Chapter 626: Master’s Punishment. The Taste of Home

Lin Tai asked agitatedly, “Brother Song, are you sure you didn’t see wrongly?”

Song Tianqiao shook his head. “I, Song Tianqiao, can agree that my character is problematic, but I would never lie when it comes to matters dealing with my profession. Brother Lin, the bell on this bell tower is even bigger than the Yongle Bell! If I didn’t see wrong, this should be the world’s biggest bell. Besides, both the patterns it has and the construction methods it was made with are ancient. This bell has a long history and can no longer be called an antique. It’s more of a national treasure! Calling it the world’s number one national treasure wouldn’t even be an exaggeration! Such a bell might be worth more than several cities.

With that said, Song Tianqiao bowed once again at Fangzheng. “I shot off my mouth without thinking. Please forgive me.”

Song Tianqiao had formerly thought nothing of a young abbot like Fangzheng, but things were different now. A person who could donate such a valuable bell was definitely no ordinary person. Be it money, power, or standing, the person was definitely an extremely terrifying existence. This person would be far more impressive than Lin Tai. Song Tianqiao had no intention to offend the donor because of a mere Lin Tai.

As known by all, faith could be extremely terrifying at times. If someone was willing to donate such a valuable bell, it meant that the person had immense faith in Fangzheng and One Finger Monastery. If news of him traveling all the way here to give Fangzheng problems got to the donor, Song Tianqiao might not even know how he died when the donor flared up. To sully the donor’s donation would be highly offensive.

He could not offend a person who donated such a bell. Therefore, he immediately admitted his mistakes.

Then, regardless of Lin Tai’s reaction, he rushed down the mountain. He didn’t want to inspect anything else because he didn’t dare to!

When Lin Tai saw this, he immediately shouted, but Song Tianqiao did not even turn his head back.

Lin Tai’s heart sank. He knew that the situation had blown out of proportion. He turned to look at Fangzheng who said with a faint smile, “Patron, one shouldn’t lie before Buddha. The mountain trail is slippery, so be careful when you crawl.”

With that said, Fangzheng turned and left.

The faces of Lin Tai, Li He, and Cui Jiandong paled. They were as ugly as could be.

“Hey! Are you leaving just like that?” Lin Xi hurriedly shouted when she saw Fangzheng leave.

Fangzheng said without turning his head back, “Female Patron, it was fated that we met. This Penniless Monk shall offer you a piece of advice: Cut down on riding white horses in the future.”

Lin Xi was astounded. How did he know that she liked riding white horses?

Liu Ying was gripped with anxiety as well. She had repeatedly misunderstood Fangzheng and felt her face burn. Thinking back to her actions, she had never really treated Fangzheng as her equal. She had constantly been thinking lowly of him. Now, wasn’t she the one having her nose in the air? Lin Tai and company might have felt that they had been smacked in the face, but was she any different?

Clenching her teeth, Liu Ying chased after Fangzheng. Before he entered the door, she said, “Fangzheng, I’m sorry!”

Fangzheng was slightly taken aback when he heard that. He then turned his head and smiled at her. “Amitabha. Patron, as This Penniless Monk said, This Penniless Monk hasn’t forgotten the kindness you showed him for that meal. This Penniless Monk will also give you a word of advice. Stocks are risky, so it’s best to let them go early.”

With that said, Fangzheng turned and left, passing through the courtyard and going to the backyard.

When Liu Ying saw this, she sighed. She knew that what Fangzheng said meant that the karma between them was now severed. He no longer owed her anything.

Just as Liu Ying was about to leave, she suddenly frowned. Her eyes wore a look of shock as she found the huge tree before her familiar. When she looked up, she was completely dumbfounded.

“This is a bodhi tree? It really got revived! It really covers the monastery’s yard and can be used as shade…” With this in mind, Liu Ying felt extremely bitter. It turned out that Fangzheng had never lied from the beginning. She had been the frog in the well, thinking highly of herself. Now, Liu Ying no longer bothered about how a bodhi tree could survive in the north. She turned and left the mountain in silence.

At the instant she turned her head, Liu Ying felt empty in her heart. She felt like she had lost something that could never be retrieved.

On the way down.

“Brother, are you really crawling!?” Lin Xi looked at Lin Tai who was sprawled on the ground as he went down the mountain.

Lin Tai said with his head flushed red. “Yes! A man must not go back on his words! I’ll do what I said!”

Although he said that, he was cursing inwardly. “What the f**k is going on? Why can’t I stand up? All I can do is crawl. Who can save me? I really don’t want to crawl!”

As lackeys, Li He and Cui Jiandong naturally did not dare walk when their boss was crawling. They could only bitterly crawl as well. This instantly made for an odd scene.

At that very moment, Fangzheng was sitting in his yard, casting his divine power. While doing so, he said, “A monk doesn’t lie, but you can’t lie to a monk either. Amitabha. This Penniless Monk will help you become honest children who honor their promises.”

Elsewhere, Red Boy, Monkey, Lone Wolf, and Squirrel looked at Fangzheng and shook their heads slightly. Red Boy mumbled. “Indeed, Master is still as petty as ever. Whoever bullies him will be bullied by him.”

Squirrel, Lone Wolf, and Monkey nodded in unison.

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“Jingxin, This Penniless Monk suddenly recalled that the bamboo forest needs watering. Draw some water and water it. If the entire bamboo forest isn’t watered, there won’t be any meals for you.” Fangzheng’s voice suddenly sounded.

