The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Fangzheng frowned. Zhao Datong’s school was pretty far from Mt. One Finger. Why was he seeking his help? Wasn’t it somewhat strange? Shouldn’t he be seeking the help from his parents, professors or police? Fangzheng still replied, “What help?”

Zhoa Datong took a deep breath. “Master, Fang Yunjing is in trouble. She wishes to kill herself all day. She nearly jumped from a building today. Everyone is now taking turns watching her… We are afraid she might just off herself. Now, the professors and police are here. But they are helpless. She does not speak at all. She doesn’t eat and a psychiatrist is useless. I thought about it and best option was you. Do you think you have any way of helping her?”

Fangzheng rubbed his bald head and sighed. “It’s indeed troublesome.” Zhao Datong’s school was outside Black Mountain City, in a province of Jilin City. That place was so far that Fangzheng didn’t have the money to travel there!

“System, can my A Golden Millet Dream reach that far?” The only thing Fangzheng could do was rely on his divine powers.

“No, it can’t. If you upgrade your divine power, you might be able to do so.”

Fangzheng was overjoyed. “A Golden Millet Dream can be upgraded?”

“Of course,” replied the System frankly.

“How is it upgraded?”

“Simple. Spend money.”

Fangzheng’s expression turned ashen when he heard that. Indeed, the scoundrelly System would only answer so enthusiastically when money was involved! However, saving a person’s life was more important. Fangzheng probed, “How much?”

“Not much, just five hundred thousand.” He could almost hear the joy in its robotic voice.

A dark cloud hung over Fangzheng’s head. This guy was definitely doing it on purpose! He was pricing things according to what he had! Fangzheng growled, “System, do you think it’s fine to do things like this?”

“It’s alright.”

Fangzheng rolled his eyes. It was as though he could see the devil’s tail behind the System’s buttocks. This guy was no Buddha System. It was clearly a greedy Devil System!

Fangzheng took a deep breath, “I need a reasonable explanation. You can’t just quote sky-high prices.”

“Sky-high prices? Do you think divine powers are that cheap? Among all the divine powers, the Heavenly Eye is the most economical and practical. Yet the Heavenly Eye has the most levels. To upgrade the Heavenly Eye to the highest level, the price will let you understand how hard it is to earn money. A Golden Millet Dream does not have many levels. It only has three. You are currently at level zero. However, it will cost five hundred thousand to upgrade to level one, fifty million to upgrade to level two, and five billion to upgrade to level three!”

“Five billion?!” Fangzheng’s eyes rolled back. He nearly fainted from anger. The richest person in the world only had a wealth in the tens of billions. Although many people were worth billions, most of their assets were illiquid. To use it freely? Apart from a country, no one could do it!

As for Fangzheng, he was a mere monk. All he had was a crappy monastery. To earn five billion? Fangzheng counted with his fingers. There was no hope at earning that amount even if people drank his blood and smashed his marrow.

“System, isn’t this too much a scam?”

“Then what do you propose? A dollar for a divine power? A divine power exceeds the knowledge of this world. Such an ability means five billion is cheap in comparison.”

Fangzheng thought about it. It was indeed reasonable but the problem was that it was truly expensive…

At that moment, he received another vibration from WeChat.

It was a video sent by Zhao Datong. In the video, a girl was standing on the rooftop, Just as she was about to jump, a firefighter pounced forward and grabbed her! The duo plummeted down as a rope held the firefighter. The recoil sent them slamming towards the wall. At the critical moment, the firefighter used his back to cushion the blow for her, preventing her from being injured. It was rather far and the girl’s looks were indiscernible. It did resembled Fang Yunjing. Fangzheng narrowed his brows.

Upon seeing this harrowing scene, Fangzheng sighed. The firefighter was unrelated to the girl but at the critical moment, he risked his life to save her. As a monk, he talked about redeeming people and doing good, hoping to accumulate merit to renounce asceticism. Now with the opportunity for him to make a change he acted hesitant! It was truly embarrassing.

Thinking back to the group of people that came up his mountain. Fangzheng found it difficult to link the suicide victim to the beautiful Fang Yunjing who was quiet, mild and modest. Upon linking them together, all he felt was regret.

“Whatever. The monastery can be renovated at a later date. System, the five hundred thousand are yours. Upgrade A Golden Millet Dream for me!”

“Are you ready?”

Fangzheng’s face turned livid, “Are you still bent on fooling around at such a critical moment? Upgrade it!”

“Ding! In the midst of upgrading. This might hurt a little.”

“OUCH… You call this a little painful?! AHHH…”

Birds flew into the sky on Mt. One Finger as Lone Wolf jumped around. Squirrel ran over in shock to observe the situation…

“Ouch… System, how long has this pain been going on for?” Fangzheng held his head and asked with tears welling in his eyes.

“One minute,”

Fangzheng exclaimed, “One minute? Why does it feel like it’s been a year? It hurts so much… System, the next time there an upgrade, please tell me ahead of time if it will hurt this much! Also, this isn’t a little painful. This is an excruciating pain that can take a person’s life. Don’t you understand anything?” Fangzheng held his head and emphasized the words ‘ahead of time.’

