The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Yuan Hai immediately shook his head, as though he was saying it would be useless.

Fangzheng smiled. “Patron, you might have gone to Buddha in the past, and it might not have been effective, but that is normal. The three incarnations of Buddha require time to cultivate too. When they cultivate, they are unable to oversee what happens in the mortal world. You might have requests which they fail to see, so the prayers are then naturally. But it’s different today. Today is the day the three incarnations of Buddha will look down on the mortal world. By telling them, they will naturally see it. If your karma allows for it, perhaps your problem might be resolved.”

Yuan Hai looked in astonishment at Fangzheng, as though he was surprised that such a situation was possible.

Fangzheng knew that a white lie would not incur lightning punishment on him. In the past, he was always afraid of being struck by lightning when he wanted to lie. Now that he had found a rare opportunity, he naturally needed to lie as much as he wanted. It felt great! Hence he smiled. “What This Penniless Monk says is all true. Besides, you are only asked to go to Sunglow Monastery to pay respects to Buddha. Would This Penniless Monk be able to scam you? At the worst it would be a waste of time.”

Yuan Hai nodded. What Fangzheng said might be true, but…

Yuan Hai was still unsure why Fangzheng was telling him that, nor did he know if what Fangzheng said was real, but Ouyang Fenghua knew that Fangzheng would definitely not harm Yuan Hai. Therefore she aided him. “Venerable Fangzheng is One Finger Monastery’s abbot. How could an abbot come here to lie to you?”

With that said, Ouyang Fenghua stole a glance at Red Boy, indicating him to help.

However Red Boy had fallen for Fangzheng’s machinations yesterday and wasn’t in the best of moods today. He refused to say a word at first, but since he had been singled out, he snorted. “My master is indeed an abbot. He’s the abbot of a really, really, really big monastery. He’s super awesome.”

When Fangzheng heard the three ‘reallys’, he blushed red. Just the thought of his super large monastery left him ashamed.

Yuan Hai was ultimately someone who had not seen the world. Looking at the three people in front of him, one of them was a benevolent-looking monk, the other a child, and the third a beautiful girl. They did not look like conmen in any way of the word. Therefore he nodded, indicating that he would go.

With that said, Yuan Hai pointed to the riverside. Fangzheng understood him and left with Ouyang Fenghua and Red Boy.

“Master, when can our big monastery become as big as Sunglow Monastery?” Red Boy looked at the massive Sunglow Monastery and sighed.

Fangzheng shook his head. “Sunglow Monastery developed for centuries to reach its present scale. For One Finger Monastery to develop to that stage will be difficult.”

Ouyang Fenghua said, “Actually, that’s not true. Master, your calligraphy is really beautiful. If you were willing to sell it, it wouldn’t be long for you to earn the money needed.”

Fangzheng shook his head. “That which is rare is dear. If too much is written, it will not be worth much. Besides, This Penniless Monk is a monk. It’s not good for me to engage in trading.”

Ouyang Fenghua agreed on retrospection, so she gave up convincing him.

After returning to Sunglow Monastery, Fangzheng sat outside the Mahavira Hall and waited patiently for Yuan Hai to come.

It did not take long for Yuan Hai to come. His hair had already dried, but he wore a nasty expression. Clearly he had come just after his dive. After he greeted Fangzheng, he silently walked into the Mahavira Hall and knelt on a mat. He closed his eyes and seemed to fall into deep thought.

With a thought from Fangzheng, he activated A Golden Millet Dream!

“I have a daughter! I have a daughter!” In a village, a young man wearing yellow rubber boots ran as he shouted. His face was filled with excitement. He went to every door and knocked on them, shouting as he knocked.

In return…

“Yuan Hai, are you mad!?”

“F**k! Yuan Hai, it’s the f**king middle of the night. Are you possessed?”

“Yuan Hai, you might have a daughter, but you woke up my son!”

“Yuan Hai, I was jolted awake by you. You have to treat me to a round of drinks tomorrow! If not, you won’t hear the end of it.”

Cluck! Cluck!

Woof! Woof!

Meow!

Instantly, the entire village was sent into a tizzy by Yuan Hai.

However Yuan Hai thought nothing of it as he continued shouting. But now, he added one more line. “I’m treating everyone to drinks tomorrow!”

This simmered down everyone’s anger.

Yuan Hai ran a huge round before finally running out of the village. He came to the riverside. The Dong River back then was not like the Dong River of the future. It did not have high river levees, and the river wasn’t very wide either. The earth on both sides of the river levees was not farmed on. Beneath the levee were reed marshes, and above it were willow trees. It lacked the artificial shaping of trees, with more of the simple and unadorned aspects of Mother Nature.

Yuan Hai ran to the riverside before realizing he had run too far. After a silly chuckle, he ran back.

Fangzheng stood there and watched everything quietly. He realized that this was where Yuan Hai dove every day, the place where the ruins were!

Fangzheng followed behind Yuan Hai who appeared to have unending energy. He ran home and the moment he entered, he heard his wife laugh. “You silly man. Who goes around running and shouting in the middle of the night?”

“Hehe, I couldn’t help it. Where’s my daughter? Let me take a look again.” Yuan Hai leaned forward in excitement, only to see a tiny baby lying in the woman’s bosom. Her face was blotchy red, and her eyes were still closed. Her tiny mouth was slightly open as her head was bobbing around as though she was searching for milk to drink.

“Alright. That’s enough. Our daughter needs to eat and then sleep,” said Yuan Hai’s wife with a smile.

“Alright, I won’t watch anymore. Eh, one more time. Just one more time!” Yuan Hai agreed readily, but immediately regretted. He leaned forward and looked at the baby with love and amazement.

The scene changed.

The child grew up quickly. She knew how to flip around, sit up, stand up, and call daddy.

Yuan Hai’s eyes were filled with bliss when he saw the little girl grow up bit by bit. Every day, Yuan Hai would do farming in the fields. He would help with the woodwork when anyone did any house construction as a way to earn some side money, which also provided him with cigarettes and alcohol as an extra perk. Yuan Hai’s wife took care of his daughter at home. She would prepare the meals and join Yuan Hai in the farms. Their days slowly turned for the better with each passing day.

“Daddy, look!” At that moment, a girl, Yuan Xingxing, suddenly ran over. She looked up and showcased the red scarf on her neck. She looked gleeful.

“Aiyah, you are now a Young Pioneer of China?” Yuan Hai pretended to look astonished when he saw Yuan Xingxing’s gleeful expression.

When the girl saw Yuan Hai’s expression, she immediately smiled smugly. She hugged Yuan Hai’s waist and smiled. “There’s a treasure too.”

With that said, she took out a tiny golden badge from her pocket. The badge depicted the five stars and the red flag, as well as Tiananmen. It looked very exquisite. Yuan Xingxing said gleefully, “My teacher told me that the red scarf would be checked in the future. One can’t enter the school if one doesn’t bring it, or there would be demerit points. Of course, if one didn’t bring their scarf, they could bring the tiny badge too. Daddy, put it on for me. Tell me if it looks nice.”

Yuan Hai chuckled as he helped Yuan Xingxing wear her badge. The little girl was very pleased with herself as she circled around Yuan Hai to receive his praises.

“Little Xing, you will be a Young Pioneer from now on. You cannot be as naughty as before, do you understand?” asked Yuan Hai.