The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

The more Guan Xiangfeng listened, the more upset he became. The bastard master and disciple duo were truly destroying heavenly treasures! He turned hot headed as he climbed up the wall to hear a cracking sound coming from inside. Clearly, the machete had chopped at the Frost Bamboo! He felt rage arise in him and just as he was about to shout for them to stop again…

He saw the monk having his hand wrapped around the blade instead of the handle. The other hand held a segment of Frost Bamboo as his eyes were completely focused. His level of concentration and his stern expression were contagious. Guan Xiangfeng swallowed the words he was about to say because he realized that at that moment, the monk’s eyes looked extremely familiar to him! Before his master, Jiang Zhou, began carving, he would enter such a focused state. The only thing in his eyes would be the object he was about to carve! He would even forget the blade, for the blade was his hand!

“How… How is this possible? It can’t be that this monk is actually a capable carver, right?” Guan Xiangfeng gulped a mouthful of saliva as he mumbled inwardly in disbelief. Meanwhile he kept telling himself, “Impossible. He’s only a savage monk. It’s unlikely he knows anything about bamboo carving. He must be trying to be mystifying…”

In any case, before he finished his train of thought, Fangzheng began. The blade in his hand kept changing like a butterfly amid a bed of flowers. The length of the blade was controlled to vary in length and change freely. The blade and tip landed on the Frost Bamboo at different angles. The curved Frost Bamboo soon got sliced apart by Fangzheng’s huge machete and turned into a flat plank! This was also only possible with Frost Bamboo thanks to its dense and tough flesh.

Laymen just watched for the buzz as Squirrel, Lone Wolf, Monkey, and Red Boy only felt that Fangzheng’s actions were nimble. The Frost Bamboo was easily reduced to a plank in no time! Furthermore, the natural bamboo patterns were clear and natural. It was like a gorgeous plank of wood formed from jade, intricate and beautiful!

However, Guan Xiangfeng was no layman. He was dumbfounded the moment Fangzheng began! Although he had never seen most of the techniques which Fangzheng was using, he still knew of a few. However, compared to Fangzheng, he could practically be considered a cripple! Even his master was incomparable to the monk!

Jiang Zhou was not fast, but instead, he did things steadily like a machine. By doing it carefully, he could strive for perfection. Typically, he would spend a long time on every carving. At his fastest, it would take him a few months, but the products would naturally be of the highest quality.

However, the monk in front of him… He was not only fast, but also similarly steady! Although all he did was make a main plank, the grains on it came out naturally with no damage to them at all. The patterns formed by the grain appeared especially vivid, clear, and beautiful! It fully exuded a natural sense of mystery.

Guan Xiangfeng was already at a loss for words. Eventually, he blurted out in a daze, “What marvelous skill!”

“Who’s there!?” Lone Wolf suddenly looked up and shouted.

“Holy sh*t! The wolf spoke!” In his fright, Guan Xiangfeng’s hands lost their strength as he fell off from the wall, straight onto the ground. Without regard for his hurting ass, he immediately ran… He no longer had any thoughts about bamboo techniques or Frost Bamboo. All he wanted was to run as quickly as he could.

Before he could run far, he was stopped by Dog Song. “Did you see a ghost? Why are you running so frantically?”

Dog Song was also shocked by Guan Xiangfeng’s expression. The unhinged look he had was as though he was willing to fly off the cliff just to escape the mountain.

Guan Xiangfeng turned his head and pointed at the monastery with a sobbing tone. “Wolf… Wolf…”

“I know that wolf. It’s like a silly husky and rather cute.”

“No, that wolf is a demon spirit. It spoke!” said Guan Xiangfeng anxiously.

“You understand what a dog is saying? Fetch up, what are you actually?” cajoled Dog Song.

“No, he spoke human language!” exclaimed Guan Xiangfeng.

Dog Song was taken aback before he rolled his eyes. “Pui! Were you imagining things? I know how long that wolf has been on this mountain. It understands humans and is very intelligent, but for it to speak human language? Are you still dreaming? Or did you begin hallucinating because of heatstroke?”

After Guan Xiangfeng heard Dog Song and saw how serious he looked, his frantic heart gradually calmed down. Thinking back to his previous state of mind, his mind had wandered due to the monk’s shocking techniques. Perhaps, he had been imagining things.

“Alright. With you acting like this, it’s unlikely you can get any Frost Bamboo. Let’s go.” Dog Song shook his head and directly went down the mountain.

Guan Xiangfeng turned back to look at the lush green bamboo and could not bear to part with it! However, he was a little afraid of returning to the monastery alone. Therefore, Guan Xiangfeng chased after Dog Song and said, “Brother Song, I’m willing to teach Lame Ma how to carve bamboo. Can you request a segment of Frost Bamboo for me?” Guan Xiangfeng’s thinking was very simple. If there was some skilled monk on the mountain, would the villagers still need his help if they knew about it? If and when they found out, he would end up with nothing. He had to take action quickly before anyone knew of it so that he could reap any benefits he could before it was too late.

When Dog Song heard that, he turned around to shoot a glance at Guan Xiangfeng. He chuckled and said firmly, “There’s no need!”

“Why? Your Frost Bamboo is indeed good, but with those skills of yours, you will never be able to sell them for high prices,” exclaimed Guan Xiangfeng.

“Do you think you are the only one who can do carving?” sneered Dog Song.

“What do you mean?” Guan Xiangfeng felt his heart tremble. Could it be that Dog Song had also seen the monk’s skills?

“Nothing much. But do you think that just because you can climb walls, I can’t peep under the door? Haha! I never expected Abbot Fangzheng to be this awesome. F**k you, why would I need to ask for your help? With that mediocre skill of yours, you aren’t even worthy of carrying Abbot Fangzheng’s shoes! Yeah, I’ll bring Lame Ma here to learn from Fangzheng tomorrow. Hahaha!” Dog Song was beaming happily, but he was feeling mixed emotions. Fangzheng was a monk. Would he really teach others carving? That was a problem.

When Guan Xiangfeng heard that, he realized that Dog Song had also been there all along. If he had not heard Lone Wolf speak, then he must have been imagining things. Therefore, he was completely relieved. However he felt depressed when he thought of the Frost Bamboo.

Dog Song ignored what was on Guan Xiangfeng’s mind. He had sought his help, but the fellow had not grasped the opportunity, so who was to blame? Now that there was a better master to learn from, why would he need to waste his time with Guan Xiangfeng?

Dog Song happily went down the mountain as Guan Xiangfeng held his head down gloomily. He was filled with regret. If he had not put on airs and had chosen to teach Lame Ma something, wouldn’t he have gotten everything he wanted? How regretful! Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in the world. No amount of indignation could change anything.

Guan Xiangfeng sighed as he walked, constantly thinking, “I’m really a f**king idiot! Sigh… There’s indeed always someone better than you. Posturing only invites lightning strikes. Sigh.”

After they descended the mountain, the duo went to Wang Yougui’s place.

Guan Xiangfeng wanted to seek out Wang Yougui to see if there were any other means to get his hands on some Frost Bamboo. He did not even wish for an entire bamboo. All he wanted was a segment!