The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng, who was midway already, immediately stopped when he heard that. He stood by the roadside with Red Boy.

Before long, Jing Yan drove over.

Fangzheng recounted the situation to Jing Yan in the car and when they reached the foot of the mountain, Jing Yan left in delight.

“Master, why didn’t you brag until the cows come home? This was such a good opportunity,” on the way up the mountain, Red Boy asked curiously.

Fangzheng shook his head. “Over-bragging is lying, an act which the heavens punish by smiting lightning. My days wouldn’t be good if I did that. But this is enough. Our One Finger Monastery will be turning popular!”

At the mountaintop, Fangzheng closed the monastery’s doors when he saw that there were no devotees.

“Jingxin, bring me to Ganfanpen again!” Fangzheng finally said through clenched teeth after some thought.

Red Boy said in surprise, “Master, you can be at ease if you let me do it. I guarantee you that I’ll complete the mission. There’s no need for you to supervise me.”

“What supervision? I’m doing it myself!” Fangzheng had done the math. He had eighteen Buddha Beads, allowing him to use eighteen divine powers. However, there was little need for him to use divine powers. Most of the time, Red Boy was enough. But this time, things were different. If he could save the villages around Ganfanpen, as well as the countless creatures living around it, that would be great merit! It was worth taking a shot!

Red Boy thought nothing of it. He was more than happy to not do anything.

Following that, Red Boy carried Fangzheng up into the sky and flew to Ganfanpen. Fangzheng came to the largest central lake. He stepped on the lake’s surface and went to its center. As he held the beads between his right hand’s thumb and index finger, he pressed his palms together. Stirring his mind, he mumbled softly. “Amitabha!”

The Buddha Beads glowed with Buddhistic light the next moment. The beams flew into the sky, and the slight tremors of the lake caused large numbers of gaseous bubbles to rise. The sky was filled with white fog. Then, the Buddha Beads sucked everything up like a vacuum cleaner! This suction force was extremely powerful, and within minutes, the lake calmed down, with no more bubbles emerging. The Buddha Beads hummed and released a yellow beam that surged in different directions.

The beams shot towards the lake’s bottom as a scene appeared in Fangzheng’s mind. He could sense that the tiny holes that filled the lake’s bottom had all been sealed. Fangzheng knew that Ganfanpen would no longer release large amounts of carbon dioxide in the future. In the future, the lake’s convectional flows would naturally dissipate the carbon dioxide generated by the lake. From that moment forth, the danger of Ganfanpen’s carbon dioxide was completely eradicated.

“Master, look up into the sky!” At that moment, Red Boy, who was standing on the shore, shouted.

Fangzheng looked up and saw that the clouds had been blasted apart by the Buddha Beads’ blast. A huge hole had formed, and it was rapidly expanding! It was as though an invisible eraser was rapidly scrubbing away the clouds. That’s right. The clouds were not being pushed away, but being eliminated!

At the same time, in Spring City, a man was seated in front of a computer. He was staring at the computer doing some adjustments.

“Fourth Brother, what are you doing?” A voice sounded.

“We are researching our China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite Maps. I have to say that the images captured have really high resolutions! Look, this can even be zoomed in!” Fourth Brother said with a chuckle.

Second Brother, who was sleeping on the ground, craned his neck and looked at the screen. “Hey, did you hear. Something happened over at Ganfanpen. Use the satellite to take a look. Although I’ve no idea how often BeiDou Maps refreshes its maps, what if we can see something?”

“Alright. Let’s take a look.” Fourth Brother was still vexed over what spot to pick a moment earlier, so now, with a swipe of his wrist, he began zooming in around Ganfanpen. Then he said with a bitter smile, “It’s all clouds. We can’t see anything.”

“Sigh, indeed,” Second Brother said.

When Fourth Brother casually refreshed, however, he immediately let out a shout. “Holy sh*t! What’s happening? The maps have refreshed. The clouds… A huge hole has appeared within the clouds! There’s someone right in the middle of it!”

Second Brother immediately fumbled out of bed and jumped over to stare at the screen. At the same time, Fourth Brother began zooming in as much as he could. Finally, the two saw it clearly; there was really a hole in the clouds. And standing in the middle of a lake was a person! He had a bald head, and he looked like a monk!

“How… How is this possible? Someone is standing on the lake!” Second Brother turned agape as his eyes shimmered. Clearly, he was stunned by this scene as he jumped up out of curiosity.

“The clouds were dispersed.” Fourth Brother added before asking, “Do you think this was done by him?”

“A coincidence perhaps?” Second Brother mumbled.

