The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Xi Liang had always felt that his TCM skills were nothing to speak of. Although he could treat illnesses, the period of treatment was either too long, the drugs were too expensive, or the ailments couldn’t be resolved with drugs, acupuncture, coining, and cupping.

And in this day and age where time was money, his trade was clearly not well-received. The patients found it slow, and the hospital found that he didn’t earn them any money. Hence, his present situation was that of a serious sufferer. The outcome was that he wasn’t recognized by society, and he didn’t feel any sense of achievement. Being without anything made everything meaningless. Every time he sat before his office desk, he looked at his reflection in the mirror, already imagining himself a century later. He would sit there forever without amounting to much.

However, Fangzheng’s appearance seemed to light up the hope in him, illuminating a path for him. If he was fired at the hospital, he planned on visiting Mt. One Finger’s One Finger Monastery to seek further studies.

With this in mind, Xi Liang felt a lot more at ease. He calmly sat there without moving. The only regret he had was that he had forgotten that there was a recording function for livestreams! If he had recorded the entire thing, he wouldn’t have been in such a bitter state. However, it was too late for regret. All he could do was secretly pray and wait.

Director Chen was puzzled as well. What had the monk said that agitated Xi Liang so much? Had he denigrated their hospital or something?

At this moment, Fangzheng drank a mouthful of tea and watched the reporters standing in the cold wind trembling as they kept stamping their feet in a bid to gain some warmth. Fangzheng smiled and said, “Alright, This Penniless Monk shall continue.”

“Master, hold on. We don’t understand everything you said. Why don’t we switch to another question?” the male reporter that had posed the question was close to tears. The monk had gone on for half an hour!

And in that half an hour, the strong winds had kept blowing at them while they remained motionless in the snowy lands. That sure was quite an unforgettable experience. Northeasterners all knew that a northeastern winter would be extremely cold when it was cold, and not that cold when it wasn’t.

If they kept moving about by jumping or jogging on the spot, they would be covered in sweat once they stopped, so hot to the point of them wanting to take off their clothes.

However, if they stood there motionless, their toes would only turn colder no matter how thick their clothes. Their limbs would even end up hurting until there was no feeling in them…

That was exactly the situation the reporters were in. Standing there motionless while listening to Fangzheng go on and on for half an hour left their toes so frozen that they almost lost the feeling in their feet.

However, Fangzheng shook his head and said, “How can that be done? This is only the beginning. Patron, since you asked, This Penniless Monk has to explain it clearly to prevent people from thinking that This Penniless Monk is lying. That would sully This Penniless Monk’s reputation.”

With that said, Fangzheng ignored the man and was about to continue.

At that moment, Tang Shi suddenly raised her hand and cried out. “Master, let’s not talk about that anymore. Let’s talk about something else first. It’s so cold that we’re dying…” Tang Shi stared at Fangzheng with watery eyes, implying that she would cry if he continued.

Fangzheng looked at Jing Yan, who also wore the same look, and the other reporters and thought, “That should be enough. These guys can’t handle it much longer. It should be fine.”

Hence Fangzheng said, “Alright. In fact, This Penniless Monk doesn’t have much to say.”

When everyone heard that, their faces turned livid. You call that not having much to say? Then what does it mean to have a lot?

The stream’s chat room had a series of “666 ¹ , this monk rocks. He sure is thick-skinned.”

“Hey, don’t talk nonsense. This master isn’t thick-skinned. He’s skinless!”

…

Then, a few people asked a few questions, and Fangzheng would choose one question and hone in on it again and again. Each topic would result in a delivery of at least ten minutes. This resulted in the reporters who had countless questions decisively giving up.

They had come with a rebellious spirit, but ended up being beaten by the cold winds. All they could do was pack their things and quickly retreat.

Meanwhile, Director Chen silently looked at Xi Liang who sighed.

Then, Xi Liang stood up and took his cell phone back. “I guess this is fate.”

With that said, Xi Liang turned to leave.

When Director Chen saw this, he frowned and said, “You can try explaining.”

Xi Liang said with a bitter smile, “Director, of course I wish I could explain, but… I’ve no idea how. If you insist on me saying something, all I can say is that this monk is a godly doctor. His insights into TCM and Western medicine are the most profound of everyone I’ve ever met. But if you wish for me to speak in detail, there’s no way I can explain. Therefore, I’ve decided to give up on trying.”

With that said, Xi Liang pulled the door and walked out.

Director Chen wished to hold him back, but seeing the hope and ease in Xi Liang’s eyes, he was stunned. He had a feeling that the bastard actually wanted to leave the hospital! Hence, Director Chen didn’t say a word and allowed Xi Liang to leave.

Although Xi Liang was gone, Director Chen sat there in thought for quite a while. Finally, he sighed and chased after the young doctor. It wasn’t that he had been convinced by Xi Liang, but he felt that ruining a child’s prospects because of such a trivial problem wasn’t right.

However, when the director rushed to Xi Liang’s office, he realized that he was already gone. Upon seeing this, he shook his head slightly and planned to leave, but he saw a piece of paper on the floor by the table leg. It looked like something was scribbled on it.

By the behest of some supernatural powers, the director happened to notice the content written on it. Just that glance was enough to make him stare intently at the piece of paper! Furthermore, the more he read, the heavier his expression. He only became more and more shocked!

The content on the paper was some of the content which Xi Liang had recorded in a bid to use it against Fangzheng. However, not much was written. His notes only numbered about a dozen lines. He had been so shocked that he’d forgotten to take notes after a while.

As the saying goes—while the connoisseur recognizes the artistry, the layman simply enjoys the show. He could tell that just those couple of lines were critical in explaining certain important points. After the director read them, he felt like the clouds had cleared up before him. Many of the problems he previously couldn’t figure out were resolved just like that!

After seeing those couple of lines, Director Chen let out a long sigh as he looked at the seat where Xi Liang had previously sat. He knew very well how Xi Liang’s medical skills were. It was impossible that he could have such profound insights. So where did those sentences come from?

Director Chen believed that he had read all sorts of medical compendiums, but he had never seen anyone describe such a precise and unique viewpoint. Could it be… Director Chen recalled Xi Liang’s words. With this in mind, Director Chen rushed back to his office and searched the employee directory for Xi Liang’s cell phone number before calling it.

Unfortunately, no one picked up the call despite him ringing all day.

Meanwhile, Xi Liang was having mixed feelings. He felt dejected because of losing his job, but at the same time he also felt excited about heading to the mountains to gain enlightenment. However, he mostly felt anticipation and worry for his future. He anticipated the possibility of finally mastering something in the future, but he was also worried that Fangzheng wouldn’t teach him anything…