The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Elsewhere in Black Mountain City’s exclusive retailer for Porsche, a woman nearly smashed the phone out of anger. “That darn monk was actually pulling a prank on me!”

Although Xiaorong was cursing, she knew that it was all her fault for being overly eager. She had interrupted Fangzheng at every critical juncture, causing the huge misunderstanding! However, she had a nagging feeling that she had been tricked by the asshole monk!

“No, I can’t take this lying down. I have to find out where the asshole is. Hmph, not short of fifty thousand? He even asked about the car’s capabilities and wanted to test-drive a Porsche Angel that is worth more than ten million? Fine, wait and see! I’ll be selling you a plane next time. Let’s see if you still have any reason to reject me!” Xiaorong roared inwardly. Simultaneously, she wondered if she should make a trip to see what the prankster looked like.

And at that moment in time, Fangzheng had already arrived in front of his Crystal Rice paddy. He sat under the Frost Bamboo’s mother bamboo. He did not bring the wooden fish this time and peacefully recited the scriptures. The mother bamboo gently swayed in the wind, as though it could understand Fangzheng. The Crystal Rice sprouts also finally emerged out of the water’s surface in the Crystal Rice paddy. They had an extremely beautiful green.

Late into the night, Fangzheng was just about to sleep when his cell phone suddenly rang.

Fangzheng helplessly picked it up without looking at the number. He was a little confused when he heard the voice of a child over the phone, “Hey! Is that daddy?”

Fangzheng was immediately rendered speechless as he replied, “Hey, This Penniless Monk is really not your father.”

“Ah… Oh, sorry,” the child’s disappointed voice sounded before he hung up.

Upon hearing the child’s disappointed voice, Fangzheng lost his sleepiness. He lied in bed feeling a little conflicted. He did not have parents from a young age. Although he did not have a lack of love, whose love could replace true parents? Having good food to eat and a roof over one’s head could not be compared to the companionship offered by parents. That was every child’s wish.

“Maybe I should acknowledge him. He might be very happy that way. But I don’t even know his name. If he finds out the truth, wouldn’t that be very awkward?” Fangzheng shook his head and turned around before dozing off to sleep.

Early next morning, Fangzheng’s phone rang again while he had his meal. Fangzheng was prepared and when he saw the number, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief realizing that it was not the boy. The person who called was Jing Yan…

Fangzheng was about to pick up the call when he realized that the other party had stopped the call. After some thought, Fangzheng called back. The ringtone was not the default dull one but a polyphonic ringtone. It was a song that sounded heavy and a little sorrowful. Fangzheng only heard it twice before his heart began palpitating. Instantly, scenes of Liu Fangfang in the birch forest appeared in his mind.

“White snow blows over the quiet village. Pigeons fly in the hazy sky. Two names carved into a birch tree…”

Fangzheng listened to it quietly as he reminisced. As he appreciated the charms of the song and listened to the story it depicted, the tune stopped. A languid voice sounded, “Hello. Master, you are early.”

Fangzheng said, “Amitabha. Patron, it was you who called This Penniless Monk first.”

“Ah!? Did I? I was switching off the alarm and accidentally touched it. Sorry about that,” Jing Yan sounded a lot more awake in an instant.

Fangzheng was rendered speechless. He never expected that to happen. However, Fangzheng asked out of curiosity, “Patron, what song is your ringtone? This Penniless Monk likes it a lot.”

“Birch Forest. I found it by chance on the Internet. This song matched Granny Liu Fangfang very well. Although there are dissimilarities, I like it. I like the feeling it gives.”

“It’s indeed very pleasant and meaningful. By the way, how is Patron Liu? Also, what about the dock?”

“Hehe. Master, don’t worry. The dock won’t be demolished. It was to be demolished because the dock was dirty and messy. If the dock wasn’t removed, the other places could not be touched. But there is no problem anymore. The government has decided to transform it into an area that pays tribute to our patriots. It will be a place where we can cherish the memories of our patriots together. Also, the city plans on establishing a nameless patriot tombstone. In the future, people can do tomb-sweeping there on Tomb-Sweeping Day. It will not only be the place for Granny Liu and others to await the return of the patriots but for all of us to wait together.

Now, the government is sending people to begin restoration and reinforcement works on the old dock. Furthermore, there will be people hired to keep the old dock clean. And after this matter was made known, the local residents responded with fervent support. They came forward to clean up the streets. Now, it’s not dirty but very clean instead. Only the buildings are a little old, but that’s good too. They remind us of that era.

Auntie Liu has returned to her hometown. She’s well and the villagers take very good care of her. Her family has accepted her back, and her days are pretty good.”

Fangzheng was extremely shocked. Although he wished that the government would retain the dock which had sent off and awaited the patriots, he had not beared much hope. After all, many things could not be changed simply because of a single person. He never expected that the government seemed to place an emphasis that far exceeded his imagination on the matter.

Upon hearing the good news, Fangzheng let out a Buddhist proclamation, “Amitabha! Very good indeed.”

The two exchanged a few words before Jing Yan said, “Master, I’ll talk to you another time. I have an interview today. I need to get up. Bye.”

Fangzheng did not ask further and hung up as he began eating his meal.

Red Boy had been listening while sitting across Fangzheng. He swallowed his last mouthful of rice when he saw that Fangzheng was done with the call. He grinned and snorted, “Master, chatting with a female patron? You seemed to have quite a happy chat.”

Fangzheng pricked up his brows when he heard Red Boy’s eccentric tone. He said solemnly, “Jingxin, are you done with your meal? If you are done, go fetch some water.”

Red Boy glared at Fangzheng aggrieved, but Fangzheng continued slowly eating, unfazed, as though he did not care if Red Boy kept staring at him. Red Boy twitched his nose and said, “I’d definitely kill you if not for me not being your match!”

Then, Red Boy sullenly went to fetch water.

Having seen Red Boy fetch water before, the construction workers no longer found it an odd sight when they saw Red Boy come down again. However, they watched him come and go pitifully. It left Red Boy very uncomfortable. However, he was arrogant and could not be bothered to speak to the mortals.

After Fangzheng finished his breakfast, he came in front of the temple hall. He switched off his cell phone before walking into the temple hall to strike the wooden fish and begin his scripture recital.

The bodhi tree in the yard was getting more lush as its crown grew larger. It swayed with the wind as leaves scattered. Beneath the tree was Monkey, dressed in a monk robe, as he slowly swept the leaves. Squirrel was diligently sending pine nuts into his personal villa on the tree. The entire world seemed to be immersed in serenity.