The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng followed Wang Yougui to the east side of the village. As he looked at the school under construction, the two talked about Mt. One Finger’s future developments. With regards to this, Fangzheng only had one request. The rules on the mountain had to be determined by him! The people at the foot of the mountain also had to ensure that money was earned in good faith.

Wang Yougui naturally agreed. Fangzheng had lunch at Wang Yougui’s place, and the afternoon quickly passed as they talked.

In the evening, Fangzheng carried two knitted bags of frozen dumplings up the mountain. As he put them down, he called out to Monkey. He discovered that something appeared wrong with Monkey. Why did he appear so out of sorts? Without further thought, he and Monkey struck the bell and drum and watched the sun set.

This meant that it was dinner time!

Fangzheng hurriedly closed the doors and rushed to the backyard. The moment he entered, he discovered something was amiss. Why are the looks in Lone Wolf and Squirrel’s eyes somewhat different?

“Master, have you forgotten something?” Red Boy’s bitter voice had a tinge of anger.

Fangzheng asked in bafflement, “What? I don’t think I forgot anything?”

Squirrel rubbed his tummy that had caved in and said with a sobbing tone, “Master, have you eaten all sorts of good food at the foot of the mountain? I can smell all sorts of fragrances when you open your mouth.”

Lone Wolf was slumped, motionless, and he didn’t say a word. When Red Boy tugged at him, Lone Wolf raised his head without strength. “Don’t disturb me. I don’t feel like moving. I’m starving!”

“Starving?” Fangzheng was taken aback before he realized that he had finished the last bowl of rice in the morning. With plans of wrapping dumplings today and eating noodles, he was in no hurry to get more Crystal Rice. Going about his business, he had forgotten. Which meant that these idiots had been starving the entire day on the mountain!

Fangzheng felt a little guilt seeing his starving and weak disciples. But soon, Fangzheng noticed something amiss. There was a furtive glint in Squirrel’s eyes. It showed whenever Fangzheng wasn’t paying attention, so Fangzheng deliberately didn’t look at him and only observed him from the corner of his eye.

Squirrel didn’t move either. Fangzheng deliberately asked Monkey, “Is there no rice?”

Monkey nodded. “None.” He then added. “Master, you were the one who made breakfast.” The intent of his message was clear— would you not know of the situation?

Fangzheng grinned in embarrassment. Simultaneously, he noticed that Squirrel’s caved in belly suddenly bulged out, only for him to hurriedly suck in his breath to cave in his stomach again. Fangzheng pricked up his brows. This roly poly has definitely eaten. He hasn’t been starving at all!

What about the rest?

Fangzheng glanced at Lone Wolf who was slumped there motionless. He looked like he was so hungry that he couldn’t move. But what were wolves? The wolf as a creature was precisely best at enduring hunger. A full wolf would be fine even if it didn’t eat for ten days! Even the worst of them could last a week. And during this period, they could even maintain a certain level of combat strength to hunt for nourishment.

Lone Wolf was already like this from a few hours of not having food? Besides, he had eaten in the morning… Something was wrong!

Then Fangzheng looked at Monkey. Monkey did appear moderate without any changes. However, when Fangzheng looked at him a few more times, his eyes started darting around.

Fangzheng finally looked at Red Boy who pitifully looked back at him. It was a flawless performance! Fangzheng narrowed his eyes and was unmoved. Others might not understand Red Boy or might be fooled by his adorable appearance, but Fangzheng wouldn’t. This little guy was his lying machine, a professional, a best actor! The better he acted, the more suspicious the entire situation was!

Therefore, the tiny tinge of guilt in Fangzheng instantly evaporated.

“Master, we are still hungry. We haven’t eaten all day. Do you think we can have extra for dinner?” Red Boy asked.

Fangzheng instantly understood what was happening. They had been plotting the entire day for this.

Fangzheng smiled. “My dear disciples, I suddenly figured out something and believe that I should share it with you.”

His disciples widened their eyes when he said that, as though they were saying: “Are you trying to starve us to death?”

Squirrel couldn’t hold back as he mumbled. “Master, can you finish it quickly?”

Fangzheng smiled. “No problem. It will be done quickly.”

All of them heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing that. Lone Wolf asked out of curiosity, “Master, what did you figure out today?”

Fangzheng took out a chair and sat on it. “Today, I saw a book on Daoism. Daoism has a term known as Inedia!”

“Buttocks ¹ ? What’s there to talk about buttocks?” Lone Wolf subconsciously replied. Then, he smacked Squirrel’s fat ass and said, “This one is a little fat.”

Squirrel instantly turned back to glare at him angrily as though he would eat him up. Unfortunately, the little fatty yielded zero threat to his senior brothers. It was completely useless.

Squirrel also knew himself. After expressing his displeasure, he went to Monkey’s side in grievance, seeking solace.

Monkey gently stroked his head before taking the opportunity to pinch his fat ass. “You do have quite a bit of meat on your ass.”

Squirrel yelled in return. Even Monkey couldn’t be relied on! He didn’t trust Red Boy, so he hid himself in his house and didn’t come out, afraid of being molested again.

The moment he went up and looked down, he saw Fangzheng, Lone Wolf, Monkey, and Red Boy looking up at him. Before he even spoke, everyone spoke in unison. “It’s true that he’s quite fat…”

Squirrel shouted in fury when he heard that, “I’m not fat! I can’t slim down because something is on my mind!”

Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

“Master, forget it. Ignore him. Tell us about buttocks,” Lone Wolf said

Fangzheng nodded. “Alright, let’s talk about buttocks… Buttocks, my ass!” Fangzheng instantly realized that he had strayed from the topic. He hurriedly explained. “What I’m talking about is Inedia! It means ‘to avoid the five grains’! Inedia. Get it?”

Those few disciples of his shook their heads blankly.

Exasperated, Fangzheng didn’t bother to explain. “In simple words, it means the state of living without eating!”

“Oh, not eating…” Lone Wolf subconsciously mumbled before suddenly realizing something.

Squirrel, Monkey, Red Boy, and Lone Wolf shouted out in unison, “Not eating!?” To gluttons like them, nothing in the world was more important than their meals! Not letting them eat was worse than killing them.

Fangzheng reached out his hand and held it under Lone Wolf’s chin before raising it and closing Lone Wolf’s huge mouth. Then he continued and helped Monkey and Red Boy to close their mouths as well. As for Squirrel, he wanted to try, but due to the height, he abandoned that thought.

Fangzheng continued. “Yes. Legend has it that Inedia can treat lying. Therefore, I’m planning on trying Inedia today! We will begin eating again in three days!”