Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 94 All the Priceless Things in the World

Knight, is there really such a person?
Cui Yunqi was as delighted as if he had suddenly seen a lake of icy water in the hottest days of summer. He was about to ask where the knight Chen Xu was.

But Chen Xu said, "These are rumors I've heard in the marketplace, but I've never seen them myself, so they're half factual and half imaginary."

It turns out that Chen Xu had never seen the knight in person, so he portrayed such a person based on rumors, using a mixture of fact and fiction?

Cui Yunqi's mood dropped again and he felt disappointed.

"So that's how it is, alas..." He tried to hold back but couldn't help but sigh. He was about to say something to cover up the embarrassment at the moment.

Then Chen Xu said, "But that rumor is actually a true story. I have two short stories, and I've just recorded one of them. Brother Cui, please take a look."

He showed Cui Yunqi the short story about animal creation that he had written earlier, then sat back at the table and picked up his pen.

"Master." When picking up the pen, Chen Xu glanced at Wu Zhengze.

Wu Zhengze arrived earlier than Cui Yunqi. He was the middle-aged scholar who was reciting "The Knight-errant" at the table.

At this moment, Wu Zhengze looked at Chen Xu with a sharp gaze, urging him: "Write quickly."

This is to urge Chen Xu to write the second story about creating animals quickly.

My goodness, I actually feel a sense of terror as if the teacher is urging me to do homework.

Fortunately, Chen Xu was originally planning to write the second article.

He was not afraid of being stared at and immediately started writing "Creating Animals 2".

The draft was already in my mind, and I picked up the pen and wrote it down in one go.

"I heard about the creation of animals during the day, and suddenly I fell asleep in a dream late at night. In the dream, I met a ghost again."

This is a story about the experience of encountering a ghost in the ghost market as if it were a dream.

Encountering a ghost in a dream seems both real and illusory, with a uniquely eerie and hazy meaning.

Some things should be written to warn the world, but they cannot be too realistic.

Although all of this was clearly Chen Xu's personal experience, he still wanted to give his experience another legendary color.

It is even more impossible to say that the knight is himself——

Since the task is completed and he wants to leave, hiding his body and name, then naturally he has to hide completely.

Chen Xu only wrote that he met a ghost in his dream. The ghost first shed tears silently and looked at him with resentment.

"I have never done evil in my life, so why should I be frightened when I see a ghost?

The ghost was young and childish, with cute features but a tragic expression. To have become a ghost at such a young age must have been wronged.

I can't help but ask why the ghost came? "

At this point, Chen Xu deliberately makes the image of the little ghost clear and cute. On the one hand, it is to arouse the reader's sympathy, and on the other hand, it is to use this clear image to highlight the little ghost's subsequent misery.

If the first story with a knight is a combination of fantasy and idealism, then the second story without a knight is the unavoidable cold reality.

Chen Xu describes the little ghost's suffering in a tortuous and detailed manner, with layers of progression.

How his family ties were shallow, how his mother's family was completely wiped out, and how he was deceived by his father's concubine who was sweet-mouthed but treacherous...

Finally, he was harmed by the evil magic of animal creation and his head fell to the ground.

Chen Xu also emphasized the grief and evil when the little ghost was killed.

In the end, he hesitated for a moment, but still wrote the ending of the little ghost's revenge.

Chen Xu expected that the little ghost's revenge of killing his father with his own son would definitely be strongly criticized by people of the time.

Regardless of whether revenge is just or not, current etiquette and laws simply cannot tolerate such behavior.

Once Chen Xu writes in this way, controversy is bound to arise.

It is even very likely that he himself, as a "bystander and recorder", will be criticized by many.

But Chen Xu still wrote it like this in the end.

If the little ghost has the courage to take revenge, he shouldn't be too afraid to even write it, right?
Since it is meant to warn the world, isn't this tragedy of father and son killing each other and the little devil killing his father even more shocking?
Chen Xu not only had to write it, but also had to make this plot more thrilling and dramatic.

