The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

At that moment, Monkey was already on the road, so he naturally did not look at his cell phone.

Seeing how Monkey did not reply, Fangzheng happily bid Lone Wolf, who had returned secretly, to have fun with him by snapping pictures. Anything could be delightful as long as one’s mood was good.

Fangzheng’s inner child reared its head as he moved a few wooden blocks around. He lined the bottom of the wooden blocks with metallic wires and a sled appeared. Grabbing Lone Wolf who attempted to escape, Fangzheng affixed him to the sled and began sledding.

Lone Wolf began running while feeling extremely aggrieved. As he ran, he yelped, “I can understand words, so can you speak human? I’m not a horse or a donkey, I’m a wolf!”

“Alright, giddy up!”

“I’m a wolf!”

“Weee!”

“You!”

…

After Wu Changxi returned to the city, he received a phone call from the publishing firm, inviting him back to work. Wu Changxi was immediately overjoyed. He got separated from Monkey and Fatty and left to quickly release a manuscript.

In order to have a chance of eating, Fatty and Monkey tried their best to brag about the amazing abilities of the monk from Mt One Finger’s One Finger Temple among their friends.

After Jing Yan returned to her publishing firm, the first thing she did was to write a manuscript. Although she had encountered many unhappy things, she had truly witnessed a miracle today!

Chen Jing also wrote his manuscript. However, he was pondering over it. He was wondering how to depict Fangzheng as a scoundrel monk. After long deliberation, he knew he could not write about the competition. That was where Fangzheng’s strength was at. Compounded with the fact that Ouyang Huazai would definitely take the initiative to admit defeat, he knew that it would only be him smacking his own face if he mentioned it.

Therefore, Chen Jing focused his article on Lone Wolf.

“Monk releases wolf that snapped on people. Villagers down the mountain in panic.”

Cai Fang was biting a pen in his mouth as he ruminated over every word. He planned on writing the article based on facts.

In the city, Pancake Face and company gathered together. In their excess of rage, they each went onto their personal social media accounts and disparaged One Finger Temple.

Social media accounts were naturally faster than the news. With Pancake Face posting a thread on a local website, many people appeared and began criticizing.

“Isn’t there an ancient saying? In a chaotic era, Daoist priests come down the mountains to save the world while monks close the doors to evade trouble. In a flourishing era, Daoist priests retreat into the mountains while monks come down the mountains to cheat. Monks these days cannot be trusted!”

“This monk is indeed extremely shameless. He released a wolf that attacked people for no reason. How terrible.”

“I’m wondering, can ordinary people own such wild beasts without any supervision? Doesn’t someone deal with this? Aren’t the local officials not enforcing the laws?”

“That’s right. Why isn’t anyone investigating this matter?”

When Pancake Face saw that the topic had been diverted, he had a stroke of brilliance as he immediately fanned the flames. He even sent a direct message to the local forest rangers, animal welfare organizations, and other organizations. He was only afraid of not causing a stir.

On the second day, the moment Chen Jing’s article was posted, the discussion revolving around the legality of rearing a wolf in the temple immediately exploded.

“What? This monk really released a wolf that bit people? News of it is out! Those who don’t believe it, go take a look!”

“The news even says that the wolf attacks poultry down the mountain, leaving the villagers in panic.”

“Wasn’t there a previous post that said that there were villagers that were bitten to death by wolves a few years ago?”

“Also, there are people in villages that got attacked by wolves.”

“This monk is heinous!”

…

As for Cai Fang and Jing Yan’s manuscripts, they were prevented from being published at the critical moment!

“What? It can only be published later?” Jing Yan was surprised.

“I need a reason,” Cai Fang said angrily.

“Orders from the top. The firm needs big news. Now, One Finger Temple is a common target for scorn. Let them carry on cursing it and once it becomes extremely feverish, we can come forward and clarify the matter. When that happens, our piece of news will become big!” the boss replied.

Jing Yan and Cai Fang both indicated that news had to be factual and prompt. How could it be sensationalized?

However, their objections were overruled.

Fangzheng did not know that news of him owning a wolf had caused such a stir on the news. However, he knew trouble was here.

“Is Fangzheng here?” At the main entrance, two policemen walked in. One of them, Wu Hai, was someone he knew. The other was dressed in a ranger uniform, and Fangzheng did not recognize him. There was also a policeman behind who held a body-worn camera.

“Amitabha. Patrons, is there something I can help you with?” Fangzheng asked curiously with his palms held together.

“Master, we meet again. It’s this, I heard that you are keeping a wolf up here on the mountain. This is a colleague from the Ranger Department. According to the country’s laws, you are not allowed to keep wolves here, so…” Wu Hai shrugged and indicated that this matter would be a little troublesome. After the matter with Han Xiaoguo, Wu Hai had had a complete change of opinion regarding Fangzheng. He had addressed Fangzheng as ‘Master’ sincerely.

Fangzheng immediately turned a little anxious when he heard this. Although Lone Wolf was rather lazy, and a little crafty, he was indeed a good partner. There was no one on the mountain, so he relied on Lone Wolf to accompany him. If he were taken away, wouldn’t he have to talk to rocks all day?

Most importantly, Lone Wolf was a wild wolf. He did not want Lone Wolf to be locked up in a zoo, living a life without any freedom and one that was worse than death!

However, Fangzheng could not lie as he wished. An idea lit up in his head as he shook his head and said, “Patrons, you are mistaken. This temple does have a wolf that comes often to kowtow and pay respects to Buddha, as well as obtain food and drinks. However, this temple has never kept wolves.”

“Pfft!” Liu Tao from the Ranger Department could not hold back his laughter when he heard that. He said, “Wu Hai, is this the Master you talked about? Isn’t that sheer nonsense? Can a wolf actually pay respects to Buddha? Why don’t you say that the wolf can also recite Buddhist scriptures?”

Wu Hai said with a wry smile as well, “Master, I can understand your feelings. Anyone would be upset if their pet was taken away. However, what you said is just too ridiculous.”

Liu Tai also added, “Little Monk, don’t you worry. If it has been tamed by you from a young age, you have to declare its origins. Also, we would have to test for its ferity. If it’s still feral and can survive out in the wild, we will let it go and not lock it up. Of course, if it is unable to survive in the wild, we can only send it to a zoo. It’s too dangerous to keep it here. There are a lot of villagers down the mountain after all.”

Fangzheng was immediately relieved when he heard this. Lone Wolf was feral, to begin with. His ability to survive in the wild was much stronger than Fangzheng’s. However, it would be taken away by the police? That would be a little problematic.

Fangzheng said, “Amitabha, this wolf is just a devotee of this temple, he is no different from you. This Penniless Monk does not have the authority to decide for it.”

“Little Monk, you got to be kidding me. Eh? It’s this wolf, right?” Liu Tao was about to say something when a large silvery-white wolf sauntered in. It looked up and even gave him a look of contempt! The level of anthropomorphism gave Liu Tao such a fright that he swallowed the words he was about to say.

Lone Wolf had never gone far. Whenever someone came to the temple, he would come back to take a look to ascertain if he needed to do his job as guardian protector of the temple. It could increase the portions of his meal at night, but from the looks of it, it had nothing to do with him!

Fangzheng did not know if Lone Wolf knew what to do either. He alerted him by saying, “Patron, are you here to pay respects to Buddha again?”