The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng felt the scene before him turn black before he found himself in the hallway of a hospital. To be precise, he was outside a maternity ward. A young man was sitting on the chair, looking listless. He resembled Chen Danian and was likely the young Chen Danian.

“Master, what’s he waiting for?” Squirrel asked curiously.

Fangzheng didn’t say a word because the door to the maternity ward suddenly opened. A nurse carried a baby out and said happily, “A daughter! A daughter! Mr. Chen, congratulations. You are a father to a daughter.”

“Daughter? A daughter is great…” Chen Danian jumped up in joy. As he held the child, he asked, “How’s my wife?”

“She’s fine,” said the nurse with a smile.

Chen Danian laughed so happily that he couldn’t close his mouth. He looked down at the baby in his arms. The little girl looked scrunched up, and her skin was a little red. Her eyes were tightly shut, but she wasn’t crying. Her tiny hands were tightly clenched into fists, as though she didn’t wish to show whatever rare treasure she hid in them.

“Nurse, why isn’t she crying?” Chen Danian asked.

“She finished crying. She cried really loudly the moment she was born! She was carried out after her mother looked at her for a while,” said the nurse with a smile.

Chen Danian immediately felt relieved. “That’s great. That’s great. It’s good that she can cry. Hahaha! Come, my beloved daughter. Call daddy. Call daddy!” At that instant, Chen Danian felt as though it was the new year. He felt nothing but happiness.

However, the nurse couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him.

Squirrel asked Fangzheng, “So it’s the moment of his child’s birth. No wonder he’s so happy. However, Master, are human babies able to call daddy when they are born?”

Red Boy scoffed. “Of course not.”

“Are there no genius babies that are able to speak when born?” Salted Fish asked curiously as well.

Red Boy grinned and said, “If you want to look at it that way, those who can aren’t geniuses.”

“Then what are they?” Salted Fish, Squirrel, and Lone Wolf asked subconsciously.

“Demons!” Red Boy said.

Squirrel and Lone Wolf were instantly rendered speechless.

Salted Fish said in disdain, “Indeed, demons are the wisest of all creatures.”

Fangzheng stroked Salted Fish’s head and said, “I’ve heard of a dish, known as Chili Fish Head…”

“Humans are the wisest of all wise creatures.” Salted Fish immediately changed his stance.

Fangzheng continued. “Unfortunately, This Penniless Monk is vegetarian.”

Salted Fish: “…”

With that, the scene changed, and everyone appeared on a village road in what appeared to be the 80s or 90s. They saw Chen Danian run out of the house before running from door to door.

“When this guy runs, he has his mouth wide open, and his eyes are gone from his laughter. Even his saliva is coming out. Has he gone silly?” Salted Fish mumbled.

Fangzheng said, “Let’s go take a look.”

The few of them nodded and followed.

They saw Chen Danian rush into a yard and yell at the top of his lungs, “Boss Li, I have a daughter!”

“What?” Boss Li was apparently hard of hearing. He pushed open the paper-mesh window and asked with his head peeking out.

“I have a daughter!” Chen Danian yelled at the top of his lungs as though he was afraid the world couldn’t hear him.

Boss Li grinned with he heard that. “Haha! That’s great! Drinks on you tonight!”

“No problem!” Chen Danian laughed as he ran off.

Following that, they watched as Chen Danian ran from house to house, shouting that he had a daughter the moment he entered. Some cheered for him, while others cursed after being of being shocked from their sleep or work. However, Chen Danian ignored their reactions. He completely lost himself to joy.

“How pitiful. He turned dumb from having a daughter,” Salted Fish said with a shake of his head.

Fangzheng couldn’t be bothered with him. Although the salted fish had lived for years, he had ultimately been a salted fish the entire time. He lived on Mount Numinous and watched a bunch of monks who didn’t marry or have children, so how could he understand the feeling of having a child?

The scene changed again. On a stove bed, Chen Danian was carefully carrying a cloth bundle. He kept making silly faces at it and said, “Yingying, call daddy. Call daddy. Look at my mouth. This is how you make the sound. D-a-ddy! Dad-dy! Daddy!”

The exterior of the cloth bundle was a red blanket, and the interior was a tiny cotton blanket. Wrapped in layers of clothes, a tiny, confused face was exposed. She had her eyes open as she looked at the world with an adorable look. She kept looking at the lunatic who prevented her from sleeping by making silly faces at her and droning on and on.

“Danian, isn’t it enough? You have been carrying her the entire morning. Besides, she’s still young, yet you are already teaching her to call you daddy? Have you turned silly?” A woman beside him, Chen Danian’s wife, Bi Ruxin, scolded him, amused.

“She’s my daughter. How can I get tired of her? Besides, our daughter is a genius. People say that babies can learn things while in the womb, so she can definitely learn now that she’s out. Ruxin, tell me. Why doesn’t our beloved daughter smile?” Being a father for the first time, Chen Danian was like a curious child.

“Eh… How old is she? She still doesn’t know how to smile.” Bi Ruxin shook her head in exasperation.

Chen Danian appeared slightly disappointed. However, just as he was about to put his beloved daughter down, the little girl suddenly curled the corners of her lips!

At that instant, Chen Danian felt as though he had broken new ground. He cried out in excitement. “Ruxin! She smiled at me! She smiled! Haha! Man, she’s really beautiful when she smiles. She will definitely be a beauty in the future!”

Bi Ruxin looked up in exasperation and shook her head slightly, mumbling. “What a man child.”

However, Bi Ruxin could sense Chen Danian’s love for their daughter and his extreme doting. She was very happy towards that. At the very least, her husband didn’t value a daughter less than a daughter.

The scene changed again. The weather had turned hot, and the house was very warm.

Chen Danian carried Chen Yingying as he said reluctantly, “Sigh, it’s already sleeping time. My dear daughter, Daddy can’t bear to leave you.”

“That’s enough. You carry her all day. Are you some sticky paste? Why do you cling onto her without letting go?” Bi Ruxin scolded him with a smile.

Chen Danian laughed. “Let me play with our daughter a little longer. You can call me clingy all you want. Come on, my beloved daughter. Call daddy.”

“You… Alright, fine, fine. Put her into her cot. It’s time to sleep. Look, she’s already yawning.” Bi Ruxin felt both amused and vexed at the same time.

Only then did Chen Danian put down the child in a longing manner. But the moment he retracted his hands, the little girl grabbed Chen Danian’s finger, perhaps by coincidence. She looked at him with her watery eyes as though she was saying: I miss you.

Chen Danian felt pumped as he roared with laughter. “Look! Our daughter misses me already. She’s not letting me go.”