New Year
New Year
During the time in Raven 12345's place, the four ascetics had received some major mind remodeling. They had no problems conversing in Earth's language now.
Streets in the normally-quiet Southern Suburbs were becoming busy as locals who left to work in bigger cities were returning for the Spring Festival. The atmosphere in town was festive as lanterns could be seen all over shop fronts, and street stalls sprang up like mushrooms after the rain. Hao Ren explained what China's Spring Festival was all about as he led the four curious ascetics through the streets.
Big Beardy was listening, but his mind was somewhere else. He had been in a mental shock ever since he met Raven 12345; he did not know it was a "symbolic" influence as a result of his belief in God. He was wondering if there was a problem with his faith in his goddess. Listening to Hao Ren raving incessantly, he could not help but quietly say, "I felt an indescribable pressure when I was talking to that foreign god earlier. As a devoted believer of the goddess, I should not have revered other gods. Could it be that the foreign god has some kind of psychic power?"
His voice still reflected a sence of reverence when he mentioned Raven 12345.
Hao Ren thought about it for a while; he had not felt what Big Beardy was feeling. "Is that so? I didn't feel it though, and I was standing next to you."
Of course Hao Ren could not feel it; the mental shock Big Beardy and his company were having was a result of their devout faith. Deep down in their hearts, they could not help but recognise the divinity of Raven 12345. Hao Ren did pt share the same faith, and thus was immune; to him, Raven 12345 was just funny.
Luckily, Raven 12345 was exactly that. If not, Hao Ren would have been condemned to be struck by lightning for his contempt.
The grey robes on the four ascetics were ragged and they have been especially unsightly for the few days. Hao Ren was used to them, but he could not ignore them now with all the curious eyeballs staring in their direction.
Just as Hao Ren tried to trace the stares, his neighbour, Madam Lee, suddenly appeared before him. The elderly woman, whose face was wrinkled like the skin of a winter-kept apple, grabbed his hand. "Hey kid, you're doing charity, eh?"
Madam Lee was the most sarcastic person he had ever known before he met the MDT. He immediately understood what she meant and waved frantically, explaining, "No, no, no. They're my friends. You know, bad things happened in their hometown, so they've come over to stay a few days..."
He did not dare to tell her that they were his distant relatives—the four ascetics did not look Chinese in the slightest!
Madam Lee sized Big Beardy and his company up before she asked Hao Ren in a very concerned voice, "Are they from Ukraine?"
Hao Ren nodded his head stiffly. "Yup, there's been a terrible war... Even mountains were levelled..."
Madam Lee was appalled. "Aww! That's terrible. I heard the news from my grandson too... You should make a police report just for the record, in case they're spies..."
The elderly woman was very cautious. Cold sweat trickled down Hao Ren's back. He nodded his head frantically and said, "Thanks for the heads-up. I think I better not bother you anymore..." Before the elderly woman could ramble again, he quickly added, "By the way, they understand Mandarin!"
The elderly woman was stunned and she quickly walked away. Hao Ren knew that the news of foreigners in his house would spread like wild fire in no time—the elderly women was a blabber, and she had more than handful of children living around...
Big Beardy had no clue what Ukraine was. He came up and asked Hao Ren, "Are we giving you trouble here?"
Hao Ren waved his hand. "No, it's fine. When Wang Daquan first came, he did not just scare the elderly lady out of her skin, two red army veterans almost called the police and formed a neighbourhood watch..."
Judging from Y'zaks's appearance, Big Beardy could not help but nod his head in agreement. "That's totally understandable."
Hao Ren's mouth twitched as he looked at their ragged robes. "You may not like it, but I have to say this. Shall I get you guys some new clothes? The problem is, your appearances are drawing attention for the wrong reason. People are mistaking you for the homeless."
He said it for the sake of saying, thinking that the four ascetics would not be bothered as they were ascetics. But Big Beardy nodded happily and said, "Yeah, that's great! That's great!"
Hao Ren was surprised. "I thought you didn't mind draping yourselves in ragged sacks? Wouldn't new clothing conflict your ascetic practices?"
Big Beardy was perplexed. "Why would it? A beautiful house supports one's health, food satisfies one's stomach, beauty softens one's will, but what harm would fine clothing cause? It's just a piece of fabric."
Hao Ren could not make sense of it; he thought that fine clothing was a luxury. However, as he pondered more about what Big Beardy had said, he was speechless. Big Beardy was right; fine clothing pleased the eyes, anything that pleased the eyes was vain. So to them, luxury and enjoyment did not really exist. They were merely illusion!
Hao Ren was enlightened. He began to have a deeper understanding of their ascetic practices. Nonetheless, he was still curious. "Then, why don't you guys change your robes?"
Big Beardy looked down at his robe and shrugged. "Because we have no money. Even these robes were provided by the Church."
When it comes to honesty, no one can beat the four ascetics! he thought.
He then brought the four ascetics into a clothing store. He bought every one of them a set of clothing at discounted prices—it was the year-end sale.
Clothes make a man, and the four ascetics transformed themselves. Big Beardy chose a Chinese-style cotton jacket and his Eurasian appearance made him look like he was an international investor. The other three were no less stylish—they all had a calm demeanour, which they acquired from their years of ascetic training. Hao Ren was pleasantly surprised to discover that the young nun, who had always been hidden in a hood was a pretty woman!
After their New-Year shopping, they ambled back to his home. This time, no one came up and asked him if he was just coming back from a feed-the-homeless programme. He stumbled upon Lily and Vivian as he reached home. The two maidens were standing right in front of the house as Vivian took her key out to unlock the door. Hao Ren called out from afar. "Hey, Lily, Vivian! Back from shopping, eh?"
Lily turned and saw Hao Ren. She dropped everything and ran towards him. "Landlord! We've bought a lot of stuff for Spring Festival!"
Hao Ren furrowed his eyebrows a little as he walked her back to the house. "Oh ya... I've bought a lot of stuff too."
"Must have spent a lot of money, eh?" The frugal vampire's mouth twitched.
Hao Ren quickly played it down. "Oh, that's okay. It's the Spring Festival. We have a lot more people this year, and you know what? I've got a bonus from Raven 12345!"
They got inside the house, and tipped their shopping bags. The table was full of groceries, the floor too. Hao Ren took a carton out carefully. He said, "Everybody come closer. This is what Hercules nearly died for... I've come back with a carton full..."