“What are the two of you talking about? What dispersed clouds, what coincidence?” At that moment, someone walked in from the door which had been open all this while. He was tall, and he held a basketball. He was dressed in yellow sports clothes and as he spoke, he bent down and looked over.

“Zhao Datong, look! The clouds and fog that are said to be perpetually there have a perfect hole in them. In the middle of the hole is a lake. Standing on the lake is a monk! Isn’t that fascinating? I believe there must be some hidden reef in the middle of the lake. That monk is standing on the reef. Otherwise, there’s no way to explain this scene.” Fourth Brother explained like he was showcasing a gem.

Zhao Datong originally didn’t think much of it, but when he heard that it was a monk and that a hole had been opened up in the perpetual clouds, a figure flashed in his mind. He asked, “Which Ganfanpen is it? Is it far from Mt. One Finger?”

“Where’s Mt. One Finger? This Ganfanpen is the one in Songwu County, the one inside the Changbai Mountains. It’s said to be rather remote,” Fourth Brother said.

Zhao Datong’s heart palpitated when he heard that. “As expected of Master! He’s really f**king impressive!”

“What master?” Second Brother asked.

Zhao Datong glanced at the two and smiled. “The weather has turned cold. I want to eat steak.”

“F**k you!” Second Brother and Fourth Brother cursed in unison.

“Oh, since I can’t eat steak, I have no mood to say anything. That person is an otherworldly erudite master, a man of god! Do you remember Fang Yunjing’s situation? It was Master who helped,” Zhao Datong said smilingly with his eyes narrowed.

“Fine! We’ll treat you!” Second Brother said through clenched teeth.

“I want to feel full!” Zhao Datong immediately said.

“Fine!” Second Brother glared at Zhao Datong and said.

“Alright then. See you at noon. Haha!” Zhao Datong walked off happily. However, he didn’t head off to play basketball. Instead, he went to Fang Yunjing and Ma Juan. He had to inform them of such a huge matter.

At noon, as Zhao Datong turned a little tipsy from the alcohol, the news about a godly monk on Mt. One Finger began spreading across the college campus. There were people who believed and others who doubted, but regardless of their beliefs, everyone’s curiosity was piqued.

“I remember that back in spring this year, Zhao Datong, Fang Yunjing, and the rest wanted to organize a trip to Mt. One Finger, but it was rejected by the school on the grounds of safety. Don’t tell me this guy is trying to organize it again? Is he trying to hype things up?”

“Hype my a**! Look at this. Baidu Maps hasn’t refreshed yet. There’s really a monk standing on the lake’s surface! Such maps can’t be faked, right?”

“I found a video. Look! It also says that this is a monk from One Finger Monastery crossing a river on a reed!”

“Let me see it… Hey, holy crap! Isn’t this the handsome monk that appeared in City-Toppling Beauty’s advertisement?”

“No wonder I found him so familiar. On careful look, he’s wearing the same robes! Could he be the same person?”

“Duh. The only person who wears white monk robes in that region is Abbot Fangzheng. Who else can it be?” Zhao Datong appeared on the forums.

This uproar led to immense ramifications. All of Fangzheng’s past was dug up by curious students. If any of his past feats were mentioned alone, people would only find them interesting and think nothing of it. But when they were all put together, especially when they were all a result of the same person, this became a topic of discussion. That day, Fangzheng’s name become a sensation in several universities in Spring City.

Some mindful people compiled all the video and photographic evidence into a video before posting it on the forum. When the students saw this, they reposted it on their WeChat Moments. When everyone saw the compilations, their reactions were mixed.

“Old Chen, did you hear? There’s a buzz on the Internet saying that a master lives on Mt. One Finger.” A beautiful woman carrying a dog chuckled as she used her cell phone. She was making conversation on the sofa.

By her side was a man. He was silently looking at his computer when he frowned. “What nonsense! In this day and age, how can there be masters? They are all cheats!”

“Apparently, this master resolved an unsolved mystery of China. It’s some ‘pen’ place. Aiyah, I’ve forgotten the name,” the girl said, confused.

“These masters don’t treat illnesses these days and end up cracking mystery cases?” the man said in disdain.

“Can’t you speak nicely? A friend on my WeChat Moments posted it. Apparently, he heard it from his child at school. One of them has interacted with that master before. It’s likely true,” the woman said with some doubt nonetheless.

“Mere rumors. How could that be true?” the man said.

“What if it’s true?” The woman instantly turned angry as she challenged him.

