The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Quite sour…” Red Boy said.

“It’s pickled vegetables, right? Just from the smell alone, I can feel the sourness. Tell me, how sour are these pickled vegetables? How can they even stomach it? Heh,” Salted Fish said with a look of disdain.

Red Boy understood what Salted Fish was doing. This was a classic case of grumpy self-consolation. Hence, he nodded and said, “Yes, it definitely doesn’t taste good! There’s no way it does. And if you eat too much sour food, it will only lead to tooth pain. Eldest Senior Brother already said that Master said it wouldn’t be delicious.”

“That’s right. It’s definitely not delicious. Why don’t we sniff at it from a little closer?” Salted Fish gulped and asked.

Red Boy nodded. As the two fellows grumbled that it wasn’t delicious, they approached the backyard.

At that moment, they heard a loud shout from the backyard. “Wow! It’s too delicious! Are these glass noodles? Master, didn’t you say that the glass noodles wouldn’t taste good? Why is it so delicious?”

“Heh heh. Glass noodles themselves don’t have any flavor, but they take on whatever taste they are mixed with. Furthermore, the noodles often steal the limelight of what they’re served with, because they end up tasting even better than the original ingredients. These are cabbage glass noodles. This is one of This Penniless Monk’s favorite dishes. It’s especially appetizing and delicious! Furthermore, the White Jade Cabbage’s pickled taste is excellent. It’s the best cabbage glass noodles This Penniless Monk has eaten in all these years,” Fangzheng said.

Upon hearing that, Red Boy and Salted Fish exchanged looks and saw the regret in each other’s eyes. They shouldn’t have furtively come over! Weren’t they just torturing themselves?

Also, the two of them felt boundless resentment towards Lone Wolf. Didn’t this a**hole say that it tasted horrible? You cheat! Don’t say it’s delicious even if it is!

Lone Wolf had a great time eating. As his mouth was big, with one bite, he devoured everything in front of him, be it pickled vegetables, glass noodles, or Crystal Rice.

But someone was in trouble…

“Master! Save me…” Squirrel tried his best to raise his head as he sucked at a glass noodle. He took a deep breath and sucked it into his mouth. However, the glass noodle was extremely long. He had sucked several times without reaching the end. It almost brought him to the point of suffocation.

Fangzheng smiled helplessly. “Can’t you bite it off?”

“If I bite it off, it will fall to the ground…” The moment Squirrel said that, the glass noodle in his mouth began to fall out. He hurriedly shut his mouth. The moment his front teeth closed, the glass noodle immediately snapped.

It produced a thud as it fell onto the table and then on the ground…

When Squirrel saw this, he hurriedly chewed whatever was in his mouth and swallowed it. Following that, he shouted. “It’s delicious! It’s really delicious! It’s soft and squishy, just excellent!”

Then, Squirrel hurriedly ran over and picked up the glass noodle that had fallen on the ground. He put it in his mouth and continued sucking.

The slurping sounds left the two pitiful fellows outside sucking as well. However, what they sucked was cold air and not the glass noodles. Thankfully, they were demons—their stomachs wouldn’t hurt no matter how much cold wind they took in.

“Let’s go somewhere else,” Salted Fish said bitterly.

Red Boy nodded as well. The two of them ran to the door and sat there, assuming that this matter was over.

A short while later, Lone Wolf ran over. The moment he saw them, he shouted. “Fourth Junior Brother, Fifth Junior Brother, let me tell you something. I said something wrong just now. The glass noodles are really delicious! They’re extremely slippery and soft. When you bite down at the noodles, it tastes like meat! There’s quite a chew to them. The main point is the taste; the pickled vegetables… The pickled vegetables made from White Jade Cabbage are the best of the best! Take a sniff, it’s freaking awesome!”

With that said, Lone Wolf opened his mouth wide and exhaled.

But only when he opened his mouth did he realize that Salted Fish and Red Boy had long fled!

“Hey, hey, hey! Fourth Junior Brother, Fifth Junior Brother, wait for me. I’ll let you smell it. It smells great!” Lone Wolf flicked his tail and followed without any sense of self-awareness.

As a result, the two fellows in front of him began running faster and faster. Finally, his mood cheered up from running as he shouted. “Oh, is this an after-meal stroll? Junior Brothers, wait for me!”

The boy, fish, and wolf ran off. After they entered the forest, they heard a dull thud in the forest, and a grunt that sounded like someone had covered a mouth.

A few minutes later, Red Boy and Salted Fish whistled as they strolled out.

After a while, Lone Wolf came out with a look of grief and indignation. However, his front paws were bound, and his mouth was bound too. He could only rely on his hind legs to kick on the snow, and with every stroke, he struggled to crawl on the ground like a huge white worm…

Half an hour later, Lone Wolf sat in front of Fangzheng and cried out with a look of grief and indignation. “Master, are you going to do something about this? They were too much of a bully!”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes at him. “You are not allowed to eat breakfast tomorrow; then try telling This Penniless Monk again that they should be punished.”

Fangzheng closed the door to his meditation room and went to bed.

With his complaint falling on deaf ears, Lone Wolf wore a look of grievance. However, he smacked his lips and bitterly went to sleep. He couldn’t understand why he was punished. Clearly, his two junior brothers were in the wrong. Why couldn’t he have breakfast?

After an uneventful night, breakfast was prepared early, and the menu still consisted of cabbage glass noodles.

However, this time, Lone Wolf could only watch by the side. Following that, he saw Red Boy and Salted Fish eating heartily while shouting. “Delicious, really delicious! This is what it means to be delicious!”

“So slippery…”

“The taste is great!”

“How appetizing…”

…

Lone Wolf watched as his saliva drooled incessantly. Finally, he closed his eyes and went out to hide, hoping that out of sight would mean out of mind.

Before long, though, Red Boy and Salted Fish ran over.

Red Boy laughed out loud. “Eldest Senior Brother, you were right. These cabbage glass noodles are delicious! The glass noodles are really slippery. Their taste hits just the right spot…”

Salted Fish came over and opened his mouth. “Come, have a sniff. It’s so fragrant!”

With that said, Salted Fish exhaled.

Lone Wolf was instantly infuriated. Wasn’t it enough that he was having his appetite whet without being able to eat? Why did they have to come up to disgust him? He raised his paw and pressed down, causing Salted Fish to be pressed into the snow.

A few minutes later, Lone Wolf came in front of Fangzheng once again. He said with an aggrieved look, “Master, they’re too much of a bully!”

Fangzheng chuckled as he looked at Lone Wolf and asked, “Oh? Do you think they are bullying you? Are you feeling aggrieved? Then what did you do yesterday?”

Lone Wolf was instantly stunned. Thinking back to yesterday’s scene, it appeared that they had behaved the exact same way he had. He immediately blushed and lowered his head. “Master, I understand.”

Fangzheng nodded and said, “You like to follow your whims when doing things. You do what you do in a good mood, but you don’t spare a thought for others. In the future, when you do things, think in a different way. Think about how your actions might cause discomfort to the other person and how you would feel if you were in their shoes. Only then should you do things. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Lone Wolf said, “I understand.”

“Go on, have your meal. The kitchen still has your share.” Fangzheng waved his hand.