The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Master, are you thinking too much? Something big? What big trouble could there be? Even with the sky falling, Fourth and Fifth Junior Brother are around…”

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “I don’t know. I feel uneasy. Something is definitely cropping up. Especially just now, I feel like my heart is about to jump out. I can’t sit still and sleep.”

Lone Wolf said, “Master, could it be that you have been cooped up for too long? Why don’t you go out for a walk?”

Fangzheng thought and said, “Perhaps.”

After some thought, Fangzheng could no longer stay in the monastery. But to leave the monastery? He was afraid that something would happen to the monastery, so he decided not to bring a single disciple along.

Upon seeing Fangzheng’s uneasy look, Red Boy did not clamor to join him. Instead, he said, “Master, don’t worry. I’m here.”

Salted Fish said in all seriousness, “Master, don’t worry. Leave. I’ll take care of Mistress.”

Fangzheng felt that something was amiss when he heard that. But when it came to Salted Fish, he suddenly realized that nothing good could come out of these two bastards’ mouths!

Therefore, Fangzheng raised his legs and kicked, sending the two flying across the wall.

After settling the matters at the monastery, Fangzheng opened the Formless Door and left.

At that instant, Fangzheng felt hot… extremely hot. There were sounds of crackling.

Turning back time to a morning a few days ago. North of the Greater Khingan mountains in northeastern China, forest ranger, Wei Shengli, was leading his daughter, Wei Xiaolin, into the mountains. Both of them carried luggage and trudged through the snowy mountains. Each step sank their feet into knee-deep snow. They had to pull out their legs to continue walking.

Such a journey was many times more difficult than usual.

“Dad, do you go on your rounds every day like that? It’s too tiring,” Wei Xiaolin said. “Why don’t you resign when you get back?”

Wei Shengli shook his head and said, “Tiring? If you know how tiring it is, others aren’t stupid! There’s not much money for this job and one has to travel the mountains daily while remaining isolated from the world. This kind of hardship is still bearable to people of my generation, but your generation probably won’t have anyone who can take it! If I quit, who will take over the job?”

Wei Xiaolin said, “Who cares? Anyway, I don’t want you to continue. Besides, we don’t have to worry about this matter, right? Once you resign, there will naturally be recruitment. Someone will definitely do it…”

Wei Shengli rapped Wei Xiaolin on the head and said, “If everyone is like you, who would come? Besides, I feel at ease when I’m the one patrolling this mountain. I’ll be more worried if someone else does it.”

Wei Xiaolin pursed her lips and said, “What’s there to worry about? It’s just a desolate mountain. Even without you, it’s still here. To be honest, Dad, don’t work in this godforsaken place and go home. I’m almost graduating soon. After I graduate, I’ll head south to look for a job and earn some money. I’ll take care of all of you.”

Hearing this, Wei Shengli’s wrinkled, swarthy face smiled. “Haha, my daughter has grown up. She knows how to be filial to her parents. This is good…”

When Wei Xiaolin heard her father praise her, not only was she not happy, she even said angrily, “Dad, we are talking about serious matters. Can you be more serious? Don’t keep trying to change the topic, okay?”

Hearing this, Wei Shengli took out an alcohol flask from his waist and gulped it down. He exhaled a long breath of white mist, then exhaled it a meter away that dissipated into the surroundings.

Wei Shengli then said seriously, “You said that this is a desolate mountain?”

Wei Xiaolin nodded and said, “Yeah, isn’t that so?”

Wei Shengli smiled and said, “Alright, keep up with my footsteps. I’ll let you decide for yourself whether this desolate mountain is desolate!”

When Wei Xiaolin saw this, she shouted indignantly, “Dad, you’re trying to change the topic again!”

Wei Shengli’s hearty laughter rang out. “This isn’t changing topics. I’m taking you to see the treasure your father is guarding! Desolate mountain? This isn’t a desolate mountain, this is Mount Numinous! It’s filled with a spiritual quality! And friends!”

Wei Xiaolin was puzzled when she heard this. She asked, “Spiritual? Friends?”

Wei Shengli said, “Hurry up and catch up. I’ll take you to see someone world famous!”

Wei Xiaolin asked, “What thing?”

Wei Shengli chuckled and said, “Silly deer!”

Wei Xiaolin: “…”

The two of them walked forward. Wei Shengli knew this mountain like the back of his hand. Wherever they went, he knew if there were rocks under the snow or if there was a frozen river under the snow. He would remind Wei Xiaolin to be careful not to sprain her ankle or slip.

After seeing her father’s capabilities several times, Wei Xiaolin finally sighed. “Dad, you’re much more familiar with this mountain than our home! You can’t even find alcohol when you’re home. When you enter the mountain, you even know where each rock is… And you claim that your memory has worsened due to age? It’s no wonder Mom keeps saying that you’re just a jerk who cares about the mountain instead of the family.”

Wei Shengli rolled his eyes at Wei Xiaolin. “What are you talking about? I’m a professional, do you understand? When you do a job, love your job, and be good at your job.”

Wei Xiaolin pursed her lips and said, “Yes, yes, yes. This isn’t just being good, it’s almost to the point of being monstrous! Dad, if you were to live in the past, you would be a king of the mountain. In ‘Journey to the West’, you will be a demon king…”

Wei Shengli smiled and said, “Of course!”

Wei Xiaoyue gasped for breath and added, “There’s a song when a king gets his subordinates to patrol the mountain: The king sent me on mountain patrol. After patrolling the southern mountain, I’m patrolling the northern mountain…”

“You prodigal girl, take this!” Wei Shengli waved his arms with a smile. Wei Xiaolin laughed and dodged.

After running a few steps, Wei Xiaolin froze on the spot and exclaimed, “Dad, there’s a bear!”

When Wei Shengli heard this, he hurriedly said, “Don’t move! It’s Old Black!”

“Old Black?” Wei Xiaolin asked, puzzled.

Wei Shengli said, “Old Black is a black bear.”

Wei Xiaolin: “Isn’t he still a bear? He’s looking over, what should we do? Dad, are we running or pretending to be dead?”

Wei Xiaolin was about to cry.

When Wei Shengli saw this, he chuckled and said, “Look at you. You just said that your father is the king of the mountains. Now that he’s in our territory, what are you afraid of?”

“Dad, are you sick? That’s a bear,” Wei Xiaolin said.

Wei Shengli shook his head, put down his backpack, and took out a large piece of meat from his backpack. He waved at the black bear, who was leaning against a tree and rubbing its butt.

The bear glanced at Wei Chengli before charging forward!

Wei Xiaolin turned around in fright and tried to run away, but Wei Shengli held her back. “Don’t run, you won’t outrun him.”

Wei Xiaolin said, “Can we climb a tree?”

Wei Shengli said, “He’s better at crawling than you…”

Wei Xiaolin said, “Why are you so familiar with him?”

Wei Shengli smiled and said, “He’s my friend.”

Wei Xiaolin was stunned. The cute girl subconsciously asked, “But you can’t bring your daughter to entertain your friend, right? Did you bring cumin and chili noodles? Do you guys drink and have a toast before starting the meal?”

Wei Shengli looked at the frightened girl and patted her head. “Alright, alright. Relax, don’t be afraid. Everything’s fine. Old Black is taking a break in the middle of hibernation and has come out for a walk.”

Wei Xiaolin added, “So he came out to get some takeout along the way?”