The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Only then did Fangzheng realize that the man hadn’t been standing. He had actually been sitting. Now that he stood up, he was like a giant! Fangzheng estimated that Old Fifth Gao was likely 2.1–2.2 meters tall! The two policemen were not short either at around 1.8 meters, but they appeared like kids when standing beside him.

Red Boy smacked his lips. “He really lives up to his surname ¹ …”

Bao Yuluo chortled. “Child, you are only a few years old; why do you speak like an adult? Who taught you this?”

Red Boy immediately looked up at Fangzheng.

Bao Yuluo shot a glance at Fangzheng who slightly raised his head up. “This Penniless Monk’s method of bringing up children isn’t too bad, right?”

However, Bao Yuluo sneered. “At his age, he should be innocent. Teaching him too many things is akin to spoiling things by your excessive enthusiasm. It’s not a good thing.”

Fangzheng was rendered speechless when he heard that. The lass really had a bone to pick with him about everything. Furthermore, the darn kid was brought up by the Bull Demon King, Princess Iron Fan, and a huge bunch of demons. He had only been in custody of Red Boy for less than a year! Hold on, he wasn’t even a child. He was a god-damn ancestor!

However, it was a pity that he couldn’t say that. There was a high chance he would be viewed as a retard if he did.

Fangzheng didn’t say a word. Seeing this as Fangzheng’s admission to guilt, Bao Yuluo felt rather smug.

At this moment, Old Fifth Gao came over, lowered his head, and asked the two, “Officer Bao, were you the ones who shouted for me?”

Bao Yuluo smiled. “It wasn’t me. It was this monk. Go ahead and chat.” After saying that, Bao Yuluo looked down at Red Boy and asked, “Little guy, want me to bring you around to have some fun?”

Red Boy shot a glance at Fangzheng, to which he shot a glance at Bao Yuluo. He could tell that the woman was insistent on taking Red Boy away. Thinking it over, the woman’s presence only meant trouble. Therefore, he decisively betrayed his disciple. “Jingxin, follow this Patron. Come back only when you’ve had enough fun.”

Red Boy rolled his eyes. He had been betrayed as expected. However, Red Boy’s mind quickly whirred. He asked Bao Yuluo with an innocent look, “Sister, will there be good food to eat?”

“Of course. What do you want? My treat,” she said with a chuckle. No matter how cool Bao Yuluo acted, she was ultimately a girl in her twenties. She had zero resistance toward an adorable-looking child like Red Boy.

“Can I eat as much as I can?” Red Boy continued acting cute and innocent.

“Of course!” Bao Yuluo agreed generously. How much could a child eat?

Red Boy clapped his hands when he heard that. “Great! Sister, I saw a tiny store at the village entrance when I entered. Let’s go there.”

“Ah? Ah… Okay.” When Bao Yuluo saw Red Boy initiating the charge, she suddenly had the baffling feeling that she had fallen for a scam.

After Bao Yuluo and Red Boy left, Old Fifth Gao scratched the back of his head. He said with a smile, “Abbot Fangzheng, why are you here?”

Fangzheng smiled. “This Penniless Monk has heard about the situation regarding your village. If it weren’t for you, there would have been death in the village. This Penniless Monk is here to see a hero.”

Old Fifth Gao instantly blushed as he waved his hands hurriedly. “Don’t say that. I’m no hero. I just managed to carry a few people back thanks to my height and strength. Anyone would do the same if they were in my shoes. Besides, calling me a hero is too much. That should be reserved for those who sacrifice themselves heroically.”

Fangzheng shook his head. “A hero is a hero. Back then, who knew what you would encounter if you went ahead. The fact that you ran over without hesitation speaks volumes of your character. Besides, not only dead people can be heroes. The living can also be heroes.”

Seeing how insistent Old Fifth Gao was on not being called a hero, Fangzheng didn’t harp on the matter. He also knew that to most villagers, heroes were those people that sacrificed themselves for others. But from Fangzheng’s point of view, heroes were not limited to those people. A living person equally deserved such a title. A sacrificed hero needed to be remembered, while a living hero should enjoy the glory of their deeds.

Fangzheng diverted the topic and asked, “Can you share how you saved those people in detail with This Penniless Monk?”

Old Fifth Gao said with a bitter smile, “Abbot Fangzheng, to be honest, if it were anyone else, I would definitely not bother anymore. Do you know I’ve been answering this question repeatedly the entire day? Let’s go. We can sit down and talk.”

Fangzheng immediately nodded. Old Fifth Gao needed to lower his head when talking to him. It wasn’t much of a burden for him, but Fangzheng had to look up. If this chat lasted an hour, his neck would probably hurt the next day…

The two policemen were locals. The moment they saw Fangzheng, they were delighted as they warmly invited Fangzheng to take a seat.

“Abbot Fangzheng, it’s great that you are here!” a slightly chubby policeman said with a smile.

Fangzheng laughed as well. “Officer Li, look at what you are saying. You believe in such stuff too?”

Officer Li shook his head. “Although I’m in uniform, I was born and raised on this land. Being in a village all this time, even if I voice my doubts out loud, I’ll still feel creeped out deep down. Besides, everyone keeps making this sound really creepy. In this day and age, who doesn’t want peace in everything they do? You are the most famous accomplished monk around the area. Now that you are here, the evil will definitely not dare to cause trouble. I’ll feel more grounded as well.”

The other older policeman, Officer Zhao, sighed. “Abbot Fangzheng, you weren’t here yesterday. If you had, you wouldn’t think we are being alarmist here. The man collapsed without any warning… Although we are policemen, we are human after all. If we were to be targeted, we too would collapse. Although we are prepared to sacrifice ourselves in the line of duty, we still feel frantic facing the unknown.”

Officer Li said, “Hey, what are you saying? What sacrifice? We are still living well.”

Officer Zhao nodded immediately. “Yes, yes, yes. We are living well.”

Old Fifth Gao nodded as well as he patted his chest and said, “Don’t worry. If there’s anything, I’ll take the lead!

“You!? If there’s anything, the two of us will take the lead. You are tall and strong, and your legs are long and good for running. Besides, we might have to rely on you to save others,” Officer Zhao scolded in a joking tone.

Fangzheng asked, “Patrons, aren’t you all being a little too pessimistic?”

“Abbot Fangzheng, it’s not that we are being pessimistic. It’s that this matter is indeed very odd. Furthermore, it happens after dusk. Yesterday, nothing could be seen, and that person just silently collapsed. Also, the animals cried out in unison at night, and they were gone after a bit of struggling. There wasn’t that much of a stir. When we woke up, all of them were dead. Thinking back to it really creeps me out. Last night, something or someone killed all the poultry. Who knows if it will kill humans tonight?” Although Old Fifth Gao was tall and strong, he also had a look of worry.

When Officer Zhao and Officer Li remembered the events of the previous night, they let out a long sigh. Just as they said, policemen were human too. They, too, had families. Who would wish to die if they could leave? The villagers could evacuate, but with them donning the police uniform, they were destined to be stationed here to face the unknown dangers.