The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng nodded slightly. One should not smack a smiling face, so it wouldn’t be nice for Fangzheng to ridicule the girl. Therefore, he pressed his palms together and said, “Amitabha. Patron, nice to meet you. Are you coming up the mountain to pay your respects to Buddha?”

Lin Xi was delighted when she heard that. She thought to herself, “This monk’s voice is rather pleasant to the ears. It really matches that face of his. Since there’s nothing to do while climbing the mountain, teasing this monk should be rather interesting.” Therefore, Lin Xi said with a smile, “My brother is Fangzheng’s former classmate. By the way, Venerable One, do you know Fangzheng?”

Fangzheng was rendered speechless. He nodded and said, “Yes.”

“Are you close to him?”

“Very.” What a joke. Who wouldn’t be closer to him than himself?

Although Fangzheng was somewhat pissed, he still went forward to bow. “Amitabha. Patrons, are you coming up the mountain to pay your respects to Buddha?”

“No, we came looking for Fangzheng to hang out with him and have some fun. However, from the looks of it, there’s probably not much fun to be had,” said Lin Xi with a sigh. She had never been interested in nature. Her interests lay in branded luxury goods.

“Venerable One, what kind of person is Fangzheng?” Lin Xi asked curiously.

Fangzheng thought for a moment and felt stumped. To praise himself was a little embarrassing. But if he didn’t, wouldn’t he look like a loser? Noticing how Fangzheng remained silent, Lin Xi wrote it off as him feeling uncomfortable with speaking behind Fangzheng’s back. She mumbled inwardly. “From the looks of it, Fangzheng is nothing much. He’s probably poor and ugly, and doesn’t know how to be nice to others. If not, this Venerable One wouldn’t be so stumped. He doesn’t even praise him out of courtesy…”

At that moment, Li He said, “Lin Xi, didn’t I tell you. Fangzheng is ugly.”

“That’s right. He’s ugly!” Cui Jiandong echoed.

Lin Tai said, “Lin Xi, why are you paying attention to this? Once we are up the mountain, we can just take a look. Since we aren’t people from the same world, we should minimize our contact.” From Lin Tai’s point of view, Fangzheng was already blessed by the heavens not to have died of poverty on this tiny molehill. Comparing a poor punk to a rich guy like him was like comparing night and day. They were of two different worlds, so it wasn’t anything odd.

When Lin Xi heard that, she said, feeling maligned, “Got it. You keep saying as though I’ll fall in love with him. My standards need him to be at least as handsome as this Venerable One beside me! That Fangzheng will definitely not do!”

When Liu Ying heard that, she shook her head slightly. These a**holes really weren’t missing any chance to diss Fangzheng.

Lin Xi turned towards Liu Ying as she asked, “Sister Liu Ying, what’s your impression of Fangzheng? Was he handsome?”

Liu Ying thought for a moment before shaking her head. “I guess… He wasn’t handsome.”

“That means he’s ugly! I’m not bragging, but even ten Fangzhengs won’t add up to my handsomeness!” Li He flicked his hair coolly.

Cui Jiandong roared with laughter. “However, ten of you can’t add up to the handsomeness of Boss Lin.”

Lin Tai laughed.

Lin Xi added another line. “But ten of all of you combined aren’t as handsome as the Venerable One beside me.”

Li He was instantly rendered speechless. Lin Tai could do nothing about it as well, but they thought nothing of Lin Xi’s words. To them, this monk was just some passerby who did not deserve becoming the topic of a debate.

When Liu Ying saw this, she laughed with her mouth covered. “Lin Xi, you keep calling him Venerable One, but you haven’t asked for his Dharma name.”

Lin Xi was taken aback. That’s right, she hadn’t asked!

Therefore, Lin Xi looked up and looked at the tall, handsome, stable, and radiant monk. She asked with a little shyness, “Might I ask what your Dharma name is?”

Upon hearing Lin Xi ask the question, Li He, Cui Jiandong, and Liu Ying looked over. They were also curious what this otherworldly monk’s name was. However, Lin Tai thought nothing of it. Could being handsome earn a living? It was not like he was a gigolo. Therefore, money was king!

The monk turned around and smiled. He seemed to light up a few notches with that move alone! They never imagined that a man, a monk at that, could smile so handsomely! As men, Li He and Cui Jiandong felt jealous. Even the corners of Lin Tai’s eyes twitched. Although good looks were inferior to money, if he could have them, it would naturally be for the best. Hence, he did have tiny pangs of jealousy.

Lin Xi and Liu Ying palpitated with excitement. But the moment they came to the realization that he was a monk, their hearts chilled. “Unfortunately, he’s a monk. If not, we could really get to know each other better.”

At that moment, Fangzheng smiled. “Amitabha. This Penniless Monk is One Finger Monastery’s abbot―”

“Ha, I knew it! No wonder you have such a bearing. So you are the abbot.” Li He interrupted before Fangzheng finished his sentence.

“This aura, this bearing is indeed something an abbot should have. Seriously, you won’t know how bad things are without comparison. Thinking back to Fangzheng of the past, hehe―world’s apart!” said Cui Jiandong.

“It’s been so many years. I wonder if Fangzheng has changed,” said Liu Ying with a sigh. She still had that inconspicuous, vague impression in her mind. She could not help but let out a long sigh again. Why was the difference so large when they were both monks? As for this Venerable One, he had an extraordinary aura and bearing. His every smile and action had a Zen-like charm to it. It was like he was an immortal. As for Fangzheng? Despite being in the same environment, they had different attainments. Was this like the saying “to wash a pig is to waste both water and soap”? Regardless, she had to counsel him when they met this time.

Li He thought nothing of it. So what if he was an abbot? Could that be used to exchange for money? Although big monasteries these days were very rich, he would rather die than believe that One Finger Monastery was a huge monastery! The abbot of such a monastery was still poor. Therefore, from Li He’s point of view, power was first and money was second in this world. If someone was inferior to him in both traits, there was no need to acquaint himself with that person. Nor did that person deserve to be treated as his equal. At most, they could be like Li He or Cui Jiandong, who were basically his lap dogs. Hence, he disparaged the monk in front of him.

“Aiyah, stop interrupting. Abbot hasn’t told us his Dharma name.” Lin Xi waved her hands and cut them off.

The few of them smiled and turned silent. They looked at Fangzheng and waited for him to answer.

Fangzheng felt truly aggrieved deep down. They had failed to recognize him and had not seen the present him, so why were they so certain that he was in the slumps? Seriously… Face smacking was needed to appease him!

Fangzheng had this in mind, but he said, “This Penniless Monk’s Dharma name: Fangzheng!”

Lin Xi nodded subconsciously when she heard that. “Oh, so it’s Abbot Fang… Fang… What!? Fangzheng!?”

The others jolted to their senses as they looked at the monk in front of them in shock!

Li He and Cui Jiandong subconsciously wanted to slap their mouths. They wanted to know if they were dreaming! The monk in front of them was Fangzheng? How was that possible? How could Fangzheng be so handsome? Wasn’t he supposed to be some hillbilly dressed in tattered clothes?

Lin Tai was dumbfounded as well. Although he had zero impression of Fangzheng, he refused to believe that a good-for-nothing that needed the school’s assistance would have such a graceful bearing! Was this really his lacking classmate? But on second thought, without money, what was the use of having a pretty face? Was he going to earn a living with his face? Upon realizing this, Lin Tai’s eyes flashed with a look of contempt as he raised his head slightly and looked at Fangzheng. Without money and power, he had no right to be compared with Lin Tai!