The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

When the disciples returned and saw this, none of them bothered Fangzheng. They ate and did what had to be done.

The day passed just like that.

The next day, Fangzheng continued sitting cross-legged without any intention of moving. His disciples gathered around and began studying him. Squirrel was a little worried.

Red Boy shook his head and said, “There’s nothing to be worried about. According to scientists, a normal person can survive without food and drink for three days and three nights! If water is drunk, humans can last seven days and seven nights. Master just drank such a huge jar of spirit ginseng soup. It won’t be a problem even if he starves for half a month!”

The animals heaved a sigh of relief when they saw how confident Red Boy sounded, so they soon dispersed.

As more and more visitors came, Red Boy would tell them every time they saw the motionless Fangzheng, “My master is meditating on the Buddhist Dharma.”

People found it quite interesting in the beginning, but as time passed, no one paid any attention to it anymore. No one expected Fangzheng to sit there for days.

Soon, it was Friday. Friday afternoon was also the day for the hospital’s thorough cleaning.

Jiang Ting familiarly got some water, climbed up to the windows, and began wiping the glass.

At the same time, Zhao Yumin still felt uneasy. Although he had verbally claimed Fangzheng was unreliable, he still did some investigations after he returned. Apparently, the brick and combined harvester incidents were only related via Mt. One Finger and that monk from One Finger Monastery. Furthermore, the moment they returned, Jiang Ting got Monkey to come over. Monkey also brought Fatty along. When the two shared their experiences, it planted a seed in Zhao Yumin and Ruan Xianghe’s minds. Could it be that the monk really had divine powers? However, he didn’t look like he was an accomplished monk at all…

But over the next few days, Zhao Yumin thought about it in bed. He recalled what he had seen that day, and indeed, Fangzheng really didn’t seem to have done anything. He hadn’t even said much. The entire time was them talking and reprimanding him. Furthermore, he didn’t show any signs of anger in the beginning. Instead, it was when Ruan Xianghe forced him to prove himself that Fangzheng was angered. Fangzheng’s feelings in Zhao Yumin’s eyes felt like they stemmed from being called guilty despite being innocent.

“If he really has divine powers, what Xianghe said would indeed have been hurtful.” Zhao Yumin finally made the conclusion. He realized that they had been wrong from the beginning on their last trip.

Zhao Yumin shared his thoughts with Ruan Xianghe, and she didn’t say a word to retort him. Zhao Yumin knew that she likely agreed with his conclusion. At the very least, she knew she had been overly agitated back then. Even if Fangzheng’s staring had been impolite, there had been no need for her to put on airs and reprimand him. She had even suspected him. That was quite hurtful.

With this matter already in the past, though, the couple also decided to let it rest and not mention it again.

However, every time Zhao Yumin saw Jiang Ting, he would recall the words Fangzheng had said to Jiang Ting. Therefore, he paid a little attention to Jiang Ting.

At today’s cleaning, Zhao Yumin was feeling flustered. Hence, he came out and looked for Jiang Ting.

The moment he entered, he saw Jiang Ting wiping the windows. He subconsciously warned her. “Jiang Ting, be careful when you are wiping the glass…”

“Ah, alright… Ah!” When Jiang Ting turned her head to respond, her foot slipped, and she fell forward while screaming!

Zhao Yumin was dumbfounded at that moment. They were at the sixteenth floor! To fall from such a great height… When he thought of this, Zhao Yumin’s mind buzzed and went blank.

Jiang Ting was his old friend’s granddaughter. He had watched her grow up and liked her greatly. Now… With this in mind, Zhao Yumin wept on the spot. He rushed downstairs while shouting, “Someone needs to be saved!” Meanwhile he kept questioning Fangzheng in his head. Didn’t you say that Bodhisattva will protect Jiang Ting even if she encounters any danger? Where’s Bodhisattva?

Zhao Yumin took the elevator and went to the ground floor. He also took out his cell phone and hesitated. Should he tell his old friend?

Should he?

At this moment, the head nurse ran over in a fluster, shouting, “Director!”

“Don’t need to speak further! I’m already aware of it! Let’s not talk first! We should save her as quickly as we can! Regardless, we need to save her first!” Zhao Yumin also knew that after falling from the sixteenth floor onto concrete, unless a god descended from heaven or Buddha appeared, no doctor could save her. However, he still held onto a sliver of hope. Meanwhile, he was also in denial. He felt that knowing the outcome even a minute later would be better than having to come to terms with it now.

In the end, the head nurse stood there with a wry look. “Director, it’s not that… I wanted to say…”

“Don’t say another word! Get the best doctor! We have to do our best to save her!” Zhao Yumin said.

The head nurse wore a look of exasperation. “No… Director, Little Jiang…”

Zhao Yumin was enraged. Why was this child being foolish? He swung his hand and said angrily, “Can’t we focus on saving her at this point in time!?”

With that said, Zhao Yumin widened his pace and walked out. Although he was in denial, he ultimately had to face reality! After steeling his painful heart, he bravely walked out. However, his mind remained slightly adrift. His attention wasn’t on his path ahead and with him walking sufficiently fast…

Then…

Bam!

“Ouch… Who is it?” Zhao Yumin was already feeling anxious, so colliding with someone made him flare up. Just as he was about to berate the person and reprimand them, he looked up to see a familiar face! It was none other than Jiang Ting who wore a look of shock and a look of immense joy for surviving the fall!

“Jiang Ting?” Zhao Yumin stood rooted to his spot.

“Ah…” Jiang Ting nodded subconsciously.

“I…” Zhao Yumin shuddered. Was this a human or a ghost? As his blood rushed to his brain, he fainted.

“Director!?” Jiang Ting exclaimed. Many people swarmed forward and helped Zhao Yumin up and placed him on a bed…

An hour passed by the time Zhao Yumin woke up. When he saw Jiang Ting in front of him, he kept rubbing his eyes and asked, “Are you really fine?”

“Director, I’m fine,” Jiang Ting said helplessly.

Zhao Yumin dismissed the rest and sat up. He asked with all seriousness, “What… What exactly happened? Didn’t you fall? Did you end up catching onto something?”

Jiang Ting shook her head. “I did fall and slammed into the cement road. To be honest, I thought I was dead.”

“Then…” Zhao Yumin looked at Jiang Ting and for some reason, the words of Fangzheng flashed in his mind. Bodhisattva will protect her! Could it be that Bodhisattva had protected her?

Jiang Ting thought for a moment before she whispered, “When I landed, I seemed to hear a whisper in my ear.”

“Oh? What did it say?” Zhao Yumin asked.

“Amitabha,” said Jiang Ting.

Zhao Yumin felt his heart leap as he subconsciously exclaimed. “Bodhisattva protected you?”

Jiang Ting nodded. “Yeah, I also think I saw a Buddhistic glow flash across my body. However, I can’t be sure. I have no idea if I wasn’t maybe seeing things.”