The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

By the river of Twin River City, there was a cheer. “Hey, so Abbot Fangzheng comes from Mt. One Finger? Eh, where’s Mt. One Finger?”

“Stupid, try checking!”

“Right, right.”

Deep in the mountains in the southwest, in what was originally an arid land but was now covered in green, the elder villagers happily gathered together to watch television. Couples stood behind as they leaned against each other.

“Fangzheng! The news talked about Fangzheng! Could it be that Fangzheng who came here last time?” Village Chief Lei, who was eating some melon seeds, suddenly stood up and exclaimed.

“He’s a good person, a life-saver,” a villager said. Then, everyone looked towards a couple.

The couple was the couple that had stayed behind to maintain the Stairway to Heaven and educate the children, He Ming and Liu Yuan. By now, the two had long since gotten married.

Liu Yuan said, “What’s your take?”

He Ming said, “I think it’s definitely him! Abbot Fangzheng was definitely amazing.”

“If we have the time, we should pay him a visit,” Liu Yuan said.

He Ming nodded. “Yes, we must never forget our gratitude towards him.”

…

Similar incidents happened in many places.

However, the place which was most lively was One Finger Village, as well as its neighboring villages. For the village to produce someone amazing to the point of appearing on CCTV News left them basking in glory as well. Wang Yougui specially gave Fangzheng a phone call, and invited him down the mountain to let him recount the story concerning Ganfanpen to add to the liveliness. Fangzheng initially planned on going, but when he heard Du Mei’s roar over the phone—”That darn kid actually went to a godforsaken place like Ganfanpen? When he comes down, watch me crack that bald head of his! Doesn’t he know fear? Why did he join an expedition to such a dangerous place?”

Then a group of people spoke out in unison, persuading her against her aggression.

“Don’t do that. Du Mei, you should be a little lighter. There’s no turning back if the brain is damaged. Breaking a leg would do…”

Fangzheng was just about to say how nice his defenders were when he had the urge to curse when he heard the last sentence!

One Finger Village and the nearby villagers were all overjoyed from basking in his glory.

But what left everyone surprised was the rejoicement of Songwu County City! After all, One Finger Village was one of the local attractions where a whole range of entertainment was provided from soup to nuts, as well as the ability to offer incense. It had long become famous in Songwu County. Furthermore, the warmheartedness of One Finger Village’s villagers also destined them to make many friends in Songwu County. Everyone was naturally happy that one of their friends and acquaintances was amazing. Especially when they saw the video compilation about Fangzheng, all of them were convinced of him being a master. A living Buddha! They thought that having been to One Finger Monastery so many times, they had been praying to the wrong Budha every time! Many people discussed on their WeChat Moments if they should visit One Finger Monastery the following day to see the living Buddha.

As one of the county cities of Black Mountain City, Songwu County’s fervor naturally influenced Black Mountain City. Furthermore, One Finger Monastery had the endorsement and recommendation of Baiyun Monastery and Hongyan Monastery, so there were some people from Black Mountain City who had gone to One Finger Monastery. These people never expected that the tiny monastery which had some uniqueness to it actually hid such a powerful accomplished monk! They were wrong! They immediately felt regret. When they looked at the date, the following day was a Saturday. Therefore, people gathered friends and family and planned to visit Mt. One Finger. And to get people to go with them, they naturally extolled the importance and impressiveness of Fangzheng. Together with CCTV News’s broadcast, many people were tempted.

Similarly, the local media also began reporting on One Finger Monastery, as well as on the horrors and dangers of Ganfanpen. They mentioned the impact the resolution of Ganfanpen’s mystery had, etc. Furthermore, they were ultimately local media. They didn’t spend too much effort on praising Elder Wang and the rest. Instead they spent more effort on talking about the local, Fangzheng.

Instantly, Fangzheng also became popular in Black Mountain City.

And as the person in question, Fangzheng stood at the door and looked up at the bodhi tree. He kept smiling in a silly manner as his teeth showed.

“Has Master turned silly?” Lone Wolf sat on the ground and had a solemn look.

“That can’t be. If Master turned silly, how would we be able to eat anything good in the future?” Squirrel asked worriedly as he rubbed his belly.

Monkey said, “Even if he hasn’t turned silly, it’s abnormal. He has been standing under the tree smiling to himself for half an hour.”

“If he turns silly, will he stop nagging and chanting scriptures?” Red Boy narrowed his eyes and asked with a look of anticipation. But on second thought, if Fangzheng were to really turn silly, wouldn’t that mean that he could never return for the rest of his life? Immediately, he felt worried… Although Earth wasn’t too bad, having seen a vaster and more infinite world, how could Red Boy be willing to stay in one single place?

As for Fangzheng, he naturally hadn’t turned mad. Instead, he was truly smiling out of happiness.

“Ding! Congratulations on completing the Rising to Fame achievement. One Finger Monastery’s fame has reached all of Black Mountain City and has begun spreading to other county cities. You can have one draw.”

“Ding! You saved everyone on the science expedition team, a total of eighteen people. In addition, you resolved the carbon dioxide danger of Ganfanpen, which is equivalent to saving all creatures and humans around it. The merit is nothing trivial, netting you a total of 3784 merit points. This time, you can draw something good. How about it? Do you want to draw it separately or do it all at once?” the System asked.

“System, in the past, I could draw once whenever I saved a person. Now that I’ve saved so many people, does that mean I can draw multiple times?” Fangzheng’s eyes began darting around.

“Yes!” the System answered decisively.

“For real?” Fangzheng asked, feeling delighted.

“But you have to think it through. Items exchanged from accumulated merit are not things that can compare with items obtained from saving one person,” said the System.

Fangzheng felt his heart palpitate as he fell into a dilemma. Having saved a person, the items he could get were mainly things like water vats. Big items needed accumulated merit. And at present, Fangzheng was really not lacking anything minor. So after some thought, Fangzheng gritted his teeth. “System, do it all at once!”

“Smart. There will be plenty of chances for drawing the lottery individually in the future. However, such large-scale disasters to gain you this much points aren’t common. Are you sure you want to begin the draw?” the System asked.

“System Bro, tell me honestly. Do you find it troublesome to draw a prize one at a time for me, and is that why you encourage me to draw it all at once? Are you trying to skive?” Fangzheng asked suspiciously.

“Do you want to draw or not. If not, I’m leaving,” the System said, sounding a little guilty.

Although Fangzheng felt that it really was an outcome of the System’s laziness, the excuses the System gave weren’t without reason. Therefore Fangzheng replied with affirmation. “Yes! Do it right now!”