Red Boy instantly felt like crying. Why were this darn baldy’s ears so sharp? Wasn’t he obviously punishing him? Boohoo. When did the bamboo forest ever need watering? Didn’t the bamboo just grow by itself? F**k, if you want to punish me, just say so! This reason sucks!

Upon seeing Red Boy obediently head out to draw water, Squirrel, Lone Wolf, and Monkey exchanged looks and hurriedly got to work. Less talk, more work, and don’t get marked by the monk. That was the way to survival in One Finger Monastery!

Deep at night, Fangzheng looked up into the sky. “The moon is turning rounder. Tomorrow’s the festival.”

Although Lin Tai and his former classmates had spoiled his mood, Fangzheng’s character was to always discard the unhappiness, leaving only happiness in him. Therefore, his mood was still pretty good.

Some people were rejoicing, while others were in sorrow. Having crawled down the mountain, the three men’s knees had been scuffed, and their trousers worth more than two thousand yuan each had been ground to rags. Lin Tai lay in the back seat as the pain brought him to tears. He kept cursing. “Darn Fangzheng, how dare you embarrass me? This isn’t the end of it!”

“By the way, Boss Lin, we can’t let this matter pass.” Li He added. He was in no way better. His knees were covered in blood, and the pain left him gritting his teeth.

Cui Jiandong nodded as well. All of them were cursing in the car.

Att hat moment, Song Tianqiao sent Lin Tai a message. Lin Tai’s expression turned ashen when he read it. It was really a bell worth several cities. A person who could donate such a valuable bell was definitely an important person. With someone like that backing Fangzheng, he could not afford to offend Fangzheng further!

With this in mind, Lin Tai threw his cell phone to the side and gritted his teeth all day before finally abandoning the thought of giving Fangzheng more trouble.

As firecrackers suppressed the crowing of the rooster, Fangzheng knew that a new day had arrived. It was the mid-autumn festival!

“Master! Master! The mid-autumn festival is here. Are we going down the mountain?” Red Boy had long learned the trick. He knew that there was bound to be good food during festivals. At the very least, there was fun to be had. Therefore, the child took his cell phone and memorized all the festivals. However, he knew Fangzheng only celebrated China’s traditional festivals. Foreign festivals and non-traditional festivals were not celebrated by Fangzheng. As such, he had been waiting all this while and finally, the mid-autumn festival was there. He could already smell the fragrance of mooncakes!

The moment Fangzheng opened the door, he saw Red Boy standing right in front. Behind him were Lone Wolf, whose extended tongue was nearly dripping saliva, Squirrel, who was rubbing his stomach and gulping saliva, and Monkey, who had a serene Buddhistic look but was secretly concerned. When he saw this combination of oddities, Fangzheng said in exasperation, “It is the day of the festival, but as for food…”

Red Boy, Squirrel, Lone Wolf, and Monkey all revealed looks of anticipation. Although there was delicious Crystal Rice and splendid Unrooted Clean Aqua on the mountain, one would get sick of anything after eating it for a prolonged period of time. They always yearned to try other flavors.

Fangzheng said, “There’s none!”

“What!?” Squirrel was the first person to shout out. The little guy was the most greedy when it came to food. Not giving him any good food was equivalent to taking his life.

Fangzheng raised his hand and rapped the little guy, sending him tumbling a few times. Then, he laughed and said, “There’s definitely none if you want to eat ready-made food. If you really wish to eat, make it yourselves!”

“Make it ourselves? How?” Red Boy, Squirrel, Lone Wolf, and Monkey asked in unison. How could they not know what was available on the mountain? With the little they had, what could they produce?

“We are of course making mooncakes,” said Fangzheng.

“Master, do you know how to make mooncakes?” Red Boy asked in astonishment. Squirrel also looked on with anticipation, while Lone Wolf was already beginning to drool. There was a secret smile hanging from the corners of Monkey’s lips.

Fangzheng looked up and shook his head under the expectant looks of his disciples. “No!”

“Then…” His disciples immediately wore bitter looks.

“Even though I do not know, we can always learn from the Internet. Let’s learn how to make mooncakes today. That’s today’s homework!”

“Master, then what about the ingredients?” asked Red Boy.

Fangzheng said, “Buy anything we lack down the mountain. Now that we have money, we aren’t so poor that we can’t afford the ingredients to make mooncakes.”

The disciples were instantly delighted. All of them felt pumped as Red Boy immediately went down the mountain to fetch water. Monkey prepared the moulds while Lone Wolf and Squirrel temporarily had nothing to do. Squirrel asked out of curiosity, “Master, why aren’t we buying ready-made ones?”

Fangzheng looked at Squirrel raise up his tiny fat face and a familiar scene flashed in his mind.

Fangzheng, who had just turned five, tiptoed to reach the table. He saw Zen Master One Finger kneading the dough as he asked out of curiosity, “Master, why aren’t we buying ready-made ones? I saw many of my friends having ready-made ones.”

Zen Master One Finger’s eyes flashed a look of helplessness before patting Fangzheng on the head. “Fangzheng, remember. You might not be able to create the most delicious things in the world, but only your hands can produce the taste of home, a taste that suits you the most.”

Fangzheng had shown a blank look and hadn’t understood.

After all these years, Fangzheng suddenly realized the meaning behind those words when he recounted the scene. Fangzheng looked down at his hands and smiled. “Because this is the taste of home. You can’t buy that anywhere else.”

Squirrel was stumped as he looked at Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf wore a look of confusion as well. He didn’t know either. But wasn’t it just because they were poor?