Volume 1: Wild Beasts, Changes Begin Chapter 11: The Buddha Statue Gamble
About an hour before dawn , Fang Yunhan left Dongting Lake by boat, took the fine horse brought by the Beggar Gang disciples, and immediately spurred the horse and went up the official road.
He had no chance to come into contact with horses in his previous life, and in this life he had been suffering from a terminal illness since he was twelve years old. He had never learned riding skills in the Changluo Marquis Mansion.
But now he has superb internal skills. With the flow of internal energy, his sense of balance is better than one could imagine. No matter how bumpy the horse is, he can always sit firmly.
If there is no risk of falling off the horse, just whip the horse and speed up.
In the early morning, there were not many people on the official road, so Fang Yunhan could gallop freely. In this way, when the sky was getting light, he could already see the city gate of the next city.
The journey from Yueyang to the capital is long, more than two thousand miles, so there is no need to be in a hurry.
Moreover, Fang Yunhan also needs to give those people in the dark some time, so as not to walk too fast and completely leave them behind, which would be detrimental to continuing to increase his popularity and advance the progress bar.
So, when he arrived at the city, he waited until the city gate was opened, then dismounted and entered the city holding the reins.
At this time, the street vendors who usually set up stalls to sell things have not yet gone out, but the shops and restaurants have already lowered the shutters and opened their doors, ready to welcome customers. Some waiters are peeking at the door, dusting with towels in their hands.
But when Fang Yunhan walked by with his horse, no waiter came up to solicit customers. Fang Yunhan paid close attention and found that these people were unusually nervous for some reason.
He thought about it, found a restaurant that looked like the largest, walked closer, and called the waiter over.
The waiter looked around for a few times before stepping out of the door, approaching and asking, "Sir, would you like to stay overnight or have a meal?"
Fang Yunhan took out a few copper coins from the money given by the Beggars' Sect and threw them to him, saying, "No, I'm just passing by, but I feel that the atmosphere on this street is a little strange . Is there something wrong? Tell me about it."
The waiter took the copper coin and neatly put it into his sleeve, saying with a smile: "Sir, you are very generous. This matter is not a secret at all. I will explain it to you in detail."
It turned out that there was a wealthy man named Wang in this city. He was very wealthy and sometimes he would stock up on goods at a high price, and sometimes he would sell goods at a low price and make small profits. He was considered a qualified businessman. However, compared with ordinary businessmen, this man had a biggest quirk, which was that he liked to collect various Buddha statues.
No matter whether it is big or small, gold or copper, an ornament or a pendant, as long as he likes it, he will definitely want to get it.
Last year, the Beiye Temple in the north of the city spent a large sum of money to purchase a bronze statue that was said to have been consecrated in Shaolin. When Mr. Wang saw it, he fell in love with it at first sight. He begged and persuaded the abbot of the Beiye Temple, and it took him a whole year to finally get this treasure from him.
Three days ago, Mr. Wang held a banquet in the largest restaurant in the city and invited scholars, gentry and wealthy people from all over the world to attend the banquet, in fact, just to show off his newly acquired bronze statue.
Unexpectedly, at that time, a monk passed by the restaurant, pointed at the bronze statue and laughed three times, saying: "A piece of mud from Shaolin is as light as a feather, but some people actually treasure it. Isn't it like trying to stick a red face to yellow mud, just regretting that the Buddha doesn't have enough in his crotch."
These words were extremely vulgar, and Master Wang felt humiliated by him, but for some reason he did not let the servants guard the house, but rushed forward and debated with the monk, and finally made a bet.
The monk said that the Buddha statue in Mr. Wang's house was as light as a feather. So three days later, Mr. Wang brought back the big Buddha statue that he had placed at his son-in-law's house for worship and asked the monk to try to move it. If he couldn't, he would have to cut off his arms. If he could, Mr. Wang would melt all the Buddha statues in his house and go to Shaolin to curse three times - Shaolin Temple is full of shit.
This bet is going to be fulfilled today, right in front of this restaurant on this street.
"That monk was accompanied by several other gangsters with big swords. They were not decent people at first glance. The guards of Mr. Wang's house are not to be trifled with. If anything goes wrong with their bet today, there will be a fight."
The clerk finally complained, "We are working in the store and can't leave. Sir, if you can leave, you'd better leave quickly. Swords have no eyes. If you get hit, it will be no joke."
"This sounds interesting. I'd like to stay and take a look." Fang Yunhan touched his chin, tied up the horse, and entered the restaurant.
The waiter followed him and wanted to give him some advice, but he noticed something unusual.
The bluestone slabs in front of the threshold of the restaurant had just been cleaned with water and were very damp. When people stepped on them, there would always be a mark left when they stood up again. However, when this young man walked past, there was not even a trace left.
The guy looked at the clear shoe prints under his feet, lifted one foot, and rubbed it as if touching it, and immediately a blurry mark appeared on the floor.
His mouth gradually opened wider, he swallowed, and dared not say anything more. He just lowered his head and whispered to the shopkeeper, occasionally glancing at Fang Yunhan who had already sat down in the store.
Fang Yunhan didn't have to wait long. About three quarters of an hour later, a large cart was towed to the end of the long street.
This large cart was pulled by two mules in the front and pushed by four strong men in the back. The cart was covered with a red cloth, and the axles and wheels made creaking sounds as they rolled, indicating that it was extremely heavy.
Following behind the cart was a middle-aged man with a big belly, dressed in silk and satin. It seemed to be Master Wang.
Behind Master Wang, followed a group of strong-dressed men holding broadswords. Each of them had a gleaming eye, and the muscles bulged under their clothes, making them look fierce.
"Hey, my master is here, why don't you come out?"
After a shout, Fang Yunhan heard the sound of a door opening. He turned around and saw a monk striding down the stairs.
It turned out that the monk actually lived in this restaurant.
Just as the monk opened the door and came down, two doors on the second floor also opened and two men walked out. Judging from their clothes and the knives in their hands, they seemed to be the guards of Mr. Wang. They were probably afraid that the monk would run away, so they were watching him.
But this also shows that Mr. Wang is indeed very confident in his own Buddha statue .
Sure enough, seeing the monk leaving the door, Master Wang showed a smug smile, as if he had already won. He personally untied the rope and pulled the red cloth, and the true appearance of a Buddha statue on the cart was revealed.
It was a reclining statue of Maitreya Buddha, bronze in color, three feet tall at the highest point and more than four feet long. The wooden cart it was pressing on had an obvious dent in it.
"This reclining Maitreya statue weighs more than three thousand kilograms." Mr. Wang said with a chuckle, "You, a monk, come and try to move it."
