The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Guan Xiangfeng was delighted when he heard that as he roared inwardly, “Screw you, Dog Song! Let’s see if you can continue your ostentatious act! I can still obtain the Frost Bamboo even without your help. Haha! I want to see how the color on your face changes from white to green before turning black when you see the Frost Bamboo in my hand! Haha…”

A bit over ten minutes later.

Guan Xiangfeng walked up the mountain behind a man. The man had his hands by his back as he wore a baseball cap on his tilted head. He sent saliva flying as he spoke. “Didn’t I tell you? Wouldn’t it be over and done with if I brought you up the mountain? But no, you had to seek the village chief first. Look at you. Going one big round only to return to me. It’s not that I’m criticizing you, but you are just too young and disobedient. Instead, you are…”

It was Guan Xiangfeng, who was following behind Dog Song, who had the color on his face change from white to green, before it eventually turned raven-black. He only had one sentence on his mind. “This is a face slap, an undisguised face slap!”

Meanwhile at the mountaintop.

“Master, why did you gather so much bamboo?” Red Boy squatted in the yard as he watched a seated Fangzheng skin the bamboo.

“All of you have been behaving well recently. I plan on rewarding all of you.” Fangzheng said with a smile as he looked at the bamboo in his hand.

“Reward? What reward?” Red Boy asked in excitement.

“A bed for each one of you!” said Fangzheng.

“Really!?” Red Boy reeled in excitement. It had been a while since he had arrived at One Finger Monastery, which only had two meditation rooms. And one of them was the late Old Zen Master One Finger’s. Fangzheng cleaned it daily, but he forbade anyone from entering. The other one was where Fangzheng stayed. Similarly, he forbade others from staying in it unless he was not around.

Then there was the kitchen. This was where Monkey and Red Boy roosted. Lone Wolf had his own kennel, and Squirrel still had his tiny villa which had been delivered by the college student, Ma Juan. In comparison, Monkey’s and Red Boy’s conditions were the harshest. However, Monkey used to sleep in the wilderness in the past, so he found it alright to sleep in the kitchen.

As for Red Boy, he used to live in a huge cave. As a demon king, he had all sorts of comforts. Now that he was suddenly sleeping in such an abject location, he was quite displeased… Thankfully, his demon king body made him immune to the heat or cold. However, he still yearned for a bed. Now that he could finally have one, he was naturally falling over with excitement.

When Monkey heard about the bed, he immediately came over and asked, “Master, will we really get beds?”

“Of course. I will be constructing a bed for all of you,” said Fangzheng with a nod.

“Master, Master! I want a bed too!” Squirrel jumped up and stood on Fangzheng’s shoulder as he clamored.

Fangzheng smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t sell you short. Everyone will have one. Jingfa, you will have one too.”

Lone Wolf immediately widened his mouth and laughed foolishly when he heard that.

“Why are you laughing? Won’t you still be lying on the ground even if you have a bed…” Red Boy muttered.

Lone Wolf immediately gave his trademark version of rolling eyes!

Fangzheng could not be bothered with the clowns. Back when he obtained the Zen Carpentry skill from the System, he thought it was a useless skill at first. Yet after some thought, he realized that the skill would ensure that his lack of furniture would no longer be a problem. His quality of life could also improve drastically. As such, the skill could be considered quite a godsend.

Since he had nothing to do, he decided to make beds for his disciples. He was just giving it a try, but the moment he did so, all the information regarding Frost Bamboo flashed in his mind when he made contact with it. He became completely aware of all of the bamboo’s patterns, its dense and tender spots, as well as which cutting techniques would be suitable for it!

Before he even began, Fangzheng had already decided which were the best uses for the different parts of the Frost Bamboo. The feeling was one of absolute confidence, as though everything was under his control.

It had not been even a year yet since the Frost Bamboo had started growing on the mountain. All the bamboo had a bamboo epidermis over it, which was why Fangzheng first had to peel one layer off. After removing the epidermis, Fangzheng picked up a machete. Although it was an old machete, its blade was shiny and extremely sharp. This was one of the few weapons One Finger Monastery had! It had played an important role back when Zen Master One Finger cleared the tracts of Mt. One Finger.

“Master, you are using something like that? Are you sure you are making us beds and not coffins?” Red Boy came over and sized up the machete which was about half his height.

Fangzheng smiled wryly. “I also wish to use a better carving tool, but there’s none! Just have to make do with it. At least it has a blade.”

Just as Red Boy was about to say something, he heard an angry bellow coming from outside the yard. “Stop!”

The person who shouted was none other than Guan Xiangfeng who had come up the mountain with Dog Song. One Finger Monastery was small, so just by standing at the backyard’s entrance, one could clearly see what was in Fangzheng’s hand! It looked supple and emerald-green like translucent jadeite. Its cross-section was not squarish in shape, but it was densely packed, also like jade! Not only had Guan Xiangfeng never seen such bamboo before, he had never even heard of it before! Even without any additional work to it, it was already a perfect piece of art! The bastard monk was actually holding a blade that would be considered too large for a pig-slaughtering knife! Was he trying to chop wood? That was too much! What a waste!

It was hard to obtain even one segment for him, yet this bastard was wasting it like that! This was destruction of a heavenly treasure, something intolerable by the heavens! In a moment of rashness, Guan Xiangfeng forgot that he was there to make a request and instead, shouted.

Fangzheng frowned. This was his territory, so why did he need permission from anyone to do what he wanted there? When he turned his head, he saw a stocky man standing beside Dog Song. He was dressed in a black t-shirt and had a mustache and a ponytail… Fangzheng was no stranger to such a fashion sense. He often saw people like that on the Internet and typically, these people were in the world of arts. It was said that looking like that made one exude the aura of an artist master. Fangzheng had no opinion on men keeping long hair. The ancients all kept long hair, so it was no big deal as long as he didn’t overdo it.

Red Boy was displeased hearing the person shout. He looked up and shouted, “What’s an old auntie like you screaming for? Can’t you see my master at work?”

“Pfft!” Dog Song often went up the mountain and knew what was essential on the way up. He had brought with him a water bottle and indeed, it was hot. As he used his cap to fan himself, he drank some water, only to spew it all out… He choked so badly that his tears almost flowed out. Then, he could not help but laugh out rapturously.

Guan Xiangfeng stared wide in anger as he said furiously, “Kid, why are you speaking like that? Not all people with long hair are women. Artists look like that!”

“Now that you mention it, I do recall something like that. I did see an artist with a ponytail once.” Red Boy scratched his head in embarrassment.

Guan Xiangfeng scoffed. “I won’t hold it against you since you are young.”

“Oh, right. Are you also in the line of peddling your ass?” asked Red Boy as he blinked his eyes.

Guan Xiangfeng was just about to continue when that was said. He failed to catch his breath as his face turned red! He cursed inwardly, “Whose brat is this? Does he not know how to behave? What sort of nonsense is he being educated with?”