The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

In short, by the time their brains could function normally, they saw a long tunnel in front of them! At the other end of the tunnel was a glimmer of light!

“It’s been drilled?”

“Heavens, what exactly happened?”

“To think the tunnel bore open…”

“Oh my, this is too miraculous…”

“It felt like an earthquake and after the earthquake, the tunnel was formed? And the tunnel isn’t collapsing… It’s practically a miracle!”

…

As news of the tunnel boring open for no explicable reason spread, people on the outside were collectively dumbfounded. They ran in to check the situation and indeed, there was an additional tunnel. Furthermore, the walls were extremely solid. There was no danger of a collapse! However, the engineering team decided to reinforce the tunnel to prevent any unexpected mishaps. At the same time, various reports were submitted to the higher ups. It sent quakes through the entire district instantly! A tiny earthquake had bore open a mountain, forming a tunnel in passing. Anyone who heard it turned pale from shock.

Fangzheng smiled as he saw the chaos below him. Pressing his palms together, he proclaimed, “Amitabha.”

A door opened the next moment as Fangzheng took a step in. Like the last time, he did not enter the monastery immediately. Instead, he appeared beneath Mt. One Finger out of thin air. However, the visitors at the foot of the mountain did not seem to notice him. Or perhaps, no one noticed his sudden appearance. Everything seemed very normal.

After returning to One Finger Monastery, Fangzheng saw Monkey looking like a solemn master. He stood under the bodhi tree and took pictures with visitors as a memento. As for the visitors, they were generously stuffing bills into Monkey’s hands. As for Monkey, he had a disparaging look as he threw the money back at them.

“Heh, as expected of the monk monkey of this monastery. He treats money as dirt,” someone marveled.

Fangzheng’s heart bled when he saw this! He was so poor that he had no idea where to eat when out, but this darn monkey did not even want any money! However, with so many people present, it was not convenient for Fangzheng to berate him, nor could he collect the money. All he could do was stare helplessly while he felt too deep for tears in his heart.

Upon seeing Fangzheng return, many visitors came forward to greet him. They heaped praises on him, “Venerable Fangzheng, this monk monkey is truly impressive. He knows how to care for visitors, humor children, sweep the floor and the temple hall. His every action is like a human’s. Furthermore, he has good morals. He doesn’t want any money we give him! Hehe… This is much better than those fake, fat-headed, big-eared monks of some monasteries.”

Fangzheng looked at himself. He was still not fat, and he could not be be considered a fat-headed and big-eared fake monk. He smiled. “Amitabha. That is This Penniless Monk’s disciple, Jingzhen. He traveled a great distance to seek the Buddhist Dharma. His enlightenment to date is truly hard to come by.”

Following that, Fangzheng recounted the story of Monkey’s trip from Mt. Baiyun, leaving everyone astonished. When Monkey heard that Fangzheng was praising him, he naturally puffed up his chest, feeling extremely awesome and complacent.

When Red Boy saw this, he curled his lips and returned to the backyard. He went to the kitchen to start the fire and prepare a meal. Although he had only been two days without Crystal Rice, he truly missed it after eating his meals in Daili Village. Crystal Rice was not considered rare in his world. Back when he was king, he also ate high-quality rice. The untainted rice would immediately transform into energy once he ate it, bringing his body immense benefits. But after coming to this world, he realized that apart from One Finger Monastery’s Crystal Rice, the rice elsewhere was completely unpalatable!

Fangzheng ignored Red Boy’s reaction. His performance at Daili Village was good, and he did need to give him a freer environment and more space. Furthermore, the monastery’s incense offerings, along with the donations, were increasing by the day. The Crystal Rice paddy in his backyard was growing well too, and it was not far from a huge harvest.

Fangzheng looked into the sky and felt very pleased. It had only been six months since One Finger Monastery had entered under his administration. In that time, it had completely changed. Six months ago, he was nearly starving to death. At the very least, he now no longer needed to worry about his meals…

Upon realizing this, Fangzheng smacked himself in the head as he ran to the backyard.

After dinner, Fangzheng patted Red Boy on the head, “My dear disciple, you have had your fill. It’s time to do work.”

Red Boy turned his head away, “Not doing it!”

Lone Wolf immediately stood up, placing his paws on the table, speaking with all seriousness, “Junior Brother, we are almost out of water. Do you really not plan on going down the mountain to fetch water?”

Monkey put down his bowl, “Junior Brother, how are we to prepare our meals without water? The Crystal Rice paddy is almost fried up. If there’s no water, what are we to eat in the future? Do you want us to eat the unpalatable rice?”

Squirrel put down his rice ball and hugged his shoulders, saying worriedly, “Junior Brother, although I do not know what the both of them said, I think Master will have some scripture recital inspirations if it doesn’t rain.”

Red Boy was so infuriated by what he heard that his nose nearly distorted. He ran to Fangzheng and snitched, “Master, the three of them are bullying me, especially Jingkuan! He even threatened me!”

Fangzheng smiled and said in a stately manner, “Jingxin, stay calm. Jingkuan’s words can be wrong at times.”

Red Boy calmed down a little.

Fangzheng added, “But, This Penniless Monk feels that what he said makes sense. This Penniless Monk is about to have scripture recital inspirations. Perhaps reciting the scriptures will let the benevolent Buddha bestow us with rain.”

Red Boy scrunched up his nose, “Master, can we not talk with veils of threat?”

Fangzheng resolutely shook his head and said, “Nope!”

“Good going of yours. I admit defeat today! Hmph!” After Red Boy said that, he flew into the sky and disappeared.

“Master, Junior Brother has run off. Aren’t you afraid he will cause trouble?” Monkey asked out of curiosity.

Lone Wolf said, “Master, I believe Junior Brother will not return and it will not rain.”

Squirrel said worriedly, “Master, will Junior Brother really run? What about the rain?”

“Amitabha. You are all Jingxin’s senior brothers. How can all of you not believe in your junior brother? You must have confidence in him. At the very least, This Penniless Monk trusts him.” After the trip to Daili Village, Fangzheng had a little understanding of Red Boy’s character. He was a brat, a brat that had been spoiled by his parents and various demons. Furthermore, his values were different from the people in this world. But in essence, he was not rotten to the bone. At least in Huang Ren’s dream, he had cried. He had taken the initiative to summon the rain back in Daili Village. This implied that he had goodness in his heart. As long as he was properly guided, he could turn for the better. It was not impossible for him to be a good child.

The three animals nodded, “We understand.”

Behind the wall, Red Boy heard Fangzheng’s words. A smile hung on his face before he ventured far away.

Not long later, the sky rumbled as thunder sounded in the clear sky. Following that, a tempest brewed as dark clouds gathered!

“There’s thunder!” Dog Song, who was sheltering himself from the heat at home, immediately ran out. He looked up into the sky and shouted excitedly, “There’s wind! There’s thunder! It’s going to rain! The Heavens have shown mercy on us! Dear, put away the clothes!”

“What for? It’s about to rain, why should I put away the clothes? Oh, right. One should put away the clothes when it rains. I was so happy that I turned foolish… Haha!”