The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

With Lone Wolf’s ferocious look, just lying there was enough to make tourists and devotees halt. Lone Wolf was happy to be without work. The only thing was that by baring his fangs, the wind would fill his stomach, chilling it along with his mouth. It was uncomfortable… It also affected his image.

Among them all, Squirrel was the most comfortable. He sat on the bodhi tree and ate a pine nut happily as he looked at the crowd beneath him.

Seeing Red Boy walk off without turning his head back, Liu Guangyu and County Head Qi exchanged looks. They could see the indignation in each other’s eyes. They were busy people, and despite sparing some time to come up the mountain to visit Fangzheng, they had ended up not meeting him…

When Wu Changfa saw this, an idea came to him. “Why don’t I go to the backyard to get Fangzheng out? He’s just an abbot of a tiny monastery. How can he put on such airs?”

“Don’t!” County Head Qi berated him immediately. “A monastery is a monastery after all. Don’t act rashly.”

Liu Guangyu added. “Little Wu, when we are outside, we represent the government. Don’t cause trouble because it won’t spell good for us.” With that said, he looked at the devotees around them.

Only then did Wu Changfa snap to his senses. With so many people around, if they caused a commotion, he would probably be the one to ultimately suffer.

“County Head Qi, what do you think we should do?” Liu Guangyu looked at County Head Qi.

County Head Qi also felt stumped. His subsequent schedule was packed, making it difficult for him to personally come up the mountain to visit Fangzheng again. Should he summon Fangzheng?

When Wu Changfa saw County Head Qi in a dilemma, he suggested something immediately. “Why don’t we return? When the time comes, I’ll inform Fangzheng to visit you at the county office?”

County Head Qi was tempted to agree.

Seeing that his suggestion might work, he felt a little smug. “Those fools always say how foolish I am and how I’m not capable of handling things or being mindful of my words. Humph. This time, I’ll let those people take a good look! It’s not that I’m not good at it, it’s that I can’t be bothered! Indeed, I still have a good eye. I managed to grasp what’s on the county head’s mind with just a few words. If I can help the new mayor complete this matter, let’s see who will dare denigrate me behind my back.”

With this in mind, Wu Changfa was pumped. “County Head, you are a busy man. Although Fangzheng is the abbot of One Finger Monastery, how can he be that busy with a tiny monastery? See, isn’t he just reading scriptures now? I’m sure it will be much easier for him to spare some time than you. I’ll do the talking, and I guarantee you that it will be done perfectly. I’ll give him enough respect and make sure everything is fine. I’ll definitely resolve this problem.”

Wu Changfa had made up his mind. As long as County Head Qi agreed, he would have full authority. Even if he couldn’t convince Fangzheng, he could get the village chief of One Finger Village to do it for him! He refused to believe that it would be difficult to invite a mere monk. No matter how impressive he was, could he be more powerful than the government?

County Head Qi looked at the time. He still had other matters to tend to today. It was naturally best if he could meet Fangzheng in person. Since he couldn’t meet him, he couldn’t waste time waiting either. As for going straight in to pull him out to meet him? That would be an abuse of power which he couldn’t bring himself to do.

With this in mind, County Head Qi said, “Let’s do it. I don’t have the time to wait today. Little Wu, I’ll leave this matter to you. It’s best if you can invite Abbot Fangzheng to the county government office. If you can’t, schedule a time for me to visit. Remember, I’m handing this matter to you, and you will be representing the government. You are not allowed to sully the reputation of the government!”

As a new county head, County Head Qi didn’t have many trustworthy aides. The only local was Wu Changfa who was recommended to him by an old classmate of his. He also knew that Wu Changfa wasn’t a very reliable person, but he was currently the only person he could use. It was also the perfect opportunity to test Wu Changfa’s ability at getting things done. From his point of view, it was unlikely Wu Changfa would mess up such a simple matter.

Therefore, County Head Qi looked at Liu Guangyu who smiled. “That’s good too. Let’s schedule a time so that we don’t have to make a wasted trip. This Mt. One Finger has beautiful scenery, so it won’t be our loss if we come here a few more times… It’s fine as long as we aren’t criticized for eating, drinking, and entertaining ourselves with public funds.”

Everyone immediately laughed when they heard that. They hadn’t even drunk a single sip of water from the locals, so how was that claim possible? And so, the group which had come in a rush also left in a rush.

After sending off the county head and the county secretary, Wu Changfa’s bent back slowly straightened. In front of the two, he was a chauffeur, but in front of others, he was representing the county head! With a backer and authority in hand, what did he need to fear?

Therefore Wu Changfa beckoned for Red Boy and said, “Little guy, come over!”

“What’s the matter?” Red Boy was puzzled. Couldn’t he tell that he was busy?

“Go tell your abbot that the county head’s chauffeur, Wu Changfa, wishes to meet him. I will be discussing the development of Mt. One Finger with him.” Wu Changfa spoke like he was a leader.

“What?” Red Boy was taken aback as he scratched his head. “What are you?”

“What do you mean what are you? I’m the county head’s chauffeur! Wu Changfa! Aren’t you going? If you delay matters, even your master won’t be able to protect you!” Wu Changfa directly threatened Red Boy. From his point of view, if words wouldn’t do, threats were always an option.

