The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

The System said, “Do you really think so? You have to understand that there are many people in the world who can communicate with animals. Although those famous beast tamers can’t communicate with animals 100% of the time, they can still understand their thoughts through other means quite well. Animals can also understand their intentions and complete the communication. Your ability is only slightly enhanced in comparison! But in this world, how many people can actually communicate with plants?”

Fangzheng was at a loss for words. He scratched his nose and said indignantly, “But rarity doesn’t mean utility, right? This doesn’t seem to be of much use, does it?”

“I shall not comment on its usefulness. The system’s products are definitely top-grade. There’s no refunds for the items. Do whatever you want with it!” The System couldn’t be bothered to explain as it vanished.

Fangzheng had a helpless look on his face. He realized that although he was pretty awesome now, had status, and was wealthy, he was truly helpless when faced with an irresponsible System with a poor service attitude. Thankfully, apart from ensuring that he didn’t break the precepts, the System didn’t care about anything else. If it were to restrict Fangzheng further, he would probably even feel like committing suicide…

Shaking his head, Fangzheng ignored the System. Since he couldn’t get any answers from it, he might as well give it a try.

The moment Fangzheng stepped out of the door, he scanned the yard. Apart from the Frost Bamboo, he was left with the extremely proud spirit ginseng that stood erect the entire time as Lone Wolf’s neighbor. Fangzheng had grown the spirit ginseng for a long time, and he would use Buddhistic medicine Spirit Qi to feed it every now and then. Now, it was almost as thick as a human’s arm. More importantly, only half its body was underground with the rest aboveground. The green leaves didn’t flinch in the cold winds as they stood tall as though they were shouting to the world: “Come on! I ain’t afraid!”

Fangzheng leaned over, touched the spirit ginseng’s leaves, and activated Nature. In the end, he realized that there was a sutra in his mind.

Fangzheng subconsciously read it. “The Buddha says that all beings are sentient, and all sentient beings make up all living things…”

With this thought, Fangzheng felt his thoughts wander, instantly enveloping the spirit ginseng in front of him. At the same time, he felt a faint consciousness. This consciousness was very blurry, and Fangzheng carefully touched it and felt it. However, Fangzheng’s face instantly darkened. He had the urge to quickly cut it and stew it!

The spirit ginseng’s consciousness kept repeating one sentence: “I stand erect towards the sky! F*ck yeah! I stand erect towards the sky! F**k yeah!”

Fangzheng’s face flushed red. He knew very well that the spirit ginseng’s consciousness couldn’t have too many dirty thoughts. If this thought didn’t dissipate, it was definitely taught by someone. And this person…

Fangzheng smacked his lips and mumbled in embarrassment. “From the looks of it, This Penniless Monk can’t joke around it in the future. I didn’t expect it to have such a huge impact on this child. However, This Penniless Monk only mumbled about it standing erect towards the sky. Who taught it f**k yeah?”

With this thought in mind, Fangzheng felt the spirit ginseng’s thoughts waver. Following that, a blurry image appeared in front of Fangzheng. He saw two people sitting in front of the spirit ginseng, studying the spirit ginseng.

Although their looks were indiscernible, Fangzheng knew who they were just by looking at their heads.

They were Red Boy and Squirrel.

Squirrel said, “Why is this spirit ginseng growing this big? Fourth Junior Brother, didn’t you say that you often ate this in the past? Do you know what’s going on?”

Red Boy said, “He probably wants to fly up to the sky and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun. It will probably f**k up the sky.”

“F**k? Wouldn’t that be the sun¹? How does that work?” Squirrel asked.

Red Boy was taken aback before he chuckled. “Senior Brother, you don’t understand. This f**k here is a verb.”

“Verb?” Squirrel still didn’t understand.

Red Boy continued. “Look at this spirit ginseng. Why does it have soil it doesn’t want to drill deeper into, but has ended up growing aboveground instead?”

“Why?”

“For f**king!”

“For the sun?”

“For f**king!”

“Sun?”

“F**k!”

“Sun?”

“F**k!””

…

When Fangzheng saw this, a dark cloud hung over his head. From the looks of it, he had to educate Red Boy. This brat really deserved a beating. He was shouting f**k in the monastery? Why didn’t he just die?

Fangzheng even wondered if he should really try to send him into the sky to f**k the sun…

However, this thought only flashed through his mind for a moment. At that moment, Fangzheng suddenly felt his head go dizzy. He knew that this was a result of him having kept A Golden Millet Dream activated for a long period of time. He had been mentally drained.

Although A Golden Millet Dream was very mentally draining, he had activated it since he met the weeaboos. He had only rested for a bit before returning to Mt. One Finger. He then kept it activated while climbing up the mountain all the way until now.

After such a long time, Fangzheng couldn’t take it any longer.

At that moment, County Head Qi’s voice sounded. “Abbot Fangzheng comes and goes without a trace. He might have used a divine power to escape to the south, so he could return at any time. Blocking the door is useless. Jingxin, let us take a look in the backyard.”

