The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

There wasn’t much to deliver today and if he could finish it early, it would be a waste of money not to work while he had nothing to do. Not wasting his life was a principle of his, so Hu Tan had accepted the delivery job. In the beginning, he had been actually rather happy, but things escalated in a way that were not as smooth as he imagined.

One Finger Village had been easy to find, but he was surprised to spend half an hour looking for Region 0, #1 without succeeding. He looked through the entirety of One Finger Village, from front to back and he even did so five or six times, without being able to find Region 0, #1. When he tried calling the receiver, he constantly got a notification that the number he called had the phone turned off. Later on, the villagers even began to suspect that he was up to no good and looked at him suspiciously. Some even rolled up their sleeves and asked him, “What are you doing? Why are you going around our village for?”

“I’m a delivery man. I have a package here, but I can’t find the address despite having been searching all day. Bro, help me take a look at it.” Hu Tan was near tears. What the heck was this?

The person leading the group was no other than Dog Song. He was a busybody, as he immediately went forward and asked, “Who is it for? Tell me. There’s no one in this village that I do not know.”

“Region 0, #1,” Hu Tan immediately replied. This address was something that had been plaguing his mind all day, so he had memorized it thoroughly.

“What? Region 0, #1? Our village goes from Regions 1 to 6. How can there be a Region 0? Did you see wrong?” Dog Song asked perplexed.

“I don’t know either. I’ve tried calling the phone number so many times, but no one picks it up,” Hu Tan said bitterly.

“Stop talking about the Region, just say the name. I’ll know who it is once you say the name,” said Dog Song.

Hu Tan looked at the back of the package. “It’s for… Master Fangzheng.”

“Who the hell is Master Fangzheng? Ah? Fangzheng!” Dog Song was suddenly jolted awake. One Finger Temple on Mt. One Finger had been forcefully placed under the village’s management back in the day after a lot of hoo-ha. However, the regions had already been allocated, so it was troublesome to implement it into the system. Therefore, One Finger Temple was given the address Region 0, #1. Region 0 only had one crappy temple, so it was obviously #1.

This was a story that Dog Song’s father had told him in the past.

“So it’s mail for Fangzheng. About that, you came to the wrong place. Fangzheng isn’t in the village, but outside.” Dog Song had actually wanted to take receipt of the package to see what it was. Yet, seeing how everyone was around him, he could not bring himself to do so and he generously gave the delivery man directions.

Hu Tan nearly wept. He had finally found the address! He was so flustered.

Hu Tan looked in the direction he was pointing at and asked, “Bro, are you sure it’s this? I just have to go straight?”

Dog Song had lost interest since he could not see what was being delivered. He pointed casually and said, “Just walk straight. When you see a fork, take the left one. There’s no other road. When you see a mound, climb over it. When you see water, cross over it. Just go straight all the way and you will reach it.”

“Alright, thanks!” Hu Tan drove his three-wheeled van away. However, he soon lost all feelings of gratitude, he wanted to curse!

Dog Song had not been wrong. He went straight and saw the left fork as he moved forward. Yet, what the heck did he mean by climbing over a mound when he saw it? Was this a mound? That was a mountain, alright?

The three-wheeled van could not go up the mountain, which left Hu Tan having to climb the mountain in frustration.

As for Dog Song, he had a smile as if he had done something evil. He left happily to enjoy some alcohol.

Hu Tan kept consoling himself that it would be just in front and that no one would stay too high. Only then would it not be too tough on him. However, the more he walked, the higher he went. Finally, he reached the peak exhausted, where he eventually found One Finger Temple. At that moment, it was as though he could see the Buddha’s light emitting from Buddha, saying to him, “Are you dying of exhaustion? If so, why don’t you come over to Buddha’s side?”

Hu Tan charged into the temple, but he did not see anyone. In his rage, he lost all mindfulness of his service attitude. He yelled again and again.

And this yelling of his eventually really made someone come. It was a bald monk dressed in white robes who looked very clean. The monk seemed about his age. He was fair and perfect. He had clear eyes, neat teeth, and thin lips. He had a charming beauty. He clearly had a very well-proportioned facial structure, but it lacked an effeminate air, which made him look especially immaculate.

“This kid became a monk at such a young age. How bad was he trampled by his former girlfriend to come here to this god-forsaken place and become a monk?” grumbled Hu Tan inwardly.

At that moment, the monk came in front of Hu Tan. He held his palms together and said, “Amitabha, This Penniless Monk is Fangzheng, the abbot of this temple. Patron, other than offering incense or paying respects to Buddha, is there something else for your visit here to this temple?”

Hu Tan rolled his eyes and pointed at his clothes. If not for him still being out of breath, he would have definitely shouted, “Are you blind? Can’t you tell that I’m wearing the uniform of Speedy Delivery?! Can’t you see the delivery package in my hand?! Do I look anything like I’m here to offer incense or pay respects to Buddha?! Speaking of which, who is dumb enough to come to this remote and crappy temple to offer incense or pay respects to Buddha? There are tons of large temples elsewhere.”

However, Hu Tan did not say that out loud. Instead, he continued panting and gestured for Fangzheng to wait a moment.

However, Hu Tan had maligned Fangzheng. Fangzheng did not have any family outside and as for the classmates he had back when he went to school, they had probably forgotten about him after years of absence. Since he had no one he knew outside, who could have sent him a package? If there was, someone had definitely filled in the wrong address and sent it to the wrong place. If not, why hadn’t the other party called him to inform him of it?

Seeing how Hu Tan was still trying to catch his breath, Fangzheng said, “Patron, take a break. This Penniless Monk will get you some water.”

Hu Tan was already dying of thirst, so he naturally did not stand on ceremony when he heard Fangzheng was offering him water. Fangzheng’s attitude had also appeased him greatly. Once he caught his breath, he would get Fangzheng to sign the package before he descended the mountain. There was still a lot of stuff for him to do in the afternoon.

Fangzheng went into the back-kitchen and came back with a big bowl of water. When Hu Tan saw this, he immediately gulped the water down. The moment the water entered his stomach, he felt a refreshing feeling that nearly sent him to the heavens.

Hu Tan could not help but exclaim with praise, “Nice water! Indeed, spring water in the mountains is the best! All kinds of spring water in the city are scams. They are fake.”

Fangzheng smiled without speaking. Hu Tan clearly had not drunk the mountain’s spring water, so he believed that Fangzheng’s water was from the mountain. However, Fangzheng did not give any explanations. He only wanted to know why the delivery man was here.

Hu Tan noticed how Fangzheng was silent, and he said with an embarrassed smile, “Sorry about that, Master. I kept you waiting. My name is Hu Tan, I’m a delivery man from Speedy Delivery. Are you Master Fangzheng?”

Fangzheng said with a nod, “That’s This Penniless Monk. Patron, you are looking for This Penniless Monk?”

“Who else could it be? My legs nearly broke to deliver something to you. I have no idea if my three-wheeled van still has the electricity for the return trip. Sigh, tell me, who did I offend?” As Hu Tan spoke, he took out a box about twice the size of a hand palm and passed it to Fangzheng. “This is a delivery for you, Master. Please sign here.”

With that said, Fangzheng was stunned. He had never expected to receive a package!

Fangzheng accepted it without hesitation. After taking a careful look, it was indeed his address and name. Even the cell phone number was his!