The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

As for Dog Song, he wanted to seek out Wang Yougui to discuss his idea. He knew Fangzheng was the classic kind of person who didn’t like troublesome things. Dog Song did not have the required standing to get Fangzheng to spend time and effort to teach the villagers bamboo carving. Therefore, he planned on getting help from someone of higher standing.

Both of them went into Wang Yougui’s yard with their respective ideas. The moment they entered, they saw Wang Yougui had placed chairs under a tree’s shade. Jiang Zhou was sitting opposite to Wang Yougui, and they were playing Chinese Chess. Qiu Xiaoye and Fan Qing were watching by the side or playing with their cell phones. They seemed quite leisurely.

At that moment, Jiang Zhou said something that immediately left Wang Yougui laughing.

“Village Chief, what are you guys talking about? Both of you seem to be having a good time.” Dog Song chuckled as he walked over.

“Nothing much. Just a casual chat. How was it on your end?” Wang Yougui also knew Guan Xiangfeng was trying to surprise his master, so he did not expose him.

However, Dog Song shook his head and said, “Aiyah, there’s a kind of person in this world whose greed cannot be satisfied. People like that only wish to benefit themselves without sacrificing anything. Hehe, and they aren’t aware of where they stand in the grand scheme of things! It’s quite funny at the end, when they end up with nothing…”

Guan Xiangfeng blushed as he said angrily, “How can I be blamed? How could I know that that monk… Sigh.”

“Guan Xiangfeng, what are you talking about?” asked Jiang Zhou out of curiosity.

Guan Xiangfeng did not wish to elaborate, but Dog Song had no intention of concealing the truth. He directly recounted what had happened on the mountain, to which Jiang Zhou frowned unhappily. “Guan Xiangfeng, what have I been teaching you all this time?”

Guan Xiangfeng lowered his head and retorted. “Master, you have no idea how good that bamboo is. I did not know that the monk actually knew bamboo carving. He used a machete from beginning to end to handle the bamboo. If it were you, Master, you would also turn anxious, right?” Guan Xiangfeng indicated the length of the machete with hand gestures as he spoke in an indignant tone.

“Guan Xiangfeng, don’t speak nonsense. Is Master such a person? Where has Master not gone in this world? What kind of good materials has he not seen? It’s only bamboo. Master would not degenerate to the point of losing his calm,” said Fan Qing.

“You know sh*t! That bamboo is really nice. If you don’t believe me, ask Dog Song and Village Chief Wang.” Guan Xiangfeng knew that his word alone was useless. He quickly got people to corroborate his words.

However, Dog Song lowered his head with his hands behind his back to tease the chickens… He could not be bothered to help Guan Xiangfeng. Clearly, he was still displeased with the conflict between Guan Xiangfeng and Lame Ma.

As village chief, Wang Yougui had no plans to toot his own horn. Therefore, he smiled awkwardly. “Our village’s bamboo is alright.”

Guan Xiangfeng felt like crying when he heard that. This was a scam!

“Guan Xiangfeng, Master isn’t feeling well. I can ignore the fact that you aren’t taking care of him, but you even went around creating trouble,” said Fan Qing disdainfully. Fan Qing had grown up in a village, so he detested rich second-generation heirs like Guan Xiangfeng. His wealth allowed him to flaunt all kinds of benefits, and he was better off than Fan Qing in numerous aspects. The only thing Fan Qing had against Guan Xiangfeng was his own hard work.

Guan Xiangfeng did not think highly of Fan Qing either. They were competitors and yearned to smack the other flying. He grunted coldly. “You have no right to reprimand me. I know what I’m doing. Master, this Frost Bamboo is truly the cream of the crop. If you don’t believe me, you can see it for yourself.”

“Oh? Where’s the Frost Bamboo?” Jiang Zhou knew Guan Xiangfeng very well. Although the fellow was rich and slightly arrogant, he was definitely not a person to lie. Even if he thought lowly of others, he had never engaged in acts of bullying. His character was still sound.

“On that mountain! At the top of the mountain is a temple, and behind the temple is a forest full of supreme-grade Frost Bamboo! Master, if you could obtain some of that and carve it, you would definitely have shocking results at this year’s Carving Masters Competition!” said Guan Xiangfeng.

The moment Jiang Zhou heard the competition, he felt tempted. However, his feet had not recovered, so how was he to go up the mountain? He could only look at Wang Yougui.

Wang Yougui said, “That’s Mt. One Finger. The bamboo on the mountain is indeed a hundred times better than the one at the foot of the mountain. It’s the best bamboo in our village. However, the Frost Bamboo on the mountain belongs to One Finger Monastery’s Abbot Fangzheng.”

Jiang Zhou’s eyes immediately lit up. “So my benefactor lives on that mountain. When my legs recover, I will definitely go up the mountain to thank him. Also that white wolf. If not for him, I really wouldn’t have been able to make it out. There was also that intelligent monkey…”

When Guan Xiangfeng heard that, he realized that the conversation was veering off-topic! Weren’t they supposed to be discussing the Frost Bamboo? How did it become a moment to express gratitude? However, from the way Jiang Zhou acted, he was definitely placing his gratitude towards Fangzheng above all else. Therefore, he shut up obediently. Guan Xiangfeng remained unresigned as he pondered over a way to break through the impasse. With his graduation looming, he was in need of a top material to give himself bonus points! If not, Fan Qing was definitely going to beat him…

After a night without any major events, Guan Xiangfeng secretly went to Wang Yougui to discuss certain matters. Finally, Wang Yougui nodded in agreement.

Guan Xiangfeng was surprised. “Village Chief, you agreed to my request just like that?”

“What else can I do? It’s just an ordinary piece of bamboo. I can still make the decision on such matters. Pick one you like and chop it off,” said Wang Yougui with a smile. Dog Song and Wang Yougui had spoken about it already, and Wang Yougui knew what ought to be done. Since their village had a master, why would they need to plead with Guan Xiangfeng? And why cause an upset for just a piece of bamboo?

Guan Xiangfeng rubbed his nose and watched the departing Wang Yougui as he felt in a daze. He mumbled inwardly. “So generous?” However, he still felt warm inside. Suddenly he felt that maybe the way he had treated Lame Ma might have been a little overboard.

Ka! Ka!

The sound of planks locking into each other sounded. Fangzheng had finally joined two main planks together to form a big bed plank that spanned 1.5 meters by 2 meters! Then, he got a piece of bamboo and quickly carved out a bed head and base. He then joined the pieces together, and a simple bamboo bed was completed. Simple though it may be, as the Frost Bamboo used to construct the bamboo bed was extraordinary, the patterns on it appeared extremely beautiful. It appeared grander and more comfortable than any man-made carvings.

When Red Boy saw the bed, he immediately pounced on it and rolled around with his limbs spread out. He clamored, “Master, this bed is mine! I don’t care, this is mine!”

Clang! Fangzheng cleaved his machete down at Red Boy’s head, producing a metallic clang. Fangzheng had long since tested Red Boy’s head, and it was unknown what it was made of. Physical attacks were completely useless against Red Boy, and all they did was produce noisy clangs. Therefore, Fangzheng also became more casual about beating Red Boy. Whatever he held, he used… Sometimes, he got a kick out of doing it, and he would even drum out a rhythm.

Red Boy held his head and said aggrieved, “Master, what are you doing?”

“Nothing. This bed isn’t for you. It’s for Jingzhen,” said Fangzheng.