Chapter 283: Can This Dragon Bone Still Help People Gain Enlightenment?
Not long after, Lin Beifan saw Wang Fugui, who was covered in dust.
Before Wang Fugui could speak, Lin Beifan immediately refused, “If you want the dragon bone, there’s no need to talk!”
Wang Fugui hurriedly said, “Sir Lin, please listen to me! Though this request is somewhat difficult, His Highness the Prince truly desires the dragon bone! We’re not greedy, just a small amount, it shouldn’t be discovered by anyone else!”
“Alright! Considering our old friendship, one or two dragon bones for 1 million taels each!” Lin Beifan said.
Wang Fugui was greatly shocked, “Why so much?”
“Much? Not at all!” Lin Beifan stood with his hands behind his back and said dismissively, “You must understand, the dragon bone is a divine item. It can bring blessings and dispel disasters, cure all illnesses. If used to refine elixirs, it might even grant eternal life, matching the lifespan of heaven and earth! It’s a unique divine item in the world!”
“Her Majesty has emphasized repeatedly to protect the dragon bone! I’ve risked my life to get you a bit of it! If you don’t want it, that’s fine, and I wouldn’t want to give it either. It’s not worth the risk!”
With that, he turned to leave.
Wang Fugui hurriedly held him back, “Wait, Sir Lin, please hear me out. This is a serious matter. Give me some time to think! I’ll give you an answer in two days!”
“Then you better make good use of your time!” Lin Beifan’s expression remained displeased, “Let me tell you, this dragon bone can only be displayed for half a month at most! After half a month, Her Majesty will take it back and guard it strictly! Not to mention you, even I, as an official, won’t be able to touch it!”
“Yes, yes, I understand how to handle it. I will respond to you as soon as possible!” Wang Fugui assured.
On the second day, Wang Fugui returned to Lin Beifan, deciding to purchase five million taels’ worth of dragon bone.
So, Lin Beifan handed it over to him.
Wang Fugui looked at the white powder-like substance in front of him, blinked, and asked, “Is this really dragon bone?”
“No doubt about it!” Lin Beifan whispered, “I secretly scraped this off the dragon bone. To avoid detection, I only took a tiny bit each day. This matter must not be revealed!”
“I understand, I understand!” Wang Fugui nodded.
Next, Lin Beifan began a dragon bone business with other vassal kings and aristocratic families.
This one wanted three million taels’ worth, that one wanted two million taels’ worth, effortlessly earning over 20 million taels!
Adding the money previously swindled from high-ranking officials, the money earned from selling flowers, the total income had surpassed 30 million!
Lin Beifan was extremely pleased, “Just scraping a bit off the dragon bone can earn so much money! If I were to sell it all, the money earned… I can’t even imagine! Definitely can’t imagine!”
Not to mention breaking through to the Supreme Grandmaster realm!
Even taking a step forward and becoming a legendary immortal of the land was not an impossible thing!
Just then, an official entered, “Lord Prefect representatives from Shaolin Monastery and Wudang Sect have arrived!”
Lin Beifan furrowed his brows, “Why are they here? Is it about the dragon bone?”
Lin Beifan stepped out of the room and saw a group of monks and Daoist priests approaching, clearly formidable in strength.
Guiding them was none other than Guo, the chief constable of the Six-Doors.
Lin Beifan asked in confusion, “Master Guo, what is this all about?”
Guo shook his head with a bitter smile, “You better ask them yourself!”
Lin Beifan looked at the group of monks and priests, his gaze filled with questions.
The abbot of Shaolin Monastery, with a compassionate smile, said, “Amitabha! The dragon bone is a treasure of the world, to be held by the virtuous. If it falls into the hands of the wicked, it will undoubtedly lead to calamity in the martial world, causing turmoil and suffering for all living beings. Our Shaolin Monastery couldn’t bear to stand by, so I led the Shaolin monks to come and protect this treasure!”
“Namaste!” the monks behind said in unison.
“The abbot’s words are indeed true!” the head of Wudang Sect, with kind brows and eyes, said, “The emergence of the dragon bone is both an opportunity and a crisis! If this divine treasure falls into the hands of evildoers, it will undoubtedly lead to endless slaughter, causing misery for the common people! We, as representatives of the righteous martial world, have the responsibility to uphold justice, maintain order, and protect the well-being of the people. Therefore, we’ve specially sent people to guard the dragon bone! Infinite Heavenly Lord!”
“Infinite Heavenly Lord!” the Daoist priests behind echoed in unison.
Seeing these two groups of seemingly righteous individuals, Lin Beifan quickly understood their intentions.
“Thank you, Shaolin and Wudang, for coming to help! However, Her Majesty’s decree is clear. Except for officials, no outsiders are allowed near the dragon bone. Violators will be executed without mercy! You are not official personnel, and your identities are sensitive… So, I appreciate your intentions, but please return from where you came!” Lin Beifan “reluctantly” refused.
The two Grandmasters were shocked and immediately began persuading with earnest words.
“Lord Lin, we understand your difficulties! But, according to our sources, many martial world evildoers have already taken notice! They are powerful and commit heinous deeds. Relying solely on the court’s strength will hardly stop them! Do you realize how much calamity and evil would be brought if the dragon bone falls into their hands?”
“Not only within our kingdom, but evildoers from other nations also have their eyes on the dragon bone! Thus, the dragon bone is no longer just a matter for the court; it concerns the whole world! We must safeguard the dragon bone and resist external evil!”
