Chapter 904: Masterpiece

A man with white hair and beard, as well as wrinkles showing his age, but with a vigor of someone in their prime came out from within the depths of the workshop, all of the people present besides Wu Long and his beauties bowing with a fist and hand salute.

‘Essence Harmonization Realm…’, Wu Long narrowed his eyes, meeting an expert in the fourth Great Realm of the Seven Profound Realms for the first time in this life.

The wrinkles on the old man’s face were deeper from the enraged expression.

“G-grandfa-…”

“You’re in the workshop”, the elder spoke in a strict tone, unceremoniously cutting off his grandson, who the workers around previously called either ‘Family Head’ or ‘Owner’, implying he was the current Family Head while this old man has either retired from that position, or never took it up in the first place.

“W-w-workshop Master… the thing is-…”, the grandson began speaking again, but was cut off again.

“I’ll figure out myself”, the elder turned his gaze to Lin Ganwen, the lower-tier manager who slightly shrank under that gaze, but not as much as the one he called ‘Uncle Bodai’, “Hmph! Brat of the Lin Family… you seem to have taken my earlier warning as a joke?”

“Of course not, Workshop Master. I would have neve-…”

“Shut up. Your Lin Family is the family of a great man. However, you seem to be forgetting something… A dragon’s roar shakes the heavens, but its echo fades in the valley”, the old man spoke, causing goosebumps to go through Wu Long, and both of his beauties sensed a familiar feel to the way this old man talked.

This, however, did not sit well with Lin Ganwen, who spoke up despite the one he called ‘Uncle Bodai’ telling him to be quiet with his eyes, and likely sound transmissions, “That can be construed as an insult of my Lin Family, Workshop Master. We are not only the family of the Medicine God, but the Lin Family’s history stretches far before his ascension, as is one of the Great Families under the Seven Heavens! Not to mention, my Lin Family is the one managing the Medicine God’s Pavilion everywhere, not just resting on the laurels of the Medicine God alone. Even if it is you, you cannot be so dismissive of my Lin Family! With all due respect, I would like you to retract that sentiment”

“Tsk tsk tsk, look how arrogant you are”, the old man narrowed his eyes, causing Lin Ganwen to shudder under that gaze “Hmph! ‘My Lin Family, my Lin Family’…You think you can speak to me about your Lin Family like you are a meaningful part of that family? I was talking about you, you fool! Relying on the respect toward better men in your family can only get you so far… tsk tsk”

Lin Ganwen’s face became red as he realized his mistake, but the old man didn’t bother with him any longer, clicking his tongue as one would when losing any lingering hope for a failure as well as any tiny bit of interest one could have for another human being, and finally turning his gaze to Wu Long.

“Hah! This isn’t some parlor for customers, get out of my workshop!”, the old man waved his hand in a shooing manner.

“G-grandfa-… Workshop Master, y-you are being rude to the customers!!!”, his grandson pleaded with a begging tone, starting to sweat profusely as he heard of Wu Long’s purchase beforehand.

“Ha! So what?! I passed along the Family Head position directly from my Father to your Father specifically not to be bothered about the shop’s or Family’s matters!”, the old man exploded in rage again, his loud voice echoing throughout the whole workshop.

He then continued, “I have just one rule! Don’t mess with the workshop! Other than that, you can do whatever you want! You can serve customers naked and lick their toes, or curse them out for all I care! Just don’t bring your bullshit in here! I already forgave you for meddling in here just a few hours ago!”

“Heh”, Wu Long chuckled, causing everyone to turn to him, some with surprise, some with pleading eyes, and the old man, with a question.

Wu Long, on the other hand, was quite amused, ‘A stubborn, conservative, experienced, and skillful old man stuck in his ways who only cares about his Dao…’

He turned his gaze to Ri Luhai, ‘… and a youth who has ambition far beyond his means, is too hasty and reckless, with no limits and nothing to ground him in reality…’

‘Perhaps… a surprisingly good combination’, Wu Long thought as he turned back to the old man, and then spoke, “You seem to not care about Family matters to the point your workshop’s affected, Old Man”

“Old Man? Haha~ hahahaha!!!”, the elder first widened his eyes, and then began laughing as the expressions of everyone around became stuck between shock and fear.

“But I like your dedication for the Forging Dao”, Wu Long added next with a nod, “I came in here to recruit that young man over there, since your workshop seems to not care for his talents”

“””Recruit?!”””, was the reaction of Lin Ganwen, the old Workshop Master, and the person himself, Ri Luhai.

“Mm, it seems you’re not aware, but your grandson made him a staff worker despite him coming in as an apprentice, and since his talents will be wasted like that, I’d rather recruit him”, Wu Long nodded.

The elder turned to his grandson with a fire in his eyes, the latter slightly cowering, and then turned to Wu Long with narrowed eyes, “You! Which Workshop are you from?! Brazenly coming in here to poach my craftsmen!”

“H-he has also been spewing some nonsense about knowing how to merge a Wood Qi catalyst directly into the base material!”, Lin Ganwen chimed in, now turning against Wu Long after knowing he came in to recruit Ri Luhai.

“What?! What kind of charlatan workshop are you from?!”, the elder ignored that the information came from the Lin Family brat for now, his whole attention grabbed by the preposterous claim.

“H-he is a customer who just bought some of your finest personal work, Workshop Master”, the grandson, although also holding the fact that Wu Long told his grandfather of his actions toward Ri Luhai against him, still tried to salvage the situation.

“Hmph! Give him his money back! No charlatan spouting ridiculous claims shall have my work tainted by having it!”, the old man instantly reacted.

