Chapter 26: Dragon and Elephant Divine Power

Darba carefully placed the wooden sword into the hand of the Heavenly King of Increase, and after seeing it fit perfectly, he gasped and fell to his knees, bowing his head repeatedly before the statue of the Heavenly King of Increase.

Darba was a deeply superstitious man; at the Heroic Gathering, he had come to believe Yang Guo was his master’s reincarnation because of Yang Guo’s words, and now, recalling the strange phenomena of the man with the purplish-blue skin, he became certain it was the Heavenly King of Increase manifesting himself.

So now, as he bowed, his devotion was sincere, his forehead striking the ground with a thudding sound.

At this moment, Gu Qing silently walked behind Darba; upon hearing the noise, Darba sharply turned his head and stared at Gu Qing, noticing his hair, and demanded: “You’re not from this temple—what are you doing here?”

Gu Qing scratched his head and said: “Last night I was stranded here and fell asleep. I had a strange dream—in it, the Heavenly King of Increase told me many things, but the key was in the wooden sword. When I woke up and found the sword gone, I flew into a rage, and when I saw you holding it, I stormed over in fury.”

Gu Qing spoke with careful caution.

“What did the Heavenly King of Increase tell you?”

Darba asked.

Gu Qing glanced at the Heavenly King of Increase and said: “Last night, the Heavenly King of Increase brought me before him and suddenly said, ‘Ye Fan, I give you a chance to become a Buddha!’”

“I was curious, so I asked what kind of chance.”

“The Heavenly King of Increase said this temple is old and crumbling, its walls broken, leaving him exposed to wind and rain—so if I repaired the temple and rebuilt his statue, he would summon me before him to become a Golden Body Arhat.”

“When I heard that, I refused without hesitation. I told the Heavenly King of Increase: ‘I can’t even feed myself or find a place to sleep—how could I possibly afford to repair your temple?’”

Gu Qing now falsely claimed to be Ye Fan, methodically recounting the dream of the Heavenly King of Increase.

Darba listened in silence.

“The Heavenly King of Increase sighed deeply and said, ‘In this life, you are truly a fool—you keep milk inside the cow’s belly, only inviting ridicule.’ I didn’t understand. Master, isn’t milk naturally inside the cow?”

Darba realized this was a Buddhist metaphor.

It described a man who, when hosting guests, should first milk the cow and store the milk, but he feared the milk would spoil, so he kept it inside the cow, planning to milk it all at once when the guests arrived.

But on the day of the feast, he could only squeeze out a little milk—far too little to entertain his guests—and they mocked him.

The Buddhists used this metaphor to teach that if you wish to donate to the Dharma, give fully and immediately—don’t hoard your wealth hoping to donate later, for if disaster strikes and your money is stolen or lost, you’ll never get to donate.

Now, when Gu Qing spoke of this, Darba understood: the Heavenly King of Increase was urging “Ye Fan” to gradually repair the temple, but “Ye Fan” simply didn’t comprehend.

“The Heavenly King of Increase laughed at me again and said, ‘Since you’re so useless, I’ll give the Golden Body Arhat position to your younger brother—you can go back to being a laborer, doing hard work.’”

“I asked the Heavenly King of Increase: ‘I don’t even have a master—how could I have a younger brother?’”

“The Heavenly King of Increase replied: ‘That’s your younger brother from your past life. Since you can’t become the Golden Body Arhat, he must take the place.’”

Darba most firmly believed in gods and reincarnation; hearing Gu Qing’s words, he studied him closely. He had an older brother who died before turning twenty—in the original plot, at the Battle of Dasheng Pass, Darba had been confused by Yang Guo and mistakenly believed Yang Guo was his brother, causing much amusement.

Now, hearing Gu Qing’s tale and seeing his bewildered expression, Darba understood… this man was his elder brother’s reincarnation!

And his brother had even offered him the position of Golden Body Arhat!

As Gu Qing spoke, he constantly watched Darba’s expression; seeing that Darba was utterly convinced, he added: “After that, I grew confused—I heard the Heavenly King of Increase say the Mongol Empress Dowager wouldn’t last long, that Möngke was stubbornly determined to invade the Song and would meet a fatal end, and that the Golden Wheel King’s lifespan was less than twenty years…”

Darba heard these words and felt they were divine secrets—he memorized them all.

Gu Qing scratched his head and said: “The Heavenly King of Increase said many more things, but I felt drowsy and half-asleep—he kicked me, and I tumbled off a cliff. In panic, I asked him: ‘How can I learn hard labor?’”

“The Heavenly King of Increase said: ‘The Dragon and Elephant power lies with your younger brother.’”

Gu Qing had long prepared this entire tale, claiming the one holding the wooden sword was the Golden Body Arhat; now that he awoke and wanted to retract it, the sword was already in Darba’s hands.

“The position of Golden Body Arhat—I can only give it to you.”

Gu Qing sighed regretfully: “I am a foolish man—the Dragon and Elephant power…”

“The Dragon and Elephant power—even the most foolish can master it!”

Darba interrupted Gu Qing, grabbed his hand, and said: “Elder Brother, I want to return the Golden Body Arhat position to you!”

Darba was a man of sincerity!

Upon hearing this, Gu Qing, with one hand behind his back, shot out a fingertip aura that struck the wooden sword.

“Hum~”

The wooden sword vibrated once, then snapped cleanly in two.

Both Gu Qing and Darba fell silent, immediately kneeling before the statue of the Heavenly King of Increase and bowing their heads, believing this was the Heavenly King’s wrath.

“The Heavenly King of Increase has already decided—you shall be the Golden Body Arhat.”

Gu Qing declared firmly.

Darba was immensely grateful for Gu Qing’s profound kindness, holding his hand and saying: “Elder Brother, I don’t know how to repay you…”

At once, Darba spoke slowly, word by word, reciting every secret of the Dragon and Elephant Divine Power to Gu Qing.

This Dragon and Elephant Divine Power had thirteen levels, a progressive cultivation method; yet to complete all thirteen levels required a thousand years—the Golden Wheel Dharmaraja had reached only the tenth level by the end.

After reciting these secrets to Gu Qing, Gu Qing memorized them thoroughly; Darba was reluctant to part with him, but after the Heavenly King of Increase manifested his anger once more, he had no choice but to bid Gu Qing farewell, watching him turn back three times before finally leaving the ruined temple.

About the time of a meal after Gu Qing’s departure, a man suddenly arrived at the temple; seeing Darba, he demanded sharply: “Why are all the Mongol officers dead? What are you doing here?”

The man wore a red robe, tall and emaciated—it was the Golden Wheel Dharmaraja.

While Gu Qing was deceiving Darba, the Beggar’s Sect had already eliminated all the Mongol officers; upon learning this, the Golden Wheel Dharmaraja came to confront Darba.

“The Heavenly King of Increase has manifested!”

“I saw my elder brother’s reincarnation!”

Darba was overjoyed.

The Golden Wheel Dharmaraja was utterly bewildered.

(End of Chapter)