The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng pretended to ignore what happened, “Patron Wang, if you want to have some water, go to the kitchen and get it. Let me draw two talismans first.”

“Alright!” Wang Yougui almost tripped over himself rushing to the kitchen.

Fangzheng took out an inkstone and folded the yellow paper into a slip. He did so with great proficiency without using a blade or scissors. He tore the piece of paper, leaving a straight line without any frays! After setting down the yellow paper, he ground the ink and mixed in the cinnabar. Dipping his brush into the ink, he took a deep breath, instantly transforming himself into an immovable Buddha. His eyes were focused and he was stable like a mountain. He lowered his brush! It felt as though there were dragon roars and roaring thunder accompanying his strokes.

With an idea in mind, the brush made contact. It moved around like a divine dragon as Fangzheng finished a complicated talisman in a single minute!

When he lifted the brush, the talisman seemed to twinkle with a yellowish light in what appeared to be an illusion. Fangzheng wasn’t paying attention to this. After putting down the brush, he smacked the table, sending the yellow talisman flying into the sky. He moved his hands up and with some ruffling sounds, he folded it into a hexagon! Then, Fangzheng wrapped it with xuanpaper, put away the inkstone and waited for Wang Yougui.

Although Wang Yougui liked Fangzheng’s water, a person’s stomach was limited in size. After drinking two large bowls of water in the kitchen, he felt refreshed and comfortable. After being incapable of drinking more, he came out.

He was also curious about the talisman Fangzheng had drawn…

But by the time he came out, he noticed that Fangzheng had already put away the tables. He was standing under the bodhi tree, looking at him. The bodhi tree was lush green and the white-robed monk under it looked dazzling. It made Wang Yougui’s eyes light up as he thought to himself, “This kid is made to be a monk…”

“Kid, weren’t you going to draw a talisman?”

Fangzheng chuckled, “It’s done. Here it is. Patron Wang, please deliver it to this address when you reach the foot of the mountain. This is the money for the delivery.”

Fangzheng had already checked the price of the delivery service. Speedy Delivery was the fastest and it had the best customer service. Most importantly, it touted to have one-day deliveries! Saving a person’s life was important, so Fangzheng did not skimp. As such, he had to use up the little money he had.

When Wang Yougui saw this he waved his hand, “Forget it. It’s nothing much. I can afford it. I’ll take this and settle the delivery for you. You can keep the money.”

Fangzheng tried to hand over the money a few times but Wang Yougui refused it. He left the mountain with the talisman and address.

Fangzheng scratched his head with a wry smile. It was as though Wang Yougui never treated him as a monk but a family member… When there were many people around, he would address him as abbot and adhere to the formalities. But when they were the only two around, he dispensed with the formalities completely. It felt really good! He enjoyed such a feeling. Although he did not have parents, he was willing to profess loudly that he had many parents! He did not lack in the love others showed him! All he lacked was money!

After Wang Yougui went down the mountain, Fangzheng sent Zhao Datong a message: “The item has been mailed. Contact This Penniless Monk when it arrives. I will teach you how it is used.”

That’s right. Fangzheng’s A Golden Millet Dream was not like a 4G mobile signal that covered the entire country. However, it could use a designated node to send the dream. And the designated node was the talisman! The talisman was only used as a catalyst that connected Fangzheng to the designated node. As for how it was used, Fangzheng still had to cast something else.

“What? You told Master about Yunjing?” Ma Juan glared at Zhao Datong and yelled.

“Yea, I did. So what? Look, the teacher-in-charge, principal, psychiatrist, and police have come. Did any of them succeed? I didn’t have a solution either so I sought out Master.”

“But does Master… have a solution? This is a mental illness!” exclaimed Ma Juan.

Zhao Datong smiled confidently, “It’s precisely because it’s a mental illness that I sought out Master. Don’t forget that monks are psychological experts. Many people receive enlightenment and gain success after being advised by accomplished monks,”.

Ma Juan showed him a wry smile. “That’s not the problem. If it’s face to face, I believe Master might have a solution. Buddhist Dharma talks about redeeming people. It’s about redeeming the soul, not the body. To put it simply, it’s a redemption of one’s beliefs and thoughts. Therefore, there are things like Lotus Flower Conveyance among Buddhists. But Master is clearly not coming. All he is going to do is mail something. Do you expect Yunjing to have her troubles resolved with that? That’s… just too difficult, isn’t it? Or perhaps… I should say it’s unrealistic.”

“Let’s not harp on whether it’s realistic or not first. You are the ones who know about Yunjing’s past the most. Send the information to Master. If you get me to write, I wouldn’t be able to say much. Remember, it has to be told with rich feelings and great literary flair, and a true portrayal…” Before Zhao Datong finished his sentence, he saw Ma Juan and Hu Han staring at him as though they would beat him up. He instantly shut up.

Fangzheng looked at the text Zhao Datong sent and sighed when he read everything about Fang Yunjing. “What a poor girl… Buddha talks about cause and effect. The causes from the previous life and the effects of the present. The sufferings of this life stem from the debts of the previous life. Then what will happen to this life’s debt in the next life?”

Fangzheng realized that his tiny bit of knowledge of the Buddhist Dharma was truly insufficient.

