The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Then, he found a bag of snacks that Red Boy had hidden on the ceiling beam. He drank Unrooted Clean Aqua, ate bamboo shoots, and crushed the pine nuts. He left happily.

When Lone Wolf saw this, he said, “Junior Brother, aren’t you being too ruthless? Are you doing a sweep?”

“Is that so? It’s fine. That’s how I roll. Haha…”

With that said, Fangzheng heard footsteps from the front yard and hurriedly ran out through the back door.

At that moment, Squirrel and Monkey ran in angrily. Monkey yelled, “Eldest Senior Brother, did you see Fourth Junior Brother? He stole Jingkuan’s pine nuts!”

Squirrel ran into the kitchen and searched his treasure. Indeed, it was empty. He ran out while screaming, “Fourth Junior Brother, that’s too much! I’m going to tell Master!”

Lone Wolf said, “Jingzhen, I just saw Fourth Junior Brother take away your bamboo shoots.”

Monkey had originally planned on adding fuel to the fire, but when he heard that, he immediately turned anxious. He ran in to check his bamboo shoots. Indeed, they were gone!

At that moment, Monkey stopped fanning the flames and immediately flared up. He shouted, “Jingxin, I’ll fight it out with you!”

Squirrel shouted as well, “I’ll fight it out with you too!”

At that moment, Red Boy walked in and asked with a silly look, “What are you talking about? Why are you going to fight it out with me?”

Squirrel and Monkey exchanged looks before shouting in unison, “Return my pine nuts (bamboo shoots)!”

Hence, the two fellows rushed forward and pushed Red Boy to the ground, touching him all over.

Red Boy yelled, “What are you all doing? I didn’t take anything! I’m already dressed like this. Where can I hide it?”

Lone Wolf added, “Uh, Junior Brother Jingxin left from the back door. Why did he suddenly return from the front door? Besides, Junior Brother Jingxin doesn’t even wear pants. There’s really no place to hide something in his dudou. Unless he has an accomplice…”

“Salted Fish! We will fight it out with you!” Squirrel and Monkey rushed out to look for Salted Fish.

Salted Fish was enjoying the sunshine and enjoying the feeling of having money thrown at him. Suddenly, he saw his two senior brothers lunging at him like ferocious beasts. He subconsciously felt that something was amiss and ran off.

The moment he ran, Squirrel and Monkey immediately imagined that he was guilty, so they chased after him.

The devotees were already used to these monks fooling around every day. They did not find it strange at all. Instead, they watched with relish as they took pictures and posted on WeChat Moments…

Red Boy got up from the ground and asked Lone Wolf with a dumbfounded look, “Eldest Senior Brother, what happened? I didn’t do anything!”

Lone Wolf stared at Red Boy and said, “I saw you take the Jingzhen’s bamboo shoots and Jingkuan’s pine nuts, and your snacks before you left through the back door.”

Red Boy didn’t think much of it in the beginning. When he heard that his snacks were gone, he immediately turned anxious. He hurriedly ran into the house and climbed up to the ceiling beam. Indeed, there was nothing left! It was empty!

“Ah… Who did this!?” Red Boy roared.

When Lone Wolf heard this shout, he shook his head slightly. “Do you really not remember? You were the one who did it.”

Red Boy jumped down and said, “No! Impossible! I was just patrolling the mountain outside, so I didn’t come back! There must be someone pretending to be me and stealing my things! Or, it was you!”

Red Boy stared at Jingfa.

Jingfa looked up at the ceiling beam and said, “You can say that when I’m able to jump onto that.”

Red Boy thought about it and realized that that was the case. Lone Wolf was a wolf, not a cat. He didn’t know how to climb trees or walls. How could he steal his things?

Red Boy stroked his chin and said, “Could it be Salted Fish? But that’s not right. He has been collecting money in the front yard. Could it be that there’s someone who knows divine powers? That’s not right. The world’s essence energy is so thin that it’s negligible. How can there be someone who can cultivate divine powers… If it’s not cultivated, that means they are capable of divine powers. And in this world, people who know divine powers…”

When Red Boy said that, he and Lone Wolf shouted, “Master!”

Achoo!

Fangzheng sneezed and hurriedly ate the last mouthful of snacks. He burped and said, “Yeah, not bad. Not bad… It tastes great.”

He stuffed the last bit into his mouth and was about to chew it before he continued working.

But at that moment, there was a series of footsteps. Following that, Red Boy, Salted Fish—who had been chased and beaten all day—Squirrel, Lone Wolf, and Monkey arrived. All of them stared intently at Fangzheng, who had turned back into his original form.

Fangzheng’s mouth was filled with food, so he couldn’t open his mouth. Hence, he sat there and looked at them without moving. However, he felt a little guilty…

“Master, did you learn a new divine power?” Red Boy narrowed his eyes and asked Fangzheng.

Fangzheng shook his head and refused to speak.

“Master, your cheeks are a little bloated. Is there something in your mouth?” Squirrel asked.

Fangzheng tried his best to tighten his facial muscles and smoothen everything. Then, he shook his head calmly, indicating that he did not.

Salted Fish said, “Master, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Fangzheng pointed at his mouth and closed his hands.

Monkey said, “Master, are you saying that you are practicing no-speaking meditation?”

Fangzheng remained silent when he heard that. He had no choice; he would be struck by lightning if he lied!

Monkey added, “Master, it’s been several years since you practice no-speaking meditation. Can you really not say a word?”

Fangzheng glared at Monkey. What years!? He could not stand being silent even for a single day.

However, he could only reply with a wave of his hand—a signal for his disciples to leave.

Red Boy looked suspiciously at Fangzheng and asked, “Master, no-speaking meditation just doesn’t allow you to speak. You can still open your mouth. Open your mouth and let me see…”

Squirrel added, “Yes, Master. Open your mouth and let me see.”

When Fangzheng heard that, he immediately felt guilt-stricken. Open his mouth? It would expose everything!

Therefore, Fangzheng slowly got up and looked sternly at Red Boy and Squirrel. He gestured a few times, indicating: “I’m cultivating. Why are you stirring up trouble here? Move along and have fun.”

Red Boy said indignantly, “Master, we just want to see if there are any teeth in your mouth. There’s no other meaning. Come, open your mouth and let us see.”

Fangzheng shook his head and firmly rejected.

The more Fangzheng did that, the more suspicious his disciples became.

Monkey added, “Master, our monastery has been burgled. Open your mouth and let’s see. Then, we will find our next target.”

Lone Wolf said, “Master, if you didn’t do it, what’s wrong with opening your mouth?”

Fangzheng turned anxious as well. Even if he didn’t say anything, just the food in his mouth was enough to make him feel uncomfortable.

Fangzheng watched as the disciples walked forward step by step. An idea came to him as he suddenly pointed in the direction of the monastery and widened his eyes!

The disciples were taken aback. The innocent Squirrel subconsciously turned his head and mumbled. “Master, there’s nothing?”

At that moment, Squirrel realized that Lone Wolf, Monkey, Red Boy, and Salted Fish didn’t even turn their heads. All of them looked at Fangzheng with a smile as though they were saying: “This old trick of yours no longer works. We will definitely not turn our heads to give you a chance to escape.”