The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng shook his head and said, “It’s not that kind of sadness, but a sorrow that comes from a sense of despair. It’s a pain that comes from being about to die, as well as a longing for the deceased loved ones. This feeling is becoming clearer and clearer… I can sense that they are truly in despair.”

The more Zhu Lin listened, the more confused she became. She scratched her head and said, “This… Master, I really don’t understand. Then… how are we going to help them? Let them out? But these little fellows belong to the Hall of Dreams. We don’t have the right to take them away. Besides, it’s a world of ice and snow outside. Going out will be suicide for them.”

Fangzheng shook his head. “I don’t know either. They are very horrified.”

Just as he finished speaking, someone raised his cell phone and with a click, a flash of light appeared. Following that, the man chuckled and said, “I took a photo. Let me see the effects. It’s not that nice. I’ll take another few more and post on my Moments page, heh heh…”

“Please stop! No flash photography!” At this moment, the female service staff at the door shouted.

However, that person continued snapping photos as if he hadn’t heard anything.

The female service staff continued to shout, “Please cooperate with us. Don’t use your flash.”

“It’s so dark here. You can’t see anything without the flash,” a woman complained. Following that, she took two pictures.

As soon as she took the lead, the others followed suit and switched on their cameras. Instantly, the flashes flickered…

Zhu Lin frowned. “These people are too unruly, aren’t they?”

Fangzheng’s frown deepened. Just as everyone activated their cameras to snap pictures, Fangzheng could clearly sense the fireflies’ panic intensifying. Were they afraid of the flashes?

However, there were more and more fireflies in front of them. There was no negative reaction. What was going on?

At that moment, Squirrel said, “Master, I saw many fireflies fall into the grass.”

Fangzheng immediately observed carefully when he heard that. In the pitch-black room, he couldn’t see much. All he could see was the fluorescent light and flashes. The fluorescent lights were dim and the flashes happened in an instant. It wasn’t suitable for illumination or observation. It even affected his observation.

However, Fangzheng still saw a firefly fall from the midair. It landed on the grass and shook its wings. There was no movement as though it could not fly any longer.

Was it tired?

Fangzheng was puzzled.

At that moment, Fangzheng saw a tiny hole behind the room. There were fireflies constantly being released from the tiny hole. Only then did Fangzheng come to a realization. He mumbled, “It’s no wonder there are more and more fireflies. It’s not the original fireflies flying, but more fireflies being released. The number of fireflies that are released is more than the number of them falling. Therefore, it looks like there are more and more of them, making it remain beautiful.”

Squirrel said, “Master, why do I feel like these fireflies are getting more and more alarmed?”

Fangzheng nodded. He circled around the crowd and came to the door. He asked the anxious and helpless service staff, “Why don’t you allow flash photography?”

The service staff said, “This is a rule. These fireflies are very fragile. Flashes easily kill them.”

“Kill them?” Fangzheng finally understood why the fireflies were panicking. They weren’t here to perform. They were in an execution ground! It was no wonder they were afraid. Who wouldn’t be?

The attendant said, “That’s right. Every day, we release tens of thousands of fireflies. In a day, only a few hundred survive. Sigh…”

Upon hearing that, Fangzheng’s heart ached again. He said angrily, “There’s so many deaths every day. Why do you continue?”

The attendant was given a fright by Fangzheng’s words before saying, “How would I know? I’m just an employee. I do whatever the higher-ups arrange.”

Fangzheng knew that he had lost his temper when he heard that. “Sorry, I was a little agitated.”

Zhu Lin clicked her tongue. “My goodness, tens of thousands a day, and only a few hundred survive. This… is basically a 99% death rate! This… is like firefly hell!”

Squirrel added, “From the looks of it, this isn’t a space of dreams. It’s a mortuary for fireflies.”

“Everyone, please stop using your flashes. The flashes kill the fireflies,” Zhu Lin shouted.

Everyone turned to look at Zhu Lin in confusion.

The man who was the first to use his flash said, “How is that possible? It’s just light, not bullets.”

The attendant said, “Sir, it’s true. These flashes are like bullets to fireflies.”

Another long-haired woman pursed her lips and said, “You merchants are afraid that we will take pictures and go back to show it to others. After seeing it, there will be fewer customers, right? If I must say, you guys are bad at business. With us taking photos—beautiful ones—we can post on our Moments page and attract even more people to come.”

“That’s right. You guys are bad at business,” the others agreed.

The attendant panicked. “I’m telling the truth. Fireflies are really afraid of flashes.”

“Afraid? Then let me try. Let’s see if a firefly is killed!” shouted the long-haired woman.

“Alright, let’s watch,” the others said.

The long-haired woman was about to use her flash when a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm. “Patron, isn’t it too cruel to use a life as an experiment?”

“You…” The long-haired woman was about to flare up when she turned her head and saw a bald monk dressed in a white monk robe looking at her with a serious expression.

She was immediately stunned. This was Black Mountain City. Here, Fangzheng was definitely a household name. Many people might not even recognize the governor, but everyone basically knew Fangzheng.

The woman exclaimed, “Abbot Fangzheng!?”

The others snapped out of their daze and looked at Fangzheng.

At this point in time, Fangzheng knew that it was meaningless to hide his identity. He needed his identity to help increase his persuasion.

Fangzheng pressed his palms together when he saw everyone exclaim. “Amitabha. Patrons, what Patron Zhu Lin said just now is true. If you don’t believe me, why use the fireflies as an experiment? You all have cell phones. If you go online to check, wouldn’t there be an answer?”

“Abbot Fangzheng, there’s no need to investigate. I don’t believe others, but I believe you.” The woman immediately changed tunes and was the first to side with Fangzheng.

“I believe you too. I’ll just stop taking photos.” The man who took the photo first put away his phone as well.

“I really didn’t expect that a tiny flash could kill fireflies…” someone mumbled, but he put away his phone.

Then a child shouted, “Dad, I see a firefly fall down. It’s not moving.”

When the man heard that, he squatted down and looked in the direction the child was pointing at. When he saw it, his heart trembled. He said with a trembling voice, “Everyone, look!”

Everyone crouched down and took a look. Everyone gasped!

The long-haired woman exclaimed, “There’s more beneath the grass! Tons of them!”