The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism

Chapter 1423: A Starving Ghost

Fangzheng was just about to shake his head when Su Cancan shouted from behind, “Yes! Master saved me outside. Someone robbed me and Master scared them away! He is my life savior. Dad, Mom, aren’t you going to thank him?”

Fangzheng was taken aback. When did that happen? When did he save her? Also, why didn’t this lass blush when she lied? Was she Red Boy in disguise?

Su Cancan’s parents became nervous when they heard this. They asked, “Really? Are you alright?”

Before Fangzheng said a word, Su Cancan said immediately, “Really! I’m fine. Mom, don’t worry. I think we should invite Master home to have a meal or something to thank him. Also, I’m hungry…”

The two of them, who were initially anxious, were filled with anger. However, after finding Su Cancan, their anger immediately dissipated. After confirming that Su Cancan was fine, after confirming that he was his daughter’s savior, Su Cancan’s father said, “Master, thank you for saving my daughter. If it’s convenient, why not come over to our house?”

Fangzheng was still worried that he had no food to eat and nowhere to sleep. Now that someone had invited him, how could he reject it?

Furthermore, Fangzheng also felt that he should help the pitiful child behind him.

Hence, Fangzheng nodded. “Amitabha. This Penniless Monk will be disturbing you.”

Su Cancan’s father smiled. “My name is Su Yuan, and this is my wife Qian Ying. Master, our car is outside. Let’s go.”

Before Fangzheng could say a word, Su Cancan hurriedly pulled him out. After distancing themselves, she whispered to Fangzheng, “Master, save me! If you don’t come home with me, my parents will beat me to death when there’s no one…”

What could Fangzheng say? All he could do was sigh and ask with great benevolence, “Patron, are you really providing food?”

Su Cancan was stunned for a moment before shaking her head. “You glutton… You really can’t compare to Abbot Fangzheng… Don’t worry, you can eat your fill!”

Fangzheng immediately felt relieved. As for ruining his image? It did not matter…

The Su family’s car was a big brand and it felt very comfortable sitting inside. From the looks of it, the Su family’s life was quite good…

After arriving at Su Cancan’s house, Su Yuan invited Fangzheng to take a seat. Qian Ying went to cook. It was to serve Fangzheng and to fill Su Cancan’s stomach.

After a short chat, Su Yuan sighed. “My daughter has troubled you, Master.”

Fangzheng smiled. “Patron, from This Penniless Monk’s point of view, this young patron is pretty good. At the very least, she’s not an unreasonable child.”

“Not unreasonable?” Taken aback, Su Yuan asked with a bitter smile. “I’ve never seen a child who’s more unreasonable than her… You don’t know, this child has always been a worry from a young age. I got her to memorize medical books, but she cut all the pictures in it… When I brought her to recognize herbs, she scattered them all over the floor. She even managed to create a picture of a rabbit. This made her grandfather so angry that he puffed his beard high.”

Fangzheng was taken aback when he heard that. He never expected the lass to be more capable than him. However, upon careful thought, he understood… Su Cancan must have been smart from a young age. Furthermore, she had liked drawing since she was young. Therefore, she used her ways to display her talent and hobbies. At the same time, she was silently protesting. Unfortunately, her parents clearly did not realize this and only thought that she was causing trouble…

Hence, Fangzheng said, “Does that mean Patron Su Cancan is a genius at drawing?”

Su Yuan was stunned when he heard that. He shook his head and said, “That… doesn’t count… At most, it’s just being a troublemaker.”

When Fangzheng heard that, he smiled. “Patron, do you really not think so?”

Su Yuan fell silent…

At this moment, Qian Ying finished cooking and called everyone over for supper.

Fangzheng was extremely hungry as well. He sat down and used A Golden Millet Dream to block everyone’s vision. Then, he stuffed the rice into Salted Fish’s mouth to prevent him from starving…

“Delicious! Delicious! Master, it’s been a long time since we ate rice on the mountain! I realized that mortal rice tastes pretty good too! Haha!” Salted Fish exclaimed happily.

Fangzheng was rendered speechless as he felt a little guilty. It was fine to cause his disciple to suffer, but if it was too much, he found it unnecessary. The reason why humans improved wasn’t because they suffered for things that they didn’t need to suffer, but because they yearned for a better life.

Therefore, although Fangzheng agreed with the cultivation methods of an ascetic monk, he did not approve of a life of hardship. The appropriate path of suffering, the toils of the body, the understanding of life, to remain true to one’s original aspirations, and then accumulate strength to strive for a better future was what Fangzheng valued.

Fangzheng did not dare say that his thoughts were absolutely correct, but he always felt that to live, one should be meaningful to the world… If not, what was the point of living? To eat and sleep ad nauseam until one died?

“It’s better to accumulate more merit. I need to exchange Crystal Rice and the rest back,” Fangzheng mumbled inwardly.

Fangzheng ate as he thought , but he failed to realize that the Su family had stopped eating and were looking at him.

When Fangzheng reacted, he looked at everyone in puzzlement. “Patron, what’s the matter?”

Su Cancan grinned widely. “How long has it been since you ate?”

Fangzheng thought for a moment. “About a day…”

Su Cancan rolled her eyes and said, “You ate half a pot of rice after not eating for a day. If you haven’t eaten for a few days, how much can you eat?”

“Cancan!” Su Yuan hurriedly berated her.

Fangzheng blushed when he heard that. He was a glutton to begin with, and Salted Fish was a big eater. Since the two of them were hungry, they ate freely, finishing half a pot of rice quickly…

“Don’t listen to her nonsense. If you’re hungry, feel free to eat more,” Su Yuan said politely.

Qian Ying said, “There’s not much else, but there’s plenty of rice. Eat more. If there’s none left, we’ll cook another pot…”

When Su Cancan heard that, she grinned and blinked her big eyes at Fangzheng as though she was asking, “How thick-skinned can you be to eat?”

Then, Fangzheng used his strength to prove that he was never afraid of anything when he needed to be thick-skinned! Therefore, he slowly ate another pot…

Su Cancan’s family looked at Fangzheng as though he was a monster.

Su Cancan didn’t tease him anymore. Instead, she asked in concern, “Were you really starving for only a day?”

Fangzheng pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. A monk doesn’t lie.”

“Impressive…” Su Cancan gave a thumbs up, her eyes looking like she was looking at a cow.

After the meal, Qian Ying and Su Cancan cleaned up the table. Su Yuan helped them take two items, but when he turned around, the monk was gone!

Su Yuan looked around and realized that the monk was standing by the window motionless.

Su Yuan curiously asked, “Venerable One, what are you looking at?”