The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“That…” The woman fell into thought for some time before she answered, “Master, to be honest, I do not know either. What I can do now is to take it as it comes.”

“Patron, it seems like you have some special needs regarding a limited mobility?” asked Fangzheng out of concern.

The woman fell silent for a moment before saying, “It’s alright. Master, the child is waking up. I’ll talk to you again.”

It was obvious to Fangzheng that she was lying. Her reason was mostly due to her strongheadedness and insistence. She was a strong person and did not wish to be pitied or given special treatment.

After hanging up, Fangzheng returned to the monastery to read and recite his scriptures.

At evening, the child called again as expected. However, Fangzheng was left in an awkward position this time.

“Daddy, Mommy said that you are a policeman. Can you tell me stories of you catching baddies?”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. Stories about catching criminals? He wished to tell him one but what would he tell exactly? With a stroke of brilliance, he switched on handsfree mode and returned to his home screen. He immediately searched for police stories with first-person accounts. Then, he began narrating them to the child. As expected, the child was easily hoaxed, believing in the stories.

After a while, the child’s mother took the call from the child. Clearly, she did not wish for her son to take too much time from a kindhearted person.

“Thank you, Master. He was very happy today. He seems to be recovering from his illness. He will probably be discharged shortly,” the woman’s voice sounded a little relaxed.

Fangzheng said with a smile, “Amitabha. That’s good. Patron, I still do not know how I should address you. Also, what’s the child’s name? I should be professional as a fake father.”

The woman was taken aback before she said with a chuckle, “Master, I never expected you to be this humorous. My name is Qin Xiao and my son’s name is Dong Jun. My husband’s name was Dong Bin. Master, how should I address you?”

“Amitabha. This Penniless Monk is Fangzheng. Patron, can you tell me more about Patron Dong’s story?” Since Fangzheng needed to act as Dong Jun’s father, he naturally needed to do his homework. What was he to do if he was seen through once more time passed?

“Heh heh, Master, there’s no need to worry about being seen through. Junie only met his father once or twice a year, each time not more than a few hours. That is why despite him adoring his father, he… actually doesn’t know his father. My husband’s work needed to be kept a secret. He also told me very little. All I knew was that he was working on drug smuggling. I don’t know anything more either. He was a man of few words and was rather clumsy with his words. Even though he met us once or twice a year, he comes and goes in a rush,” said Qin Xiao.

Fangzheng could imagine the man now. He was a man who had basically abandoned his family for his country. Such a person was great and, at the very least, Fangzheng understood that he could not be compared with him.

After hanging up the phone, Fangzheng immediately gave Lu Liang a phone call.

“Eh? Master, you want to find stories regarding narcotics officers? Why?” Lu Liang was perplexed.

Fangzheng said with a bitter smile, “Will you believe it if you were told that it’s for This Penniless Monk to tell his son stories?”

Lu Liang immediately laughed. How old was Fangzheng? They were all from the same area and knew everything about each other. How could it not be known? Lu Liang chuckled and said, “Venerable Fangzheng, I would have long extricated myself from the universe of bachelors if you actually had a child. Regardless, I have actually heard quite a number of real stories. I’ll sort them out for you to take a look.”

“Okay. The story itself isn’t that important. What’s important is that it has the characteristics of a qualified and excellent narcotics officer. You have to tell This Penniless Monk those.”

“Alright, wait for me. I’ll have to ask my father about it. He knows more.”

Fangzheng thanked him profusely before hanging up. He felt relaxed after not needing to fabricate stories on the spot.

With him being prepared, Fangzheng could immediately transform into a policeman from the narcotics bureau when Dong Jun called again. He babbled on with endless stories, making Dong Jun cry in excitement, cheering for his heroic father!

Days passed one by one as Dong Jun’s illness turned for the better. Qin Xiao sounded increasingly relaxed when she spoke to Fangzheng on the phone.

One day, Qin Xiao said to Fangzheng in exuberance, “Master, I have a job! From this day forth, I’ll be officially starting my own business!”

Fangzheng was taken aback. How could a woman with special needs who needed to take care of a child find a job and start a business? He subconsciously asked, “Amitabha. Congratulations Patron. What job did you find?”

“I opened an online store with my neighbor’s help. My neighbor is willing to spare me a portion of goods to sell on the Internet. I can settle the outstanding balance after I sell them.”

“Congratulations, Patron.” Fangzheng truly felt happy for her. After having engaged with her a few times, Fangzheng realized that she was a very strong-willed woman. No matter what she encountered, she would not seek help from others if it was not necessary.

“Thank you,” said Qin Xiao happily.

However, the joy did not last more than two days. Fangzheng noticed that Qin Xiao turned depressed once again. When he asked, he realized that Qin Xiao had no idea how to manage an online store. She had naively believed that people would buy her goods if she simply placed them online. When she posted them online, no one visited her page, much less complete a sale.

“Patron, everything is difficult in the beginning. It definitely takes time for a layman to switch into a new domain. By the way, what’s the name of your online store?” asked Fangzheng.

“Jun Bin Shoes.”

Fangzheng could not help but smile. He had little business acumen, but the name could really not be considered a good one. It sounded like it sold inferior goods simply from its name. It would truly not be easy to sell anything on the Internet like that, even though the brand she sold was pretty good.

After hanging up, Fangzheng rubbed his nose in thought, “System, can I borrow some money?”

“No,” said the System extremely miserly.

“Must you be this miserly? It’s not like I say a thing when you take my incense offerings.”

“What’s the use of saying that?” countered the System.

Immediately, a black cloud hung over Fangzheng’s head. “System, you will be beaten to death sooner or later with the way you talk.”

“Heh heh, I welcome you to try. You can do good deeds but before doing a good deed, try using your brains first. Those brains of yours aren’t an accessory. Remember, although divine powers are very powerful, there are many things that do not need divine powers to be done. Alright, go think about it.” The System fell silent after saying that.

Fangzheng rolled his eyes at the sky as a silent protest. Since he had no means to help Qin Xiao directly, he could only tackle the problem from a different angle.

At that moment, Fangzheng received a message on WeChat. Fangzheng was stunned when he saw it. It was Li Xueying who had not contacted him in a while!

“Venerable Fangzheng, it’s been a while. I heard that Mt. One Finger had its road mended? How is it?” After Li Xueying sent the message, she sent another emoticon. It was of herself with an exaggerated naughty smile. She had a hat sitting slanted on her head, looking somewhat like one of the default WeChat emoticons.