Chapter 116: Sir Lin, Stop Pretending to Us!
Lin Beifan instantly snapped out of it, looking at the Empress and the entire court staring at him. He immediately made a salute and said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, esteemed officials, your words are reasonable, and I have no objections!”
“Sir Lin, did you fall asleep? We didn’t say anything just now!” mocked Wang Rushui, the Minister of Industry.
“So that’s how it is!” Lin Beifan blinked his eyes and saluted again, saying, “Reporting to Your Majesty and esteemed officials, although you didn’t say it explicitly, you must have had strategic intentions. This humble servant is dull-witted and will not state the obvious!”
After saying that, he took a very humble step.
Everyone’s faces twitched.
Fuxk!
Why does he make sense!
Cunning little fox!
The Empress said impatiently, “Sir Lin, stop pretending and quickly tell us your method for everyone to consider!”
Lin Beifan smiled bitterly, “Your Majesty, I really don’t have any methods!”
The Empress pointed at Lin Beifan with an intense tone, “I believe you do!”
Lin Beifan shook his head, “Your Majesty, there really isn’t!”
The Empress, giving up, impatiently waved her hand, “I knew you didn’t listen carefully. Someone please tell him the situation.”
After learning the specific situation, Lin Beifan asked, “The Tianyi Sect deceives the people and manipulates them to do things for them! The question is, what methods do they use to deceive the people?”
“Mainly by demonstrating miracles to deceive the people!” a junior official immediately spoke up, “They possess the ability to fly in the sky and descend from the heavens!”
“They can transform water in a basin into holy water. After drinking it, the common people all feel physically healthy and light as a swallow!”
“They can control objects, making them move at will!”
“They can command celestial fire, drive away demons, and eliminate disasters for the common people!”
“Every time they pray for the people, heavenly signs appear, with large characters reflecting in the empty sky. Bodhisattvas and immortals also manifest themselves, visible for miles around!”
“It is precisely because of these miracles that the people firmly believe in them and regard them as divine beings who save them from suffering and difficulties!”
“Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan exclaimed loudly, “They deceive the people by using miracles, making them work for them! If we can expose their tricks and make the people realize the truth, this demonic cult will lose its power and crumble on the spot!”
The Empress nodded, “Sir Lin’s words are reasonable!”
An elderly courtier stood up with a furrowed brow and said, “The ability to fly in the sky and descend… to be honest, anyone skilled in lightness techniques could achieve that and use it to deceive the people!”
“The ability to control objects at will… I have heard that those at the innate level of martial artists can release their true energy and manipulate weapons. The demonic members of the Tianyi Sect have innate experts, so there should be no problem!”
“However, the ability to transform water into holy water, granting physical well-being to the people…”
“Or commanding celestial fire to drive away demons and burn evil…”
“And the heavenly signs visible for miles around…”
“These are not abilities that martial artists can possess. I cannot understand it!” The elderly courtier made a salute and stepped back.
The Empress exclaimed loudly, “Gentlemen, do you have any solutions?”
The officials shook their heads, unable to comprehend.
Finally, the Empress turned to Lin Beifan, with a hint of expectation in her voice, “Sir Lin, you have always been resourceful and knowledgeable. Can you unravel the secrets behind their deceptive miracles?”
Lin Beifan made a salute, “Your Majesty, please grant me one day’s time! Tomorrow morning court, I will enlighten Your Majesty and the esteemed ministers!”
The Empress declared loudly, “Very well! I will give you one day’s time!”
The next day, Lin Beifan prepared many things for the morning court.
“Sir Lin, it has been a day. Have you now unraveled the secrets behind the deceptive miracles of the Tianyi Sect?”
Lin Beifan smiled confidently, “Certainly, Your Majesty. Please have a look!”
“First, the transformation of an empty basin into water!”
Lin Beifan took out a small basin and showed it to everyone, saying, “Please observe, is this empty? Is there anything inside? No water, right?”
Everyone glanced at it and nodded in agreement.
“It is indeed empty!”
“There is nothing inside!”
…
“Pay close attention now!”
Lin Beifan had a piece of red cloth in his hand, which he used to cover the small basin. Then, he quickly unveiled it.
Immediately, the previously empty basin now contained half a basin of clear water.
“Huh? How did water appear?”
“How did this happen?”
“Where did the water come from?”
…
Everyone was greatly astonished.
The Empress couldn’t wait and asked, “Sir Lin, how did you do it?”
Lin Beifan smiled and said, “It’s actually very simple, just a common trick! The basin originally had water in it, and I covered it with a transparent film that seamlessly blended with the water. Since the water is clear, it appears as a single entity!”
“As a result, it creates a visual illusion, making everyone think there is no water in the basin. When I tore off that layer of film in the basin, the water naturally flowed out!”
Lin Beifan turned his head to look at the junior official from Eastern Jiang and asked, “Is this how the demonic members of the Tianyi Sect do it?”
The junior official responded excitedly, “Yes! That’s exactly it! It’s the same as what you did! However, the holy water they produce has some healing effects after drinking…”
“That is also simple!”
Lin Beifan chuckled and said, “They might have added some medicine to the water, so drinking it is equivalent to taking medicine, naturally producing healing effects. Or perhaps there is no medicine at all, just a psychological effect. It’s not surprising!”