“Heh heh, if it’s true, I’ll do the dishes in the future. The house shall be cleaned by me, and I’ll do the laundry! If it’s fake, you’ll do all those chores,” the man nudged his glasses and said with utmost confidence. In his eyes, his wife was only good at playing mahjong, gossiping, buying clothes, or dabbling in beauty products and services. For everything else, her general knowledge was no different from a child’s. On the contrary, the man believed that he was a well-read and knowledgeable person. At the very least, he read the news daily and read books and novels of all types. He was well exposed to all sorts of bizarre news in the world and understood a lot of it. In addition, he had traveled through most of China. Hence he believed that he could easily be his wife’s teacher! Therefore, he planned on schooling her this time.

The woman scoffed. “Fine, the bet’s on! Let’s see who wins!”

The man roared with laughter. “Look at you. You are so gullible. It’s so obviously a farce, yet you have been tricked by it. I’m telling you, cheats like him…”

“What cheats like him? His Dharma name is Fangzheng!” Since the bet was on, the woman immediately took sides and was on Fangzheng’s side. She naturally couldn’t stand seeing her husband denigrate Fangzheng.

The man wasn’t mad. The chores were typically done by the two of them anyway. Now, he finally had an opportunity to leave it all to his wife and be in control of the purse strings. He felt great! Therefore, he said with emphasis, “Alright, Fangzheng. Is that better?”

The woman scoffed as a signal of her satisfaction.

The man continued. “You talk about how impressive he is. Why hasn’t he appeared on CCTV ¹ News?”

Just after he finished his sentence, the beautiful female host on television announced something. “Today local geological scientist Wang Xuemu led a team into Ganfanpen and cracked the mystery of Ganfanpen’s lake of death…”

“By the way, my WeChat Moments said that the mystery of Ganfanpen was cracked by Abbot Fangzheng. Even the fog has dispersed,” said the woman.

“What are you so excited about? She already said that it was a scientist, nothing about your Fangzheng. Isn’t the truth out? It’s just rumors!” the man said happily.

But his joy was short-lived. The news continued. “The successful resolution of the mystery of Ganfanpen was all thanks to the help of a monk on Mt. One Finger, Abbot Fangzheng. He was responsible for giving a timely warning at a critical juncture, hence saving all the researchers…”

Upon hearing that, the man’s smile froze. Holding her dog, the woman immediately roared with laughter as she patted the man’s face. “Weren’t you giving quite a good speech? Continue! In the future, all the chores are yours. Man, with so much free time on my hands, should I go to a spa or play mahjong? What a dilemma. Hahaha!”

The woman carried the dog away.

The man sat there looking stunned at the television. Before long, there was a long, sharp cry.

As for Mt. One Finger and Fangzheng, these names appeared nationally for the first time. Furthermore, they appeared without being called into question! Of course the people who knew of Fangzheng had their eyes lit up. Those who didn’t know about Mt. One Finger began learning more about it. As for people who weren’t interested in scientific research, it naturally didn’t leave an impression on them.

However, that wasn’t important. What mattered was that some people remembered this piece of news!

“Mt. One Finger? One Finger Monastery? Aiyah! Indeed! Master really went there!” Zhao Datong cried out in excitement. Hu Han and Fang Yunjing were also excited.

“Fangzheng?” Kinky Queen, who was reading the news on her phone, hurriedly opened WeChat to sent Fangzheng a congratulatory message.

Li Xueying, who was filming a movie, smiled when she heard the news. She mumbled to herself. “I knew it. How can he always be cooped up on the mountain without any fame when he’s so amazing? A hidden dragon doesn’t often leave its lake, but once it does, it soars! This guy went onto CCTV News straight away. Tsk, I must find some time to visit him and get him to give me a treat by telling me the story… Heh heh.”

Sitting in front of a television, Duan Liu, who was accompanying children in an orphanage and watching television, adjusted her hair. She said with a smile, “Fangzheng? So he’s from Mt. One Finger.” She had been searching for Fangzheng for quite some time, wishing to thank him properly, but unfortunately, Fangzheng had been well-hidden, preventing her from finding him. Now, she had finally found him.

“This guy sure knows how to make a stir.” Zhang Huihui, who was watching television, spoke as though she didn’t mind. But deep in her eyes was a joyful and congratulatory look, as well as curiosity.

Little Seven jumped up in excitement as he tugged his parents’ hands and said, “Abbot Fangzheng has appeared! Mommy, this is the big brother I talked about! He saved someone and was impressive! Now do you believe me?”

“Enough, stop being so smug. You make it sound like he’s your brother,” Zhang Huihui scoffed. Little Seven raised his head and said, “You’re just jealous!”

Other than them, many people who Fangzheng had helped before, but had no idea where Fangzheng came from, saw the news. Instantly, many places boiled over.