Yet the child didn’t end up frightened from the threat. Instead, he rolled his eyes and sneered. “I thought it was the county head, so you are just a driver! Master said that he’s not meeting anyone!”

With that said, Red Boy turned his head and walked off.

“You!” Wu Changfa instantly felt his face flush red. He was actually being mocked by a child. Although he was a chauffeur, could he be compared to the typical chauffeur? In the normal world, who didn’t know what it meant to be the chauffeur of a leader? However, on second thought, it was understandable that a young monk in the mountains wasn’t aware of this.

Therefore, Wu Changfa took a deep breath and suppressed his rage. “Little Monk, it doesn’t matter who I am. What’s important is that I represent the county head. Quickly get your abbot to come out to meet me.”

Red Boy looked at Wu Changfa as though he was a retard. It might have been effective if he had said those words to the typical young monk, but unfortunately, in the eyes of Red Boy, the most awesome, most worrisome person to him in the world was the darn baldy in the backyard. As for others? As the Boy Sage King, he was even picky about who he would stew for food! Was their meat tender enough? Hence, he snorted. “I don’t care if you are a county head or a city mayor. If my master says no, it means no! If you continue causing trouble, I’ll throw you into the pot for stewing!”

“Kid, how can you speak like this? Is that how your master taught you?” Wu Changfa was enraged.

With him shouting, the other tourists looked over as well. Wu Changfa wasn’t daunted by that either. The county head wasn’t around, and he didn’t feel like he was in the wrong. He was representing the county head to meet Fangzheng but was refused at the door. This was just too embarrassing for him! He felt that he was already being nice enough not to flare up.

With that, Wu Changfa raised his head and said, “Your monastery has become famous, but no matter how famous it is, it is still part of Songwu County. What? Are you disregarding the county head just because you became famous yesterday? If you were to become even more famous, would you be disregarding the United Nations as well?”

When everyone heard this, all of them cast suspicious gazes. Could this monastery really have turned conceited after achieving success? Was it so arrogant that it wasn’t thinking anything of the county head?

Seeing how everyone was being roused up by him, he felt more emboldened. He sneered and said, “Little guy, you won’t be able to handle such matters. Quickly get your master out. Whether you go is up to you.”

“You seem pretty healthy, but unfortunately you’re deaf. Didn’t I make it clear enough? My master has been in seclusion since early this morning. He’s not meeting anyone. Do you know what seclusion is? Forget it. From the looks of it, you have no idea.” With that said, Red Boy turned and walked away.

“You… Well done. Well done, Fangzheng. How arrogant you are after becoming famous. Do you really think I can’t do a thing to you?” Having been slapped in the face, Wu Changfa instantly turned incensed. He took out his phone and seemed like he was about to flare up.

The tourists weren’t aware of what was happening, but from the looks of it, it was as though the monastery was putting on airs and not giving any face to the county head. All of them discussed by the side, with all sorts of viewpoints being shared. But when Wu Changfa said those words, all of them began to worry for One Finger Monastery.

“Isn’t that the chauffeur of the new county head, Wu Changfa? That person is famous for speaking without thinking. Why is he here to cause trouble?”

“I heard that One Finger Monastery isn’t giving face to the county head just because it became popular.”

“Tsk. Isn’t that impressive. To act so arrogantly moments after it becomes famous. Any new official will make drastic changes upon taking charge, so if he really infuriates the county head… If changes befall this monastery, even if it isn’t shut down, it sure won’t have good days ahead.”

“No way. I’ve seen County Head Qi. He’s quite a swell guy. Instead, it’s this Wu Changfa who’s lacking in brains. He only got to his position through nepotism. I heard that County Head Qi only made him his chauffeur to repay a favor or something.”

“So that’s the reason. But regardless, the chauffeur of the county head might be lacking in true power, but he isn’t someone to mess with. If this really causes a stir, One Finger Monastery will likely not have good days ahead. This is ultimately the territory of Songwu County.”

“That’s right,” someone said.

Everyone looked at Red Boy worriedly, but ultimately, no one stood forward. Those who could come to One Finger Monastery so quickly were all people who lived around Songwu County, and none of them dared to offend Wu Changfa in this territory. A county head might be a minor official elsewhere, but in this territory, he was definitely a powerful existence.

Wu Changfa felt that what he said had been effective when he saw how everyone was taken aback and how the young monk was silent, looking around while mumbling something without anything happening. He turned increasingly smug as he said, “Little guy, I’m not here to find trouble with you. Let’s do this. Get Fangzheng out and follow me to pay the county head a visit. If that’s done, I’ll take it as though none of this happened. How about that?”

“How impressive! If he doesn’t go, are you going to shut down One Finger Monastery?” At that moment, someone in the crowd finally stood forward. It was none other than Lame Ma!

“Who are you?” Wu Changfa never expected someone to suddenly cause trouble for him.

Lame Ma sneered. “I’m nobody, just a commoner of One Finger Village. But I can’t stand for what you said, so I stepped forward to say something. What about it?”