also benefited greatly, learning a lot of things from him.

“Perfected One, This Penniless Monk just thought of something. Why do many Daoists enjoy to talk about Buddha?”

Letian was taken aback. “Is that so?”

“That’s right. Although This Penniless Monk has never seen it personally, but it’s apparently quite common to see Daoists say to others ‘Immeasurable Longevity Buddha.’ It seems to be similar in meaning to your Immeasurable Temple.”

Letian curled his mouth when he heard that as he said disdainfully, “That’s because your ears suck. Or it’s because some ignorant fake Daoists were shouting randomly. How is it possible for us to shout ‘Immeasurable Longevity Buddha’? We aren’t Buddhists. What we say is ‘Immeasurable Longevity Blessings’. But in the south, there are places where the pronunciation of ‘blessings’ and ‘Buddhists’ might sound similar. It then seemingly becomes ‘Immeasurable Longevity Buddha’, but in fact, it’s ‘Immeasurable Longevity Blessings’. The meaning is to give you infinite longevity and blessings. It’s to wish happiness on someone.”

Fangzheng was instantly enlightened, but simultaneously embarrassed. Indeed, he had no idea if he did not ask, but he realized how ignorant he was once he asked!

The duo had a great time conversing. Their chat lasted more than two hours when they suddenly heard Fan Qing shout, “Master! Master, what’s happening to you? Daoist! Venerable One! Quick, come! Something is wrong with my master!”

Fangzheng also turned anxious when he heard that. Every life was precious; there was no way he could remain oblivious.

As for Letian, he looked nonchalant as he said impatiently, “What’s all the ruckus about? Isn’t it because he’s vomiting? How can he purge the poison without vomiting? He will be fine once he’s done vomiting.”

Although he spoke in a relaxed manner, Letian still took out a tiny porcelain bottle and went out with Fangzheng.

The elder had his back bent as he kept vomiting. His vomit spewed across the ground, and the stench could be smelled from afar. Fangzheng suspected that Letian had not allowed the two to enter because he did not want his yard to stink up from vomit.

The moment Letian appeared, Fan Qing ran over. Just as he was about to say something, Letian shot him a glance that shut him up. Then, Letian slowly came in front of the elder. He took out a red pill and handed it over. “Take this.”

The elder looked up at Letian. Without a word, he took the pill and ate it.

Letian pricked up his brows as a happy look flashed in his eyes. He looked at the elder with an additional sense of appreciation. He said with a pleasant smile, “Your life is saved after taking my medicine. However, you will still need plenty of rest. This place of mine isn’t suitable for you. It’s best you leave as soon as possible.”

The elder said, “Might I know what your Dao name is, Perfected One? I will never forget you for saving my life.”

Letian said, “If you really wish to thank This Penniless Priest, don’t bother me in the future.”

With that said, Letian beckoned for Fangzheng as they returned to the yard. As they walked, Letian introduced the vegetation in the yard. Half of it was ginseng, while the rest was comprised of various herbs. There were also some flowers that were there purely for aesthetic reasons. Letian was clearly quite knowledgeable when it came to horticulture. Regardless of the flower or grass, he could give Fangzheng a long account of it.

Fangzheng had a good time listening to him. He also rattled on, and both of them felt regret that they had not met sooner.

After the conversation and tour, they returned to the room. Letian could not help but sigh. “Venerable Fangzheng, it’s indeed most comfortable chatting with you. Chatting with that darn Scholar is what I call tiring. He debates and retorts me on every topic. We might agree to have a friendly conversation, but it will devolve into a quarrel nonetheless. Every time we meet, we end up quarreling the entire day. And that fellow is the kind who refuses to lose. He often stays here to get free food and drink, yet he still scolds me… Tell me, how can there be such a shameless person in this world. Not only does he eat me poor, he even threatens me and wants me to admit defeat! Sigh… How nice it would be if you lived on this mountain. That way, I would never need to interact with him again.”