The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng was immediately amused. His hand trembled. Kacha! Another picture was taken.

Fangzheng was amazed at how good it came out! He continued snapping more pictures.

The squirrel also seemed to know what Fangzheng was up to. This time, he tugged at Fangzheng’s ears and widened his mouth like he was about to chomp down on Fangzheng’s ear. His expression looked rather fierce.

Fangzheng shared it on his social network and added a tagline, “Aiyah, I’m being bullied by a ferocious squirrel. My ears are in peril. Save me!”

He sent it out without much thought and did not expect anyone to reply to him. After all, he only had four friends—Zhao Datong, Hu Han, Fang Yunjing, and Ma Juan—on WeChat.

But… Ma Juan, who was preparing to set off fireworks at home, happened to look at her friends’ Moments out of sheer habit, and she chanced upon Fangzheng’s picture.

Ma Juan was immediately amused. She never expected this cute side of the master. As for the squirrel, she was not worried at all. Fangzheng was someone who could even subdue a starving wolf, so how could he succumb to a mere squirrel? Ma Juan immediately commented on the post, “Master, my condolences for your ears. I’ll send you a hearing aid for the new year. Haha.”

Fangzheng was amused too. He took a close-up shot of the little fellow who was sprawled on Lone Wolf’s head. He looked comfortable while covered snugly in Lone Wolf’s silver fur.

When Ma Juan saw the picture, she broke out in laughter. She immediately replied, “This little guy sure is cute! Lone Wolf is looking cooler. Master, are there any other pictures? Requesting for more!”

At the same time, in a particular village in the northeast, Hu Han was carrying lanterns while leading a bunch of children in the village. Occasionally, they would throw some firecrackers at a particular person’s house and run away after giving them a fright. He was having the time of his life. Occasionally, he would take a look at his cell phone. He happened to see Fangzheng share two consecutive posts on his WeChat Moments. He was immediately amused by the squirrel’s intelligence. He replied, “Master, requesting for more. This squirrel is so intelligent. It’s so cute!”

Then, Hu Han deliberately @-ed Fang Yunjing and Zhao Datong. “Yunjing, Datong, come and watch Master. He’s acting cute!”

In the Lingjiang Microdistrict of JL City’s Longshui District, Zhao Datong was standing beside a table of food. He held a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other. Despite being satiated, he continued stuffing dumplings into his mouth.

A few children younger than Zhao Datong were gobbling down the food beside him too. It was as though they had never eaten dumplings before.

At that moment, a young girl gave a rapturous laugh. She took out a shiny fifty-cent coin from her mouth and said with a loud laugh, “Haha, I got it! I’m going to be rich this year!”

“You young lass, how are you going to be rich at your age? It’s such a waste of a coin. Hold on, there’s another one. I need to work harder,” Zhao Datong rebuked her before he continued eating.

The other children also sped up. As Zhao Datong ate, he grumbled inwardly, “I refuse to believe it. I’m a college student after all. How can my luck this year be inferior to a few kids?”

As he spoke, a boy a few years younger than Zhao Datong yelled. Everyone had heard the sound of teeth biting metal. Following that, the boy rejoiced amidst pain and took out a fifty-cent coin.

Zhao Datong and company threw their chopsticks collectively when they saw this. They lay motionlessly and rubbed their bellies. At the same time, there were all sorts of grumbling. There were smiles from the adults and laughter from the Spring Festival Gala airing on television. It was quite rowdy.

Zhao Datong finally found time for himself. He took out his cell phone and saw Hu Han @-ing him. When he looked at Fangzheng’s picture, he immediately laughed and posted, “Master, post two more! I want all sorts of cute pictures!”

Fang Yunjing was not as crazy as Zhao Datong. She was watching the Spring Festival Gala quietly with her family. There were other relatives with her, and there were a bunch of children running around. Fang Yunjing would occasionally play with them. She found it quite enjoyable. Most of the time, Fang Yunjing preferred checking her cell phone to kill time. She did not enjoy the performances that were aired during that period.

When Fang Yunjing saw Fangzheng’s pictures, her eyes lit up as she shared it and said, “Master, are there more of these fun pictures? I’m so sleepy, yet I have to stay up. I need some pictures to perk myself up.”

When Fangzheng saw the quartet press him for more pictures, he felt the loneliness in him melt away. He chuckled as he posted a few pictures he took. One of them was the squirrel’s nest as well as the couplet he had written.

When Zhao Datong saw the squirrel’s nest, he was in stitches from laughing, “Master, this is the squirrel’s nest? It’s clearly a flower pot… Hahaha! That really doesn’t need any skill.”

The wealthy Ma Juan commented, “This is pathetic. Master, this is animal abuse. The squirrel’s nest is terrible. I’ll send you a better one another day!”

Fangzheng blushed and answered, “This Penniless Monk doesn’t have any axes on the mountain. So it’s not possible to make something intricate. The flower pot was the best This Penniless Monk was capable of. At least the little guy seems to like it.”

They responded with laughter.

Instead, Fang Yunjing and Hu Han noticed the couplets. Fang Yunjing was amazed as she said, “Master, where did you buy those couplets from?”

Fangzheng said, “This Penniless Monk wrote them. Why?”

Fang Yunjing replied in astonishment, “Master, you wrote that yourself?”

“Yunjing, what’s all the fuss about?” by her side, her mother Fang Qiu rebuked her.

Fang Yunjing stuck her tongue out and showed her Fangzheng’s calligraphy, “Mom, look. What do you think of the couplets?”

Fang Qiu frowned and said, “What are you up to? They can’t be yours, right? I hope it’s not horrible…”

“Come on, Mom! I know you are a great calligrapher. Help me take a look,” wheedled Fang Yunjing.

Fang Qiu gave up immediately and received the cell phone. Her smile immediately froze as she stared intently at the couplets. When Fang Yunjing saw that, she did not disturb her mother.

A few moments later, Fang Qiu stuttered, “Who wrote this? Do you know the master who wrote the couplets?”

“Mom, you are frightening me. What’s wrong with the couplets?” asked Fang Yunjing.

“It’s written fabulously. I have seen the works of numerous calligraphers, but this is no doubt the best!” marveled Fang Qiu.

“Is it that impressive?” Fang Yunjing pouted with a look of disbelief.

“Of course. Don’t forget that I’m a calligraphy critic. I have been the judge of a few provincial competitions.” Fang Qiu suddenly tried coaxing her daughter and asked, “Alright, don’t change the topic. Do you know the master who wrote the couplet?”

Fang Yunjing said, “Yeah. He’s at One Finger Village. The One Finger Temple on Mt. One Finger. Master Fangzheng from that temple wrote it.”

“Master Fangzheng? Mt. One Finger?” Fang Qiu scoured her memory, but the place eluded her. Instead, she said, “Forget it. We can pay a visit after the new year, and I can also pay this calligraphy master a visit.”

Fang Yunjing was amazed when she heard that. Was Fangzheng’s calligraphy that impressive? Despite wondering about it, she too felt that his calligraphy was amazing.