The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

“Other means? What else can I do? Enough, I’ll return and wait to starve to death,” said Fangzheng plaintively. Despite saying so, he began racking his brains to think of a way to survive the winter. Two sacks of rice were a hundred kilograms. If he rationed that properly, it wasn’t impossible for him to make it last for three months. But that’s where the problem started. He was not the only one. There was also a certain gluttonous lone wolf. With him included, the rice he had was definitely insufficient.

Fangzheng was worried but he could not figure out any solutions.

When he returned to the mountaintop, he poured the two buckets of water, as well as Lone Wolf’s two buckets of water into the Buddha Vat. In the end, he only managed to fill a tenth of it!

Fangzheng nearly cried as he yelled, “System, you must have done this deliberately! You deliberately made such a huge vat to scam me!”

“Friendly reminder: You can choose not to fill the water vat. However, there are benefits to having a full vat.”

“Benefits? What benefits?” After Fangzheng experienced the benefits of the Crystal Rice, he was suspicious yet curious about the System’s claims of benefits.

“A secret.”

“You…” Fangzheng cursed inwardly, “Fuck you!” before he obediently went down the spring to fetch water. Thankfully, Fangzheng was strong and well-versed in martial arts. Every day he ate Crystal Rice mixed with ordinary rice; it strengthened his muscles and meridians like in fantasy novels. His body was becoming stronger.

Now, despite carrying two big buckets of water, he was still able to remain light-footed. The steep steps were like flat ground to him. He ran down and back up, only to realize that it felt rather good!

After running back and forth ten times, he finally filled the entire Buddha Vat.

However, when Fangzheng leaned over to look at the water, he could not tell what was so special about the Buddha Vat. He asked out of curiosity, “System, what’s going on? Where’s the pleasant surprise you mentioned?”

“Isn’t it a pleasant surprise that you can fill such a large vat of water with ten trips?” The System answered boldly and assured.

“Fuck you!” Fangzheng cursed.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning flew in through the window and struck the spot in front of Fangzheng!

“Fuck you!” Fangzheng cursed again without hesitation.

Boom!

Another bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of him.

Fangzheng opened his mouth: “F…”

Rumble…

The dark clouds outside prepared for another bolt of lightning…

“Well, it can’t be done more than three times. Amitabha, it feels good indeed. I’ve had my fun.” Fangzheng flicked his sleeves and prepared to leave.

The dark clouds outside immediately dispersed.

At that moment, Fangzheng felt something cling to his leg. Looking down, he saw Lone Wolf stretch out its tongue as it whimpered incessantly.

“Are you really thirsty? It’s not like you didn’t drink a lot of water at the spring. Fine, I’ll get you some water.” After saying that, Fangzheng got a big bowl, which was a flower pot that he turned into Lone Wolf’s personal bowl, and filled it with water.

Lone Wolf moved forward and stretched out its tongue to lap the water, like normal. However, it began to drink faster and faster. Before long, the huge bowl of water was completely empty. The fellow even licked the bowl’s bottom! Assured that there wasn’t any left, it burped and came forward to whimper again.

“You still want more? You already drank so much that the corners of your mouth are dripping… Eh, so you are craving it?” Fangzheng was perplexed. Was the water that nice?

Fangzheng was smart enough to make an educated guess based on the Crystal Rice. He hurriedly ran back and got a bowl of water, and drank it down. His eyes lit up and, forgetting everything else, he began taking big gulps…

When the water reached his mouth, it was extremely sweet. More importantly, it was refreshing and cool but not ice-cold. When it entered his body, he felt like every organ in his body came alive. His organs reacted like withered grass or old trees that had not seen water in a long time. Having met with a downpour, they began absorbing the water crazily until their vitality surged and they began sprouting…

After drinking a bowl of the water, Fangzheng rubbed his belly. It was filling! He had a pleased smile on his face as he shouted, “Great!”

Fangzheng never expected that he would find water preferable to other beverages, especially as he had drunk water his entire life! He has always thought that One Finger Spring’s water was the best spring water, but compared to the Buddha Vat water, it was completely unpalatable!

“Woo…” By his feet, Lone Wolf whimpered.

Fangzheng said impatiently, “Fine, fine. I’ll get you some more.”

Fangzheng was not a stingy person. Since the water was truly delicious, and not because the wolf had gone silly drinking the water, he was willing to let the wolf drink as much as he wanted! If he could provide food, could he not provide water?

After getting a bowl of water for Lone Wolf, Fangzheng began pondering the nature of the water. Clearly, the spring water at the mountainside did not have this taste. The only explanation, therefore, was the Buddha Vat.

“System? Are you there?”

The System did not respond.

“Hey, are you mad? System Bro, don’t be angry. Here’s a question. Is your pleasant surprise related to how the water will turn tasty once the vat is filled up?” asked Fangzheng.

“When the Buddha Vat is filled with water, it will release worldly essence in the vat and the power of the wishes of all beings, cleansing and purifying the water into Unrooted Clean Aqua. Unrooted Clean Aqua is untainted by the secular world. Those who drink it will find it to be extremely sweet, and it nourishes the entire body, stimulating the body’s vitality,” said the System.

Upon hearing the System’s voice, Fangzheng was relieved that it did not seem angry. At the same time, he also understood that the System appeared to not have any feelings. It seemed like a fixed program that strictly abided certain rules. As long as he did not violate the rules, the System was reasonable.

Upon thinking of this, Fangzheng felt relieved.

“What if I don’t fill it to the brim?” Fangzheng asked.

“If it’s not filled, the Buddha Vat’s special effect cannot happen,” answered the System.

Fangzheng fell silent and touched the money in his pocket. He sighed and grumbled, “I need to save up and quickly get a technician to fix the water well. In that case, I won’t need to worry about the water.”

With that said, Fangzheng’s stomach groaned. He was hungry. Although he had drunk quite a lot of water, it was still water in the end. It could never replace food.

He washed a pot and poured water into it, scooped some rice, and cooked it.

At the same time, Fangzheng shouted, “Lone Wolf, there isn’t enough timber. Go get some.”

Lone Wolf who was a little lazy just a moment ago whimpered once before running out. Fangzheng scolded in amusement, “You were like a reluctant dog when I got you to fetch water. Now, I want you to get timber for food and you are immediately so energetic. Are you a fox?”

Lone Wolf shook its tail and ran afar. Before long, it carried a thick tree branch over. Fangzheng got an ax and chopped it into a few segments before stuffing it into the fire pit. At the same time, a conversation began between the human and wolf to alleviate their boredom.

However, Fangzheng and Lone Wolf fell silent after a while as they tried their best to sniff the air.

“How fragrant! That’s not right. I didn’t use much Crystal Rice, why is the rice so fragrant?” Fangzheng gulped a mouthful of saliva as he muttered.

Lone Wolf whimpered and pointed to the Buddha Vat. Fangzheng said, “Are you saying it’s the water of the Buddha Vat? That’s right! The water is so delicious that food cooked with it can only be enhanced. It seems that’s the reason… I wonder what the taste would be like when Crystal Rice is cooked with Unrooted Clean Aqua.”

When this was said, Fangzheng and Lone Wolf gulped a mouthful of saliva simultaneously. Immediately, they were plagued by all sorts of cravings…