The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

The female boss continued looking at them with a deadpan expression as she said with a somewhat mechanical voice, “It’s on the house. Take it!”

“Ah?” The stunned Ma Guifen and the shocked Red Boy exclaimed in unison.

Only Fangzheng nodded slightly. Back when he exchanged looks with the female boss, he discovered that there was no contempt, displeasure, or anger in her eyes. Instead, there was a sense of anxiety, and a kindness which Fangzheng found familiar. Therefore he had probed her by answering the question. He never expected her to really get the items and give them for free.

Fangzheng pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Thank you, Patron.”

The female boss shook her head. “There’s a heater inside. You can warm up over there.”

With that said, she went in and pulled out a backup heater, plugged it in and placed it by the side of three plastic stools.

Upon seeing this scene, Red Boy and Ma Guifen snapped to their senses. They realized that they had not met a coldblooded and ruthless poker face, but a different, warmblooded, kindhearted person!

Out of the cold weather, drinking hot water and being close to the heater, they felt warmth going from their skin to their hearts as they looked at the poker-faced boss.

Red Boy whispered. “Master, I’m warm now.”

Fangzheng smiled. “Both the world’s coldest and warmest thing is the human heart. Do you know what to do in the future?”

Red Boy giggled and nodded. “Yes.” Then, he suppressed his voice as he leaned over. “Master, you sure can hold your temper. Back when the boss spoke in that manner with that expression of hers, I misjudged her and nearly flared up. Why did you not have any reaction at all?”

Fangzheng rapped his head lightly. “She is not obligated to help us, nor is she obligated to give us anything. By standing at her door, we are affecting her business. On this point, it’s true that we were at fault. By helping us, she shows kindness, and not helping us would only be normal. What could be there to blame?”

“But… We were already so tragic.” Red Boy was actually referring to Ma Guifen.

Fangzheng shook his head. “Even if you are tragic, you can’t use it as a reason to blackmail others into helping you. There are far more people worse off than you in this world. Are you going to give up everything you have? So that then, everyone can be equally tragic?”

Red Boy was stunned as he scratched his head. “So are you saying that you think she’d have been right if she had thrown us out?”

“Every creature’s first goal in life is survival. Only by surviving can one have the ability to think of other things and to do other things like helping others. If people are already in hardship, will you insist on getting them to sell everything they have to help you? If they give their all to help you, how will they survive? Should they find others for help? Then, by dragging down one person after another, wouldn’t everyone who needs to survive only be hurt?” Fangzheng retorted.

Red Boy said, confused, “But Master, don’t you often say that we should do good? Also, I see a lot of stories on the Internet about Buddhas and Saints. Don’t they sacrifice themselves by slicing their meat and don’t they give their wealth to help others?”

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “The goodness I pursue is absolutely not the goodness that requires one to maim oneself. In order to achieve true goodness, one needs to be good to oneself before being good to others, which is also being good to society. To live well and not be a burden on others, this is a goodness to oneself and also a goodness to society. Then, within one’s means, one should help others without affecting one’s own livelihood. This is also goodness, but this is considered a second-level goodness. The Buddhas you talk about wouldn’t die if they sliced off their meat, but if they didn’t slice it off, death would happen. In fact, they are also acting within their means to help others. When a Saint gives up his wealth, it’s not random. It has to be when the world is in chaos and the commoners are lost. Only in this situation of despair would they spread their wealth. Otherwise, how much wealth can a Saint have to give up every day? Furthermore, helping someone depends on the circumstances and the person involved. Just like when we met that fake beggar. Doing good such as giving him money without any due diligence will only aid evil acts. He’s an able person of sound mind; yet, he doesn’t wish to work hard and improve himself. All he knows is to beg unjustly, and he isn’t worthy of pity. Showing him kindness isn’t good, but aiding evil.”

Red Boy listened without fully understanding, but he got the general gist of it.

As the two of them were chatting, a man walked in. He bought a pack of cigarettes and turned to leave. When he exited the door, he mumbled. “She’s nice, but unfortunately, she suffers from facial paralysis. Even speaking is tiring on her. Sigh, bad things happen to good people.”

Typically at this distance and through the door, the typical person wouldn’t be able to hear what he had to say, but Fangzheng and Red Boy heard him clearly. They exchanged looks as Red Boy’s eyes flashed a look of embarrassment.

Fangzheng frowned slightly. He originally found the female boss a little weird, and only after careful observation did he realize that her eyes and expression didn’t match. In the beginning, he thought that she was born with a cold face and a warm heart, but only now did he learn that she suffered from facial paralysis. However, based on what he could see from her face, it wasn’t complete facial paralysis but partial and not extremely serious.

Since it was a medical ailment, that made things easier. Fangzheng recalled the Medicine Sutra in his mind. There was an appropriate treatment method inside, and it said acupuncture should be very effective against facial paralysis. Although Fangzheng didn’t have gold or silver needles, he had cultivated in the Dragon Elephant Body Tempering Art, and he had Qi in his body. It wasn’t difficult for him to condense his Qi into needles. It was just impossible for him to produce projections of divine punches.

However, how was he to treat her? Could he go up directly to her to say that he could treat her? He would probably be treated as a cheat.

However, he didn’t wish to go through the trouble of spending time interacting with her and slowly persuading her either.

With this in mind, Fangzheng shook his head. “Forget it. Since we have met, it must be fate. This Penniless Monk is indebted to her for providing us shelter from the rain, and the debt has to be returned.” With this in mind, Fangzheng pressed his palms together and gave a Buddhist proclamation. “Amitabha!”

At the same time, Fangzheng cast his divine power, A Golden Millet Dream!

What Ma Guifen saw was Fangzheng and his disciple chatting while the female boss looked sleepy before she slumped over and fell asleep.

As for Fangzheng, his real body came to the female boss’s side and placed her flat on the ground. Then he condensed a ten-centimeter long silver needle with his Qi. Next, according to the records in the Medicine Sutra, he began from the Hegu acupuncture point all the way to the Taichong and Qianzheng points.

At this moment, Fangzheng finally understood the cultivation technique that was included at the back of the Medicine Sutra. Cultivating this technique did nothing except increase his strength and deepen his inner aura. Fangzheng always thought of it as a defensive art, but having circulated his aura at that moment, he realized what it was for when he condensed the Qi into a needle. The Dragon Elephant Body Tempering Art wasn’t solely for defense, but more importantly, it was able to condense Qi into weapons! Although it couldn’t be released too far off, using it for surgery was more than enough. This technique was clearly meant for him to be able to treat others at anytime and anywhere. Similarly, the Dragon Elephant Body Tempering Art’s different exercises weren’t only to raise his strength. They were meant to increase his stability. That way, when he lowered a needle or a scalpel, his hands wouldn’t shake while providing treatment. He could be precise and clean about his strokes!