The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

When Fangzheng saw this, he knew that anything he said now would be too late. He regretted not getting Red Boy to use a Concealment Spell, but he returned with a question. “There are so many monks in this world, so why must you claim that person to be This Penniless Monk?”

“There are many monks, but the number of monks that wear white robes are few in number. And you are the only one that can stand on water! Besides, there’s a tiny foot over here!” Bao Yuluo pointed at the side of the lake and zoomed in. Indeed, a bare foot appeared. It was obvious that it belonged to a child. A white-robed monk with a child—was there any other explanation needed?

Fangzheng carefully looked and said, “Yeah, this stone does resemble a foot.”

Bao Yuluo rolled her eyes when she heard that. “What an act! Keep acting! This picture can still be zoomed in further, just not my version of it. Should I get Elder Wang to personally help you zoom in so that you can have a good look at it?”

“Amitabha. This Penniless Monk is a monk. Why should he be seeing a zoomed-in stone or foot? Patron, is there anything else?” Fangzheng had decided on a solution. Since he couldn’t lie and he absolutely could not admit to it, he decided to feign ignorance.

“You…” Bao Yuluo looked at the monk who was obviously acting shameless and was infuriated.

“Are you really not admitting that it’s you?” Bao Yuluo glared at Fangzheng.

Fangzheng looked at Bao Yuluo before looking into the sky. “A bolt of lightning is approaching.”

“Eh… Don’t change topics. The sky is clear for thousands of miles. What lightning?” Bao Yuluo laughed.

Fangzheng said, “That’s not This Penniless Monk.”

Bam!

Lightning smote from clear skies, right in front of Bao Yuluo! Even a boulder had cracked from the strike. Bolts of remnant lightning could be clearly seen. At that instant, Bao Yuluo even forgot to scream as her eyes stared straight in front of her…

Fangzheng shrugged. “Amitabha. See, isn’t there lightning?”

With that said, Fangzheng returned to the backyard. By the time Bao Yuluo came to her senses, Fangzheng was long gone. When she went to the backyard, she couldn’t find Fangzheng at all. Only when she asked Li Xueying and company did she learn that Fangzheng had suddenly had an epiphany and had entered his meditation room to meditate on the Buddhist Dharma. Furthermore, they had been there for quite some time and had been disturbing Fangzheng all this while. It was also time for them to leave.

Seeing everyone about to leave, Bao Yuluo could only helplessly follow them.

However, before she left, Bao Yuluo went to Red Boy who was playing with the cell phone and added Fangzheng on WeChat.

The visitors to the mountain that day streamed in and out without end. Although everyone was there to see Fangzheng, they were all attracted by the beautiful vistas once they reached the mountaintop. When they recalled that they were there for Fangzheng, they could only give up when they learned that he was in seclusion. With regards to this, many were indifferent. From their point of view, an accomplished monk… was someone who was difficult to encounter. If one could meet the monk daily, he wouldn’t be an accomplished monk, but a family member…

As the sun set in the west, two figures—a tall one and a short one—finally arrived at Mt. One Finger’s peak.

“Sis, if you are going to sleep in late again, I’m not bringing you with me!” A young boy had his hands in his pockets as he spoke in disgruntlement.

“You brought me out! It’s me, alright?” The girl rapped the young boy on the head. They were none other than Zhang Huihui and her younger brother, Little Seven. Little Seven had planned on rushing over to One Finger Monastery early in the morning, but Zhang Huihui slept in. Little Seven had tried to wake her up several times, but he was given excuses after excuses.

In the end, the duo were stuck on the road for nearly the whole day. Only when the sun was about to set did they arrive at the peak of Mt. One Finger.

At that moment in time, there was almost no one on the mountain. After all, Mt. One Finger was rather remote, and all of them were stuck in a traffic jam when they came, so no one wanted to be stuck in a jam late at night. Furthermore, although Mt. One Finger was beautiful, it was a small place. They soon finished touring the area and without anything to do, they naturally left the mountain and went home.

For various reasons, only a few relatively stubborn people remained on the mountain. Zhang Huihui and Little Seven were one of the few stubborn ones.

Both of them were quarreling when they suddenly heard an exclamation. “Wow! Beautiful!”

The duo looked over subconsciously and was stunned by the sights before them!

Fangzheng had also come out from the backyard after hearing that there wasn’t much noise outside. The moment he came out, he heard the exclamation. When he looked around, he smiled. The Heavenly Dragon Pond was indeed good stuff. With it, One Finger Monastery’s grade had truly been elevated quite substantially.

But soon, Fangzheng discovered something amiss. Why was everyone looking at the Heavenly Dragon Pond from the side? Was there something special from the side?

Fangzheng looked down at his feet as a look of surprise flashed in his eyes. He saw the bridge beneath him glowing! To be precise, the area beneath the bridge was glowing! It was glittering gold with a rosy pink. It was like there were burning lights beneath the bridge.

“Master, what’s this?” Squirrel ran up to Fangzheng’s neck and asked curiously.

“Let’s take a look from a different angle.” After Fangzheng said that, he immediately ran out with Squirrel. He looked diagonally at the Heavenly Dragon Pond, facing west, only to be stunned.

In the west, clouds which looked like they had been set aflame dyed the sky a fiery red. And this redness was reflected on the pond’s surface, making the Heavenly Dragon Pond look like it was burning. More miraculously, when the sun’s rays shone on the pond, the water was like a mirror, fully reflecting the light onto the empty area underneath the bridge, illuminating it thoroughly! The text there which was originally blurry became increasingly clear. There were lotus flowers, carps, flying dragons, and scriptures engraved around it! The nine bridge holes had nine pictures, nine carps, nine flying dragons, and nine scripture texts. All of them were illuminated by the golden sunlight, making them look sacred, solemn, beautiful, and mysterious.

“Haha! Who knew that there would be such perks to coming late! How beautiful!”

“That’s right. We didn’t see this previously. Who knew that there would be such a beautiful sight during sunset. How beautiful!”

“Hey, isn’t that Abbot Fangzheng?”

“Haha, I’ve finally seen Abbot Fangzheng in the flesh!”

“Hehe, when those guys left previously, all of them were bragging about how late we came and were acting all smug. Now, all I wish to say is that they are all idiots! They didn’t get to see Abbot Fangzheng and missed the mystery of the nine bridge holes. Tsk… Haha, we earned it!”

Everyone laughed out loud. Following that, many of them ran over to greet Fangzheng, and Fangzheng returned the greeting of each and every person, and he took pictures with them as a memento.

Thankfully, there weren’t many people. After they took their souvenir pictures, they bade him farewell and left. When everyone was gone, Fangzheng saw two familiar figures in front of him.

“Brother Fangzheng, long time no see!” Little Seven waved his arms in elation.

Zhang Huihui had a calm and composed look as if everything was very normal, but her eyes kept landing on Fangzheng. Indeed, this proud girl couldn’t bring herself to express her true feelings.

Fangzheng didn’t mind. He lifted Little Seven up and said, “Heh heh. Little Seven, long time no see.” Then he said to Zhang Huihui, “Amitabha. Patron, long time no see.”