He put down his cell phone and thought about it quietly. He pondered over the solution to untie the knot in Fang Yunjing’s heart. A Golden Millet Dream appeared powerful but it would run counter to one’s desires if it was not used properly.

Just like Lone Wolf. It was because Fangzheng understood him that he was able to cater to his fancies. A mountain of rice was enough to make him delirious with joy. As he had chatted with Li Fengxian, he knew some of her past and desires, enlightening her through a dream. He had to approach each person differently.

But for Fang Yunjing? Although he had seen her in person and had interacted with her before, they were topics of little importance. Fangzheng could not help but shake his head when he thought of the beautiful girl and her twinkling smile. Fangzheng pondered over how he should tackle the problem.

A night of silence…

The next day at noon.

“Datong, is this the item Master gave us? Why is it so huge?” Hu Han looked at the box in Zhao Datong’s hands.

“Perhaps it’s some high-tech product,” Zhao Datong gave an offhand answer.

“Alright, cut the crap. Quickly open it. I’m curious what Dharma artifact Master prepared for us,” exclaimed Ma Juan excitedly. Although she did not believe that Fangzheng could untie the knot in Fang Yunjing’s heart with such an item, she was still curious.

Zhao Datong quickly tore open the package. When the first layer was torn open, there was another paper package under the newspaper layer!

He continue tearing it apart! Another paper package!

Tear!

Tear!

Tear!

…

“Datong, take your time and have some fun. I’ll have some sleep first.” joked Hu Han as he patted Zhao Datong’s shoulders.

Zhao Datong was quickly rendered speechless. He had unwrapped it from a huge paper package to the size of a matchbox but there was still one more layer! What the hell was this? Even Zhao Datong found it unbelievable how such a small item would resolve Fang Yunjing’s problem after tearing so many layers of the package.

Just as he was about to reel in despair, Zhao Datong finally tore open the last layer of wrapping, revealing a yellow hexagonal talisman!

“This…” Zhao Datong looked at the rest.

Ma Juan and Hu Han were collectively dumbfounded.

Hu Han chuckled dryly. “Is Master pulling our leg? He plans on using a paper talisman to solve Yunjing’s problems? He even wrapped it in so many layers of paper? How afraid is he of losing it?”

“Regardless, let’s give it a try first. I still think Master is quite a godly person. He can divine trouble for us, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him to write a powerful talisman, right?” Since he was the one who had requested for Fangzheng’s help, he naturally sided with him.

Ma Juan added, “Indeed. Master isn’t the kind of person who would do something futile. Did you forget the shoe and the rope from back then? I believe that no amount of suspicion is as reliable as something actual! Why don’t we give it a try first?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem for Yunjing to try. The problem is that your class’s teacher-in-charge is the one responsible for tonight’s vigil, right? We have no idea how this item is used. It would be simple if we just need her to carry it with her. We can just stuff it somewhere. If we have to burn it to ash and let her consume it, do you think that old antique from your class will be agreeable to it? I think I will likely be beaten to death if I were to feed her this,” said Zhao Datong.

Ma Juan and Hu Han were dumbfounded. That would be a problem.

But finally, everyone decided to ask Fangzheng how the talisman was used before making a decision.

“It’s simple. All you need to do is place it under Fang Yunjing’s pillow. Then, inform This Penniless Monk. Leave the rest to This Penniless Monk.”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. The quartet came to Fang Yunjing’s dormitory and because of her problems, the dormitory’s windows were sealed shut. The dormitory had another girl sharing the room with Fang Yunjing but ever since Fang Yunjing exhibited her problems, her family insisted she move out.

Every night, a man and woman would take turns to watch her…

After entering the dormitory, they saw a middle-aged woman sitting beside Fang Yunjing. She was speaking without end but Fang Yunjing’s eyes were staring straight. She did not speak or eat.

The quartet quickly greeted her as the woman sighed. “She’s such a nice child. Sigh…”

Ma Juan said, “Matron, there’s no way about it. Perhaps anyone who has encountered something like that will not be any better than her. If it were me, I might be in such a state too…”

“Ma Juan is right. This matter has really dealt her a huge blow.” They heard a man’s voice from behind. A handsome man about 1.8 meters tall squeezed in. The moment he entered, he did not look at Zhao Datong and company. Instead, he looked at Fang Yunjing. His radiant smile easily left the girls swooning.

When Zhao Datong saw this, he blocked the man, “Liu Yunsu, why do I see you everywhere? Do you tag along behind Yunjing all the time?”

Liu Yunsu chuckled, “Zhao Datong, what nonsense are you spouting this time? We are all classmates… Matron, I just contacted an expert psychiatrist. I expect her to be here any time now. My driver has already gone to pick her up.”

“You hired an expert psychiatrist?” Ma Juan and the matron looked at Liu Yunsu in surprise.

Liu Yunsu flicked his bangs and smiled, “I’m lazy. I can’t stay up all night to stay vigil by Yunjing’s side. But I can still spend some money to help a classmate.”

When Zhao Datong heard that, he pouted his lips. “So you know that you are lazy?”

Liu Yunsu chuckled, “Those with money and capital have what it takes to be lazy. Some people have lots of muscles. They can focus on doing the hard work.”