The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“I really can’t figure it out. It’s clearly just a show for the outsiders. The flying was a result of Jingxin’s Dharma spells. Why didn’t Master use divine powers to simulate some animals… Why must he hire these animals? What a waste…” Monkey said.

“You don’t understand, right?” Salted Fish chuckled and looked around. When Fangzheng wasn’t around, he said, “Master just wants to get a kick out of it… If it’s fake, that will be so boring.”

Monkey: “…”

“With all of you chatting so much, are the few of you not going to sleep?” Fangzheng’s voice came from the backyard.

The few fellows quickly handed out the food and sent the extras before going back to sleep.

When it was almost dawn, Huang Ran suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “Aiyah! Brother Nan left to report this. If he really reports it, everyone will see that it’s really Abbot Fangzheng. Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?”

Zhang Yan added, “Furthermore, our promise to Venerable Jingxin will be ruined! No, hurry up and chase him!”

“Let’s go together. Take the radio. Let’s hurry. We should be able to find him before he leaves the mountain!” Huang Ran called Zhang Yan and ran out.

The two quickly packed their things and immediately went down the mountain.

As he watched the two leave, Squirrel mumbled. “Sigh… By the time you chase after him, it would be too late. Master already took action before dawn.”

As expected, when the two of them reached the foot of the mountain, they saw a person lying at the foot of the mountain. He was sleeping soundly and his snoring was deafening!

The two of them took a look and were instantly dumbfounded…

“Brother Nan?!”

Both of them shouted and Brother Nan immediately woke up. He looked at the two people in front of him and said, “Why are you guys down the mountain? Didn’t I tell you to wait on the mountain? I’ll be out in another day… Eh, where is this?”

“Brother Nan, were you lost? This is Mt. One Finger. You ran for a day, but you ended up circling the foot of the mountain?” Huang Ran said with a grin.

Brother Nan was dumbfounded. “Mt. One Finger? Is there something wrong with your brain? This…”

“Brother Nan, it’s really Mt. One Finger. We saw Abbot Fangzheng last night.” Zhang Yan interrupted Brother Nan.

Then the two of them pulled Brother Nan to sit down and recounted what they’d seen and heard last night and showed the photo on his phone…

Brother Nan fell silent after seeing it…

After a while, he suddenly stood up and said righteously, “No! I have to go up and take a look!”

“Brother Nan, what will you see up there?” Zhang Yan asked.

Brother Nan said, “You have taken a photo together. Wouldn’t I lose out if I didn’t take a photo together?”

With that said, the fellow ran up the mountain as though he was afraid Fangzheng would run.

Finally, Brother Nan got his wish. After a photo-taking session, he stuffed all the money in his pocket into the Merit Box and left happily…

Looking at Brother Nan’s back, Monkey, Squirrel, Lone Wolf, Red Boy, and Salted Fish said in unison, “It’s no wonder the two patrons call him Brother Nan. Look at this fellow. He’s such a swell guy! One pocket of money… Those two fellows are so stingy that they didn’t leave a single cent behind.”

If Zhang Yan and Huang Ran knew how they viewed them, it would be interesting what would be on their minds. In short, the three of them happily walked out of the mountains.

“Are we leaving?” On the mountaintop, Fangzheng asked as he looked down with his group of disciples.

Red Boy cupped his hands to his eyes and said with great certainty, “They are gone… They are far off. Master, if you want to laugh, just laugh. If you want to shout, just shout.”

Fangzheng nodded as his tensed face instantly turned into a happy smile. He ran towards One Finger Monastery. “Wow! Finally, I’m rich! Let’s go home and have a meal! If you aren’t stuffed tonight, don’t even sleep!”

“Ao woo…”

“Long live Master!”

“Wahaha… I can finally eat my fill!”

…

On the mountain, the master and disciples ran into One Finger Monastery amidst their cheers. The first thing Fangzheng did was take out the Merit Box. When he opened it, he saw a stack of money lying inside. He took it out…

“No way!” With Fangzheng leading the way, Red Boy and company exclaimed.

There was a stack of three red 100-yuan notes and a stack of 10-yuan, 20-yuan, and 5-yuan notes. There was a large number of 1-yuan notes!

“Master, count it. How much is there…” When Lone Wolf said that, there was a hint of sobbing to his tone. After all, he ate the most. If there wasn’t enough money, there wouldn’t be enough Crystal Rice… Squirrel was tiny. He could be stuffed with just two rice balls, but what about him? It would probably be difficult to even be half-full…

At the same time, Huang Ran who was walking in the forest exclaimed, “You put all your money into the Merit Box? Aiyo… Why didn’t I think of it!?”

Zhang Yan also said, “Aiyah, I’ve also forgotten. What should we do? Will Abbot Fangzheng bear a grudge against us? We were too insensible… Should we return again?”

Huang Ran added, “If Brother Nan hadn’t thrown so much money, it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal. But comparison sucks. Even if Abbot Fangzheng doesn’t bear a grudge, he would probably mark us as people he doesn’t want to be involved with in the future…”

“If I return now, wouldn’t it be obvious that I’m just giving money? Alright, calm down. With my take on things, Abbot Fangzheng is definitely not someone who loves money! Instead, if you deliberately run back to give money, it will make Abbot Fangzheng look down on you,” assured Brother Nan as he patted his chest.

The duo thought of Fangzheng as a god-like figure. Indeed, Fangzheng shouldn’t care about mortal money; therefore, he believed Brother Nan’s words.

However, Huang Ran still asked, “Brother Nan, how much did you pay?”

Brother Nan thought for a moment and said, “About 387 yuan… I only had 400 yuan. I bought a bottle of water and broke one note after eating some snacks. I donated the rest. Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s quickly leave…”

“Brother Nan, it’s not easy to meet Abbot Fangzheng. Are we just leaving without anything? I feel like I’ve suffered a great loss,” said Huang Ran.

“Then what do you want? Let me tell you, our exit won’t be simple? Didn’t you see this wilderness? I heard that One Finger Monastery used to rely on the villagers of One Finger Village for financial support. Therefore, Fangzheng treated the villagers especially well…” Brother Nan said.

Huang Ran and Zhang Yan’s eyes lit up when they heard that. “Brother Nan, you are thinking of…”

“Yes… As long as you guys understand what I’m getting at.” Brother Nan smiled.

…

Regardless of what they were up to, Fangzheng was looking at the money in his hands with a worried expression. He asked the System, “System, look, there’s 387. Can you be generous and count it as 400?”

“Don’t even think about it. Not one cent less,” the System said firmly.

Fangzheng said, “Don’t be so heartless. At most, when I have money in the future, I’ll make it up to you.”

“Double!” said the System.

Fangzheng pricked up his brows when he heard that. “You are the Buddha System. Don’t tell me you are a bandit system? How can you be so evil?”