The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng sighed. “What else can we do? Do you want to rob someone?”

“Master, can’t you solicit for donations?” Salted Fish said.

Fangzheng shook his head. “It’s not One Finger Village. The outside world does not allow for the solicitation of donations.”

Salted Fish was stunned.

Fangzheng explained, “The country has long set the rules. In order to prevent people from pretending to be monks to cheat others, they have long banned the solicitation of donations. In fact, all the monks that are walking outside are mostly fake. It’s very simple to determine which one is real. True monks don’t ask for money. They will at most ask for water and food. Most of the time, they will carry their food in their cultivation journey…”

Salted Fish said, “Nice, how can a monk be in such a miserable state? I thought it was only us… Uh, that’s not right. They have food on them. They won’t starve, and have food to eat at critical moments. Why does it feel like the two of us are about to starve to death?”

Fangzheng shook his head. “As long as we don’t starve to death, there will always be a way.”

Just as the two of them were talking, a man walked over aggressively from afar. As he walked, he made a phone call and shouted at the same time, “How many times have I said it? I’ve had enough! I’ve f**king had enough! Talk is cheap! Why don’t you try it? You always say the same thing endlessly. Aren’t you sick of it? Don’t say anymore, give me some silence!”

With that said, the man hung up his cell phone and angrily sat on a bench not far from Fangzheng. His face was filled with anger and he nearly smashed his cell phone several times. Clearly, he was really angry…

Salted Fish said with a voice transmission, “Master, the opportunity is here. This fellow is filled with resentment. There must be something wrong with him.”

Fangzheng nodded slightly, but the problem came. He had no idea what the other party was thinking or had encountered? Was he to go up and strike up a conversation? It wasn’t like he was a beauty…

“Ding! Do you need help?” the System suddenly asked.

Fangzheng said, “Yes, but how can you help?”

The System said, “Do you need a divine power rental service?”

Fangzheng subconsciously thought that the System would tease him, but when he heard that, he was immediately energized. “Divine power rental? How’s the rent?”

The System said, “10,000 merit points for the right to use divine powers for a day, but you can choose the divine powers yourself. However, you can only choose the divine power you once possessed. You can’t select ones you have never used before.”

Fangzheng was instantly infuriated when he heard that. “10,000 a day? Why don’t you just rob me?”

The System said, “If I were to rob you, it would be one million a day. Alright, I’ll only provide you with a choice. Your choice is none of my business.”

Fangzheng thought about it for a long time and thought of the million plus merit he had earned. He could still bear the burden and finally said helplessly, “Do I have any other choice? I’ll rent it!”

The System said, “What divine power are you renting? Tell me.”

Without another word, Fangzheng said, “A Golden Millet Dream!”

The System said, “Ding! Congratulations on obtaining a divine power. A Golden Millet Dream trial edition (1-day).”

Fangzheng was pissed when he heard the words “trial edition,” but he could only bite the bullet.

The next moment, a realization flashed through his mind. He felt something familiar. Fangzheng’s eyes flashed as he smiled. He slowly got up and walked towards the man opposite him.

“Patron, are you very angry?”

When the calm voice sounded, the depressed man frowned and looked up. Just as he was about to flare up, he saw a monk in tattered clothes!

The man had seen many monks before. Most of them were very clean. It was the first time he had seen such a miserable monk.

If it was in the past, he would have chased the person away with a sentence. However, ever since Fangzheng’s appearance, everyone did not condemn monks or Daoists immediately. Instead, they learned to attempt communicating to distinguish whether they were good or bad. Only then would they make comment. It became nothing personal.

Therefore, the man did not flare up. Instead, he nodded and said, “I’m angry.”

Fangzheng chuckled. “Can you tell This Penniless Monk?”

The man’s brows furrowed even more tightly. At this moment, he didn’t want to bother with anyone, but there was an exception—a stranger!

The stranger didn’t know who he was. He had a belly full of garbage that he could pour out. After pouring out, he could leave without any mental burdens. Furthermore, he was indeed extremely depressed. Therefore, he nodded and gestured for Fangzheng to sit down.

Fangzheng sat down with a smile. “Patron, tell me.”

The man thought for a moment and said, “My name is Chang Le, a ridiculous name…”

Speaking of his own name, Chang Le curled his lips disdainfully, obviously not liking this name. Or perhaps, he felt that his name was very comical.

Fangzheng did not have any intention of answering the topic. He was just a trash can, waiting for the other party to speak. If he said too much, it would only make the other party irritated and even not talk to him.

Chang Le continued, “I’m the only son in the family and I support the family. Although I don’t have many family members, living in a city like this is really stressful.”

Fangzheng nodded without a word and continued listening.

Chang Le said, “I wake up at half-past six every morning, clean up everything, prepare breakfast, and take care of my father to ensure he eats breakfast. Then, I go to work and face a bunch of messy things, then run back in the afternoon to cook… It’s still the same at night. Every day, I’m like a robot, with nothing interesting happening…”

Fangzheng nodded slightly. This was the most troublesome matter for all workers.

Chang Le continued, “That’s fine, but the key is my dad!”

Fangzheng looked at Chang Le in surprise. He never expected Chang Le to be troubled over this.

Chang Le scratched his head and said, “My dad has dementia and has a poor memory. Every day I return to the house, the house is in a mess. The pots and pans are thrown to the ground, and multiple bowls have been smashed to pieces… Especially today, the rice I just bought was spilled by him in the kitchen! There was water everywhere, and he hadn’t turned off the tap for the entire day. The sewers were blocked by a cloth, and the neighbors downstairs suffered water seepage. The neighbors downstairs came to me. What can I do? I could only apologize and compensate.

“My dad… Sigh…

“His memory is so bad that he could ask me a question over and over again! He keeps nagging and nagging with no end. Have you experienced that feeling before?”

Fangzheng thought for a moment before shaking his head.

Chang Le grumbled, “I really can’t take it anymore. I feel like I can’t stay in that house anymore!”

Fangzheng asked, “Does he pour rice on the floor every day?”

Chang Le nodded and said, “Yes! Every day! There’s not a day that he doesn’t make me worry… The vegetables I bought this morning were chopped up into pieces and thrown to the ground! What is he doing? Does he not want to live anymore?”

When Chang Le said that, he angrily smashed the bench.

Fangzheng nodded slightly and said, “Patron, although This Penniless Monk has never been nagged by anyone like you, This Penniless Monk has nagged at others and also smashed many things…”