The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Panda Novel

Fangzheng suddenly understood what was happening. It wasn’t that all monks were now also dressing this way, but that people were cosplaying as him!

Fangzheng subconsciously rubbed his bald head and took a look at the glass beside him. He grinned and thought to himself, “This Penniless Monk never expected he would have the chance to become an idol too. Hehe.”

In the end, he saw a person wearing the same outfit as Fangzheng walk slowly through the mall through the mirror-like glass. This wasn’t much, but that person still had his girlfriend’s arm wrapped around his arm! Fangzheng subconsciously looked at his arm and immediately felt a terrible blow. He shook his head and quickly left.

Along the way, Fangzheng encountered quite a number of young people around his age. Furthermore, many of them were very handsome. When they came together, Fangzheng was dazzled by the sight. At the same time, he also understood why no one recognized him. White-robed monks were everywhere. Who knew who he was!

“That’s good too. At least I don’t have to worry about being harassed,” Fangzheng mumbled before he stopped paying attention to this.

At that moment, Fangzheng saw a person standing outside an ATM. He was wearing an old green coat, and he wore his hat down, preventing his face from being seen clearly. More importantly, this person accidentally revealed a short knife in his sleeve!

Fangzheng looked around him. This was a side road that deviated from the main road. Very few people passed by it. However, no matter how few people there were, there were still some. This fellow was a little too bold! However, he had a knife. If he really wanted to force it, something bad might happen.

Fangzheng pricked up his brows and went over. Standing behind the man, he whispered. “Hey bro, what are you doing?”

When the person heard that, he jumped in fright. He hurriedly looked back and saw that it was a bald monk. He frowned and said, “Why do I need to report to you what I’m doing? What do you want?”

Fangzheng flipped his hand and produced a knife. “I plan on robbing the person inside. What about you?”

The other party was stunned and said unhappily, “Don’t you have any professional ethics? Look at what this is!”

The man took out a knife from his sleeve and said, “I’m also a robber. I’m in the same line of work as you! First come first serve. Go rob someone else.”

“That won’t do. This Penniless Monk is in a hurry to get money. If someone here has to change locations, it’s you,” said Fangzheng.

“Hah!” The man expressed his extreme anger. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly cocked his head and listened. He lowered his voice and said, “I’m not going to argue with you anymore. Let’s do this job together! We’ll split whatever we get equally. How about it? Don’t refuse. Listen to what’s going on inside. It’s the sound of the ATM counting money! It’s quite a sizable amount. There will definitely be quite a lot for us.”

Fangzheng said, “Alright, let’s do it together. By the way, why are you committing robbery?”

“To drink Great Force. If not in order to drink Great Force, who would be willing to put in so much effort?” the man said.

Fangzheng asked in puzzlement, “What’s Great Force?”

“You don’t even know Great Force? What’s your territory? How do you not know about Great Force? It’s a kind of cough medicine. After drinking it, you’ll feel light-headed,” the man said.

Fangzheng immediately understood. Typical cough medicine was nothing special, but some cough medicine contained things like codeine and poppy shells. One could easily get addicted if one drank too much, making it no different from taking drugs. However, it wasn’t as harmful as taking drugs, but an addict’s intake could still keep increasing more and more… If such an addict then didn’t get to drink their dose, their chest would feel weak, and they would suffer from shortness of breath and joint pains while fearing light. Prolonged use could lead to them feeling light-headed. The most serious cases could lead to mental illnesses like auditory hallucinations and delusions.

The eyes of the person in front of him were glazed over. Clearly, he had drunk too much and had his supply cut. His brain was a little out of sorts. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be standing beside the ATM in broad daylight. Even when someone else said that he was going to commit a robbery, he wanted the person to join the queue…

Fangzheng shook his head. Such a person was pitiful and deserving of judgment.

“Listen to the sound coming from the ATM inside. Just wait, I’ll snatch the first bundle, and you’ll follow behind.” After saying that, the man turned around and pulled open the door to the ATM, roaring. “It’s a hold-up! Give me all the money you took out! Now!”

A dull voice answered him. “I was depositing money, not withdrawing it. You’re late!”

The man roared. “What?! I’ve been waiting outside all day, listening to the sound of your money. You were depositing it?!”

The wooden man said, “Yes…”

The man said, “Take it out for me! Hurry!”

The wooden man said, “Why should I?”

The man said, “Why? I’m holding a knife, and you’re asking me why? Hurry up and get the money!”

The wooden man said, “There’s none!”

The man said, “None? Then give me a cigarette. After waiting for so long, I didn’t even get a smoke.”

The wooden man replied straightforwardly, “No.”

“Do you think I won’t use my knife or something? Hey, where’s my knife!” The man then realized that the knife he had been holding was gone.

Fangzheng looked at the knife in his hand and casually crushed it into a metal ball and threw it into the trash can.

Following that, there were sounds of fighting coming from inside. At the same time, the people passing by heard the fighting sounds inside. They opened the door and dragged the two people who were fighting out, pressing the man to the ground.

The wooden man was also pumped up as he roared. “Not so tough now, eh?!”

“F**k, I’m the one toughing it out on the ground. Yet not only are you not helping me, you’re even saying I’m not tough? Are you dumb?” the man shouted.

The wooden man wore a blank look. F**k, what kind of logic was that!

A kind passer-by shouted. “Don’t move!”

The man was unconvinced as well. “Why can’t I move? The one who’s motionless is a turtle. I have to move!”

“I’m a police officer!” The passer-by revealed his identity.

“You’re a police officer? So what? Am I bothering you trying to rob some money for Great Force?” the man yelled.

The policeman was also dumbfounded. What the hell had he encountered this time?

Fangzheng watched from the side, listening and laughing.

At that moment, the man saw Fangzheng and immediately shouted. “Hey! Brother, I’m done! It’s your turn. Go!”

Fangzheng’s smile froze. The man’s shout attracted everyone’s attention as their gaze landed on him.

Fangzheng hurriedly pressed his palms together. “Amitabha, This Penniless Monk was just joking with this patron.”

“What joke? He still has a knife!” shouted the man.

The policeman immediately turned nervous when he heard that. He got the wooden man to hold the robber down as he got up and walked towards Fangzheng. “Don’t move!”

Fangzheng was instantly rendered speechless. Indeed, watching the fire burn on the other side of the river could bring disaster to the spectator! If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have stayed for the show…

The policeman brought Fangzheng to the side and looked back. No one followed him. His originally stern face immediately turned into a smile as he took out a notebook and a pen. “Abbot Fangzheng, can you give me your autograph?”

Fangzheng was taken aback. “Autograph? You recognized me?”

The policeman laughed out loud and said, “Although the streets are filled with cosplayers and people following the monk style, I’m not an ordinary person who’s face-blind. I’ve been a policeman for so many years, so I can still differentiate between people. I recognized you immediately, hehe.”