…
Lin Beifan was deeply moved, “Both of you Grandmasters are venerable figures with the world in your hearts. I greatly admire that!”
The abbot of Shaolin and the head of Wudang nodded repeatedly, “Well said, well said!”
“I’m not unreasonable either! For the sake of the dragon bone and the well-being of the world, as long as each of you contributes 10,000 taels of silver, I will allow you to guard the dragon bone up close!”
The abbot of Shaolin and the head of Wudang exclaimed in their minds. This was just about squeezing money out of them!
Even their Shaolin Monastery (and Wudang Sect) wasn’t spared from this greed. Lin Beifan had quite the audacity!
“Namaste!” the abbot of Shaolin joined his palms, “Master Lin, we monks of Shaolin are renunciants; we don’t possess wealth.”
Lin Beifan also joined his palms, “Abbot, I understand your predicament. You might not have money, but you have golden Buddha statues! If you donate one of those, isn’t it the same?”
The abbot of Shaolin was astonished, “How can we donate a golden Buddha statue?”
“Why not? Buddha teaches: All sentient beings are equal! Therefore, this golden Buddha statue is no different from an ordinary Buddha statue. As long as there’s Buddha in the heart, anywhere can be a pure land. Isn’t that right?” Lin Beifan countered.
“This…”
“If you’re truly struggling, I’m a Buddhist believer. Donate it to me! I’ll certainly treat the golden Buddha statue well. Namaste!” Lin Beifan said compassionately.
The monks of Shaolin were speechless!
Donate a golden Buddha statue to this corrupt official, and he would probably melt it down in the next moment!
Seeing the abbot of Shaolin hesitating, Lin Beifan urged, “Abbot, what’s there to hesitate about? Buddha is compassionate and forgiving. For the sake of the world’s well-being, he will surely forgive you! Don’t you find a Buddha statue precious for the world’s sentient beings in your eyes?”
Goodness, he even brought out these profound arguments!
In the end, the abbot of Shaolin didn’t donate, but he reluctantly offered 500,000 taels.
Lin Beifan then turned his gaze to the people from Wudang Sect and smiled, “The Three Pure Ones also have the world in their hearts…”
“Don’t say more, here’s the money from us!”
Finally, Wudang Sect reluctantly handed over 400,000 taels.
With this, they finally gained Lin Beifan’s permission to closely observe and protect the dragon bone.
Seeing this, other righteous martial factions also came to Lin Beifan, one after another.
Lin Beifan treated them all equally, as long as they paid.
Of course, you had to be from a reputable and righteous faction to have this opportunity.
If not, everything is off the table.
In this way, Lin Beifan managed to swindle a few million taels from them.
This made Lin Beifan can’t help but sigh, people in the martial world really are too wealthy!
So, he decided to carry on with this flattery scheme to the end.
With a smiling face, he approached the crowd of Shaolin and Wudang practitioners, “Esteemed Grandmasters, have you gained any insights these past few days?”
Everyone shook their heads one after another.
The abbot of Shaolin joined his palms together and said with a furrowed brow, “This monk has been guarding the dragon bone day and night, but still hasn’t grasped any trace of Buddhist principles or natural revelations from within the dragon bone. I just feel like it’s an ordinary bone, not much different from other rocks! Perhaps… it’s due to our ignorant aptitudes. Namaste!”
“Or perhaps, we are not fated with the dragon bone, Infinite Heavenly Lord!” the head of Wudang said with a wry smile.
Lin Beifan nodded and smiled, “I understand! It’s probably because the time is short, so you haven’t been able to grasp the profound truths of heaven and earth from the dragon bone yet. Persist, and I believe you will surely gain something!”
“Thank you for your auspicious words, Master Lin!” everyone said in unison.
“By the way, Lord Lin, after guarding the dragon bone for so long, have you gained anything?” the curious abbot of Shaolin asked.
Everyone’s gazes turned towards Lin Beifan.
“To talk about gains, indeed, there’s a little something!” Lin Beifan said with a smile.
The crowd was shocked.
“What? You gained something?”
“What kind of gains?”
…
The head of Wudang Sect’s voice was a bit urgent, “Master Lin, if you’ve gained something, could you please share?”
“Of course, it’s not some shameful secret!” Lin Beifan laughed, “I’ve comprehended a profound principle of the universe from this dragon bone, which has greatly benefited me!”
“What profound principle of the universe?” the abbot of Shaolin inquired further.
“This principle of the universe is…” Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name…”
A powerful and indescribable aura of the Dao radiated from him.
The heroes of the martial world were all astonished!
This was truly the great way of heaven and earth!
The resounding sound of the great Dao!
Just hearing it caused their martial arts realm to shift!
Incredible! Incredible!
Lin Beifan only recited a few dozen words and then stopped.
“What comes next?” the head of Wudang Sect asked urgently.
Lin Beifan shook his head, “There’s nothing more. I’ve comprehended only this much! Although it’s just a short passage, it has indeed greatly benefited me.”
“Namaste! Thank you, Lord Lin, for your guidance!” the two Grandmasters said in unison.
Once again, they looked at the dragon bone beside them, their eyes gleaming with excitement!
This was truly the treasure of the world!
Even someone like Lin Beifan, who had no martial strength, could comprehend the essence of martial arts from it!
If martial artists like them understood it, wouldn’t their martial skills advance by leaps and bounds?
