The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Panda Novel

“People of the northeast, nothing needs saying. Our lives were saved by Abbot Fangzheng. Although it’s a disaster, we are still here. The home is where the people are. I think our losses aren’t as great as we imagined. After rebuilding our home, I wish to donate to expand One Finger Monastery! Whether Abbot Fangzheng is around or not, this is the only thing we can do to repay him.”

“Yes! Expand One Finger Monastery!”

“That’s right. Abbot Fangzheng isn’t around, but his disciples are here! Expand One Finger Monastery and pass on Abbot Fangzheng’s good deeds!”

“I’ll donate as well!”

“Although I’m not from the northeast, count me in.”

“Count me in, I’ll donate too!”

…

With the commotion on the Internet, Wang Yougui, who was in the midst of the recovery work, received the news as he hurriedly ran towards One Finger Monastery.

But just as he took two steps, a young monk walked over.

“Venerable Jingxin, why are you down the mountain? How’s the mountain? Is your master back?” Wang Yougui was truly anxious. To many people, Fangzheng was a protective amulet and a person with great divine powers.

However, to the people of One Finger Village, he wasn’t just the source of economic wealth, but someone they were concerned about.

To them, Fangzheng was family, more important than anything else!

After all, they watched Fangzheng grow up. They took care of him when he was sick. Now that the child had grown up and had ascended… how could they not care?

Red Boy pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Patron, don’t be agitated. My master has already left, but before my master left, he left a message. Master plans to sell the materials left on the mountain for the expansion of the monastery through you. The money earned from the sale can be used to help everyone rebuild their homes.”

Wang Yougui wore a bitter expression when he heard that. He sighed and said, “Sigh… A child will ultimately grow up. The realm is completely different.”

Upon saying that, Wang Yougui looked at Red Boy and asked, “Is he really not coming back?”

Red Boy smiled without saying a word. Red Boy, who had always lied without blushing, did not know why, but when he saw Wang Yougui’s aged face, he could not bring himself to lie. All he could do was give a vague smile.

Wang Yougui shook his head and said, “Forget it. Don’t lie to me. It’s better not to give me hope. It’s a good thing that Fangzheng can go to Paradise and become Buddha. I’ll head down the mountain now and get someone to carry the wood down. I’ll do the accounts and I’ll hand it to you. Don’t worry. I won’t use a single cent elsewhere. I’ll definitely employ limited resources where they are needed most.”

Red Boy pressed his palms together. “Since Master has handed over everything to you, This Penniless Monk naturally isn’t worried. Patron, Master has left. There are still many matters to settle on the mountain. This Penniless Monk shall take my leave. By the way, there’s one more thing. One Finger Monastery might be moving.”

“Moving?” Wang Yougui was taken aback. “Your master isn’t around. How can you move? Here, we can take care of you. Where will you go if you leave this place?”

Red Boy flicked his sleeves and said with a smile, “It’s not that I want to move, but that One Finger Monastery is moving.”

Wang Yougui was confused when he heard that. He asked, “Why don’t I understand? Isn’t One Finger Monastery’s moving the same as you moving? Are you going to renounce asceticism?”

Red Boy only smiled but did not say a word. He waved his hand and left.

Wang Yougui was filled with questions, but he did not pursue the matter. He turned around and planned on getting people to head up the mountain to move the wood.

However, when he turned around, Wang Yougui was surprised to discover that the timber had been completely moved down!

What made Wang Yougui even more surprised was the number of wood materials. After all this time, some of the materials had already been made into objects for the buildings by the craftsmen. Logically speaking, there should have been less of them. However, everything in front of him was the same as before!

“Could it be that time has rewound? Or is it caused by divine powers again?” Wang Yougui mumbled. However, the matter had something to do with One Finger Monastery, so everything seemed normal.

Regardless, Wang Yougui decided to follow Fangzheng’s instructions. He contacted people to protect the wood and began looking for buyers.

“Village Chief, we are selling all this timber?” Dog Song looked at the timber and felt his heart ache.

Chen Jin said, “Village Chief, what do we do with the money after selling the timber? I think it’s a little dangerous to leave the money in our village.”

Sun Qiancheng also said, “I also feel that it’s dangerous. We’ve also earned some money over the past year. Besides, our village didn’t suffer a huge loss from the earthquake. We can clean it up later and reinforce the house a little more. The losses in the city are too great. Why don’t we donate all the money?”

Tan Juguo said with a smile, “You guys still have your conscience and awareness. However, if I have any say, we can’t donate all the money.”

Dog Song was stunned. “Uncle Tan, isn’t your words a little lacking in awareness?”

Tan Juguo raised his pipe and smacked it in his head. He scolded jokingly, “Don’t worry. If you have greater awareness than me, I’ll let you be the secretary.”

Dog Song grinned and hurriedly shook his head. “Forget it. I can’t do it…”

Wang Yougui said, “I agree with the secretary. Fangzheng talked about aiding the disaster zone. We are part of it, so it’s not a big deal to keep some money. Let’s do this, no matter how much we sell them for, our village will keep a thousand.”

“Uh…” Everyone was speechless. A thousand? What was that for?

Chen Jin said, “I know. This is a symbolism. After all, the grace is evenly distributed. This is Fangzheng’s final gift. By getting it, we can gain some of the good fortune. Is that what you mean?”

Wang Yougui smiled and continued, “I have another suggestion. Everyone, listen to me. The reason why our village is able to develop is not only because of Mt. One Finger; that’s obvious. It’s also because people from Songwu County are willing to come visit and spend money. They allowed us to become what we are today. Now that everyone suffered the disaster, and our losses aren’t that great either…”

“Village Chief, can you stop beating about the bush? Isn’t it just donations? I’ll donate!” Dog Song was the first to shout.

Chen Jin, Sun Qiancheng, Yang Hua, and company were delighted when they heard that. They raised their hands and said, “Donate!”

“That’s enough. You can donate as much as you want later on by throwing it into the bucket over there. Register it yourself and write down the amount you donated! Don’t write too little or write too much. Otherwise, don’t blame me for using the shoulder pole instead of the smoke pipe!” Tan Juguo scolded jokingly.

Everyone laughed out loud and said, “Secretary, we have already survived such a huge earthquake. We have seen through life. People should live like humans! Those that only care about themselves are not humans; they are animals.”

…

No one noticed that there was an additional person in the village. He stood beside them and looked at them silently. He smiled and pressed his palms together. He gave a Buddhist proclamation before turning to leave.

On the way up the mountain.

“Master, I don’t understand why you insist on making that ascension at the end? Isn’t it equivalent to throwing away all your years of hard work and effort?” Red Boy asked, perplexed.