“H… he bought three of your ‘Spring Flower in the Pond’ collection pots and the whole ‘Dew of the Bright Dawn’ collection of small pots… d-didn’t you say that you’ll acknowledge someone who saw the value of those?”, the grandson spoke, trying to pull some heartstrings.

“Which ones he bought?”, the old man spoke, and as he heard the answer, crossed his hands over his chest with a smug smile “Hah! He missed the crown jewel of that collection!”

“I didn’t miss it, I didn’t pick it”, Wu Long smiled, adding, “Because it’s a failure”

“””!!!”””, the workshop suddenly became quiet, as only the sound of flames in the forges could be heard in the background.

The elder’s gaze became darker, as a heavy pressure started rising around him, causing everyone around to back away except Wu Long, who also shielded his beauties standing behind him.

“You…”, he spoke in a heavy, low voice, “A reckless tongue sharpens another’s blade… don’t you know that, Youngster?”

“Sounds familiar”, Wu Long sighed, having a distinct feeling this man would really hit it off with General Feng.

“If you cannot back those words… you will have to pay a price”, the elder, however, was not in the mood for hearing the nuances in Wu Long’s tone.

“And the price you will pay?”, Wu Long asked, and seeing a silent question in the old man’s eyes, explained further, “You’re saying I have to take responsibility for my words, and face consequences if they are proven wrong. That I agree with, one’s actions and words naturally have to bear weight, but what weight do your words have when you put your word against mine?”

The corners of the elder’s mouth curled up, “Haha… hahaha! How bold! At last, someone who has a backbone and not these spineless wimps!”

The elder, now that he paid attention to him, could see that Wu Long was the only person here not cowering or lowering his gaze. This, was something the old man haven’t seen for a long time, and something he could respect.

He then declared, “Very well! If you prove your words, I will kowtow and call you Master… whatever your family name is. Just don’t whine or back out now when I’m starting to warm up to you!”

Wu Long smiled, as this solved most of his problems, “I don’t need you kowtowing, but if you are willing to go so far as to call me Master, you will accept my offer to work for me”

“Hahahaha!”, the elder’s laughter became even louder, becoming genuinely amused by this strange man, “Very well! Bet!”

“G-grandfa-…”

“Tsk, shut up Bodai, grown men with spines are talking here”, the elder clicked his tongue with a dismissive gesture, silencing his grandson.

“Good”, Wu Long nodded, satisfied with the deal, and then proceeded to answer, “The reason that work is a failure is because it is something you made as the Masterpiece”

“””…”””, another silence hung in the air, as confused looks turned to Wu Long.

“Pfft”, Lin Ganwen tittered with a gaze like someone would look at an idiot.

Seeing that the elder did not understand either, Wu Long sighed, shaking his head, “The pot you created is indeed well-made, the finest work among what I saw in the entire market, but it carries with it the feeling of completion, an end of a path. It is made, as the pinnacle of your craftsmanship, and the pinnacle of craftsmanship in principle, and thus will stifle the progress of those using it, as there was no room for improvement within your heart when you created it, and breathed life into it. If I am correct, your cultivation stopped progressing right after you made that pot as well…”

As Wu Long spoke in a calm tone, the elder’s eyes started to widen, and goosebumps went through him.

“Even if you used the concept of simplicity and return to origin to design it, making it look rather simple and unassuming among all your other creations, it could not disguise those facts”, Wu Long predicted the elder’s thoughts.

He continued, “The simplicity of design is also not something that came out of an enlightened realization, or natural process, nor because it made the pot better, but to pose a challenge to those who came here to buy pots, out of a desire for a ‘hidden masterpiece’ as your greatest creation, only recognizable by those ‘worthy’. In that you showed arrogance and pride, but not one that celebrated your work, one that ruined it since that simplicity did not offer anything, and is empty. Rather, it showed contempt for those who would use your creation. You forgot that an artifact does not only exists for artifact’s sake, or only for the sake of the one who created it, but also for the sake of the one who wields it, and every thought a true craftsman has, has to respect the wielder as much as the artifact itself. You focused too much on the art and lost the sight of what is the purpose of that art. And those two should be in balance, not at odds”

Every word now was like a hammer strike that crushed the elder under the weight, as his proud pose began slumping, his shoulders spread far at all times, now shrinking in.

“Thus, a culmination of a life’s work is an apt title for that pot, but in that it becomes an end and the pinnacle. But the end is always not the end, and like a bamboo that grows past each node, you can grow past it, if you are humble enough to see that you have not crossed the endless ocean of knowledge, but merely reached a small island. Only then can a masterpiece be created which is a celebration of an achievement on a larger way, like a node of a bamboo, and not a stump that stifles any further growth. You cannot forget…”, Wu Long shook his head with a solemn look, his presence becoming profound and ancient in the widening eyes of the elder, his words spoken in a calm, tranquil voice seemingly echoing like eternal truths given by a great sage, “… the Grand Dao is formless, the Grand Dao is nameless, the Grand Dao is boundless, and can only ever be sought, never reached.”

A deathly silence followed, as the people around looked stunned by the changed atmosphere, unable to raise their voices or move for some moments.

It seemed as if even the ambient sounds of the flames in the forges, and all the distant noises coming from the shop and market street outside, all subsided, quieting down on their own in the presence of a profound and ancient wisdom.

A formless wave spread from the old man, and with shaking limbs and eyes full of emotions, he fell to his knees and kowtowed.

This humble author too, shall do everything to not forget that wisdom, and constantly strive to improve and do better.

Thank you for reading and your incredible, tremendous support everyone!

You are awesome!!!