The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Where are you from? How can you dig bamboo shoots like that?” Dog Song, who had just reached the mountaintop, wanted to dig two bamboo shoots to make some homebrew. When he saw Zhou Wu and Ge Yan digging and throwing them wantonly, he shouted unhappily.

“Screw you! Stay out of my affairs and mind your business!” Zhou Wu turned around and stared. His stout figure and his fierce look were quite frightening.

However, Dog Song did not cower in fear. He stuck his hoe forward and shouted, “Why? This mountain is our One Finger Village’s. The forest is Abbot Fangzheng’s. You are permitted to dig only as a result of Abbot’s kindness. But the way you dig can not be considered digging bamboo shoots. You are here to trample on his heart!”

“So what if I’m trampling? I’m not trampling you! Go idle elsewhere, pauper!” Ge Yan shouted before Zhou Wu even said a word.

Dog Song roared in anger when he heard that, “Who is the pauper referring to?”

“You!” Ge Yan cursed without a thought.

Dog Song chuckled when he heard that. The other villagers who were watching also laughed in unison. ¹

Ge Yan realized her mistake as she bellowed angrily, “Zhou Wu, are you just going to watch? This bastard scolded me!”

Zhou Wu threw his shovel without a word and ran over, raising his leg for a kick! Dog Song never expected him to be that fierce. He came to blows the moment he was put down verbally! Dog Song was immediately sent sprawling to the ground.

Dog Song had previously been a scoundrel in the village. As a local ruffian, he fought ruthlessly even if he was small in build! He got up, grabbed his hoe and smashed it over!

Although Zhou Wu was big in size, he was still afraid of the hoe! He immediately dodged and at that moment, Ge Yan grabbed Dog Song. Zhou Wu saw an opportunity and grabbed the hoe as he raised his fist towards Dog Song.

When the villagers saw this, they halted their amused watching and hurriedly stopped the fight.

With the loud commotion, Squirrel who had returned from frolicking in the forest saw this scene. He ran back to the monastery.

At that moment, Fangzheng was sitting under the bodhi tree studying his scriptures.

“Master, there’s a problem! There’s trouble!” Squirrel yelled at the top of his lungs the moment he entered.

“You are the one that’s a problem and in trouble. Look at how flustered and breathless you are. Speak properly,” said Fangzheng with a smile.

“Master, they have started fighting. The villagers from the foot of the mountain are fighting a huge man beside the Frost Bamboo forest,” said Squirrel urgently.

Fangzheng immediately put away his cell phone and ran over when he heard that. People fighting at his monastery’s entrance? That woouldn’t do! It would be truly problematic if something major went wrong!

Fangzheng ran over. From afar, he saw two groups of people. On one side, there was a family of three. The child was crying, and the parents were cursing vehemently. On the other side, the group of villagers were returning the verbal abuse. There were people in between trying to reason with them.

Fangzheng did not immediately take action when he noticed that there was no fight. He stood behind the crowd and over time, he understood the reason for the conflict. He looked at the holes in the ground as well as the bamboo shoots that had been strewn across the ground haphazardly. Some of the bamboo shoots were clearly saplings while others looked obviously old. They had been dug up and damaged.

Upon seeing this, Fangzheng felt anger rise in him. He was kind in allowing everyone to dig the bamboo shoots, but he never expected someone to act so insensibly.

“What are you bunch of pauper retards shouting about? It’s only a few damaged bamboo shoots? So what if they are dug up?” screamed Ge Yan.

“These belong to someone. They are all Venerable Fangzheng’s bamboo shoots. You can dig up one or two. But such wanton damage of bamboo shoots is unacceptable!” yelled Dog Song.

“Pui! F**k the Venerable One. I’ll dig as and when I want to dig. I want to see who can stop me! I’m telling you, I’m not only going to dig today. I will even bring people over in a few days to dig up the entire bamboo forest! Do you want to eat it? Dream on!” Zhou Wu yelled.

“You-” Just as Dog Song was about to begin his tirade, a Buddhist proclamation suddenly sounded behind him, “Amitabha!”

Dog Song knew that Fangzheng was there. He immediately stopped whatever verbal abuse he was about to deliver. The crowd made way and bowed at Fangzheng. Fangzheng returned their bows.

When Zhou Wu and Ge Yan heard the Buddhist proclamation, their hearts sank. They knew that the owner was there. When they saw the crowd suddenly make way for a young, handsome, smiling monk, Zhou Wu subconsciously curled his mouth. He thought, “I was wondering what sort of figure he was. So he’s just a young monk!”

Ge Yan whispered, “Old Zhou, finishing the young monk should be enough.”

“Don’t worry. He’s just a kid. He will acquiesce once you scare him,” returned Zhou Wu with a whisper.

“Abbot Fangzheng, these two…” Dog Song immediately wanted to complain.

Fangzheng smiled, “Amitabha, This Penniless Monk has already heard what happened.”

“Little Monk, since you have heard all that has happened, be the judge on this matter. I dug up the bamboo shoots with my own abilities, but this grandson over here stuck his nose into my business. Should he get a beating?” Zhou Wu immediately shifted the blame.

Dog Song fumed instantly as he shouted, “Do you even have any shame!?”

Instead, Fangzheng smiled, “Patron, what you said seems to make sense.”

Zhou Wu was instantly delighted when he heard that. He had planned on acting scoundrelly and leaving immediately with the bamboo shoots. He never expected the young monk to be so easily frightened. He yielded from a glare.

Dog Song turned anxious when he heard that. “Abbot Fangzheng, don’t be afraid of him. All of us from One Finger Village are backing you. This darn scoundrel will not be taking even one bamboo shoot down the mountain today!”

“That’s right! We will help you!” Sun Qiancheng said.

Upon seeing so many villagers voicing their will to help, Zhou Wu wussed out. However, he shouted fiercely to keep up appearances, “If any one of you dares make a move, I’ll be bringing people back to teach all of you a lesson! I’ll level this f**king bamboo forest!”

The villagers were even more enraged.

A distance away, Red Boy came back from fetching water. He then sat on the wall and watched with a chuckle.

“Junior Brother, aren’t you going to help?” asked Monkey.

Red Boy curled his lips, “Why would I need to? Isn’t Master very formidable? Let him settle it by himself, hmph!” He thought to himself, “It would save me the trouble if that idiot killed the darn baldy.”

Fangzheng did not hope that Red Boy would help him. Since it was a problem in his own backyard, he naturally had to resolve it as abbot. How could he rely on his disciples? More importantly, Fangzheng felt no assurance with Red Boy! The boy might look like a boy but if he were allowed to go wild, a hundred Lone Wolves would not be comparable to his destructive strength!

Zhou Wu believed that the villagers would step back with his roar, but the villagers immediately stabbed their hoes and shovels into the ground. Their meaning was clear. Do you believe we won’t bury you?

Ge Yan also turned afraid. Just as the saying went, “He who is down needs fear no fall.” They were really afraid of those that were already down.

Fangzheng immediately said when he saw the situation develop, “Amitabha. Patrons, calm down. It’s only some bamboo shoots. Why do you need to go so far?” Despite saying so, his mind stirred as he activated his Divine State! However, the System would not help him in secret. He could only leave it to fate and wish that it would be of use!