The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“What master? What powers? It’s just a scam!” Chang Yun persuaded earnestly.

Ouyang Fenghua was just about to say something when she saw a few people walk past her. They were excitedly discussing the stone slabs.

“Quickly go take a look. I heard that Abbot Fangzheng’s disciple will be explaining the mysteries of the stone slabs!”

“These stone slabs are really amazing. No one can understand what’s written on them. All the pictures that were posted online are also blurry. Could this be some divine power?”

“I don’t know. We’ll know when we get there.”

…

A group of people ran over.

Ouyang Fenghua’s interest was piqued when she heard that. She glared at Chang Yun and said, “Watch your words later. If you get beaten up, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”

With that said, Ouyang Fenghua ran over. She looked rather excited as well.

Chang Yun looked at Ouyang Fenghua’s back and said through gritted teeth, “I don’t believe that a talented Cambridge student like me can’t compare to a darn monk from a poor mountain ditch! Divine powers? Humph, let’s see if I can’t expose your trick!”

Chang Yun caught up to Ouyang Fenghua and came in front of two huge stone slabs. Although they were called stone slabs, they actually formed a magnified irregular stone stele. Standing under the stone stele, Chang Yun looked up, and the shock in his heart intensified.

Although Stonehenge in England was also very shocking, just comparing sizes alone, the boulders here were even bigger. In addition, there was no way to clearly make out the engravings which added a mystical air to the stone stele.

Chang Yun could not help but mumble to himself. “Could it be that divine powers really do exist?”

However, he immediately rejected the notion. He refused to believe that there could be divine powers in this era of technology! Most importantly, he couldn’t admit it to the person beside him.

But then, what else could cause such a feeling? When Chang Yun thought of this, his heart trembled. He suddenly pinched himself and closed his eyes in pain. At the same time, he pulled Ouyang Fenghua over and said sternly, “Don’t stare at the stone slabs. There’s something fishy about them. If I’m not wrong, the so-called divine power is on these stone slabs!”

Ouyang Fenghua was taken aback as she asked, “What do you mean? What divine power is on the stone slabs?”

“Didn’t I tell you before? As long as certain conditions are met, anyone can create mass hallucinations. If I’m not wrong, the pattern on the stone slabs is meant to have a hypnotic effect! If you look at it for too long, you will be hypnotized. Once a person is hypnotized, it’s not strange to see anything,” Chang Yun said.

Ouyang Fenghua said, “But…”

“No buts. Just from seeing this, I’m basically certain that this monk isn’t a decent person. He’s a demonic monk!” Chang Yun said firmly.

Ouyang Fenghua rolled her eyes when she heard that. Although Chang Yun might not be in China all year round, she knew very well that Mt. One Finger didn’t have these stone slabs in the past. Back when the divine power incidents happened, they didn’t even exist! Therefore, the so-called mass hypnosis hypothesis was without merit.

Unfortunately, the moment Ouyang Fenghua opened her mouth, she was interrupted by Chang Yun. He even began to teach her stuff about hypnotism, causing Ouyang Fenghua to be at a loss whether to laugh or cry. However, she couldn’t be bothered to explain. After all, Chang Yun wouldn’t stay long in China. It didn’t matter if he believed that Fangzheng knew divine powers or not. All she needed to do was entertain him for the next few days.

After making up his mind, Ouyang Fenghua stopped arguing. However, to Chang Yun, this was a sign of victory. He had used knowledge to defeat stupid superstitions. He had saved a lost lamb!

Just as Chang Yun was feeling smug and wondering if he should continue analyzing the monk’s character, a child’s voice sounded.

Chang Yun looked up and saw a boy dressed in a red dudou. He stood in front of the stone slabs with his palms pressed together and said in a decent manner, “Amitabha. I believe all of you are very curious about where these stone slabs came from, right?”

Everyone nodded subconsciously.

Red Boy pressed his palms together and pointed to the sky. “The stone slabs came from the sky, but the content on them was written by my master. These slabs contain the lifeblood of my master’s medical insights!”

“What? Master Fangzheng’s medical insights?” The crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Then, everyone suddenly realized that the stone slabs did not seem to be talismans, but they actually had the medical insight of China’s number one godly doctor! If they learned his methods, how could they not become rich and famous?

“What a joke. This talisman drawing just makes one feel dizzy, and you still say it has medical insights? Is this thing the Canon of Supreme Mystery? You can’t read it if your perception isn’t high enough or something?” At that moment, a voice of doubt sounded—it was Chang Yun.

When everyone heard that, they did find it agreeable. If no one could understand it, what use was it?

When Chang Yun saw that everyone seemed to agree with his point of view, he continued. “The reason why China’s culture is waning is because you people are deliberately trying to act all mysterious! If you really want to pass down the opportunity to become a scholar, you can directly open a school, give a lecture, and write a book, wouldn’t that be the end of it? Why do you have to make such a farce? If I had to say what was happening here, I’d say you are just trying to fish for fame! You’re deliberately trying to make it seem mystifying!”

The moment that was said, many people frowned. They admitted that they couldn’t understand what was on the stone slabs, but to say that Fangzheng was trying to fish for fame and deliberately acting mysterious? No one agreed with that. Who was Fangzheng? The things that Fangzheng had done—even if one went over them one by one—were all matters of fact! Would such a person forcefully try to make a name for himself? No one believed it.

But what was with the indecipherable stone stele in front of them? Could it be that Abbot Fangzheng had degenerated? Had he learned how to hype things up a bit too well?

Chang Yun continued. “Don’t deny it. Your methods are just cheap tricks! If I didn’t guess wrongly, all of you are just creating some so-called fake miracle, and through that, you plan on increasing your fame, tricking visitors to buy incense and offer incense money to earn a killing! Am I right?”

When Ouyang Fenghua heard that, she hurriedly pulled Chang Yun and covered his mouth. Gritting her teeth in anger, she said, “Cut it out. No one would think you were dumb if you kept quiet!”

However, Chang Yun broke free and continued. “Fenghua, did I say something wrong? Don’t be fooled by these dirty tricks. Trust me. This is a farce!”

Faced with Chang Yun’s barrage of questions, Red Boy was somewhat taken aback. He scratched his head and couldn’t understand. Who the hell was this? Why did he come here to cause trouble? Wasn’t he trying to take them down?

Red Boy was instantly infuriated. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to take action.

At that moment, a Buddhist proclamation sounded.

“Amitabha!” Red Boy immediately shut up when he heard the familiar voice. He pressed his palms together and bowed towards the back. “Greetings, Master.”

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look.

Chang Yun and Ouyang Fenghua stopped their tussle as well. Chang Yun narrowed his eyes and looked over. Although he had done his homework before coming here and knew what Fangzheng looked like, he still felt a little guilty when he saw him… This was because he realized that the monk was actually more handsome than him!