The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Let go! Don’t wipe your tears and snot on me! I’m your Senior Brother, not your handkerchief!” Squirrel flailed his claws in desperation and climbed onto Fangzheng’s shoulder, where he looked at Red Boy, peeved.

Red Boy said in all seriousness, “I learned from Master.”

“Both of you are baddies!” Squirrel said angrily.

After some rowdiness, the trio sat on a curb, in ascending order of size from left to right.

“Master, that granny is so pitiful,” said Squirrel.

Red Boy said, “How can there be such people in this world? His mother misses him so much, but he doesn’t even return to visit. He caused trouble elsewhere, yet he makes his elderly mother sell her house to pay his debts. Ridiculous! He better not bump into me, or I’ll make sure to beat him to the point of debilitation!”

Fangzheng let out a long sigh and did not comment. Although the son’s actions made Fangzheng very uncomfortable, he also knew that people did not necessarily live freely in this world. There were all kinds of shackles that left people with no choice.

“Master, do you think the granny will sell the house and send the money to her son? If she’s without a house, what can she do?” asked Squirrel.

When Fangzheng heard that, he felt a bout of sadness. Fangzheng knew that a mother would be willing to sell her life, much less her house at the request of her child.

Fangzheng thought for a moment before saying, “Let’s continue watching.”

Red Boy nodded. They turned invisible, opened the door and entered the house.

The elder was still seated on the rundown sofa. On the coffee table, which was covered in scratches and had a corner chipped off, was the cell phone as well as the piece of paper that had a bank account number written on it.

The elder sat there, seemingly asleep. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady. Even in her sleep, she did not wish to part from her phone.

“Why doesn’t she sleep on the bed?” Red Boy whispered his question to Fangzheng.

“She still holds onto the hope that her son might call her the next moment.”

“Oh? Where’s Jingkuan?” Fangzheng was surprised, for Squirrel was no longer on his shoulder.

At that moment, a figure ran out of the room. He flailed his claws in agitation as he jumped on the spot. It appeared he had discovered something!

Fangzheng looked at the sleeping elder and gave Squirrel a stern look. He didn’t want Squirrel to run around.

Squirrel constantly waved his claws, looking anxious. He pointed into the room, as though he had discovered something important.

Helpless, Fangzheng walked over with Red Boy. The door to the room was already broken. A brick was used to hold the door in place, keeping it constantly opened. This made it more convenient for the elder to enter and exit the room.

When Fangzheng entered the room, Squirrel immediately ran to the bed and pointed to a picture placed by the headrest.

Fangzheng picked it up and saw that it was a picture of the elder and her son. Her son wasn’t very tall, and he smiled a little abashedly. However what astonished Fangzheng wasn’t that. The picture wasn’t recent at all! From their dressing style, they guessed it had been taken some five or six years ago. The picture had yellowed already, emphasizing how long it had been.

“This bastard hasn’t returned to see the granny for so many years. This photo is from so many years ago. He sure isn’t filial,” cursed Red Boy softly.

At that moment, Squirrel pointed to the wall opposite to the bed. “Look there!”

Fangzheng traced Squirrel’s finger and saw a black-and-white picture hanging on the opposite wall. At the top was a magnified picture of a genial grandpa. Beneath it was a picture of a youth. Fangzheng found it familiar when he saw it. Then, he suddenly turned around and looked at the picture by the headrest. Upon comparison, the person was identical!

“How many sons does she have?” Red Boy subconsciously asked.

Fangzheng shook his head. He was unsure as well, but he guessed that they were a pair of twins. If not, who could have been the person on the phone?

“How pitiful. Two sons, one dead, and one a bastard.” Red Boy sighed.

Fangzheng nodded and walked out. The elder was still seated there napping. Seeing her like that, Fangzheng, Red Boy, and Squirrel felt their hearts wince for her. Fangzheng gave Red Boy a nod. With a wave of his hand, Red Boy cast a warm barrier on the elder. The barrier prevented mosquitoes from biting her and had a temperature stabilizing effect. Then, the trio left the house.

When they walked out of the estate, Squirrel could not help but say, “This estate looks like a coffin.”

Upon hearing that, Fangzheng and Red Boy were taken aback. They surveyed the surroundings and indeed, the rundown environment was like a coffin. It did not seem to be a land of the living.

Red Boy said, “Perhaps the granny has decided to treat this place as her final resting ground.”

At that moment, a young couple walked out with an elder. As they walked, the lady said, “Mom, the houses in this estate are dangerous. The government wants to demolish it, so don’t resist. Take what’s valuable and leave. Leave the rest to us.”

“Sigh. If we leave, what do we do about Old Liang? Her husband and son have passed away, and there’s no one to take care of her. With us here, she at least has us for company. If we were to leave…” The elder sighed.

“Auntie Liang?” The lady subconsciously looked in the direction of the house of the elder who stayed close to her phone even while sleeping. She sighed. “That doesn’t mean you should stay in a dangerous house. What happens if the house collapses? Besides, aren’t there volunteers who visit her every week?”

“No way. Either you think of a way to bring Old Liang with us, or I stay here with her. Everyone in her family were nice people. They often helped us in the past. We can’t chill her heart,” said the elder.

The couple exchanged looks and felt exasperated. All they could do was agree.

When Fangzheng heard that, his heart palpitated. He immediately went forward and asked, “Amitabha. Patrons, sorry for disturbing.”

The trio had long noticed Fangzheng considering how eye-catching he was. They were not surprised to see Fangzheng come over. They returned the bow and asked, “Venerable One, is there something?”

Fangzheng said, “Is Patron Liang whom the few of you were talking about the elder at 101 Building 6?”

“That’s right. Do you know Old Liang?” the elder asked out of curiosity.

Fangzheng shook his head. “No, but I happened to bump into her today. By the way, does the elder have a son who is still alive?”

“What son? When she was young, her husband passed away in a car accident. Her son also passed away due to an illness years ago. Auntie Liang is a good person. Unfortunately, she has no one,” the lady said with a sigh.

Fangzheng, Red Boy, and Squirrel exchanged looks and saw the shock in each other’s eyes. Following that was rage! The elder no longer had a son. Then, who was the one on the phone? If it was not her son, then it had to be a cheat! This cheat was to be damned! To cheat such an elder, did he not have a conscience?

After bidding the few people farewell, Fangzheng and company returned to the elder’s door.

“Master, what do we do?” Red Boy asked.

Fangzheng said, “Let’s speak to Patron Liang first. We cannot let her be scammed.”