The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

When all was said and done, Fangzheng wore an expression that conveyed he expected better from Monkey. Monkey scratched his head embarrassedly and said, “Got it!”

“You are in charge of making breakfast! I’ll be sleeping.” With that said, Fangzheng went into the monastery and headed to his room to sleep. He was exhausted. He had traveled to several villages the entire night. At each village, he had to recite a bunch of scriptures, and his throat hurt badly. Mentally exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep the moment he hit the bed.

The subsequent two days remained peaceful. However, Fangzheng was already accustomed to such a lifestyle. He daily taught Lame Ma and Squirrel carving and helped Lone Wolf make a huge chair he could lie on. He also stuffed a mat made of Frost Bamboo into his kennel.

Lone Wolf was utterly delighted. He lay inside and never left his kennel regardless of what happened outside. He rolled around inside with his tongue stretched out. The delight he showed made it seem like he was high on drugs.

Monkey had a spanking new broom made of Frost Bamboo. It was a lot more effective at sweeping fallen leaves than the old broom. The only thing that pissed Monkey off was that he had stopped having to sweep the leaves ever since being in charge of striking the bell. But at the end of the day, why was sweeping his job again? Alas, there was no outlet for him to complain.

With rain falling for an extended period of time, the water table around Mt. One Finger was already flushed with water, so there was no need to use irrigation methods. The vegetation around One Finger Village was rapidly restored. Life was everywhere as everything grew abundantly and luxuriantly.

Of course, One Finger Village still had many troubles. The other villages also wished to grow Frost Bamboo. They came asking for the seeds, to which Wang Yougui agreed due to their close ties. Unfortunately, when these people chopped the Frost Bamboo and brought the segments back, not a single one lived. This matter was put to rest as a result.

However, One Finger Village’s tourism development still benefited them too. There was great demand for gourds and green, leafy vegetables from the travelers who came through. Hence their lives also became a lot better. With Lame Ma also teaching carving arts, many people went to him to learn. The products they made could add to their income.

In short, the neighboring villages around Mt. One Finger also slowly transformed. The villagers all began to lead better lives.

Meanwhile, a storm had brewed in the movie industry!

The movie, City-Toppling Beauty , was finally releasing! Promotions had begun a month ago, but Fangzheng had only taken a cursory glance at that without paying much attention to it. However today was when the massive promotion campaign began, so it became hard not to notice it.

Actually, Fangzheng would have nearly forgotten about the matter if not for all the advertisements. After he saw the huge banner on a website’s main page, memories flashed across his mind before he blushed. He shook his head and made his embarrassing memories dissipate.

Fangzheng randomly clicked a news article regarding City-Toppling Beauty . Normally, Fangzheng would seldom pay attention to news regarding the movie industry in general. He usually mainly headed to Buddhist websites, but today was different. He had participated in the movie’s filming process after all. Although he was just an extra and had given up his role, the film crew had left a deep impression on him. The film crew were all nice people, and they could be considered his friends. During festivities, everyone would exchange greetings with each other. This was even more the case with the female lead, Li Xueying, who played the role of Hua Mulan. Her relationship with Fangzheng was very good. As such, the movie could be considered a production of a good friend.

The moment he clicked it open, he found that the promotions were done very well. However, the comment section left Fangzheng frowning.

“Another rehash?”

“Although Li Xueying is good, this plot has been overdone. Too many people have done it. What’s the point of filming it again and again?”

“What is Li Xueying thinking? To think she accepted this movie. Isn’t she destroying her reputation?”

“She can’t get any good projects overseas and ended up returning home to film a crappy movie to earn money? I dare say that she would still be fine if this film doesn’t get released, but it’s the death knell once it’s released! Li Xueying’s reputation will be ruined.”

“She’s destroying herself.”

…

It was nearly all negative!

Fangzheng had read City-Toppling Beauty ‘s script. Although it was about Hua Mulan, the script was different from other adaptations. Its highlight was not about how women were as good as men, but to showcase the cruelty of war! It was using the cruelty of war to declare an anti-war statement! It also included a rich sense of patriotic pride. If one watched the movie carefully, one would automatically ignore Li Xueying. Hua Mulan’s identity as a woman only accentuated how she spilled her blood and passion on the battlefield. It was a story of national love that buried one’s youth at the borders!

The plot was very intense but also very cruel. It brought despair amid its solemnity, but there was hope amid the despair! It was definitely a good movie.

However, the comments were all negative. Fangzheng was left confounded. These people had yet to watch it, so why were they here to mar the movie?

Of course, there were some Snow Eagle ¹ fans who supported Li Xueying. However, they were clearly drowned by the negative tide and failed to make much of a stir.

“Regardless, I’ll buy the tickets since Li Xueying is starring in it. However, if it sucks, I’ll never buy tickets to any of Li Xueying’s works again.”

“I wish Li Xueying good luck.”

“Queen Snow Eagle, all the best. I’ll definitely buy a ticket for you!”

…

The next day, Fangzheng got onto the Internet again. The comments in which everyone shared their own sentiments had turned quite aggressive. The Snow Eagle fans and anti-Li Xueying group were exchanging attacks on the Internet. It was quite an explosive scene as all sorts of curses were exchanged.

Fangzheng shook his head slightly. When he opened WeChat, he saw rage plastered all across the film crew’s WeChat group.

“Why are these people doing this? Why are they saying all this without even watching?”

“People were quite receptive to the trailers in the past. Why did everything suddenly change? Why are there so many people hating on the movie so mindlessly?”

“It’s probably instigated by a rival.”

“This won’t do. If this goes on, the box office results will be affected.”

“How depressing…”

At that moment, Li Xueying made an appearance. “Alright, don’t worry. They can clamor all they want. Don’t we know what kind of movie we filmed? Although this might cause some negative effects at first, I believe that the final victory will be ours! I, Li Xueying, have never lost before. Not in the past, and definitely not now!”

“Queen Snow Eagle sure is domineering! I suddenly have confidence again.”

“All the best! Everyone, activate your fans to counterattack.”

“GO! GO! GO!”

…

The comments section turned even more fiery as war was launched from multiple fronts. It turned into quite a commotion…

Fangzheng also knew that many movies would choose to stir things up prior to their release. Fangzheng had even suspected that the scene before him might be the result of purposeful sensationalization. If that were the case, it was a successful result. If not, this could end up being a disaster for Li Xueying and company. The curses themselves were not scary. If the cursing went on, people would be exhausted. After the end of the cursing, only the name would remain in the minds of others. This was also one of the peculiarities of the Internet. It made people show all their negative sides to become famous. Even if their reputation stank, they would wish to be infamous at least. Fangzheng could not do a thing about that. One person could not change the entire world. All he could do was influence the people around him. He would do it bit by bit and perhaps, he might change the world one day?

With this in mind, Fangzheng could not help but smile wryly. He was daydreaming again.

At that moment, Fangzheng received a private message.