The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Red Boy rode on a beam of light and instantly rose, disappearing into the world in the blink of an eye.

“Master, you had a dream? You saw a beauty in your dream?” On the way, Fangzheng was bored and told Red Boy about the dream.

Red Boy looked at Fangzheng in astonishment.

Fangzheng shrugged. “Indeed.”

Red Boy smacked his lips. “Then, did you see what that beauty looks like?”

Fangzheng thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No… It was very blurry. I seemed to have seen it clearly back then, but I forgot it after.”

Red Boy stroked his chin. “What did she wear?”

Fangzheng said, “It looked like red clothes, but I don’t remember the details.”

Red Boy nodded and finally said meaningfully, “Master… I know what’s going on!”

Fangzheng asked in surprise, “What’s going on?”

Red Boy said with a straight face, “You’re undergoing puberty!”

Piak!

Fangzheng raised his hand and gave him a slap. He scolded jokingly, “Puberty your sister!”

Red Boy laughed out loud. “My sister is very ugly. She has horns. If Master likes her, I can help recommend her to you?”

Fangzheng slapped again…

It was unknown if Red Boy was doing it on purpose or not. After all, the moment the slap landed, the two fell from the sky.

Fangzheng didn’t have a fixed destination. Since they had landed, he pointed to the city’s periphery and said, “Forget it. Since we are down, let’s go!”

Red Boy naturally didn’t mind. He nodded and lowered the cloud. The two found it odd. Why did the village below look lifeless?

“Master, the village below is by the city’s periphery. Logically speaking, it should be quite lively. Why is it so bleak? It’s like… a ghost village?” Red Boy asked curiously.

Fangzheng also found it odd when he took a look. The village was located very well. There was a big city by the side. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was in the suburbs of the city. Logically speaking, with a big city, it wouldn’t be that bad…

Furthermore, Fangzheng saw that there was a large farming market by the village’s side. There were plenty of people in the market, and many people were busying themselves… The village was located by the huge market. Ignoring everything else, just doing work alone wouldn’t make it appear so bleak.

The more Fangzheng looked, the more he found the village problematic.

With the cloud head down, the master and disciple changed looks. It was still of a monk bringing a young monk with him, but their looks were completely different from the past. Fangzheng had already expended a few years to see the future, but now, he decided to turn into a wrinkled old monk!

If someone from One Finger Village were here, they would definitely exclaim, “Isn’t this Zen Master One Finger?”

The elderly monk had a goatee and a warm and benevolent look on his face. His tattered monk robes accentuated a monk’s simplicity.

By the side, the young monk was also dressed in tattered monk robes. He walked in an orderly manner, but his eyes were big and round. He looked around, filled with curiosity.

One old and one young monk entered the village, attracting the attention of many. However, the villagers would occasionally raise their heads and look at Fangzheng and Red Boy with looks of turbidity and pain. Then, they lowered their heads and remained silent.

Almost everyone in the village was like this.

There weren’t any young people, only elders and a group of dull middle-aged men…

What Fangzheng could not imagine was that there were actually several lunatics in the village—three crazy women and two crazy men. The women ran around, shouting, and the men were drooling at the entrance…

The entire village was filled with a strange silence…

“This…” Red Boy was dumbfounded as he looked up at Fangzheng.

Fangzheng shook his head, indicating that he had no idea what was going on in the village.

At that moment, Red Boy tugged at Fangzheng and gestured for him to look in a direction. When Fangzheng heard that, he saw a fifteen-year-old girl sitting by the door. She had a simple ponytail and was dressed very simply. Her skin was dark and they couldn’t make out her looks. But there was one thing that attracted Fangzheng—she was crying! More importantly, although she was crying, she was not crazy. She looked normal overall.

This was also the only person Fangzheng met who had a normal reaction after he entered the village.

Fangzheng walked over with Red Boy and pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Patron, do you need help?”

When the girl heard a kind old man’s voice, she jumped in fright. She suddenly raised her head and her eyes were filled with panic. She realized that it was an amiable and kind old monk. And from the looks of it, he was not from her village. Only then did she reveal a smile. “No need, thank you…”

The girl’s voice was very soft but slightly hoarse.

Fangzheng also saw the girl clearly. The girl’s eyes weren’t big, her nose was high, and her dark skin had an unhealthy yellow tinge. In general, she wasn’t a beautiful girl, but she wasn’t ugly. Instead, the sorrow in her eyes made people feel pity for her.

Fangzheng shamelessly sat beside the girl. “Patron, can This Penniless Monk ask why you are crying?”

The girl fell silent when she heard that. She lowered her head and did not utter a word, but her tears continued to flow.

Fangzheng looked at Red Boy as Red Boy immediately went up to her like he was acting cute. “Sister, don’t cry. If there’s anything you need, you can tell us. We will help you. My master is very powerful… I’m also very powerful.”

When the girl heard Red Boy’s tender voice and his words, together with his adorable appearance, she was immediately amused. She shook her head and stroked Red Boy’s head. “You can’t help me with my matters. In fact, no one can help us…”

Red Boy was taken aback. Fangzheng hurriedly secretly kicked him, indicating for him to probe deeper.

Red Boy asked, “Why? Sis, tell me. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

The girl looked at Fangzheng and then at Red Boy. They didn’t look like bad people no matter how she looked at them. Red Boy was very adorable and the old monk wore a benevolent smile that made one feel very grounded…

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t aired her grievances to anyone for a long time or because she didn’t have anyone to confide in, but now that she suddenly had someone to confide in, the girl had the desire to lament…

After thinking for a moment, the girl sighed and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll get you a bowl of water. It’s a long story, but this nightmare is too long…”

At the mention of this, the girl’s tears fell again. However, she was still strong enough to enter the courtyard. In no time, she brought two bowls of water over.

Fangzheng and Red Boy received it and pressed their palms together to express their thanks.