Chapter 29: Chapter 29

Only upon hearing the loud boom did Fangzheng truly wake up. In front of him, Jiang Ting was given a fright from Fangzheng’s reaction. Why was the monk who was gentle and humble just a moment ago suddenly rooted to the spot? Why was he so violent when he snapped out of his thoughts?

Fangzheng also knew that he had given her a fright. He took a deep breath and held his palms together. Bowing, he said, “Female Patron, sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“Jiang Ting, what’s wrong? Did this monk bully you?” At that moment, Lu Xiaoya’s voice sounded.

Only then did Fangzheng realize that Fatty, Monkey, Lu Xiaoya, and Ruan Ying had entered the temple hall. Jiang Ting was left behind. When they heard the loud sound, Lu Xiaoya had looked over.

Jiang Ting immediately said, “I’m fine.”

“Oh, alright. Come over quickly! This temple might be small, but it’s rather clean,” Lu Xiaoya shouted.

Jiang Ting acknowledged it and was about to move over.

Although Fangzheng did not like Monkey or Fatty, the scene that he had seen was too shocking and gruesome! Even if they were not sparing with their words, they did not deserve to die.

Upon realizing this, Fangzheng said, “Female Patron, can you hear a word or two from This Penniless Monk?”

“Sorry, I don’t believe in Buddhism,” Jiang Ting said coyly and ran off. Even a fool could tell that it wasn’t that she did not believe in Buddhism but that she did not believe in Fangzheng! She was really treating Fangzheng as a cheat.

Fangzheng smiled bitterly and sighed, “Forget it. Karma is determined by the heavens. Everyone experiences birth and death. I can’t always try to change the future.”

With that said, Fangzheng flicked his sleeves and returned to the backyard.

However, the more Fangzheng wanted to ignore the matter, the more the scenes he had seen streaked across his mind. He was unable to shake the scene from his mind no matter how many Buddhist scriptures he recited or how much he strolled. Especially when he heard Monkey and Lu Xiaoya’s voices outside, it left him with even greater unease.

“Jiang Ting, you said that the monk slammed the metallic door like a mad man when you woke him up? Haha, doesn’t the monk not feel pain? I heard the sound. It was almost like thunder,” Lu Xiaoya said with a grin.

Jiang Ting rolled her eyes at her and said, “Don’t speak nonsense.”

“Fine, fine. I won’t continue. Let’s go and take a look at the metal door the monk struck. To cause such a loud sound, I’m really curious what that door is made of,” Lu Xiaoya said with a chuckle as she led Jiang Ting towards the door.

In the temple hall, Fatty, Monkey, and Ruan Ying sized up the Guan Yin Bodhisattva, the boy and girl attendants, as well as the Skanda statue at the door.

Fatty said, “Monkey, have you ever seen such a lifelike statue? This Guan Yin Bodhisattva looks like a real person. Also, look at that female attendant, she looks so pretty.”

“Fatty! This is a temple! Don’t speak nonsense!” Ruan Ying reprimanded him.

Fatty scratched his head in embarrassment and said, “Got it. It’s not like I was speaking things that insult Buddha. I’m just speaking the truth.”

Monkey answered, “Indeed. I’ve been to numerous temples, but I have never seen such a lifelike statue before. Also, take a look – these statues are spotless!”

Ruan Ying said, “That monk looks fair and clean too. He’s probably a hygiene freak.”

Monkey nodded and said, “Possibly. However, to clean the temple so well just to make it look real, he surely has put in the effort. Perhaps, he isn’t a fake monk?”

Fatty exclaimed, “Hey! I was wondering why I felt like something was lacking, and now I know. Have you seen a Merit Box?”

“What Merit Box?” Ruan Ying asked.

Fatty said, “I mean the Merit Box all temples and monasteries tend to place by the entrance or offering table for others to place money into.”

Ruan Ying shook her head and said, “I didn’t see one.”

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Monkey agreed, “I didn’t see one either.”

