The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

The next moment, Lone Wolf was standing beneath the table, propping it up. Something left him depressed. What the heck was on his head?!

Fangzheng was overjoyed. Although the divine power was a useless, it produced something delicious! On Lone Wolf’s head grew large leaved lettuce. Most importantly, it grew another leaf once a leaf was plucked! The speed at which it grew was easily able to supply Fangzheng for his meals.

After he plucked a basin of leaves, he washed the leaves and stir-fried them in a wok.

He plucked another basinful of leaves, washed it then chilled it.

Another basin was washed and eaten with sauce.

Another basin was made, placed in water and salt. Soon, a huge basin of nutritious vegetable soup was ready.

Lone Wolf could only wallow bitterly. He needed to prop up the table, he had to stand there motionless. He kept seeing Fangzheng pluck green lettuce leaves from his head. It felt strange… especially when the monk mumbled as he plucked the green leaves. “Hehe, in ancient times, people are said to wear a green hat when they are cuckolded. Now, Lone Wolf is growing green-leafed vegetables. Hehe… not bad, not bad at all… This divine power is not bad!”

Although Lone Wolf did not understand Fangzheng, he instinctively felt that it was no good!

But when Fangzheng stuffed a mouthful of stir-fried leaves into his mouth, the Lone Wolf’s dissatisfaction vanished. His eyes narrowed into a slit. “Delicious… really delicious…”

When Fangzheng saw how silly Lone Wolf looked after eating, he did not dare eat. He stroked his chin and mumbled. “Is the lettuce poisoned? Does It make you dumb after eating it?”

Fangzheng looked up and saw Monkey placing a leaf in his mouth. Monkey’s eyes lit up and he had that pleasurable look suffuse his face as well. Squirrel, who had lifted up a leaf and finished it, remained stunned on the spot.

“It looks like all of them became idiots…” Fangzheng came to a conclusion. He recalled a scene. Back when Wang Yougui and company ate his Crystal Rice, they had looked the same! Could it be that Lone Wolf’s head was an undeveloped plot of fertile land, the lettuce grown out of it being extremely delicious?

“Don’t be silly. Those are lettuces produced through divine power.Divine powers are used by Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. The lettuce grown on the head naturally isn’t lettuce from the mortal world but lettuce grown on Mount Numinous. The lettuce is not grown on Lone Wolf’s head. Its roots are actually in the void, drawing on the world’s essence. It only looks like it’s growing on his head. Is it strange that such lettuce tastes good? Sigh, you guys. Lacking in knowledge is truly one of your shortcomings,” said the System.

Fangzheng was still rather happy when he heard the first half of the sentence but his expression turned grim towards the end. “System, it’s because you do not have a body. Otherwise you would definitely have been beaten to death with that mouth of yours.”

The System ignored Fangzheng. Fangzheng was just as happy that no one squabbled with him. Since the lettuce was good and did not really grow from Lone Wolf’s head, there was nothing holding him back. Hence, there was no reason to stand on ceremony. Time to dig in!

A stir-fried lettuce leaf felt silky and tender to the tongue. A gentle bite caused the unique fragrance of lettuce to fill the mouth. The feeling was awesome!

With a mouthful of soft and tender Crystal Rice and the flavors of the lettuce, Fangzheng realized that it tasted excellent!

The cold, raw lettuce gave a different feeling. It had not been blanched so it had an especially crisp and fragrant feeling. It felt like ice-cream! The pleasure reached deep into the heart!

As for the raw leaves that had been washed, they were placed on the table. A few mouthfuls of Crystal Rice were placed on top, together with some stir-fried lettuce and sauce. The lettuce was then bundled into a wrap. Opening his mouth wide, Fangzheng swallowed it down! Fangzheng only had one word for it when the fragrance and that sense of fulfillment filled his mouth—awesome!

Next, he drank a mouthful of the clear soup with all the flavors of the dishes brought together, it was sublime!

“Delicious!” Fangzheng cried out. Then, he wolfed down the lettuce wraps in his hands.

Monkey mimicked him. He also wrapped the rice in the lettuce leaves and indeed, it tasted awesome!

Squirrel was anxious. He was small in size and not even much bigger than the lettuce leaves. How was he to wrap his rice like that? Was he to wrap himself instead?

Fangzheng chuckled when he noticed Squirrel’s predicament. He took a small leave and tore it into shreds. He placed a few rice grains in it and dabbed it in some sauce. Then, he dipped some of the sauce from the stir-fried vegetables before presenting Squirrel with a tiny lettuce wrap. Squirrel held his paws together and began dancing when he saw this. “Thank you, Abbot! Haha… I have a lettuce wrap too!”

Squirrel stuffed the entire bundle into his mouth.

Fangzheng was rendered somewhat speechless when he saw this. He nearly forgot that although Squirrel was tiny, his mouth’s capacity easily beat out all the other living beings in One Finger Monastery when it came to ratio…

Lone Wolf kept looking up, darting his eyes to the side at the food on the table. His angle was perfect, allowing him to see the heartless scum rejoicing. And all he had were two mouthfuls of lettuce leaves. He cried out in protest.

Fangzheng chuckled and wrapped a huge lettuce wrap and stuffed it into Lone Wolf’s mouth. “Although the table is broken, you have treated us to a big meal. Consider this a reward for you.”

Lone Wolf widened his mouth and devoured the lettuce wrap and enjoyed his food.

After the meal, Fangzheng led Lone Wolf down the mountain. They came to Wang Yougui’s house and solicited for a hammer and a few nails. Once they returned, they mended the table, relieving Lone Wolf from being table support.

In the evening, a dark cloud was blown over. Fangzheng cupped his eyes and mumbled, “It looks like it’s going to rain.”

The three animals looked into the distance. Monkey said, “I hate it when it rains. Once it rains, the ground is covered with leaves, making it difficult to sweep.”

Lone Wolf added, “It’s so boring when it rains. I can’t go out and play…”

Squirrel quipped, “It’s quite nice when it rains. I can have a nice sleep. Ah… I’m sleepy.”

“Since you’re sleepy, sleep.” Fangzheng returned to his quarters.

Late into the night, a gust of wind blew. The clouds swirled in the sky and like a wet towel, that was squeezed dry by the hands of the wind, rain pattered down… Instantly, all the animals and the human returned home to hide from the rain. Silence reigned.

Fangzheng lied in his quarters and looked at the window behind him. He happened to be able to see the Crystal Rice paddy from that angle. As the rain poured down, Fangzheng laid silently on the heated brick bed and at that moment…

“Pa!” A crisp sound came from behind the building. It was not loud but the sound was exceeding clear after the rain turned less intense.

Fangzheng’s ears moved as he looked at Lone Wolf. “Did you hear something?”

“A smacking sound.”

Fangzheng nodded. “Then it shouldn’t be an illusion…”

Pa!

Another crisp sound was heard again. The smacking sounds repeated intermittently, making Fangzheng even more curious. He leaned on the window seal and looked out. Lone Wolf joined him, squeezing his huge head underneath Fangzheng’s armpits. His face was plastered across the glass window as he widened his eyes, as though he wanted to discern what it was.