Master kept Shikong that day and Jile and I left first. I discussed with Jile, saying Master should be blaming Shikong, Jile said not necessarily.

  The result was truly unexpected, the Shaolin Temple decided to mass-produce the flying hook to raise funds and expand the temple. I expressed my doubts, can this thing sell? Xi Le said, it will definitely sell. As a result, it really could sell, people found that this flying hook, except for not being able to fly, was useful in all other ways. Kids used it to climb trees, women used it to tie up their children, households used it to tie up dogs, on cows they tied three or four hooks and it could even be used to weed the fields. Butchers could use it to hang pork, if a horse carriage broke down it could even serve as a tow rope. In short, it was awesome, plus it was a Shaolin product, guaranteed quality, so it sold very well.

  After selling for about a week, a 96-year-old old man suddenly appeared at the government office and beat the drum, saying that Fei Tian Gou was not invented by Shaolin, but by himself in the previous dynasty. Although it was not mass-produced, it had been secretly traded underground, even triggering a wall-climbing craze. Now Shaolin plagiarized, hoping Shaolin can apologize and compensate, and give his own son a good Dharma name.

  Judge: You said Fei Tian Gou was your invention, what evidence do you have?

  The old man said: You're still young, you don't know the history of that time. At that time, hooks were popular among many chivalrous guests. You can ask your seniors or read historical books if you don't believe it.

  Judge: What did you used to do?

  The old man said: In the past, I was a housekeeper.

  The judge asked: What have you done then?

  The old man said: I've spent my whole life making just one hook. But later, the eaves and roofs all changed, and my hooks were no longer useful.

  Later, the matter was reported to Shaolin Temple. Since almost no one from Shaolin went to the trial, the case was settled quietly. The court ruled that since Shaolin's Flying Hook had sold several million units, while the old man's Qian Chao Pa Bi Gou (Before Dynasty Wall-Climbing Hook) had only sold about 6,000 units after statistics, it did not constitute infringement of rights. Although the two products looked almost identical, they were considered to be different species because their names were different.

  The court ruled that the old man's intention was to change his family name for personal gain, and he was found guilty of false accusation. Since Qian Chao Pa Bi Gou was not registered, the old man was also found guilty of plagiarism. Although the two products had different names, they looked almost identical, which constituted plagiarism.

  Moreover, although Shaolin's mass-produced hooks made money, it was not for profit but to build temples. The old man's actions were considered blasphemous. However, considering the old man's advanced age, he was exempt from punishment and only required to be publicly shamed in the city square for half a day.

  The abbot was furious when he learned of this and kept asking who had told the yamen about it. I said, "Grandfather, isn't it good that Shaolin won? Although the old man is a bit pitiful."

  Fang Zhang said: Do you think that if a person who makes hidden weapons for people in the jianghu lives for another hundred years, he would really get into trouble with the authorities over a hook? Who knows who that person is. You only know what's in front of your eyes, but not what will happen in the future.

  I imagined that the day I showed everyone would suddenly fly sand and walk stones, and when the crowd opened their eyes, the old man was gone, only I saw what happened. But things were simpler than I imagined, the old man had been gone since he was in prison, and hadn't been seen for three years.