The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng waited for more than an hour in the monastery before Chen Danian barely managed to return with the help of Red Boy and Lone Wolf. His face looked a little bruised, clearly a result from falling and hurting himself on the mountain. When he poured a pitiful amount of water into the Buddha Vat, he felt a sense of helplessness. When would he be able to finish it?

“Come have some water before continuing,” Fangzheng suddenly said.

When Monkey saw this, he wanted to stop him, but he was silenced with a look from Fangzheng.

Chen Danian was already dying of thirst, so the moment he heard that there was water to drink, he rushed over. He picked up a huge bowl and scooped a full bowl of water with it. He drank the water clean amid loud gulps. He found the water extremely refreshing without it being icy cold. It even emitted a warmth when it reached his stomach, causing him to break out into a sweat as his entire body felt relieved.

Chen Danian subconsciously cried out. “Nice!”

Just as Chen Danian thought of having another gulp, he saw a fair hand reach out to stop him. He heard Fangzheng say, “One bowl a time. Having more won’t be beneficial. Fetch more water. There’s not much time left, so make good use of your time.”

The moment he thought of the huge water vat in the kitchen, Chen Danian felt a mountain over his heart which left him stifled. But he gained motivation thinking of his daughter’s pending marriage. He gritted his teeth and got up, heading down the mountain while lugging the water buckets.

Red Boy and Lone Wolf wanted to drink as well, but once Fangzheng mentioned that it was water from the Heavenly Dragon Pond, the two of them immediately abandoned the thought.

The moment Chen Danian left, he grumbled inwardly. “This monk is too stingy. He doesn’t even let me drink a bit of his water. Can this monk actually treat my legs or not…”

While grumbling, Chen Danian didn’t realize that the speed at which he walked with crutches was increasing! The heat in his body rose and seemed to form a protective heat barrier around him, shielding him from the cold winds. He was also rapidly recovering from the fatigue.

When Chen Danian snapped to his senses, he realized he was already by the fountain spring at the mountain side!

Red Boy looked at Chen Danian in shock. “Patron Chen, why were you running so fast? Are your legs better?”

Chen Danian was taken aback. Looking at his limp legs and then looking at Red Boy, he asked in return, “Fast? How fast was I?”

Red Boy said, “It took you an hour to come down the mountain the previous time, but you took half an hour this time. How fast would you call that?”

Chen Danian was instantly dumbfounded. How long had he been using the crutches for? He knew himself very well! To take half an hour to reach the mountainside? Although it was downhill, this speed was almost that of an ordinary person’s! But, how was this possible?

Chen Danian hurriedly took out his cell phone and saw it really had only been half an hour.

Chen Danian stood there, stunned. It took him quite a while to recover, but at his age, he was already an experienced person. Hence he quickly calmed down and thought back to how he had felt moments ago. He narrowed his eyes and mumbled. “Could it have been that bowl of water? Holy sh*t, just one bowl of that monk is that impressive? How godly!”

However, Chen Danian could only make a guess. He could only be sure if he went up the mountain. Hence, Chen Danian said, “Little Venerable One, please help me scoop more water. A little more this time.”

Red Boy nodded and scooped some water before jumping on a boulder by the side, helping to place the weight over Chen Danian’s shoulders.

This time, Chen Danian carefully felt the changes in his body, only to be surprised to realize that his body turned hotter the more strength he used. It was as though he had a tiny motor in him which provided him infinite strength. With this strength, Chen Danian walked even more stably and all the faster. Slowly, Chen Danian began to love the feeling! Although he still felt exhausted and his arms ached, he liked the feeling of breaking through his limits.

Ascending a mountain was unlike descending one—it was much more difficult. Hence, Chen Danian spent nearly an hour to return to One Finger Monastery. After he poured the water into the vat, he immediately came to Fangzheng, who was reading Buddhist scriptures in silence. With a look of excitement, he politely asked, “Master, can I drink?”

Fangzheng nodded. “Go ahead.”

Chen Danian hurriedly picked up the huge bowl on the table, afraid that Fangzheng would suddenly change his mind. He scooped a huge bowl of water and carefully drank it, afraid that he would waste the water by accidentally spilling it.

Meanwhile, Chen Danian also slowly tasted the water. He swore that it was the most delicious water he had ever drunk his entire life! It was sweet like ambrosia! Despite it being fresh water placed out in the cold, it wasn’t cold at all. Its unique coolness left him refreshed and comfortable. It didn’t give him the chills.

After drinking the water, Chen Danian attempted to scoop another bowl of water while staring at Fangzheng, hoping to know what was on his mind.

However, Fangzheng raised his head and continued sitting there, reading. He said lightly, “One bowl is sufficient. Having more wouldn’t be beneficial.”

Upon hearing that, Chen Danian immediately realized that everything he experienced a while earlier had indeed been thanks to the water! The way he looked at Fangzheng turned respectful as he tried his best to bow. “Thank you for the water, Master.”

Fangzheng didn’t reply, as though he was engrossed in his scriptures.

As Chen Danian looked at the clean and pure monk whose every action appeared to be natural and filled with an aloof temperament, Chen Danian had a feeling that although the monk was in front of him, he actually belonged to another world.

Shaking his head, Chen Danian dispelled his nonsensical thoughts, turned around, and carried the water buckets down.

This time, Chen Danian felt it more acutely. The tiny furnace in his body burned intensely as though there was no way he could ever expend his strength. He was ultimately not a fool. He knew this was a good thing, so he secretly tried to place his foot on the ground before trying hard to control his legs. However, he was depressed to realize that his feet had zero reaction.

However, having already realized Fangzheng’s methods, Chen Danian thought to himself, “As long as I work hard to fill the vat, Master will treat my legs. I must push on!”

Hence, Chen Danian kept speeding up, again and again.

And the cost of that was him stumbling down all the way. Although his wounds hurt badly, Chen Danian had no intention of reducing his speed. He firmly believed that practice made perfect. As he fell, he began to grasp certain tricks and turned happier the more he walked.

In fact, things were indeed as such. His speed rose again to the point of Red Boy and Lone Wolf having to accelerate a little to catch up with him.

On his next return to the mountaintop, Chen Danian didn’t wait for Fangzheng to say a word. He ran over, hoping to drink some water, but was stopped by Fangzheng.

“Uh. Master, I can’t drink any more?” Chen Danian was surprised.