In the following days, Mt. One Finger turned quiet once again. However, Fangzheng was a little taken aback. In the past, everyone had a clear goal when they came up the mountain. It was to pray for children, for peace, or for other matters. But in the past two days, anyone who came up the mountain would basically come to One Finger Monastery to offer incense before digging bamboo shoots.
Fangzheng was puzzled. When he saw Yang Ping come up the mountain, he immediately grabbed him and asked, "Patron, why does everyone offer incense before digging bamboo shoots every time they come up the mountain?"
"Venerable Fangzheng, you don't know?" Yang Ping was taken aback before he laughed.
"What does This Penniless Monk know?"
Yang Ping laughed even more happily. "It's the result of Dog Song spreading the news at the foot of the mountain. He said that Zhou Wu disrespected Buddha and dug bamboo shoots randomly. He was punished by Buddha, causing his face to be covered in moles. Everyone in the surrounding villages has seen this and knows about it. Humans, whether they had done something wrong or not, were sometimes afraid. Therefore, everyone first prays to Buddha before digging bamboo shoots to feel at ease. "
Fangzheng was rendered speechless when he heard that. He never expected that teaching Zhou Wu a lesson would increase One Finger Monastery's incense offerings.
Yang Ping asked, "Venerable Fangzheng, about Zhou Wu's matter, was it really the wrath of Buddha?"
Fangzheng pressed his palms together. "Amitabha. Patron, what do you think?"
With that said, Fangzheng turned and left. Such matters could not be explained clearly. The more he explained, the more troublesome it would be. He might as well act mysterious and let everyone guess. After all, it was not a bad thing to fear the gods. Only by knowing fear would one have dread. What was truly terrifying was a person who had no fear or dread.
Since he understood the problem of the monastery's incense offerings, Fangzheng did not think too much about it. He returned to the monastery to do what he needed to do. The Crystal Rice grew stronger under the nourishment of the Buddhist scriptures. As for the Crystal Rice paddy, it naturally could not be hidden. Wang Yougui and Tan Juguo had come. They were people who had eaten Crystal Rice before. They knew that the taste was so good that it made them want to bite off their tongues.
Tan Juguo asked Fangzheng for the planting method once again. Helpless, Fangzheng could only let Tan Juguo watch him plant the Crystal Rice. When he saw Fangzheng recite the scriptures day and night, Tan Juguo immediately gave up the idea. He had heard Fangzheng's scriptures and found it to be a peace that came from the heart. This was not some kind of audio-visual product, or someone who could just read a few lines.
By ending Tan Juguo and Wang Yougui's thoughts, Fangzheng had resolved a huge problem.
But soon, trouble came knocking on the door again.
That night, Fangzheng was unable to sleep. He decided to take Lone Wolf, Red Boy, Squirrel, and Monkey for a stroll on the mountain. As he looked at the galaxy in the sky, he sighed. "Earth is only so big. This galaxy is endless. Humans are just too tiny in the vast cosmos."
Monkey, Lone Wolf, and Squirrel nodded in unison, finding Fangzheng's wistfulness rather fitting!
However, Red Boy, who was a wet blanket, grinned and said, "Pfft, your vast starry sky. If I recover my supernatural power, I can fly up to the sky and dive down to the ground. My lifespan is limitless. There will come a time when I finish exploring." Speaking of this, Red Boy rolled his eyes and smiled. "Master, have you flown before?"
Fangzheng shook his head. "I'm just an ordinary person. Of course I've never flown before. However, flying is no longer a problem for humans. Airplanes have already solved the problem of flying. "
"I'm talking about flying with one's body. I'm not talking about using external objects," said Red Boy.
Fangzheng's heart palpitated. Everyone had dreams of flying, and Fangzheng was naturally no exception. Although airplanes could fly, how could the flight of airplanes be compared to the flight of one's body? Besides, he had never been on an airplane before!
When Red Boy saw that Fangzheng was tempted, he immediately shouted. "Master, look. You have returned my divine powers. I'll bring you flying. How about that?"
Fangzheng was truly tempted. Flying!
As Fangzheng pondered over it, he walked to the edge of the cliff. He looked at the majestic mountain range that stretched from north to south like a crouching dragon under the night sky. Fangzheng immediately felt a great sense of heroism as he wished to fly over to take a look.
Red Boy immediately said, "Master, if I were to recover my divine powers, I would be able to come and go freely in that mountain range. Master, it would be easy to see or go anywhere you want! Ignoring everything else, just our One Finger Monastery alone would be able to smack anyone to death with a single slap … Ahem, I mean smack them until they understand the true meaning of being human! "
Fangzheng shot a glance at Red Boy and smiled. "My dear disciple, do you know why I'm not giving you divine powers?"
Red Boy said, "Master, are you afraid that I will run away once I have divine powers?"
Fangzheng shook his head. "The world is vast. No matter how powerful your divine powers are, you will have to obediently return once I recite the scriptures. This Penniless Monk isn't giving you divine powers because he wants you to experience what it's like to be human. He wants you to experience the myriad emotions of life, joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. He doesn't want you to always be the king of the mountain, only knowing how to lead a carefree life and not care about the lives of others. Everything in the world has its own life, its own life, and its own pleasures. Only by understanding all of this will your life become more interesting. As for fighting and killing, don't you think your life is too boring? "
Red Boy looked like he was humbly accepting the teachings, but he thought otherwise. "Bullsh * t life. With divine powers, I can do whatever I want. That's freedom! Great Liberty! A god exploring the pleasures of ants? I'm so bored! "
Fangzheng also knew that it was impossible to convince Red Boy with a few words. He wasn't in a rush either. Just as he was about to teach Red Boy a life lesson, he suddenly heard the sound of a gong from below. It sounded extremely urgent. At the same time, it was accompanied by people's shouts, flashlights, and torches. Following that, he heard beast roars …
When Fangzheng heard that, he exclaimed. "Oh no, the wild boars are coming down the mountain again!"
Behind Mt. One Finger was Mt. Tongtian. It was not an independent mountain like Mt. One Finger. Instead, it was a chain of mountains. Mt. Tongtian belonged to the Changbai mountain range, and it was filled with deep mountains and ancient forests. In the past, there were hunters who would enter the mountains to hunt, but after the entire country stopped carrying guns, few people were willing to enter the mountains. The mountains that the typical villagers referred to were the two outermost mountains of Mt. Tongtian. They would not go any further in. However, to most people, it was indeed considered deep in the mountains.
Due to the country's protection, Mt. Tongtian had basically never been developed, nor did many people enter to disturb the animals' peace. Furthermore, in recent years, tigers had almost never been seen. Wolves had run inside, and black bears would only occasionally appear. Therefore, the periphery became the world of one creature — wild boars!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