Red Boy said, “Patron, my master really isn’t back. A monk doesn’t lie. If he returns, This Penniless Monk will definitely tell you.”

“I think we should still take a look. He’s stood me up too many times. I don’t believe anyone now,” County Head Qi said.

When Fangzheng heard that, he knew that it would be impossible for him to return to his room to sleep. He rubbed his hungry stomach and sighed. He still had to run!

Hence, Fangzheng hurriedly left the backyard and waved to his disciples. He pushed open the Formless Door and stepped out.

As darkness descended, Fangzheng vaguely heard people laughing. Some people were shouting something, and the chirping of birds sounded in his ears. However, he had never heard such birds before, nor could he tell what breed they were.Read more chapter on NovelFull

Following that, the darkness shattered as a car’s engine could be heard. Fangzheng was surprised to discover that he was sitting on a long-distance bus!

The bus was somewhat old. It wasn’t an air-conditioned vehicle, but an old-fashioned bus that had open windows. This bus was comparable to one of the crappy buses that drove from One Finger Village to Songwu County. However, there weren’t many people on the bus. The passengers numbered only a dozen or so including the driver.

A middle-aged woman was sitting in the front passenger seat and sleeping.

The first row on the left had a married couple with a child. The two of them weren’t sleeping as they kept taking care of the child while whispering to each other.

There was a person lying in the second row, sleeping soundly.

Behind them was a young man wearing headphones and listening to music, looking at the scenery outside.

Behind him was a youth in an old camouflage uniform he had clearly worn for who knows how long. He looked a little smart. Sitting beside him was a girl with tanned skin but bright eyes. The girl couldn’t be considered pretty; she had short hair, and her school uniform had already faded. The girl looked down at a language book, and no matter how the car moved, she read it with relish.

Behind Fangzheng was a middle-aged woman with a basket placed at her feet. There were two free-range chickens in the basket.

In the last row sat a middle-aged man who was wearing a military green coat and wearing a cap. He was sleeping very soundly.

It was very quiet on the bus, and no one noticed that another person had suddenly appeared. It was as though Fangzheng had been there from the beginning and everything had happened extremely naturally.

Or perhaps, the System had done something to them. Anyways, Fangzheng sat there without catching anyone’s attention.

After watching for a while, Fangzheng relaxed. Only then did he realize that he had something in his hand. When he opened it, he realized that it was a bus ticket! On it were his name and seat number.

According to the ticket, this was a trip from Xunshui County to Yuluo Village.

Fangzheng was completely shocked as he asked inwardly, “System, what’s going on?”

The System said, “I forgot to tell you. The Formless Door has been upgraded.”

“What? The Formless Door has been upgraded? When did this happen? I didn’t upgrade the Formless Door.” Fangzheng was really shocked. He thought he had seen a ghost.

The System said, “Don’t be agitated. In fact, everything in your monastery receives large amounts of incense offerings every day, the condensation of the wish forces from all life, as well as the seeds of kindness that proliferate, sprouting and branching out; thus, earning you even more merit. A portion of this merit is attributed to the monastery. And the other items absorb the merit energy as well, and they evolve and upgrade themselves.

“The reason why you were able to produce the Bodhisattva’s golden body was because of a power that comes with the Ten Thousand Buddha plaque’s upgrade. When someone tried to commit murder at the foot of the mountain, the sanguine beam shot into the sky and was seen by you. That was also an ability of the temple’s upgrade.”

Fangzheng’s heart tightened as he hurriedly asked, “Does the merit they consume still count as mine?”

The System said, “Of course, but it is still spent when it’s used. You can’t use it to do anything again. However, it’s still counted in your accumulated merit.”

Fangzheng immediately had the urge to cry when he heard that. He had worked so hard outside, but when the fruits of his labor were finally ready to be reaped, they were snatched away by the items in the temple! F**k, he wanted to go back and beat them up.

The System continued. “It’s not only the items. Your disciples also absorb a portion of the merit. And this portion of merit can slowly upgrade their souls and improve their souls’ endurance.”

When Fangzheng heard this, he fell silent. Although his heart ached for the merit, he could still earn it back if he lost it. If his disciples were gone, they would be gone forever.

Fangzheng sighed. “Forget it. Forget it. Let’s talk about the ticket I have.”

The System said, “The ticket in your hand is a result of the Formless Door leveling up. It will not throw you randomly somewhere, but will arrange an identity for you. Now, look at yourself, are you still yourself?”

Fangzheng was taken aback. Only then did he realize that he was wearing suit trousers and leather shoes. He wore a white shirt and when he touched his head, he actually had hair!

Fangzheng hurriedly looked at himself in the window and realized that his face hadn’t changed, but his hair had really grown. Although his hairstyle wasn’t great, there was only one word to describe him—handsome!

Upon seeing this, his mood suddenly improved.

“Then who am I now?” Fangzheng asked the System.