The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“I know… I’m out of options. Do you want me to allow her to stay, watching helplessly as her home gets destroyed? That’s just cruel. Both choices are cruel but I chose the lesser of two evils. I’m already trying my best to help…” Jing Yan sighed deeply.

Fangzheng understood. Jing Yan was right. The matter had nothing to do with her. She could already be considered kind by involving herself in the situation. She would not have been at fault even if she had not done so. But the problem was, since you involved yourself in the situation, why did you throw the problem at This Penniless Monk? Fangzheng felt an urge to curse.

“Venerable Fangzheng, we now have two options. One is to figure out what keeps her so tied to the dock. She threatened to kill herself the few times the demolishing was proposed. Or we resolve matter at its core, whatever that may be. As for the second option, it’s to give the government a reason for not demolishing it. It’s impossible for the government to remain muddle-headed and not demolish it, right?” asked Jing Yan.

Fangzheng muttered below his breath, “The problem is the government’s though is it not?”

“I know. The problem is that the government has no idea what to do themselves… On one hand, the demolition will benefit everyone, on the other hand one person stands stubbornly in the way. They have been conceding for a decade. It’s impossible for them to keep conceding for the wishes of a single person.” explained Jing Yan.

Fangzheng nodded. “Alright. This Penniless Monk will do his best.”

Jing Yan smiled the moment she heard that. She immediately thanked him.

Fangzheng hung up the call and thought about the matter. He walked back into One Finger Monastery and saw Liu Fangfang communicating with Monkey through sign language before walking into the temple hall with a beaming smile. She pressed her palms together and knelt down.

Fangzheng closed the monastery’s door and made Monkey keep watch outside. No one was to be entertained today! He stepped into the hall and knocked on the wooden fish while reciting the scriptures and planning in the process.

Upon suddenly hearing the sound of a wooden fish, the old woman opened her eyes in surprise. She never imagined that a wooden fish could produce sounds that penetrated deep into her heart. It calmed her as she contemplated life. The old woman was even more astonished when Fangzheng began reciting the scriptures. Although she had come to One Finger Monastery after hearing some things from Jing Yan, she felt a little disappointed seeing only a young monk in One Finger Monastery. Since she was here, there was no reason for her to leave quickly. She had many things she wanted to confide in someone.

In the past, she had no suitable confidant. Now, she had found one a Bodhisattva that was right in front of her.

Bodhisattva would not despise her because of the criticism she endured, much less criticize her for the same reason. She was never a person who liked to bring misfortune to others!

As she sensed the stillness in her heart and her surroundings, she finally managed to calm her heart. She pressed her palms together and slowly closed her eyes before losing herself to her memories. These were the most beautiful memories and she wanted to share them with Bodhisattva. It was the core of her hope.

Meanwhile. “Ding! Liu Fangfang has acquired a large amount merit. Although the merit is external, it satisfies the System’s mission requirements. A forced System mission has been issued. Help Liu Fangfang fulfill her wishes for a reward of a thousand merit points and one random item!”

Fangzheng was taken aback. He had just discussed the problem about System missions a few days ago. He believed that no one would satisfy the System’s requirements any time soon but to his surprise, he had encountered one a mere few days later! Fangzheng was stunned by the prize! A thousand merit points! Fangzheng had only earned two hundred merit points up to this point This was a amount! Furthermore, there was the prize of a random item. It was definitely the mission among all the missions that had the best reward ever since Fangzheng met the System.

“System you aren’t kidding, right? To think there is a thousand merit points involved,” said Fangzheng in astonishment.

“I would not joke about such a serious matter. The mission has already been given out. It’s best you spend your time contemplating on how to complete it.”

Fangzheng suddenly recalled a matter and asked perplexed, “By the way, you said that Liu Fangfang has great merit on her but it’s external. What is external merit? I’ve never heard of that.”

“It the blessings of the departed. The departed had great merit and with his passing, the merit was transferred to her.”

“It can be transferred?” Fangzheng had never heard of that before.

“It can under special circumstances. For example the last wish of a dying hero, is the foundation on which the merit can be transferred. The receiving party must work equally hard to receive this merit. Which the lady seems to have earned.”

Fangzheng blinked, enlightened. In that case, Liu Fangfang had someone who cared greatly for her and that person passed away. Could this be related to the reason she refused to leave the old dock?

Looking back at Liu Fangfang, Fangzheng secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid that she would leave after paying her respects. It would have been difficult to lead her into a dream and dig into her memories if that happened. The best method was to exploit the situation to make her reminiscence and have her confide voluntarily. It would make things a lot easier for everyone.

With a thought, Fangzheng entered Liu Fangfang’s long river of memories.

“Chirp! Chirp…”

The crisp sounds of birds twittering could be heard. Fangzheng blinked as he realized that he was inside a forest.

It was a pine tree forest with many birches. Fangzheng was familiar with birches. They were one of his favorite trees ever since he was a youth.

As Fangzheng’s mind wandered, he heard laughter that sounded like a tinkling bell. It was clear and pleasant to the ears. Fangzheng turned around and looked over. A young white-dressed girl with braided plaits was running over to him. As she ran, she shouted, “Brother Yu, try to catch me!”

“I’m coming. Fangfang, run slower. Don’t fall!.” Far away, a huge boy dressed in a linen shirt had a straw rope in his hand that wrapped around a huge fish. As he ran, he shouted out in concern.

“Got it. I’m fine. I run faster than you, haha…” As the girl spoke, she suddenly fell to the ground with a scream.

The boy threw the fish down and rushed toward her. He put his hands on her, worried he asked, “Fangfang, are you alright?”

The girl cried. “Boohoo… my leg hurts.”

The man clumsily tried to comfort her. He would mimic the twittering of birds, the quacking of ducks, or jump like a frog. The girl was no longer crying. Instead, she covered her eyes and secretly peeked at the humorous scene…

A fire was set up as a fat fish was roasted over it. Although there was no seasoning, it still smelled great. The two kids filled their stomaches before looking up at the sky while lying on the grass.