The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Pui! Are you the only good guy? I’m more deserving of that role! After all, I have the good looks here!” Chen Wei’s voice sounded.

“Cut it out. I’m serious. Helping others really makes me feel good. I suggest we do some charity work every weekend, how about that? Isn’t there stuff like volunteer work? Why don’t we do that?” said Wang Kun.

“That works!” said Chen Wei.

“I agree!” said a girl’s voice.

“I approve as well!”

…

Upon hearing the youths’ voices, Fangzheng pressed his palms together and let out a Buddhist proclamation. “Amitabha, very good indeed!”

At the same moment, Fangzheng activated the Formless Door and returned to Mt. One Finger. He had only come to the Wang family to see Wang Kun, to see if he had matured. From the looks of it, Fangzheng did not need to worry. These youths were better than he thought them to be. There was no need for him to worry at all.

Upon hearing Fangzheng’s Buddhist proclamation, Wang Kun and company immediately opened the door to seek him, but unfortunately, he was already gone.

After sending everyone off, Wang Kun returned home to tidy up. While cleaning up the room Fangzheng had stayed in, he was surprised to find a letter on the bed. He opened and read it. It said: “Our meeting can be said to have been fate. Patron, why don’t you bring your friends to the Central Sports Stadium to watch a game on Wednesday? Play if you are given a chance.”

Wang Kun was perplexed. What was the meaning of this?

On Wednesday, Wang Kun went with Chen Wei and company to the Central Sports Stadium in the county. It was the best stadium around and could be said to be a holy land for basketball aficionados. At a certain stage, it was bought privately by a boss, and now one needed to pay to play basketball there. Typically students like Wang Kun seldom went there to play basketball.

This time, with Wang Kun offering to foot the bill, Wang Kun and company were naturally happy to play basketball there.

In the beginning, all they did was watch, but they did not see anything. They had a nagging feeling that the number of players were a little on the low side, but there were a lot more spectators.

When it was their turn, the entire group went over. Due to the venue they were in, all of them felt excited. Wang Kun and Chen Wei even more so. As for Lu Zheng, he had not come as his legs had not fully recovered yet, and he was in the hospital for a checkup.

Wang Kun, Chen Wei, and company worked out a sweat while playing their game. Wang Kun managed to score various kinds of three-pointers and executed slam dunks. He played at a level close to that of a professional.

Chen Wei’s title of King of the Board was indeed not without merit. He made several people curse and swear at him with his defense.

Although they treated it as an ordinary match, someone came to them after they were done playing.

“What? You want us to join the province’s youth team selection?” Chen Wei and Wang Kun were first dumbfounded before they reeled in delight!

“Yes, this is the chief coach of our province’s team.” A young man introduced an elder.

The elder cleaned his glasses and said with a smile, “Both of you are very talented. I’m placing my bets on you, but you still need to go through the procedures. How about it? Do you want to join?”

“Yes!” Wang Kun and Chen Wei exclaimed in unison.

However Wang Kun was feeling astounded deep down. He had come as a result of Fangzheng’s guidance, but this opportunity… Was Fangzheng clairvoyant? He had countless questions on his mind, but Wang Kun buried what he knew deep in his heart. He did not tell anyone. Following that, he was overcome with joy, boundless joy!

News quickly spread to school. When Wang Kun came out of the head teacher’s office, he was beaming! Finally he had seen the head teacher smile. Finally he was not being sent out the door with a reprimanding tone saying, “Get out! Get your parents to see me!”

Chen Wei also walked out with an excited look. He chuckled. “The both of us are finally no longer synonyms for trash. Tomorrow we will even be giving a speech. Heh heh, we are now excellent students. It’s so f**king exciting!”

“Yes, life is like a dream. Things change so quickly. Even I am can’t get used to it.”

“When did you become so philosophical? Let’s go. It’s my treat tonight. Let’s have some karaoke!”

“No, go ahead. I need silence tonight.”

“F**k, you have a girlfriend? By the way, who is Silence?”

“Scram!”

…

There was good news coming from Lu Zheng as well. Although his chances of a full recovery had not been deemed very high in the beginning, Lu Zheng had recovered rather rapidly. The doctors called it a miracle! Lu Hui, Wang Kun, Chen Wei, and company accompanied Lu Zheng walking, running, and playing basketball daily. As he became more active, Lu Zheng finally made a full recovery half a year later.

Meanwhile Wang Kun and Chen Wei successfully joined the provincial team. They began working hard to fulfill their dreams. Lu Zheng did not continue his basketball dream, but he never gave up on basketball. Wang Kun and Chen Wei would have a game with him every time they returned. Their friendship improved greatly. However all of them felt wistful. What they talked most about was the mysterious monk and the large white dog. Unfortunately, Fangzheng and the large white dog were nowhere to be seen.

Many years later when they saw Fangzheng again, they realized that the results they wanted to flaunt at Fangzheng were nothing but a joke compared to the halo he had. Instantly they returned to yesteryear, relegated to being obedient children who listened to his teachings.

But that is all epilogue.

At this moment in time, Fangzheng had already returned to Mt. One Finger. When Fangzheng and Lone Wolf saw the monastery’s door, tears rolled down their cheeks. The first thought they had was to rush in after recalling how they nearly starved to death outside. Fangzheng shouted, “Jingxin, cook!”

He heard a commotion in the backyard as a door slammed.

Fangzheng entered the backyard and saw Red Boy standing at the kitchen’s entrance with his face red. He was smiling. “Master, Senior Brother, you are back?”

“Master, I want to make a report!” Squirrel yelled before Fangzheng said a word.

The moment Red Boy heard that, he grabbed Squirrel into an embrace and muttered something. Squirrel fell into a dilemma.

Fangzheng looked suspiciously at Red Boy and asked Squirrel, “Jingkuan, what’s this?”

“Ah… Uh… Well… Em…” Squirrel was not good at lying. After stuttering all day, he was unable to say a single thing.

Fangzheng looked at Red Boy with a cheeky smile. “Do you want to say it now, or do you want some scriptures to help you recollect your memories?”

Red Boy’s eyes looked from side to side as he said, “Nothing much. I only ate a little more Crystal Rice…”

At that moment, Monkey walked in from the backdoor carrying two bamboo shoots. He said indifferently, “Master, Junior Brother is lying. He slept in your room last night.”

Red Boy was immediately rendered speechless. He had been able to stop Squirrel from snitching but had failed to stop Monkey. He failed!

However Red Boy was surprised that Fangzheng was not angry. Instead he patted Red Boy on the head. “Is that so? There’s nothing wrong with sleeping in the meditation room.”

“Really?” Red Boy was pleasantly surprised. He even sneaked a smug glance at Monkey, as though he was saying, “Go ahead and snitch, I’m fine. Lalala~”

Monkey thought nothing of it. Among all the disciples, Monkey enjoyed mimicking Fangzheng the most. He loved to mimic Fangzheng when he was posturing. He remained unperturbed even if the sky were to fall. Calmness! Calmness! Calmness!