The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng said, “The mortal world is a sea of misery to begin with. Anyone who falls in it will face suffering. Who can escape it? This Penniless Monk is still part of the mortal world, so there’s nothing surprising about This Penniless Monk having worries. If it ever seems like there are no worries, then that is only in the fantasy world of others—WeChat Moments.”

Li Xueying was taken aback. Following that, she recalled the social media posts of her friends. Wasn’t it all a bed of roses with people flaunting the delicacies they ate and the travels they went on? But was real life actually like that? Clearly not! Li Xueying laughed and said, “Venerable One, you sure move with the times. Heh heh.”

Fangzheng lowered his head to look at his hands and said, “This Penniless Monk is still young…”

“Pfft!” Li Xueying immediately burst out into laughter seeing Fangzheng’s aggrieved look. The vexations in her heart immediately lessened.

Li Xueying said with a smile, “Alright, let’s not talk about unhappy matters. Venerable One, I haven’t been here for a while, but your mountain has changed tremendously. There is bamboo, and there’s a child now. This bamboo of yours sure is pretty. It’s like it’s made of jade.” Li Xueying looked up at the bamboo which swayed in the wind. Her eyes were extremely bright, akin to those of a young child with an extreme desire to learn.

Fangzheng said, “This is Frost Bamboo, a bamboo unique to Mt. One Finger.”

“I see.” Li Xueying got up and walked over to take a look at the crystalline Frost Bamboo. She marveled at it before saying, “Venerable One, if you were to renounce asceticism one day, this bamboo should be worth a lot. It should be enough for you to live the rest of your live in luxury. To be honest, this is the best bamboo I have ever seen. It’s really pretty.”

“It’s not bad.”

“Not bad? Alright then. Venerable One, what do you typically use the Frost Bamboo for?” Li Xueying was indeed curious. She felt that it would be a little wasteful no matter what such good bamboo was used for.

Fangzheng answered very seriously, “The young shoots are eaten. The older bamboo is made into furniture. But most of it is used as firewood.”

Li Xueying’s expression stiffened when she heard that the Frost Bamboo was used as firewood. Such good bamboo was actually used for firewood? This was something only prodigal wastrels would do!

Li Xueying’s heart pained as she caressed the emerald Frost Bamboo as she said indignantly, “This bamboo looks crystalline, so there should be quite a lot of moisture in it, right? Even if it’s used for firewood, can it actually burn?”

Fangzheng rubbed his nose and continued. “It’s alright. It just needs to be dried in the sun for a few days. However, this bamboo remains looking the same even when dry. It’s quite odd.”

Fangzheng was not showing off. It was indeed something odd. Typically, bamboo would turn a wilting yellow after it dried and lost its moisture. However, even without its moisture, Frost Bamboo remained crystalline like it was actual crystal or glass. Finally, Fangzheng convinced himself with the explanation—the bamboo comes from Mount Numinous after all…

“It’s still this pretty when it’s dry?” asked Li Xueying in astonishment.

Fangzheng nodded.

“You still use it for firewood when it’s so beautiful?” Li Xueying looked at Fangzheng questioningly like a judge.

Fangzheng continued nodding.

“Heavens! You are destroying the treasures of heaven! I… really want to rip you apart!” Li Xueying tugged at her hair as she went mad.

Fangzheng shrugged his shoulders. “To This Penniless Monk, that is its value.”

“But you can sell it for money!”

Fangzheng shook his head and said in all seriousness, “This Penniless Monk is a person separate from the world. How can he do business by selling the bamboo to earn money?” However, he was roaring inwardly. “If I could sell it, do you think I would need you to remind me?”

Li Xueying looked at Fangzheng who appeared to be fully enlightened and found herself speechless. Following that, she smiled wryly and said, “Alright. Since the bamboo is yours, you can do whatever you want with it. However, it’s really a pity to just chop it up and use it as firewood.”

At that moment, Li Xueying’s cell phone rang. The moment she picked up, she heard the sobbing yell from her manager. “Sis Xueying, where did you go now? If you hadn’t picked up the phone, I would have called the police. You gave me a fright!”

Li Xueying smiled embarrassingly at Fangzheng before walking to the side to answer her.

But soon, Li Xueying’s smile froze as her expression turned worse. She said angrily, “These people are too much! Do they really think nothing of me? Do they think they have what it takes to cause trouble?”

Moments later, Li Xueying came over, but her mind was clearly flustered. She was no longer as carefree as before.

Fangzheng did not say a word as he led Li Xueying into the monastery.

“Venerable One, can’t you show some concern to a friend? Can’t you see my face? Can’t you ask what happened?” Li Xueying could not help but grumble eventually.

Fangzheng smiled. “Amitabha. Patron, you are not someone with bad luck. Just be optimistic.”

“Be optimistic? I wish I could.” Li Xueying sighed. She saw the temple hall and walked over silently. Her mind was in a mess, and she wanted some silence. She only treated Fangzheng’s words as a form of consolation.

Fangzheng did not disturb her any further when he saw this. Instead, he headed for the backyard, giving Li Xueying enough space.

Li Xueying stood in front of the temple hall before turning around to walk backwards. She stood under the bodhi tree and browsed the Internet before angrily saying, “Are they trying to challenge my bottom line? Li Jun, don’t force me to counterattack!”

Meanwhile in Haicheng, in a revolving restaurant at the top of Soaring Towers, three people sat there beaming while they drank.

“CEO Li, your attack was really well done! Haha, did that bitch Li Xueying really think she was an international star after going to Hollywood? She wanted to flaunt herself in China? I can ignore the fact that she rejected our script, but to think she snatched the same prime period as us? She really doesn’t know better!” said a bald fatty with a sneer.

“She’s an international star after all. Full of confidence. If I recall correctly, she said that our movie planned on cheating people out of their money with just a few beautiful faces, that the plot was like sh*t, and that the characters were brainless fools. F**k, did she think hers was that great? She thinks she knows everything just because she developed herself abroad a bit,” said CEO Li eccentrically.

“CEO Li, she does not know what it means to be in a ‘fan economy’. For things like movies, what’s the point of content? Just a few faces would do. Is the rest important? What a joke!” another pimpled man grumbled.

“That’s why. She just came back from overseas, so as her seniors, we must teach her a lesson. She needs to know what movies are. At the same time, she should also learn to respect her seniors,” said CEO Li in grave earnestness.

The other two laughed when they heard him.

“CEO Li, you are right. People are valuable if they have foresight. Although Li Xueying is quite popular, and she has her own team and Hollywood behind her, as long as she’s in China… Hmph! How dare she offend others without fully understanding the rules of the game? What a joke! I’m quite curious how much longer she can last considering the present situation,” said the pimpled CEO Feng.

“She won’t last long. She invested all she had into this. If City-Toppling Beautyis done for, she will fall from her pedestal, and she will have to start all over again. It’s unlikely she will ever be able to return to her present position. I think she will surrender the day after tomorrow at the latest,” said CEO Li.