The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

When Jing Yan saw this, she came in front of the camera and said, “This is the real Wang Dayou. Members of the audience, I know there are people out there spreading lies, but I hope everyone will take a good look to see the difference between a bad person and a truly good person! Now, let us interview Xia Jili and see what he has to say.”

In comparison, Xia Jili was a lot more calm than Wang Dayou. He held Xia Ke’s tiny hand and said, “I’m Xia Jili. Actually, I’m the reason behind this entire matter. My company had a cash flow problem and is really unable to pay Wang Dayou and his colleagues their salary. We had no choice but to delay the payment. I never expected things to develop to this point. Wang Dayou isn’t a bad man. He is a good worker and a good father. The injury caused was really just the result of a misunderstanding.”

After he was done, Xia Jili made way, and Jing Yan began describing what she had seen after entering as well.

“Mom, tell me. Who’s the one speaking the truth?” The girl was a little confused. Although she wished to stand by her beliefs, she had a nagging feeling that compared to a line of text on Weibo, the live broadcast before her eyes was more realistic.

The woman who was knitting the sweater smiled. “With us entering the information age, there is now a mixture of both the genuine and the fake all around us. Who can tell who’s telling the truth for sure anymore? Silly girl. When you encounter such matters, don’t be in a rush to make a conclusion. Observe first. But compared to the things on the Internet, I’d rather believe the television.”

The girl was still nodding when she heard the first half of her mother’s speech, but she raised her head in defiance when it reached the second half. “I don’t agree with that. The television is a mouthpiece of those in power. They can only say things the officials allow, while the Internet is free. It’s often the place where the truth is first exposed.”

The woman laughed and said, “Why are you so agitated? Just don’t rush to conclusions, no matter where you hear about something. Observe before deciding.”

Meanwhile, at the hospital.

“Look, this is the person who injured you. What a vile devil!” A middle-aged woman sat beside Qiu Yu, angrily waving the cell phone in her hand.

When Qiu Yu read the content and the disparaging websites, he knew that they were all nonsense. The content had nothing to do with what happened. They even talked about assault rifles, mysterious backgrounds—what a load of bullsh*t! Qiu Yu didn’t say a word, but he frowned deeply, as though he was struggling mentally.

“Mom, do you think… There’s really a Buddha in this world?” Qiu Yu asked suddenly after some time.

The middle-aged woman was taken aback as she asked, “Silly child, what nonsense are you spouting? You were talking about thinking of forgiving that devil before, and now you are talking about Buddha. What’s wrong with you?” The middle-aged woman was extremely curious.

Qiu Yu rubbed his face, unsure if he should say what was on his mind. Even after being awake for a while already by now, he was still recalling the scene he had seen in his dream in the operating room. He didn’t know if those scenes were real, but he had a premonition that they hadn’t appeared for no reason. There had to have been something unexplainable involved!

In the beginning, Qiu Yu was quite puzzled, but when his mother brought him a phone to let him watch the news, he suddenly realized something. The matter had clearly been exaggerated by someone, and it had turned rather chaotic. Could it be that a person or Buddha wanted him to step forward to set things right? However, this was quite inconceivable. Even he didn’t believe it himself.

As he looked at his mother, Qiu Yu asked, “Mom, there are some things I can’t explain. But this news of yours is clearly fake news. The website isn’t trustworthy. What’s written there is complete nonsense. I was the one present. The person who injured me is just an ordinary construction worker. He just wanted his salary and was using a nail gun, not some assault rifle. This case is just a case of involuntarily causing someone harm in a chaotic situation. Besides, didn’t I make it clear to the police a moment ago? Why are you still believing what others are saying?”

“Involuntarily causing harm? Why are you speaking for him at this point in time? I don’t care if he’s some construction worker or rich scion. If he injures my son, he has to shoulder the responsibility.” Qiu Yu’s mother’s heart hurt for her son.

Qiu Yu shook his head and didn’t say a word. The nonsense news had rubbish content, so what was the truth? Was what he saw in the dream the truth? If that was the case, that would be too surreal. If it wasn’t the truth, he had never seen anything like those scenes in his life, so how had they appeared in his dreams? Then there were also the words the monk had said to him towards the end… Although he didn’t remember what the monk looked like, the image of him turning and leaving remained stark.

It had been so realistic that he couldn’t believe it was just an illusion!

Hugging his head, Qiu Yu was truly in a dilemma.

At this moment, another patient sharing the room switched on the television. The moment he switched the channel, Black River City’s local channel appeared, and it was broadcasting Jing Yan’s interview.

After finishing the interview, Qiu Yu’s mother asked, “He was the one who injured you?”

Qiu Yu didn’t say a word, but his eyes were wide open as he wore a look of disbelief. This was because whatever Wang Dayou mentioned about himself on television was identical to what he had seen in his dream!

And these were things Qiu Yu didn’t know before! Then, could the dream have been a set-up? If it was natural, how had it formed in his mind? He was in the operating room when it happened! There hadn’t been anyone there except the medical staff.

With this in mind, Qiu Yu’s forehead broke out into a cold sweat. Was it Buddha or a ghost?

Qiu Yu’s mother said angrily, “He deserves it! It’s obvious he’s no good!”

Upon hearing his mother say that, Qiu Yu fell silent. After a while, he asked, “Mom, if I do not forgive him, he might be imprisoned. His child might die.”

Despite cursing angrily all the time, Qiu Yu’s mother suddenly stopped when she heard her son’s words.

“Mom, do you think I should forgive him?” Qiu Yu asked.

Qiu Yu smiled ruefully. “If we are talking about hatred, I hate him to death. But thinking of his feelings, he did what he did for his child. I might have done the same if I were in his position. However, if you want me to forgive him, I can’t do that. At most, I just won’t hate him that much. This matter has nothing to do with the child. And so…”

Qiu Yu’s mother said, “Don’t be in a rush. Watch first. If what he says is true, we’ll forgive him. If he’s lying to win pity, he deserves death!”

Qiu Yu nodded.

After the live broadcast, Qiu Yu’s mother who had nothing else to do held up her phone, mumbling. “I’m telling you. The Internet these days is really advanced. Anything can be found. You said the website from before was fake, then let me find a reliable site. Oh, Weibo. Do you think the things mentioned on Weibo will be true?”

Qiu Yu nodded. “The ones with a ‘V’ next to their name are verified accounts, so what they say should be more reliable.”

Qiu Yu’s mother said, “Alright. I’ll take a look at Weibo!”