The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Panda Novel

“Amitabha. Patrons, there’s no need to treat This Penniless Monk that way. To be honest, the possessor of these divine powers is the disciple of This Penniless Monk.” At that moment, Fangzheng suddenly spoke out.

The moment he did, Red Boy was taken aback. He thought, “Heh! When did Master experience such a huge change in character? He didn’t try to reap the benefits?”

Fangzheng blinked at him and whispered. “In the past, I was afraid of trouble, but there’s no hiding it today. We might as well be honest and announce it. In the future, you won’t have to keep hiding. Our One Finger Monastery can also be developed more as a result. It will indeed make things more convenient.”

Red Boy was enlightened as he heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was extremely relaxing on the mountain, to not be able to show his divine powers in front of others and having to lie most of the time made him feel like a thief. It was extremely uncomfortable.

Now that he was finally liberated, he felt as though a burden had been lifted.

When the crowd heard that, all of them looked at Red Boy in astonishment. They couldn’t figure out why a boy attendant who served Fangzheng would be that powerful.

Fangzheng continued. “Everyone, there’s no need to be puzzled. This child is no ordinary person, but someone from above the nine heavens, a person of the immortal world. He is Red Boy, son of the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan. He later became the Child of Wealth at Guan Yin Bodhisattva’s side. Now, he has joined One Finger Monastery to become This Penniless Monk’s fourth disciple. That’s all.”

Everyone exchanged looks as they heard that before nodding to express their understanding.

However, Fangzheng knew from the look in their eyes that they didn’t believe a thing! Although he had presented a divine miracle to them, to mention a character from myths and legends was indeed a challenge to their receptivity of the truth.

Furthermore, a master definitely had to be more amazing than a disciple; otherwise, how could he become the master? Did he truly believe that there were Tripiṭakas everywhere?

Fangzheng glanced at Red Boy in exasperation as though he was saying, “Look. This Penniless Monk has already spoken the truth, but no one believes me…”

Red Boy rolled his eyes. With Fangzheng already doing this much, what else could he say?

Whatever needed to be said had been said. It’s up to you to believe it! This was Fangzheng’s principle, so he didn’t emphasize it again. He ruffled Red Boy’s head and said, “Jingxin, continue cooking the congee.”

Red Boy was taken aback as he secretly sent a voice transmission. “Master, this Wordless Laba Congee loses its final effects once you speak. The food we cooked today was probably messed up! You just made a name for yourself today, and you’re just short of being a descending Buddha. If the Laba Congee you produce is the same as any other congee, that would be embarrassing.”

Fangzheng seemed unfazed. “Face is just for show. There’s no need to be so picky when doing things. Instead, it’s our conscience that’s laid bare for others to see that is important. As long as our conscience is at peace, why bother with face?”

Red Boy nodded thoughtfully. “So that’s the reason why you are so shameless…”

Fangzheng slapped him and said, “Cook the congee!”

With that said, Fangzheng returned to One Finger Monastery.

Once Fangzheng left, an uproar broke out on Mt. One Finger. Everyone slapped each other or pinched one another before a series of cries sounded. Finally, there were hushed whispers. The way everyone looked at One Finger Monastery changed completely. What was originally respect now turned into reverence and devotion, and in that devotion was a sense of anticipation.

However, all the anticipation was nothing. The nine huge black pots at the entrance were real!

“Congee cooked by a living Buddha definitely won’t be ordinary!”

“We struck it rich! It will be a challenge not to be amazing after eating a mouthful of the living Buddha’s congee!”

“Brother Song, it’s all thanks to you! Haha, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be able to eat such a congee my entire life!”

“That’s right! Brother Song, It’s almost the new year and I haven’t given you any gifts. Take some of this money as a token of my appreciation… Haha!”

With someone taking the lead, the others followed. Dog Song soon received a stack of red hundred-yuan bills. He smiled so widely that he could hardly close his mouth. The others were envious as well when they saw that. If they had known that bringing the tourists up would bring such benefits, they would have done so as well. However, there was no medicine for regret in this world. All they could do was watch enviously.

Meanwhile, the neighboring villages around Mt. One Finger were in an uproar. Countless people didn’t return to bed as they packed their things and rushed towards Mt. One Finger.

The ones who were planning on heading to Five Rivers Village to look at the rime ice also rushed over.

“Jing Yan, this… Can we broadcast this?” Old Miao pointed at his camera as he asked Jing Yan.

Jing Yan combed her hair and said, “It’s not a problem of whether we can broadcast it, but how many others have broadcasted it already! With such a huge commotion, anyone who isn’t blind would have recorded it. Sigh… I always knew that the monk wasn’t ordinary, but I never expected him to be capable of creating such a huge stir.”

“Then what about us?” Old Miao asked.

Jing Yan stroked her chin and said, “Immediately send this video back and get them to broadcast the clip. I’ll head over to One Finger Monastery first. Once you are done at your end, come to One Finger Monastery for me! I need to talk to Fangzheng about this and see what his thoughts are.”

Just as Jing Yan said, the commotion this time was simply too immense. A huge Buddha had appeared on the mountaintop! Also, with Fangzheng flying into the sky with the huge moon as his backdrop, such a scene would make it impossible for him to hide or maintain a low profile henceforth.

The videos and pictures flooded almost all of Weibo and WeChat!

They reached number one on the trending searches on Weibo!

All of social media was about the monk and nothing but the monk.

Countless people had a sleepless night, and there were countless people who were summoned back by their bosses to update the news.

Bodhisattva appearance on One Finger. Flying monk steps on moon. These were the topics discussed by countless.

Meanwhile, more people rushed for Mt. One Finger.

However, Fangzheng couldn’t be bothered with any of this. After closing the doors to the monastery, Fangzheng walked straight into the temple hall and sat behind the wooden fish. He began striking it as he considered the events of the day and how he was to resolve them…

“Heh, Reverend, there’s actually no need for you to worry about this matter.” At this moment, a clandestine-sounding voice sounded.

Fangzheng asked without raising his eyelids. “Why?”

“Is having divine powers against the law? Are there any laws against them in this world of yours?” Salted Fish asked.

Fangzheng was instantly taken aback. Salted Fish’s words seemed to enlighten him. He was right. Was having divine powers against the law? Be it in the country or anywhere in the world, who made it against the law to have divine powers? In that case, why did he need to worry about this and that? With this in mind, Fangzheng laughed in enlightenment. “Hahaha! That’s right. Is it against the law to have divine powers? Since it’s not against the law, why should This Penniless Monk be worried? Salted Fish, you can have two bowls of Laba Congee for tomorrow!”

Salted Fish immediately chuckled when he heard that.

With the knot in his heart cleared, Fangzheng felt invigorated. He stopped striking the wooden fish as he asked the System with a smile. “System Bro, is there any way of saving this Laba Congee?”

“Since the Wordless Laba Congee had already entered the pot, it turned ineffective the moment you spoke. However, it’s not like the situation is irredeemable…”