The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

The people smiled before leaving.

Fangzheng and company heaved a sigh of relief as Squirrel stuck his tongue out and hid inside Fangzheng’s sleeves. He was too ashamed to come out.

The cinema was on the sixth floor of the building. Only Fangzheng and his disciples were left inside the elevator, so Fangzheng took the opportunity to explain. “The world outside did not change, it’s just…” Fangzheng used his hands to gesture the principle behind an elevator. Only then did the animals understand the magical secrets behind the elevator, but even then, they still found it fresh, fun, and fascinating.

As Fangzheng was having a good time chatting with the animals, the elevator reached their floor with a ding. The animals immediately shut up.

However, the security guard who was sitting in the monitoring room noticed the monk chat with the animals and found it quite odd. Thankfully, he could only see them talking but not hear them. He only treated it as though Fangzheng was muttering to himself. After all, many dog owners liked to talk to their dogs. Nothing seemed amiss with this in mind.

After entering the cinema, the animals immediately felt as if their eyes were letting them down. There were standing posters and lights of every color everywhere. There were also all sorts of displays and figurines that left them dazzled.

At that moment, a staff member walked over and said politely to Fangzheng, “Venerable One, we do not allow the entry of pets, especially such large dogs.”

Lone Wolf immediately felt unhappy upon hearing that. Was he a large dog? He was a large wolf, alright? What sort of crappy eyes were those!

Fangzheng hurriedly took out his movie tickets and showed them to the staff. When the staff saw them, he smiled and said, “So you are from One Finger Village. You are Venerable Fangzheng, right?”

Fangzheng pressed his palms together and said, “Amitabha. It’s This Penniless Monk.”

“Our boss said that since you guys booked the entire theater, you have full say on it. Of course, this is under the premise that they do not damage the facilities,” said the man.

Fangzheng said, “Patron, don’t worry. This Penniless Monk will definitely watch them and prevent them from messing things up.”

“I believe you. After all, these are the celebrity animals of One Finger Monastery. I’ve seen how obedient they are. I’ve also been to One Finger Monastery, and it’s really a nice place. However, back then, I only saw the monk monkey and not the others. I even believed that someone was being your imposter. Heh heh.”

Fangzheng never expected to meet someone who had been to One Finger Monastery. He immediately heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that it was someone who was familiar with his situation.

Indeed, as a manager, he took special care of Fangzheng and company. He arranged for Fangzheng to wait with the animals in a corner. Fangzheng stepped on Lone Wolf’s tail with one foot and held Squirrel’s tail in one hand. While doing so, he glared at Red Boy. The three looked at Fangzheng with an aggrieved look. Did they look so disobedient? They were obedient, alright? But clearly, saying anything was meaningless.

Fangzheng sat there for an hour. During this period, many people looked over with curiosity. There were even people who mustered their courage to run over to take a photo with him. Some recognized Fangzheng and even chatted with him. As such, Fangzheng did not spend his time being lonely.

Soon after, Wang Yougui arrived with the villagers. Following that, they entered as a group. After entering the theater, the doors were closed, and Fangzheng released his grip, heaving a sigh of relief. As their master, he could never forget how Lone Wolf had once secretly joined a line to get ice-cream. Nor could he forget the scene of Red Boy running around wantonly.

The moment Fangzheng released his grip, the freed rascals heaved a sigh of relief as well. They began looking around in wonder. However, there were people all around them, so they were unable to ask questions.

Red Boy had no such scruples. Therefore he began asking the questions on the minds of the animals. As for him? He obviously knew what the things were for having spent time on the Internet every day. It was only his first time at the movies in person.

After an advertisement with a positive message was played, the lights suddenly extinguished, giving the few animals a fright.

Fangzheng gently caressed Lone Wolf’s head and said, “The extinguishing of the lights implies that the movie is beginning. Regardless of what happens later, do not make a sound. Also, you are not to jump around!”

Lone Wolf, Squirrel, Monkey, and Red Boy nodded in unison.

At that moment, the movie began…

The first scene began with a recital—tsiek tsiek and again tsiek tsiek, Mulan weaves, facing the door.

The scene gradually turned clear as the female lead’s younger self appeared. She had a happy childhood, free and joyful. Everything seemed so beautiful. The skies were blue, the sun was golden; children ran around their parents with their siblings, bringing a smile to their parents’ faces.

But the next moment, there was a bang. Tumultuous changes happened! Dark clouds blotted the sky as a storm battered the lands.

Reports from the border came―the Rouran tribe was invading the south. War had erupted!

Although the tide of war was still far away, the whole nation was completely plunged into a warlike atmosphere. Conscription was imposed all across the nation, and Hua Mulan’s family was not excluded. Just like in the original story, Hua Mulan eventually took her father’s place in the military and was enlisted.

Hua Mulan then witnessed the cruelty of war during her journeys. Flames of war erupted everywhere, and death lingered in its wake. There was no justice in the face of war, no love for the young or respect for the elders. There were no accolades like a bouquet of flowers or applause, just blood and tears!

Countless families were broken apart as children climbed onto their parents’ corpses, shouting, “Mommy, stop sleeping. I’m hungry!”

Parents wailed with their dead children in their arms, but no sound came out of their mouths. Their silent shouts exuded their sorrow as it spread everywhere.

When Hua Mulan’s platoon passed by, it was surrounded by civilians who questioned them, “Why must there be war!?”

But who could answer them? Everyone fell silent.

Upon seeing this, many villagers turned silent as their hearts turned heavy. When they saw the crying children and parents, their hearts clamped up, and the women who were prone to crying wept.

During the journey north, Hua Mulan encountered battles of all scales. She matured as well, but she always held the question in her heart. Why must there be war? What can war bring?

Following that, Hua Mulan became a reconnaissance trooper and on her trip into Mt. Yan, she encountered soldiers from the Rouran tribe. A skirmish ensued which wept out nearly her entire troop!

Upon seeing this, the villagers turned rowdy. Dog Song even pointed at a person who lay down with his ass up. “That’s me! That’s me! Hahaha! I’m just so f**king clever. I knew this would make it easy to recognize me. Indeed, Haha…”

Everyone rolled their eyes at the scheming bastard, but they could only agree that although he was dead in the corner, that suggestive pose of his was indeed really easily recognizable! As a result, the others felt rather depressed. Everyone was strewn dead on the ground, but it was completely impossible to identify anyone from the camera angle.

This development of the plot also pumped ardor and zeal into the audience. The emotions that arose from seeing comrades offer their lives up for one another in combat were substantial. Unfortunately the villagers knew too much about the plot, which affected the rousing of their emotions…

At that moment, an elderly monk appeared. The elderly monk had a genial look, but his eyes were filled with sorrow. Against war, what could a monk do? Who could he redeem?

Fangzheng looked at the elderly monk and felt his heart quake. The sad look in his eyes revealed his rage towards war. Yet he was helpless. The helplessness he exuded stemmed from him only being able to deal with the dead instead of the living… His immense compassion was truly shocking!