The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng didn’t doubt Lone Wolf’s words. Although he was often unreliable, he wouldn’t go so far as to lie to him.

Lone Wolf continued. “Master, both you and I aren’t full. Why don’t I get some food to line our stomachs?”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes at him. “Even if she is rich, she isn’t obligated to entertain you for free. We are already indebted to her for being hosted, so how can we harbor resentment because we were given little despite her having excess food? Don’t you even think about stealing things at night!”

After suffering a tirade from Fangzheng, Lone Wolf smacked his lips and didn’t say a word. After a while, he asked, unresigned, “Master, although that’s true, and I can understand why it’s not okay, I really am starving… Forget it. So what if I’m hungry? But aren’t you curious why she made so much good food?”

That was a pertinent question. Although Fangzheng had no intention of stealing, he still felt curious. It was definitely abnormal for a lone Daoist to suddenly make so much good food. Was she planning on hosting a banquet? That didn’t make sense either. Wanderer Tranquil had mentioned that she basically never had guests. Even people who passed by would only be entertained with tea at the door. There was a table and chair there, so there was no need for them to enter the Daoist temple. They would then leave once they were done drinking tea.

This was similar to what many other Daoist temples did. Perfected Letian did the same too. The temple was not to be tainted by karma through interaction with outsiders.

Therefore, how could such a person host such a huge banquet?

Just as Fangzheng was feeling curious, he suddenly heard a series of footsteps and the sound of things being moved.

Fangzheng and Lone Wolf exchanged looks and immediately headed for the window. When they looked out, they happened to see Wanderer Tranquil placing a long table in the yard. Then, she untied a red piece of cloth from her left arm. It had originally been folded over her arm, and now, with her spreading it, Fangzheng estimated it to be about 1.5 meters long and 80 cm wide. The edges were black, ten-centimeter stripes which caught his eye.

Strangely, Wanderer Tranquil didn’t completely spread open the cloth. Instead, she only unfolded half of it and covered the table.

Upon seeing this, Lone Wolf couldn’t help but sweep his tail at Fangzheng’s thigh. He asked, “Master, isn’t she too stingy? She got a piece of red cloth and can’t even bear to fully open it up. She only used half.”

Fangzheng smacked him to make him quiet. Then he whispered. “What do you know? This is a rule of the Daoist religion! It’s like the rules in Buddhism. Fully opening it represents supreme worship, while opening it halfway represents respect towards the gods and immortals.”

Lone Wolf immediately suppressed his voice in alarm. “Don’t tell me an immortal will come to this Daoist temple?”

Lone Wolf wasn’t making a molehill out of a mountain. From his point of view, if Fangzheng could have a demon as his boy attendant, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were immortals elsewhere.

However, Fangzheng didn’t share the same thought. He had long confirmed with Red Boy and the System that this world didn’t have any demons, ghosts, or fiends. As for the reason why Wanderer Tranquil did that…

Fangzheng quietly took out his cell phone and checked the date. Only then was he enlightened. “So that’s the reason. I never expected today to be the Lower Prime Festival.”

“Lower Prime Festival?” Lone Wolf’s eyes lit up. He had heard of the Upper Prime Festival and the Middle Prime Festival. Now, he had finally encountered the Lower Prime Festival. His first thought when it came to festivals was that there was food to eat during them.

Fangzheng understood his disciples very well. There was only food on their minds, but he patiently explained. “The three Prime Festivals are all ghost festivals in China. However, the Lower Prime Festival is different from the other two. It’s purely homegrown, a festival that the Daoist religion initiated.”

Daoism had three Emperor-Officials—the Heavenly Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official. The Heavenly Official bestowed blessings; the Earthly Official absolved sins, and the Water Official eliminated misfortune. The Lower Prime Festival was the day the Water Official eliminated the misfortune of Empyrean Lord Yanggu. Folklore had it that that the Sun and Water officials sought the Heavenly Courts’ to eliminate the misfortune of people after an investigation one day. Hence, on this day, the Daoist temples would set up rites, and the people would offer sacrifices to the dead and pray for the Lower Prime Water Official to resolve their troubles. In ancient times, the government would even ban executions and delay them.

But in this day and age, there were fewer people who celebrated the Lower Prime Festival. This ancient tradition was also quickly fading away. Even One Finger Monastery seldom celebrated it. Fangzheng was quite surprised to encounter it here.

Lone Wolf didn’t seem to fully understand everything since he had little contact with the Daoist religion. He didn’t understand what it meant for the Heavenly Official to bestow his blessings. He kept staring at Wanderer Tranquil in the yard…

At this moment, Wanderer Tranquil took out another piece of cloth, walked out of the yard, and hung it up on a flagpole by the door. Lone Wolf looked up and saw the words: “The country flourishes, and people live in peace.”

Lone Wolf subconsciously looked at Fangzheng who said, “This is a common thing Daoist believers used to do in ancient times. This is also a way to bestow blessings during the Lower Prime Festival. The words aren’t always the same, but they are typically words like “timely wind and rain” and “the country flourishes, and people live in peace” that come from the Heavenly, Earthly, and Water Officials. These words are meant for the Water Official. However, this tradition has basically vanished in this day and age. I never expected Wanderer Tranquil would still use it. Furthermore, she directly hangs up “the country flourishes, and people live in peace” to pray for the wellbeing of everyone. Wanderer Tranquil’s breadth of mind is truly extraordinary.”

Lone Wolf chuckled. “I’m not sure if her breadth of mind is huge, but her breasts sure are. If she were to have children, they definitely wouldn’t starve to death. It wouldn’t be a problem to feed eighteen.”

Fangzheng blushed when he heard that as he raised his palm to smack Lone Wolf. It was quite a powerful blow, sending Lone Wolf flying out with a howl. He slammed into the wall before slowly sliding down.

After landing, Lone Wolf asked with a look of grievance, “Master, why did you hit me?”

Fangzheng grunted. “Stay further away from Jingxin in the future. Instead of learning the good things, you only get led astray by him.”

“Master, it wasn’t from Jingxin,” Lone Wolf said.

Fangzheng was taken aback. Apart from Jingxin, who else would study such nonsense?

Lone Wolf continued. “It was Salted Fish. He has been learning to use the cell phone from Jingxin recently. I’ve no idea what he’s reading on the Internet every day.” Having said that, Lone Wolf furtively came close and whispered. “Master, I even suspect that Salted Fish might be addicted to online gambling…”

“What?” Fangzheng jumped in fright. It wasn’t because he was afraid Salted Fish would get scammed by someone, but that he would be led astray and end up scamming others!

Fangzheng tried his best to calm down and asked, “Why do you think that?”

Lone Wolf whispered. “When I was out on a walk, I saw Salted Fish playing with the cell phone. The phone then produced the sound ‘Macau’s First Online Casino Launched!’ or something like that. He immediately put away the phone when he saw me. With how suspicious he was acting, I’m sure there’s something wrong with him.”

Fangzheng put on a serious look when he heard that. “Who else knows about this?”

“No one else.”