The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng activated his Heavenly Eye to sweep over the old woman, but he was surprised to see nothing! This meant that the old woman had not experienced any major events or disasters in her life. When he activated his Wisdom Eye, then, he saw that the old woman had more of a golden glow around her than a baneful aura. Her golden glow was even stronger than that of the kindhearted lad from before. She was a good person, and she could even be considered better than the ordinary good person.

However Fangzheng also understood that this person was unlikely to be the person he was looking for. And to help her find someone was clearly something that would take time and effort.

With this in mind, Fangzheng looked at Red Boy.

Red Boy whispered. “It would not be difficult for me to find this person. I could do it with my divine powers. However, the divine power I’d have to use uses the bloodline and soul as a direction to find people. This elder is too old, and she’s weak. If I were to extract her blood essence to seek out her daughter, she’d likely fall gravely ill.”

Having heard that, Fangzheng decisively abandoned the idea to use Red Boy’s divine powers. The elder was obviously poor. If she were to fall gravely ill, it would be no different from taking her life.

“Do you not know her?” At that moment, the last glimmer of hope in the elder’s eyes extinguished.

Looking at the elder’s face which seemed to be weathered by the elements, Fangzheng really wished to return the photograph and speak the truth. But finally, he chose not to say anything. Instead, he placed the photograph back into the elder’s hand and smiled. “Patron, This Penniless Monk doesn’t know your daughter. However, This Penniless Monk can help you find her.”

“Ah… Ah?” The elder was originally close to despair, but when she heard that Fangzheng was willing to help, her eyes lit up instantly. The flame of hope reignited in her as her eyes instantly reddened and moistened. She croaked out a “Thank you…”

“Amitabha. Patron, you’re welcome. This Penniless Monk will only be doing his best and cannot guarantee that your daughter will be found,” Fangzheng said.

“Thank you. Thank you…” The elder didn’t say anything else except for repeatedly thanking him.

In exasperation, Fangzheng could only let her thank him until she calmed down. Only then did he go around with the elder, asking passers-by. Meanwhile, he began talking with the elder and through their conversation, Fangzheng learned that her name was Ma Guifen. She was not local to Dawu City but was from Sichuan.

“Patron, you came from afar. Didn’t you give a call to contact her?” Fangzheng asked.

Ma Guifen shook her head. “I wish to, but I don’t have a phone.”

Fangzheng was stunned. Who didn’t have a phone in this day and age? This daughter was just too unbecoming, wasn’t she?

Red Boy mumbled. “This granny sure is impressive. She didn’t try to get in touch ahead of time, nor does she have a phone number or address to look for. Yet she crossed China to find her daughter.”

Fangzheng raised his hand to smack Red Boy in the back of the head. Then, he handed the photograph to Red Boy and got him to help them search. Helpless, Red Boy held the photograph and began asking around.

Although Red Boy didn’t mince his words, there was some truth in them. Fangzheng was also impressed by Ma Guifen. She was far too bold! Furthermore, she had been too rash. And at least she was lucky to have met Fangzheng. What if she hadn’t?”

“Patron, how long have you been in Dawu?”

“I arrived today.”

Fangzheng nodded and took out his cell phone to search. They were about two kilometers from the train station, and Ma Guifen had asked the entire way there only to bump into him. It had to be said that she had some luck.

“Why are you looking for your daughter?” Fangzheng was puzzled. Why did Ma Guifen travel that whole distance in such a hurry?

“I’m looking for her…” Ma Guifen was just about to raise her head to say something when footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance.

Meanwhile, a voice came from upstairs. “Venerable One, run! A huge bunch of them is coming!”

The moment that was said, many people looked over. A store’s boss even closed his door in fright.

“Boss, who are those people? Why are you so scared?” a new sales attendant asked in puzzlement.

“You’re new, so you aren’t aware. They are infamous hooligans around the area. The one leading them with a few snake tattoos on his arms is nicknamed ‘Brother Snake.’ Although this guy isn’t a protection racketeer, he’s famous for causing trouble. Fighting and beating people is a run of the mill thing for him. He is often paid to help others fight. He even broke someone’s arm the other day. He’s not someone to be messed with,” the boss said.

“Ah? Then are they here to beat someone? Heavens, wouldn’t that monk be in danger then?” The attendant covered her mouth as she looked worriedly at the white-robed monk a distance away. She thought to herself, “What a pity. Such a handsome monk will be beaten up so badly.”

“Why isn’t that monk running yet? Is he dumb?” said the man who had given Fangzheng the pole. There was another youth standing beside him.

The man said, “He’s probably dumbstruck. Even Brother Snake has come. This will be bad! I never expected that a beggar would actually be able to hire Brother Snake. Sigh. Make the call.”

“Call? I’ve already called the cops. They say they will take five minutes,” the youth replied.

“Not the police, the ambulance! Brother Snake knows this place very well. The police takes five minutes to arrive, and he can beat the daylights out of a person in two minutes. He will then flee. The bastard won’t even give the police a chance to disrupt his business,” said the man.

“Tsk. This monk sure is pitiful.” The youth smacked his lips as he began calling the emergency services.

Meanwhile, Fangzheng turned his head and saw a bunch of people carrying poles running over. Leading them was none other than the fake beggar who had had his pants ripped off by Red Boy! The fake beggar led the charge while holding an iron pipe. His eyes were ferocious as he taunted while running. “Darn Bald Donkey! Don’t you run!”

Just slightly behind the fake beggar was a man with a mohawk. He wore an open checkered shirt, and his entire arm was revealed. There was a huge azure snake tattooed on his arm, making him look very ferocious. He held a solid steel pipe, and although his gaze did not look ferocious, Fangzheng felt like he had been targeted by a venomous snake. It seemed like this subordinate-looking bastard slightly behind the beggar was the true danger!

However, Fangzheng thought nothing of it. Back then, a great demon king like Red Boy could do nothing to Fangzheng when he unleashed all his powers, much less a few mere mortals.

Fangzheng rubbed his bald head and turned to look at the rest. Many people were frightened by the gang’s charge as they quickly dispersed. Some had already started calling the police. Fangzheng turned his head to look at the fake beggar and company before mumbling. “There aren’t any baldies running though, right? Is this guy blind? This Penniless Monk didn’t run, did he?”

Before Fangzheng took any action, Ma Guifen suddenly stood in front of Fangzheng and screamed. “What are you doing?”

“Granny, scram!” The fake beggar had already rushed out in the front. When he saw the granny block him, he pushed her away in anger! He wanted to vent all the anger he had!