“Understood. You will be warned next time.”

“The next time? Heh heh. The day I pass away will be the day I get you to upgrade my A Golden Millet Dream,” said Fangzheng.

“Why do you have to wait for the day you pass away?”

He grinned viciously. “If I’m about to die, wouldn’t it be great to experience a minute as a year?”

System: “@#$%…”

“Master, how are you? Can you do it?” Zhao Datong urged.

Fangzheng calmed down as well. It was painful but he received the divine power. He had to save her as soon as possible. After organizing his thoughts, he replied: “Yes, but to help her, I need some things. I will get someone to mail them over. When the time comes, I’ll tell you how to use them.”

Zhao Datong was delighted. “Really?! Thank you, Master!”

Fangzheng smiled bitterly. He was lacking in confidence but Zhao Datong was foolish enough to actually believe him! Fine, since he trusted him that much, Fang Yunjing felt that he could not let him down. “Tell This Penniless Monk what happened to Fang Yunjing since last we met. Remember, be as detailed as possible. This Penniless Monk will prepare the items before mailing them to you.”

“Alright!” Zhao Datong then tugged Hu Han.

“Datong, what are you doing? I haven’t slept all night. I’m almost a panda!” Hu Han yelled angrily as he looked up with bloodshot eyes.

“It’s already morning. Stop sleeping! Party with me!” Zhao Datong was in an especially good mood as he roared with laughter.

“Party your ass! Let me sleep! If you want to throw a party, I can join you in throwing one tomorrow morning. The one who doesn’t party the best is the grandson!” Hu Han was exhausted. He had stayed up all night to watch Fang Yunjing. As a person who seldom stayed up, he felt like his body was malfunctioning. He did not want to do anything other than sleep. And it was Zhao Datong’s turn to watch over her today.

“Partying tomorrow is tomorrow’s business. Master has agreed to help. I think Fang Yunjing’s problems will be solved.”

Hu Han chuckled, “Master might be powerful but he is hundreds of kilometers away. Do you expect him to fly over here? Most importantly, Master is no psychiatrist. Do you think he will use his mighty arms to beat Fang Yunjing to her senses? Just shush and let me sleep…”

Hu Han sprawled on the bed and fell asleep.

Zhao Datong, who was filled with burning zeal, felt his spirits dampen by Hu Han’s comment. Only a few sparks were left. In fact, he was not very confident in regards to Fangzheng. He felt that Fangzheng was a godlike presence and went to him as a last resort.

“Whatever. Since Master said he will help, let’s see how it turns out. I have tried my best. Sigh. I’ll be the one keeping vigil tonight… My beautiful face…” He lay down in bed and went to sleep.

Fangzheng began busying himself. He called Wang Yougui and got him to buy some yellow paper and cinnabar.

Not long after Wang Yougui came up the mountain with a stack of yellow paper and a bag of cinnabar. He handed it to Fangzheng, “Kid, what are you up to?”

Fangzheng chuckled, “This Penniless Monk is a monk. What else can he do? Since there’s nothing to do, This Penniless Monk will be drawing some talismans.”

“Draw talismans? Are they useful? The other monasteries also give away talismans but I have never seen any use for them. From my point of view, it’s just a placebo to make a person feel at peace, isn’t it?”

Fangzheng smiled, “Peace is also a gift. Patron Wang, why do you need to be so serious?”

Wang Yougui found Fangzheng’s explanation reasonable and shrugged.”Alright. Give me one when you are done drawing one. I would like a peace amulet.”

“No idea how to make one.” Fangzheng replied.

“You have no idea? Isn’t… isn’t that the simplest talisman? Even the traveling Daoists know how to do it but you don’t? Then, what do you know?” Wang Yougui was puzzled.

“This Penniless Monk only knows how to draw ‘Ghost Drawing Talismans.’ It’s still unknown if they are of any use. This Penniless Monk learned it recently and will give you one when he masters it in the future.” Fangzheng did not wish to explain further. The matter was difficult to explain.

Wang Yougui did not put it to heart, thinking that Fangzheng was having fun with talismans out of boredom. He smiled, “Alright, give me one when you master it. By the way, practice your calligraphy when you have nothing to do. Your words look great! Everyone who has been to my house would praise your couplet. Next time, write a big one for me. I’ll frame it up. Maybe it will be valuable many years later.”

Fangzheng chuckled and thought nothing of it. His calligraphy was good but it was nothing but shit when compared to the real Dragon Buddha Epithet. Fangzheng agreed without much thought. “Patron Wang, I will have something for you to mail for me later. Can you help me mail it out?”

“Will you be providing water?” Wang Yougui asked before agreeing.

Fangzheng smiled. “Yes.”

“Then, no problem. Aiyah, when your monastery expands, I’ll come stay here for no reason. Hehe, that rice…” Wang Yougui gave a look of anticipation.