The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Master, how long will we be walking here? Why do I have to roam the streets, suffer the cold winds, and risk starvation whenever I’m out with you?” Lone Wolf asked bitterly. Although they had brought food, the weather was cold, and the food had long turned cold. Even if he was a wolf, that didn’t mean he enjoyed eating cold food!

Fangzheng rapped Lone Wolf on the head and said, “You and your grumbling. Weren’t you having a great time playing with Dopey in the morning? Now that she’s gone, you’re nagging. Why? Did you take a liking to Dopey?”

“Pui! Master, what kind of taste do you have? That’s a male dog!” Lone Wolf rolled his eyes as he raised his head in extreme pride. “Besides, I’m a wolf! A great and mighty alpha wolf once upon a time! I had a harem of three thousand wolves. Could I fancy a dog, a male one at that?”

Fangzheng grunted. “If I recall correctly, you wolves are monogamous, right? Jingxin is a demon, and his parents are demon kings and queens. I can believe it if he has a harem, but you? If you were that impressive, why were you chased away, starving so badly that you needed to snatch the food of students?”

Lone Wolf instantly blushed in embarrassment when he heard that. He never expected that he would start believing his own bragging over time. Great, he had been called out for his bragging now… How embarrassing!

Thankfully, Lone Wolf had long fur, so no one could tell if his face was red or not.

Fangzheng continued. “If you have the time to brag, go along the riverside. If you find someone fated, your punishment will be waived. If you can’t find the person, continue starving.”

Lone Wolf immediately turned spirited when he said that as he said proudly, “Master, don’t worry. Leave it to me!”

With that said, Lone Wolf ran off.

A few minutes later, Lone Wolf ran back. “Master, I found a target!”

Fangzheng’s eyes lit up as he asked in excitement, “Where?”

“Underneath the bridge. There are two people! To hide under the bridge in broad daylight, there must be something wrong with them!” Lone Wolf analyzed with a look of seriousness.

Fangzheng found his analysis reasonable. Therefore, he rushed over with Lone Wolf.

It didn’t take long before the man and wolf arrived beneath the bridge. Fangzheng looked over under Lone Wolf’s guidance and immediately, his face turned red!

He saw a man and woman hugging each other, kissing as their hands ran across each other…

“Master? How’s that? Isn’t that problematic? They are biting at each other! When we wolves fight, we also bite the neck and body. But we never bite each other’s mouths! To think they aren’t even sparing the mouth. Disgusting. Don’t they find each other’s saliva gross? Eh? Master, why are you pulling my tail? Aren’t we going to stop them? Master? Say something? Hey… Why is your face so red?” Lone Wolf howled without using his capacity to speak.

This was also something Lone Wolf, Squirrel, and Monkey had figured out recently. Apparently, they could always communicate by speaking animal language, allowing them to communicate all the same since all of them could understand each other. As for human language? It was dangerous to use, and they could only speak it when there were no humans around.

Fangzheng’s face was so red that he had once again turned into a Fangzheng-branded soy egg. This darn dog!

Thankfully, the couple were too focused on each other and failed to notice Fangzheng and the wolf’s voyeuristic spying. Otherwise, Fangzheng had no idea how he would go about explaining himself.

Fangzheng dragged Lone Wolf by the tail into the woods before smacking him…

“Master, if there’s a problem, just say so. Why did you beat me? Boohoo…” Lone Wolf followed behind Fangzheng in an aggrieved manner.

“Shut up! I was beating a dog; it’s not like I was hitting a human!” said Fangzheng.

“I’m a wolf, not a dog!” Lone Wolf immediately corrected him.

“A wolf dumber than a dog,” said Fangzheng with a nod.

Lone Wolf: “…”

Following that, Lone Wolf went everywhere and in the end, Fangzheng found all the couples hidden in the woods and grass. Occasionally they would be seen and end up being cursed at. When they encountered the more bad-tempered ones, Fangzheng was even at risk of being beaten.

Helpless, Fangzheng decided to give up on letting Lone Wolf do the searching. The a**hole just brought more trouble!

Just as Fangzheng was getting tired of walking, the street lamps lit up.

Only then did Fangzheng realize that the sky had gone dark!

“Master, I’m hungry.” Lone Wolf looked pitifully at Fangzheng.

“Shut up! You haven’t done a single thing except invite trouble. You still want to eat? Carry on starving.” Fangzheng harrumphed as his stomach growled as well.

Lone Wolf sat across Fangzheng with his head bowed. He looked up diagonally from across Fangzheng, hoping that Fangzheng would give in from his starving glance.

Unfortunately, Fangzheng completely ignored him. He too was feeling vexed. He discovered that he really couldn’t use the Formless Door for leisure. Although the Formless Door could let him travel hundreds of kilometers in an instant, the price was too great! Not completing a mission was like not finishing homework for school. He would keep having that guilty feeling of not having finished something. If he didn’t finish the mission, Fangzheng would feel restless, much less have the mood to wander around in leisure.

Just as Fangzheng was letting his thoughts run amok, an elder walked past and sighed. “That child is here again. Sigh.”

This long sigh attracted Fangzheng’s notice. He looked over and saw a long-haired girl by the river side, under the embankment. She was on a boulder wearing a white period costume! She had a zither on her as she sat there motionless.

The brilliant moon rose into the sky, showering its silver moonlight onto the river. As the river’s waves rose, they distorted the moonlight.

This scene had a cinematic feel to it, and it was beautiful.

Fangzheng and Lone Wolf exchanged looks as they got up and went to the embankment. They held the railings and looked at the girl beneath.

Lone Wolf whispered. “Master, what’s this girl doing? I heard from Junior Brother that female ghosts like to wear white.”

Pa!

Fangzheng smacked Lone Wolf in the head and whispered. “Don’t spout nonsense.”

“Oh…” Lone Wolf kept quiet.

At that moment, a happy shout sounded. “Brother, you came here too? Jingxin, good doggy!”

Fangzheng turned his head and saw no one behind him! He then lowered his head and saw Little Seven. The boy was tiptoeing to reach Lone Wolf’s head. With a look of exasperation, Lone Wolf lowered his head to be petted.

“Abbot Fangzheng, what a coincidence. We meet again.” With Little Seven there, it definitely meant that his hot-tempered sister, Zhang Huihui, was there too. However, instead of erupting into a rage, she greeted Fangzheng with a chuckle.

Upon hearing that, Fangzheng smiled bitterly. This sure was no coincidence. He had spent the entire day there, so he knew that anyone who approached this spot now clearly came with a purpose.

But even so, he said, “It’s indeed a coincidence. Patron, are you out on a walk?”

Little Seven exclaimed. “Not at all! We are hear to listen to the performance. That Big Sister sings there every day. She sings really well.”

Zhang Huihui nodded and said, “Her name is Duan Liu, a southerner. She plays the zither and sings here every day. Furthermore, she always repeats the same song. She sings late into the night before leaving. In the beginning, people thought that she was preparing a show, so they came. But over time, with her always singing the same song, and how should I describe that song… Well, anyway, fewer people started coming. However, there are always newcomers as well. They wait here to listen and watch. But I think she’s not actually performing. She should be someone with a story.”