“Could it be that this temple does not accept incense donations?” asked Fatty.

Monkey laughed and said, “Dream on. Isn’t there a plaque by the door? Ordinary incense is free, but a stick of high incense costs two hundred! It’s not cheap.”

“Hehe, I even believed that this monk doesn’t deal with money for a moment. It looks like he really is a fake monk afterall.” Just as Fatty’s voice faded, he heard Lu Xiaoya scream from outside, “Fatty, Monkey. Come quickly!”

When Fatty and Monkey heard Lu Xiaoya’s anxious voice, they simultaneously shouted, “Oh no!”

Monkey sprinted out, while Fatty ran a little slower. However, his volume wasn’t low as he roared, “Darn Bald Donkey, if you dare touch Xiaoya, I’ll burn down your temple!”

Fangzheng, who was feeling unease in the backyard, was given a shock when he heard the shout. He mumbled to himself, “What are these people doing now?”

Hence, he went out to take a look as well.

Monkey, Fatty, and Ruan Ying ran out of the hall and saw Lu Xiaoya and Jiang Ting standing by the main entrance. They were staring intently at the partially opened metal door.

Realizing that the duo was fine, Monkey, Fatty, and Ruan Ying heaved a sigh of relief spontaneously.

Monkey asked, “What’s wrong? Your scream scared the daylights out of me.”

Fatty agreed, “Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“There’s no need to speak further, just take a look yourself. Look at this metal door!” Lu Xiaoya pointed at the metal door.

The trio followed Lu Xiaoya’s fingers and when they saw the target of her pointing, Monkey immediately drew a gasp – there was a clear palm imprint on the red metal door! The palm imprint was extremely clear!

“Xiaoya, why are you pointing at this premade imprint?” Fatty asked, perplexed.

Lu Xiaoya said with a wry smile, “I also wish that it were premade. Jiang Ting, why don’t you explain it to them?”

Jiang Ting recounted what had happened with Fangzheng suddenly turning crazy and slamming the metal door, eventually leaving behind the palm imprint, and Fatty and Ruan Ying were given a fright. Ruan Ying commented, “That’s impossible, right? How can a living person have such great strength?”

Fatty rolled his eyes and said, “What are you talking about? Even a dead person will not have that much strength, alright?”

“Both of you, stop it. I’m having goosebumps from all this talk,” Lu Xiaoya trembled as she said in fear.

Fatty said, “I still believe this imprint must have already been here. It’s just that we didn’t notice it previously.”

“No,” at that moment, Monkey, who had stayed silent so far, suddenly spoke out.

“Monkey, what do you mean ‘no’?” asked Fatty.

Monkey answered, “When we entered through the door, I took a good look at it. I even mentioned that the door appeared rather solid, right? Although It’s not like exposing fakes is something I do professionally, all of you should know how keen I am. I look at things very meticulously. When we entered, there was absolutely no palm imprint on the door! This I can guarantee. Also, look at the metal door’s back. The imprint has left a protrusion on the other side, but the door is not empty on the inside. It’s true metal throughout, so-”

“Monkey, are you saying that this imprint on the metal door was really produced by that monk?” Fatty was given a shock yet again. Then, he shuddered and said carefully, “Could that fierce monk have heard my bellow just now?”

“What bellow?” Ruan Ying asked.

Fatty said with tears almost brimming down his cheeks, “The part of me burning down the temple.” Fatty could already imagine the scene of the monk slamming his palm at him in his rage. He shuddered and no longer appeared as domineering as before.

Ruan Ying said with a wry smile, “I’m not sure if he heard it before, but he has definitely heard it now,” as she said that, she looked behind Fatty.

Fatty turned his body and saw Fangzheng standing behind him. He was smiling amiably and did not look angry at all. However, Fatty had a nagging feeling that the monk’s smile had nefarious thoughts behind it. It was a fake cunning fox’s smile. It was even possible that he was just waiting for a chance to smack him to death. Therefore, Fatty subconsciously shrunk backward.