965 To Take the Money or Not, That Is the Question

"Don't you understand? You just defeated Park Changmin on Mt. One Finger with your medical skills, and then you went to the south to treat a blind and crippled woman. These two matters reached the news. People doubted your medical skills in the beginning, but they are now certain that they're genuine, so here they are! Look at those people on the mountain. Either they are here to seek medical help for themselves, or they are doing it for their family. All of them refuse to leave," Tan Juguo said in exasperation.

Fangzheng was stunned when he heard that. He never expected it to be a result of his medical skills.

Tan Juguo continued. "Your medical skills are different from your carving skills. No matter how good your carving skills are, carving is just a trade. But medicine is something that involves life. Since times immemorial, who has wished to die if there was a chance of survival? Besides, with you away from home all these days, the number of people accumulated. Over time, it resulted in this."

Fangzheng leaned over the windowsill and looked at Mt. One Finger. He couldn't see the mountain path from his angle and could only see Mt. One Finger in its entirety.

"Hey, I'm speaking to you. Say something!" Tan Juguo remarked in frustration when he saw Fangzheng remain silent.

"What's there to say? Seeking medical help is an instinct of all creatures. It would be odd if they didn't come."

"Hehe, don't you be philosophical with me. That's not the problem. The question here is whether you will be treating their illnesses!" Tan Juguo said.

Fangzheng said, "Patron Tan, you are wrong. This isn't about whether I treat them or not."

"Then what is it about?" Tan Juguo was puzzled as he asked.

Fangzheng grinned and said, "This is about how much money they should be charged!"

Tan Juguo was stunned as he subconsciously asked, "You'll be charging them?"

Fangzheng wasn't surprised by his reaction. He sat cross-legged on the stove bed and ate a baked bean bun. "Tripitaka also needed money back when he went to the west to retrieve the scriptures. Why shouldn't This Penniless Monk charge for healing people of their ailments? Besides, This Penniless Monk doesn't believe that all of them are ridden with terminal illnesses or have people who can't afford medical help at home."

Tan Juguo frowned. "Now that you say it, I do recall seeing many of them driving luxurious cars. They definitely don't lack money. But here comes the problem, there are also people who are seriously ill and lack the money."

Fangzheng smiled. "Then they shall be treated."

"You won't be charging them?" Tan Juguo was taken aback.

Fangzheng laughed out loud. "This Penniless Monk will definitely charge everyone, and it will be very expensive! Extremely expensive! But who said that This Penniless Monk would be the one treating them personally?"

Tan Juguo was confused. "You won't be treating them personally? Then…"

Fangzheng said, "To get This Penniless Monk to treat them personally, if the incense money is lacking, they will need to make up for it with merit. That means that good people will be treated by This Penniless Monk. Ordinary people who pay will be treated too, but no amount of money will be enough for the evil people! This is the principle of two in, one out when it comes to treatment. As for how it will be judged whether they are good or bad and how much money they will be charged, it will be determined by This Penniless Monk."

"I can understand you charging people, but how can you distinguish bad people from good people?" Tan Juguo asked subconsciously.

Fangzheng chuckled and stuffed the bean bun into his mouth before saying vaguely, "Of course it will depend on This Penniless Monk's mood!"

Tan Juguo: "…"

Fangzheng obviously couldn't say that he would be using his Wisdom Eye to do the judging, so he simply gave a non-answer.

"This will filter out a huge bunch of people. But even then, there will be lots of people coming every day to seek medical treatment. Will you be able to handle that?" Tan Juguo felt his heart pain for Fangzheng.

Fangzheng shook his head. "This Penniless Monk said that it will all depend on This Penniless Monk's mood. As for the regular treatments, This Penniless Monk usually won't have time for that."

"But if you won't be treating them, who will?" Tan Juguo asked.

"You'll know when the time comes. Patron Tan, help me put up a notice and inform the people on the mountain that regardless of who it is or what illnesses they have, none of them will be treated today. If they really wish to be treated, they must wake up early tomorrow! At eight in the morning tomorrow, This Penniless Monk will punctually select patients and treat them."

Tan Juguo did as told despite feeling puzzled. Soon, the news spread and everyone felt puzzled when they heard of Fangzheng's return and his establishment of the rule of two in, one out when it came to treatment.

How could a person be easily judged as good or bad?

Soon, the news appeared on the Internet. Instantly, Mt. One Finger's One Finger Monastery's Master Frivolous trended on Weibo once more.

"I can understand him charging since treating an illness requires medicine. Besides, he's the only one at One Finger Monastery. How many people could he treat even at the cost of exhaustion? He needs to live as well. But how is he going to determine whether a person is good or bad?"

"Regardless of how it will be done, there's always a way. He won't go to the extent of determining who's good or bad based on how much money they have, right?"

"Hehe, Master Frivolous is never a predictable person. It's not strange that he wants to do it that way."

"Aren't monks supposed to be the saviors of this world? Why is he charging? Isn't this too much?"

"Previous poster, have you not heard of the phrase "The Dharma is not readily instructed"? He's only charging people who are rich. I think that's already very nice of him."

"That's right. Don't think about taking advantage of him. He's not obligated to treat anyone, right?"

…

There were all sorts of comments on the Internet, but most of it was just idle talk. After repeated reversals and face-slappings, the people who followed Fangzheng closely had already learned from their mistakes. They didn't rush to conclusions and decided things based on the facts. They didn't spout nonsense or make hasty judgments as they only joked about.

After Tan Juguo went to busy himself, Fangzheng remained in the house alone. After confirming that there wasn't anyone around, he asked the System, "System Bro, the mission has been completed. Where's my reward?"

"Ding! The reward calculation has been tabulated. You reaped a huge harvest on your trip south. You helped Fang Ke's family and He Qing's family, and you persuaded a prodigal to repent. You also punished nine evil people and influenced netizens to learn to consider things in life and not verbally attack others for no good reason. Your overall grade: Perfect.

"Total merit rewarded: 10,000 points!

"Total number of draws: 1!"

Fangzheng instantly laughed happily when he heard that. He had spent an entire year to save up 20,000 points, but just one trip south gave him 10,000 merit points! This wasn't a mission, but him falling into a merit bucket. He could scoop up tons of merit in just one try? Awesome!

Fangzheng thought for a bit and asked in delight, "What's up with the draw? I did so many good deeds, but there's only one draw?"

"With sufficient merit, the chances will stack and automatically improve the reward items. This time, you will draw the best item you can presently draw," the System said mysteriously.

Fangzheng was instantly tempted. The best item? Up to now, the System's products had never been bad! If he received a 'best item', what would it be?

Just as he thought of this, Fangzheng suddenly remembered a certain someone and decisively shook his head. "Except that fellow! Everything else was good!"

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the Heavenly Dragon Pond on Mt. One Finger, Salted Fish sneezed and mumbled. "Which idiot is scolding me?"

Barely suppressing the excitement in him, Fangzheng didn't hesitate to cry out. "Don't say anything else. Let's have the draw!"