The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Yu Guanze frowned. He wanted to shout ‘Cut,’ but Li Xueying and company had acted too well! The few veterans made all the extras immerse themselves in character. It was something he had not seen in many years. Such a situation only happened among a bunch of excellent actors, a phenomenon that resulted when there was a resonance among the actors. Another reason could be when a skilled film star and a few others cooperated to help a group of rookies. Rookies without any preconceptions would instantly get into character as a result.

Now, it was the latter situation. Li Xueying and a few veterans had instantly put the rookies into their characters!

Therefore, Yu Guanze could not steel his heart to shout ‘Cut.’ He could only choose for them to continue as he cursed inwardly, “What is this Fangzheng trying to do? Didn’t I tell him to act only upon instruction? What is Lin Dongshi doing? Why didn’t he stop him? Seriously, f**k my luck!”

Yu Guanze nearly cursed out loudly.

At that moment, a series of striking sounds were heard…

The deep sound came from the striking of the wooden fish as though it was striking at the hearts of everyone.

Yu Guanze’s urge to curse vanished. When he saw Fangzheng’s face, he was dumbfounded!

The distant Hu Xiao and Zhao Hongxiang were prepared to interrupt but they suddenly realized something amiss. Hence, they came to a stop. They looked up and instantly their eyes widened!

They thought that with Fangzheng’s young age, it was impossible for him to act in such a solemn scene, nor could he keep the austere and heavy atmosphere alive. Once his fair and clean look appeared, he would appear out of character!

However, they were all dumbfounded when they saw Fangzheng.

Fangzheng’s face grimaced with sorrow as there was an irrepressible pain in his eyes. Amid the sadness was pity as he sighed. He trembled with every step as his entire person felt suffocated by the immense pain he felt! He looked up slightly as the crowd subconsciously looked at his eyes. They felt their heart wince and nearly cried as well!

“This way his emotions infects others. Heavens…” Yu Guanze felt as though he had seen a monster.

He did not know that Fangzheng had studied the Buddhist Dharma, eaten Crystal Rice, and drunk Unrooted Clean Aqua daily. He was cleansed by Buddha’s aura and had an extremely high level of perceptivity. Although it might be difficult for others to get into character, it was easy for him to do so. Most importantly, the White Lunar Monk Robe magnified the effects. It made up for his poor acting skills. Instead, it amplified his emotions which infected everyone else.

Fangzheng’s hand that struck the wooden fish trembled as the wooden fish’s sound wavered. This left the hearts of everyone palpitating as well.

At that moment, Fangzheng spoke. He had long forgotten his lines but all he saw were the heroic souls on the ground. “This Penniless Monk shall send all of you off. You will not head to the Western Paradise in loneliness. Amitabha.”

“Director, he added a line…” Old Tao wanted to remind Yu Guanze.

Yu Guanze took off his hat and without even looking at Old Tao, stuffed it into his mouth to shut him up. He could not move his eyes from such an fascinating scene!

Hua Mulan, who laid on the ground seemingly dead, saw Fangzheng approaching her. As he walked, he recited the sutras before putting down the wooden fish. He flipped the corpses of the soldiers and arranged their clothes with doing it with utmost seriousness. She felt shocked seeing this. “This guy is truly a monster! He can get into character this well from his first foray into acting… He really shouldn’t be a monk…”

Fangzheng did not know what everyone was thinking. He felt his heart ache for the dead. From a young age, Fangzheng respected soldiers the most. Every time he saw news of a fire, he would see firefighters charge into the fire and running out with fire extinguishers. When there was a flood, martial policemen would use their bodies to make a human barricade to obstruct the flood. At an earthquake disaster scene, martial policemen would dig the rocks with their bare hands. Their hands would be covered in blood as they slumped to the ground exhausted. He could hardly hold back his tears when faced with such scenes.

Unfortunately, he had no chance to meet the people he deemed heroes. But this time, he had encountered them while filming. He did not care if everything happening in front of him was true or false. He only knew that these people had died protecting the villagers. These people were heroes. They could not die away from their homeland with such disheveled clothes, allowing for wild beasts to eat them! He wanted them to leave this world with dignity. He wanted to send them off to the Western Paradise, never to feel pain again.

Fangzheng’s heart and body were crying. But the Sutra of Terra-Treasure he recited was precise. Every word and intonation enunciated accurately. This was a sending from deep within his heart. He could not afford to misspeak a single word or it would be difficult for them to ascend to Paradise. As Fangzheng recited the sutras, everyone’s heart fluttered. The irrepressible pain in them spewed out. Silently, everyone cried.

When Fangzheng was done with Hua Mulan, he got up and pressed his palms together. Looking up into the sky, he seemed to scream silently, “Why must there be war?!”

At the same time, the tattered Kasaya draped over Fangzheng loosened, revealing the White Lunar Monk Robe. He appeared extremely bright under the sunlight!

The ground was covered by armored soldiers that had a dark tone to them. The background was blood, smoke, and corpses but amid them stood a monk in pure, unadulterated white. The stark contrast instantly served as a foil for Fangzheng! Everyone was dumbstruck! Is he human or Buddha?!

No one knew how much time passed when Dog Song suddenly shouted, “Director, has it ended? The ground is f**king cold.”

With him shouting, everyone jolted out of their reverie. Wang Yougui was the first to rebuke him, “Dog Song, shut your mouth! You can move only when you are allowed to! Listen to the Director!”

Dog Song whined, “My balls are almost freezing…”

“Cut! Cut! Cut!” Yu Guanze shouted as he was jolted to his senses.

Wang Yougui said, “Director, don’t mind this guy’s mindlessness.”

“He’s not the one who is mindless. I’m the one who was mindless. The scene is done. Well done! The villagers did great!” Yu Guanze said with a loud laugh. No one was happier than him. A scene he held no hopes for ended perfectly. He wanted to laugh for three days straight!

With Yu Guanze giving the order, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Fangzheng also let out a sigh but his heart was still heavy. The heaviness made him feel as though he was still in a warring era. Blood and fires had not left him. Instantly, he lost his mood. As everyone rejoiced and reflected on the filming, he shook his head and turned to return to One Finger Monastery. This was the first time One Finger Monastery closed the doors in the day.

Looking at Fangzheng’s departing back, Li Xueying knew that the young monk had gotten too into character. She knew very well how painful it was to fully be in character. She subconsciously wanted to chase up to him but she was surrounded by a group of people. There was no way for her to chase him so she could only let the matter rest. She could find the time to visit him again.

As for Hu Xiao and Zhao Hongxiang, they exchanged looks and saw the shock in each other’s eyes. What should have been a farce ended up as a stunning scene. The huge difference between reality and expectations left them somewhat dumbfounded.

At that moment, Yu Guanze came over with a laugh. “CEO Hu, CEO Zhao, how was the master I invited?”