The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Eventually, Liu Beijun returned to school to the great amazement of his classmates. Many people, including the teacher-in-charge, guessed that he would play truant the very same day. They even paid extra attention to him, but Liu Beijun seemed like a different person. After he returned, he began listening to class attentively. He no longer slept, and he pressed his teachers for answers if he had any questions.

He burned the midnight oil reading. His seriousness left everyone dumbfounded, making them think, “Is he faking it?”

However, at the semester exams, Liu Beijun’s name was ranked among the top ten! Instantly, it caused a stir in his class. The teacher-in-charge even checked the exams to confirm that there had been no mistakes. He even got Liu Beijun to do a few test questions, and naturally…

“Liu Beijun, please share with everyone your thoughts on studying. How did you improve so quickly?” said the teacher-in-charge during a classwide meeting.

Liu Beijun scratched his head. “I’m not sure what to say. In short… You have to work hard. There’s nothing easier than studying. Sleeping all day definitely won’t work.”

Everyone laughed when they recalled the Liu Beijun who slept his days away.

…

However, that was a matter for the epilogue. The day Liu Beijun returned to school, Liu Hongyun ran to One Finger Monastery and brought a huge bag of green vegetables, potatoes, timber, rice, oil, and salt. He even specially threw a thousand yuan into the Merit Box.

When Liu Hongyun saw Fangzheng, he immediately ran over to him and thanked him profusely. He was just short of kowtowing. “Abbot Fangzheng, thank you! Beijun told us what you did for him. If not for you, I would honestly be at a loss as to what to do. This child would likely have dropped out of school and become a farmer. I… I’m not good with words, and I’m not sure what to say, but anyway, thank you! Thank you very much! I know the trip must have cost you quite a bit of money. About that, I…”

Fangzheng patted Liu Hongyun on the shoulder. “Amitabha. Patron, you are too kind. As for the money, don’t bother about it. Just bring up your child well.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Liu Beijun left One Finger Monastery while still thanking Fangzheng profusely. The instant Fangzheng turned around, he heard someone kneel down and kowtow. Fangzheng sighed and did not turn back. He could not accept it. Although Liu Beijun was indebted to Fangzheng, he did not believe that what he had done was worth three kowtows! To the Chinese, the area beneath their knees was gold. They could kneel to the heavens, the earth, their parents, and to deities, but how could they kneel to others so easily? Therefore, the kowtow was too heavy a burden to accept.

Meanwhile, Fangzheng also recalled Zen Master One Finger. Back when Zen Master One Finger sent him to school, he did not study well and floundered around. He felt somewhat guilty, so he felt that he could not accept the kowtow when he recalled his own past.

After Liu Hongyun left the mountain, the news that Fangzheng had been waiting for finally came.

“Ding! Congratulations. You successfully steered Liu Beijun back to the right path. The sea of bitterness knows no bounds, turn back to the shore before it’s too late. A prodigal who repents is more precious than gold. The merit you earned is quite sizable, do you want a draw?”

Fangzheng immediately heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. He was worried that the merit would be too little and that the System would ignore it. But from the looks of it, the System’s standards were quite similar to his world’s standards. Fangzheng laughed and said, “Yes!”

“Ding! Congratulations. You have obtained two Luohan Tree seeds!”

Fangzheng was taken aback. He never expected to obtain another plant! Fangzheng’s spirits were dampened when he heard that it was a Luohan Tree, and two seeds of it at that. Luohan Trees were not bamboo. Bamboo could grow very tall in a year. It was a sight to behold and could be eaten. However, a Luohan Tree would probably still be a sapling after a year’s time… By the time it reached its full height, Fangzheng would probably be dead.

Regardless, he could only tearfully accept the prizes he won from the draws.

With that in mind, Fangzheng said, “Accept.”

The next moment, there was a blob of Buddhist light that had two seeds floating within. They were golden-yellow in color, looking like they were gilded. Fangzheng believed that there was no way anyone could find such seeds in the world! They were definitely from Mount Numinous!

“These are the seeds of the Luohan Trees which are grown at the foot of Mount Numinous. There’s nothing special about them, but their leaves and flowers can be used as herbs. You can figure out the specifics yourself,” said the System.

Fangzheng scratched his head. He knew about Luohan Trees, so he already knew what the System mentioned. He originally believed that the System would mention something unique, but it was nothing special.

Fangzheng did not bother thinking as he went out with the seeds. Standing at the door, Fangzheng mumbled as he dug. “Dig a hole, bury it in soil, count one to five, grow a Luohan, and fast it will grow… Fast, my *ss.” Fangzheng shook his head as he complained inwardly.

Meanwhile, Fangzheng also had a question in mind. He asked, “System Bro, what kind of seeds are these? There is more than one kind of Luohan Tree. One of them is found in Southeast Asia, and it’s spiky like a pine tree. Another kind is found in China. That one is more of a singular ginkgo tree. Which type did you give me?”

“You are Chinese. Why would you want a Southeast Asian tree? What you were given is obviously the Chinese gingko tree variant. By the way, both of the seeds are male,” said the System matter-of-factly.

Fangzheng nearly fainted from hearing that.

Some people might not understand, but Fangzheng knew very well. The first party to treat gingko trees as Luohan Trees had been Shaolin temple. It had gingko trees which were both male and female. Only by having the two could the trees flower and bear fruit. Yet, there had also once been a gingko tree that grew alone by itself. It did not have any female counterpart, and the pitiful male gingko tree could not flower or beat fruit; hence, it was deemed a Luohan Tree¹ .

Of course, that was not the reason why Fangzheng nearly fainted.

Instead, gingko trees were known to live long. They were famous for growing slowly and having long lives! As such, they were also known as Grandfather-Grandson Trees. The saying, “the grandson eats what the grandfather plants,” described how only the grandson could eat the fruits of a gingko tree his grandfather had planted in his youth. This described how slowly the tree grew. Furthermore, it was a product of Mount Numinous. In this world that lacked Spirit Qi, it would likely only grow slower. Fangzheng even suspected that he would not see the tree grow to maturity in his entire life.

To confirm that he had not made a mistake, Fangzheng deliberately checked on his phone. This only shocked him further. Under normal conditions, gingko trees needed two decades from planting to bearing fruit. And only after four decades would they produce fruits en masse! This meant that he would starve to death if he ever had to rely on the two trees for his meals.

Upon thinking of this, Fangzheng gave up as he mumbled. “Grow as you wish. Just don’t die.”

Fangzheng smiled ruefully and shook his head. He watered the two seeds with Unrooted Clean Aqua before returning to the monastery.

Fangzheng was extremely dissatisfied with the prize, and he felt quite pissed. But when he reached the backyard, he suddenly thought of something. He picked up his cell phone to check before suddenly roaring with a rapturous laugh. Then he turned around and charged straight into the meditation room.