The Monk That Wanted To Renounce Asceticism
chapter-887

The Black Mountain City government was dumbfounded by this turn of events. They never imagined that TCM, which had never been such a hot topic among the Chinese before, would result in an overcapacity situation because of a challenge that resulted in national discord. Faced with such a massive inflow of people, the Black Mountain City government's only solution was to mobilize the police to maintain public order and try their best to arrange for lodging. They even began to set up tents in the city gardens.

But even then it was still not enough.

On the Internet, the prices of Black Mountain City hotels skyrocketed to ten times their original prices! Even so, there just wasn't enough supply to meet demand.

While everyone was vexed about their lodging situation, someone suddenly commented on a Black Mountain City forum: "Someone fainted on the streets today. Thankfully, a doctor sleeping in a tent came and helped him. Brothers and Sisters, the person who fainted was a brother of our Black Mountain City. The person who saved him was a doctor from out of town, and he came to fight for our country. Let me ask you, is letting our benefactors, our warriors live in tents a way we citizens of Black Mountain City should treat our guests? I'm posting my address below. As long as you are a Chinese doctor, although I only have one bedroom and one living room, the beds are already made, and you are free to stay here!"

Following that, the man posted two pictures; one of his living room with the floor covered with bedding, and the other of a tidy bedroom.

After this post was released, it only took a few seconds before the news of Park Changmin's declaration of war which had been hogging the headlines was dethroned. The post became viral, and all the commenters unanimously approved of his actions.

Countless people left messages.

"My house is at Black Water Street. Below is the GPS location and way to contact me! I welcome any doctor to stay here."

"My house is at Peace Street…"

"I'm a high-school freshman. All of my classmates have decided to give up our beds! The school has agreed to take a two-day break, so we will be returning home. The beds are yours!"

"I'm a businessman. I have a few houses available, so I will be letting our warriors stay for free!"

…

"Holy sh*t! I heard that the people of Black Mountain City are very arrogant. Do you think we were just wrong as outsiders? You Black Mountain City people sure are fierce, but f**k, we can't lose to you! I'm a boor, so I speak uncouthly, so just treat it as me farting. What I wish to say, though, is that I managed to reserve a hotel room. I welcome doctors to stay there. I'll sleep on the streets!"

"I'm from South River province. I'm willing to give up my hotel room!"

"I'm from Hubei province. How can you forget about us when it comes to giving up hotel rooms?"

…

The Black Mountain City forums were like a bomb's fuse. After it was ignited, it exploded and sent its reverberations to the forums of other cities, before it finally reached the headlines of major media reports. Following that, there were voices of support from all around the country, as all the non-medical members of Black Mountain City offered their houses to doctors.

Upon seeing this scene, a female doctor who was being interviewed cried on the spot. She stood in front of the camera and said, weeping, "I've been a doctor for three years. I've met many patients and have encountered all kinds of things, but to be honest, I've never been as touched as today. I've never felt so much warmth before!"

Another elderly doctor said, "I never expected I'd get to receive such treatment before passing away. Even if I died right now, I could do so with satisfaction!"

A doctor who had recently joined the medical profession said, "Before I entered the profession, many people told me that being a doctor means great responsibility and a lot of risk. Nowawadays, doctor-patient relationships are tense, making things prone to problems. To be honest, I've always been a little afraid. There are even some of my classmates from med school who don't dare enter the profession, but today, I wish to say: 'We are doing great! Everything is great! I love my job!' However, my medical skills are lacking. I don't have the right to stay in those hotels. Thank you everyone. You don't have to invite me to stay in them."

A male doctor said, "I would like to thank everyone for their invitations, but please stop doing so. We aren't heroes. We are only completing our call of duty and upholding our dignity as TCM doctors. Perhaps we aren't too capable, but this is the least we can do. If everyone really supports TCM, I hope that everyone can learn some TCM. In addition, we are young and able. We know how to take care of ourselves better than you, so it's safer for us to sleep in the tents and on the streets. Therefore, please return to your own rooms."

After what this doctor said, more doctors stood forward to decline the invitation.

Compared to the mutual warmth of the Chinese, the South Koreans were in relatively abject situations. They realized that they had nowhere to stay!

Even those who came early had the hotels decline their check-ins. Some hotels even compensated them according to the agreement, but they didn't allow them to stay. Helpless, they could only go to the South Korean embassy. When the embassy came to negotiate with Black Mountain City's local government, Black Mountain City released a pile of data!

The Black Mountain City mayor spread his hands and said, "Don't worry. We will not be biased in our countrymen's favor. In fact, the rules of using our tents are based on a fair, first-come first-served basis. Currently, there are already thirty thousand people on the list! This also means that we need thirty thousand tents that can resist the winter cold. We haven't even amassed those yet, so how are we to settle your citizens?"

The South Korean ambassador was dumbfounded. Thirty thousand people? Following that, he was enraged. He wasn't a fool either, and he had done his investigations prior to coming. Although many people had come, there weren't that many Chinese coming in! Otherwise, Black Mountain City would have already reached overcapacity. There was clearly a problem with the numbers.

What enraged him even more was that the supposedly fair principle wasn't fair at all! The South Koreans had to cross international borders, and they had a language barrier. They couldn't understand the Internet notices in China and didn't know where to register for the tents. Hence, they had collectively gone to the embassy first, but this delay made them far slower than the Chinese.

This meant that even if all the South Koreans were to line up, they would have to queue up behind thirty thousand people! There was no way they would get to stay in those tents.

Facing the Black Mountain City's mayor's provided numbers as well as his so-called fair rules, the ambassador was helpless. All he could do was urge the Chinese government to handle the matter quickly before leaving…

When the mayor watched him leave, he smiled at the officer beside him and said, "Look. I told you. As long as things are based on fair rules, no one can have any grievances."

The people by the side immediately laughed when they heard that.

Just like the coming of the war itself, the news concerning it proliferated quickly as well.

Once the news was out, it nearly garnered the attention of the entire nation. There were countless calls-to-arms. It was too late for Jiang Yu, Song Yuhe, and company to try to stop everyone. Seeing countless TCM doctors rushing over like flying moths darting into the fire, their hearts ached!

Jiang Yu wished to stand forward several times to stop people from participating in the war, but she ultimately gave up. The situation was already at an advanced stage, and with the entire nation united in spirit, no one could reverse the situation. If it was forcefully reversed, it would be equivalent to smacking every citizen in the head with a pole, shattering this hard-won passion for TCM.