“Sir Lin’s demonstration has truly broadened our horizons! Is there more?” the Empress asked with anticipation.
“Naturally, there is more. Next is the ability to command celestial fire and drive away demons!”
Lin Beifan made a gesture and said, “Your Majesty, please have someone close the doors and all the windows, and extinguish all the candles!”
The Empress agreed, “Granted!”
After all this was done, the Golden Imperial Hall became dim.
“Your Majesty, and esteemed officials, please have a look!”
Lin Beifan snapped his fingers, and an ethereal green flame instantly appeared in his hand, burning slowly.
Everyone was suddenly shocked.
“A fire! There’s actually fire!”
“How did it appear?”
“If the fire burns in the hand, isn’t there a risk of getting burned?”
…
Lin Beifan extended his other hand and snapped his fingers again.
Suddenly, a bright red flame appeared on his hand, also burning slowly.
Everyone was astonished once again.
“It’s still fire!”
“This time it’s a crimson flame!”
“How did it appear?”
…
Next, Li Beifan clasped his hands together and vigorously rubbed them.
A huge colorful flame unexpectedly ignited from his hands, illuminating the Golden Imperial Hall.
The junior official from Eastern Jiang beside him exclaimed excitedly, “Yes, yes, yes! The demonic members of the Tianyi Sect do it this way to create celestial fire! And they can command the flames with both hands without fear of getting burned!”
The Empress was also thrilled and asked, “Sir Lin, how did you do it? Quickly tell us!”
“It’s actually very simple!” Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Because I have phosphides in my hands. This substance can burn and has an extremely low ignition point, making it self-ignitable! Just now, when I snapped my fingers and rubbed my hands together, it reached its ignition point and naturally started burning! The temperature of this fire is extremely low, so it won’t burn my palms!”
Everyone nodded thoughtfully.
However, Lin Beifan could tell that most of them were pretending to understand.
Someone humbly asked, “Sir Lin, what is phosphide? Why can it burn?”
“Phosphides are found in the ashes of burned human bones! The ghostly flames often seen in graveyards are actually the result of phosphide combustion!” Lin Beifan explained with a smile…
“I see!” Everyone suddenly realized.
“As for why it can burn, it’s too complex to explain clearly. I won’t go into details!”
Lin Beifan opened a small box that contained various colored powders and said with a smile, “This is phosphide! I can transform it into any color of celestial fire you want!”
The officials and even the Empress were curious.
So, Lin Beifan led everyone in playing with celestial fire.
They dipped their hands in phosphide powder, snapped their fingers or rubbed their hands together, and the celestial fire ignited in their palms, which was extremely fascinating.
“It truly broadens our horizons. The world is full of wonders!”
The Empress sighed, “Sir Lin, do you know the secret behind the heavenly omen?”
“Naturally, Your Majesty, please have a look!”
Lin Beifan lit a candle, and the room was dimly lit.
However, when Lin Beifan took out a trumpet-shaped metal copper piece with a reflective inner surface and placed it on the candle, the surroundings darkened. Only a circular area above the beam became exceptionally bright and dazzling.
“I gather the faint underground light using this method and condense it into a powerful beam that shines on the beam above!”
“Just imagine, if we replace the candle with a giant flame and enlarge the trumpet-shaped metal copper piece in Chen’s hand ten times, wouldn’t it be able to illuminate the void and create a heavenly omen?”
In fact, it’s the principle of a flashlight!
By converging all the light, the penetrative power becomes stronger and can reach farther distances!
Lin Beifan explained with a smile, “If you want to display certain words or patterns, just place them underneath! I happened to make one before!”
Lin Beifan took out a piece of paper-cut art and placed it on the metal copper piece.
Instantly, a vivid figure of a Bodhisattva appeared on the beam.
“Yes, why didn’t we think of this?”
“I never expected it. It’s so simple!”
“We’ve truly broadened our horizons today!”
“Truly a talented scholar!”
…
As a result, all the deceptive tricks of the Tianyi Sect were exposed by Lin Beifan.
“Your Majesty, as long as we pass on these three methods and demonstrate them in front of the public, the people will naturally see through the true face of the Tianyi demonic cult! In this way, they will no longer believe in the demonic cult! The Tianyi Sect will immediately collapse and pose no more threat to the court!”
“Good!” The Empress exclaimed excitedly. “Quickly pass on these methods!”
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
“Furthermore, dispatch a group of experts! Once their schemes are exposed, apprehend them directly! If they cannot be captured, execute them immediately to prevent any future troubles!”
“As you command, Your Majesty!”
After issuing a series of orders, the Empress looked at Lin Beifan with a pleased expression. “Sir Lin, you have made great contributions again! Tell me, how should I reward you?”
“Your Majesty, I dare not expect any rewards! But if you insist on rewarding me, please allocate some funds to support my research on hybrid rice. Two or three million would suffice!” Lin Beifan said eagerly.
The officials couldn’t help but twitch their mouths. Can he not let go of this matter?
The Empress rubbed her temples with a headache. “Let’s talk about it once you have researched the steel giant ship!”
Due to the court adopting Lin Beifan’s methods and exposing the Tianyi Sect’s conspiracy and deceit, the Tianyi Sect collapsed. However, they reacted very quickly, and by the time the court’s experts arrived, they had already disappeared without a trace.
However, a brothel named Xiyue Lou had opened in the capital city.
