The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Grandpa, don’t be angry. What Grandma said was right.”

Pfft!

Chen Jin nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Dad, don’t argue on this matter. We will absolutely not stand down on this matter,” said Chen Long.

Chen Jin stared at Chen Long and said, “I will not accept it unless you give me a reasonable explanation today! To think I rushed down, tumbling on the way down. In the end, all of you are ingrates.”

Su Hong and company gave a wry smile. They pulled Chen Jin to the side and told him all that they had seen.

When Chen Jin heard that, he fell silent.

“Old Man, I know you are stubborn, but with regards to Fangzheng, if you insist on being stubborn, there’s no way we can live together. It’s fine if you are stubborn, but you cannot be an ingrate! If not for Fangzheng, our entire family would already be nothing but ash,” said Su Hong.

Chen Jin lit a cigarette as he silently sucked at it. After two puffs, he asked, “Are you sure you did not see wrong?”

“See wrong? Dad, look at the roof beam at the door! One can see wrong about other things, but this?” asked Chen Long.

Chen Jin said perplexed, “Then it doesn’t make sense. When I descended the mountain, Fangzheng was still at the mountaintop. There is only one path down the mountain. It’s impossible for me not to have seen him when he descended. Yet I didn’t see him the entire way down! Also, you mentioned the couplets. That matter sounds overly sinister. How am I to believe you?”

“The matter regarding the couplets is completely authentic. All of us saw it. Old Man, think about it. You are always not at home, and this house is an old one. The houses in the entire village are made of tiles, but you say you like this old house, so all you did was switch the windows and door. How can a mud house made with wood last long in a huge fire? The shortest time it takes for you to descend the mountain is an hour, right? Whose house would not be burnt to nothingness in an hour? However, our house was only burned on the outside. No fire or smoke entered the house. Is that normal in any way? You can say it was a hallucination, but how could we still be alive if the smoke had entered?” asked Su Hong.

Chen Long echoed, “That’s right, Dad. You have to be reasonable. You have always been tagging along that Wu Ming. Fangzheng is so godly, but you are always thinking of ways to sully his reputation. What the hell are you thinking?”

Pa!

Chen Jin raised his hand and slapped Chen Long on the head. He reprimanded, “Is this how you speak to your father? No matter what I do, it’s not your place as a son to teach me!”

“What’s up with your fierce attitude. We saw all of that with our own eyes. Speak, what do you want to do!” shouted Su Hong.

Chen Jin threw away his cigarette and stood up. He said, “I, Chen Jin, am not a bastard! How can I be ungrateful? However, this matter is truly a little odd. I wish to go up the mountain to take a look. I want to see what Fangzheng has to say or I will not let this matter rest. But don’t worry. With what happened today, I will make sure to draw a clear line with Wu Ming! Is that enough? Then, without the house, what are we to do in the future?

“What do we do? Go to my place. There are so many huge houses in the county city. Will they not be able to accommodate the two of you?” asked Chen Long.

“Scram! Who wants to live with you. I like One Finger Village,” said Chen Jin.

“Then, I’ll build a new house for the both of you. That should be okay, right?” said Chen Long with a smile.

“That’s more like it. Let’s go!” Chen Jin’s expression turned softer.

“Whereto?” asked Su Hong.

“To the market,” Chen Jin waved his hand as he said.

“Why are we going there?” Chen Long asked in a baffled manner.

Chen Jin stared at him and said, “Are you going to visit your savior empty-handed? Don’t you have any shame? You might not have any, but I do!”

Chen Long, Su Hong, and company immediately laughed.

Chen Long’s son immediately ran over and shouted, “I want sweets!”

…

Fangzheng was very unhappy on the mountain! Extremely unhappy!

“System, repeat once more! How many draws at the lottery?” Fangzheng cried in sad anger.

“Once! You have already asked more than twenty times. Even if you were to ask 108 times, my answer will remain unchanged! Once means once!” said the System.

“I…” Fangzheng was yearning to curse, but he had to bear with it. He could only curse once a day. He had to use it strategically and not waste it. Fangzheng pointed to the sky and shouted, “If you had a true body, I would have immediately taught you a lesson! I’ll let you understand that there have been strong men in history, and there will be me to redress a wrong against the System this very day!”

“Do you want to have a draw at the lottery or not? If not, I’m leaving.”

“Yes! Why wouldn’t I? However, you owe me a perfect explanation! If you don’t give me one, I will not accept it! I saved four lives. Why am I only given one chance at the draw? Wasn’t it said that one draw per life? Be honest, did you take the other three as a commission for yourself? I exchanged that while risking my life. Do you have the shame to steal it from me? My ass still hurts!” yelled Fangzheng.

The System said, “A perfect explanation? Fine. You saved four people with your deed. It is indeed a great meritorious deed. If Chen Jin’s family were to die in the fire, Chen Jin might not be able to live on. Chen Long’s wife’s parents would probably be disconsolate and lead the rest of their lives in pain.”

“That’s right. Look at how much merit there is! But all you do is give me one chance at the lottery. Aren’t you overly petty?” grumbled Fangzheng.

The System ignored him completely and continued, “But this deed was one act. It just happened to save four people. The merit you receive hasn’t decreased, but there is only one chance at the draw. One deed, one chance at the draw! There isn’t more if you want more. If you want more, you can try improving your diet. However, this chance at the draw is not an ordinary one. The merit gained from four people is enough for you to draw a good item. In other words, it’s a large draw that is equivalent to four small draws at the lottery! You could have drawn four glass balls originally but now, you can draw a golden pearl. Which one do you want? If you are silly, pretend that I never said it.”

Fangzheng’s eyes lit up immediately. He was no fool. No matter how good a glass ball was, it was only made of glass. A golden pearl was a qualitative change! Hence, Fangzheng said, “You explained it perfectly. This Penniless Monk accepts it.”

“Can you draw it now?”

“Yes! Of course! Eh… By the way, when I went down the mountain, you mentioned a prize. Should I draw it now too?” Fangzheng suddenly recalled the matter and asked.

“Sure, do you want them drawn separately? Or do you want to add the two meritorious acts together for a big chance at the draw?” asked the System.

Fangzheng was stunned, “I can combine merit for a draw?”

“Of course. Although merit is incorporeal, every new merit earned will be added to the old merit count if you do not draw at the lottery. It will be calculated in another manner! When you get a chance at the draw, the merit is used as a grade. The higher the merit, the higher the chance of drawing something useful. This is also determined by the system. Alright. Do you want two glass balls or a golden pearl?” asked the System.

Fangzheng rolled his eyes and said, “System, I’ve discovered how terrible you are! You compressed four times into one and the two times has been compressed to another one time by you.”

“You can choose to have it twice,” said the System matter-of-factly.

“You already said so. Wouldn’t I be a retard if I chose twice? Once! Let’s do it! Don’t mention the numbers anymore. I can’t stand it,” said Fangzheng.