He also fabricated some twists and turns in the climax of the little ghost's revenge.

The use of various sinister and vivid words makes the scenes seem real, impacting the readers' senses with a strong sense of picture.

Only at the end does he sigh softly: "I always regret that human hearts are not as good as water, which easily creates waves out of calm ground." It is not a complete poem, just a short sentence.

If these two short stories can ferment in the future and people become curious about this poem, Chen Xu will be motivated to write the complete poem when the opportunity arises.

In this way, the new poetry comes out in response to the call of the world, and its dissemination effect will certainly be better than straightforward narration.

Chen Xu stopped writing here.

But I heard two heavy sighs in succession beside me.

One was Wu Zhengze, who said in a low voice, "The world is cold and cruel, and people's hearts are treacherous. It has come to this!"

The other one was Cui Yunqi, who was filled with righteous indignation and fury:

"What a shameless villain! He has read a lot of books by sages, but he does nothing to produce or accumulate wealth. Instead, he covets the wealth of his wife's family.

It was not enough that he harmed his wife's family, he even allowed his concubine to poison his son.

He is worse than an animal! How shameless can there be such a scholar in the world?

We must spread this man's reputation and make the whole world spit on him!"

After his anger subsided, he sighed again: "Poor kid, he never met a knight."

He is still obsessed with the knight in "The Knight-errant".

These two short stories completely aroused the compassion of this young man from aristocratic family.

The knights in "The Knight-errant" further inspired his chivalrous heart.

Cui Yunqi took both stories completely seriously, and although Chen Xu wrote the stories in a half-true, half-false, dreamy tone, in fact, the stories were indeed true.

Chen Xu was about to say something when Cui Yunqi suddenly clasped his hands together and said:

"Brother Chen, whatever you write today, whether it's poetry, prose or stories, my Cui family and I have a bookshop that can print it.

I ask Brother Chen to hand over the manuscript to me. I will print thousands of copies and sell them to various counties in Yunjiang.

All the money we get from the sale will go to Brother Chen, not a cent from our Cui family.

The conditions were so generous that Chen Xu was speechless.

How could Cui Yunqi be setting conditions? This was clearly an offer of money, the most direct gesture of goodwill.

Chen Xu quickly stood up and was about to refuse.

There are some good things in the world that cannot be accepted completely and at will.

You think you've gotten a good deal, but don't you know that all gifts in the world have a price?
If it is priceless, then it is truly the highest price.

Suddenly, a voice came from the doorway: "Brother Chen Shi, my Wang family can spread your articles and poems throughout the seven prefectures of Tiannan, and even to the capital!"

It turned out that Wang Xian, who had been standing silently outside the door, finally spoke.

Wang Xian's words were like stirring up a hornet's nest.

In the corridor outside the door, the crowd that had crowded in at some point in time all spoke out:
"Your Wang family is currently struggling to take care of itself, so how can we possibly spread Brother Chen's poetry and prose to the seven prefectures of Yunjiang? It would be better for our Tian family to take action!"

"Mr. Chen saved my seventh son's life, so our Ning family can also help. Brother Tian, ​​your family doesn't run a bookstore much, right?"

"You can't help me just because I don't have a bookstore? Who doesn't have a few relatives and friends?"

"How can relatives and friends compare to our own direct control? Our Ning family not only has a bookstore, but also a teahouse..."

Very good, they started arguing.

At this time, Chen Xu was not yet in a state of prosperity, but as he stood in this ordinary inn room, he seemed to have a feeling of being in a state of prosperity and a fiery fire.

This is not necessarily a good thing.

What is at its peak can easily decline unless the foundation is strong enough to withstand any storm.

But at this time, Chen Xu obviously had not yet laid a solid foundation.

He rejected everyone's kindness.

Of course, just decline the free offer.

If it was a normal matter of printing and selling books, and the royalties were distributed proportionally, Chen Xu would have no reason to refuse.

(End of this chapter)