One day.
partly cloudy.
The soldiers guarding the city looked gloomy, dispersed the people, and posted imperial notices.
The imperial list is announced to the world.
An imperial list, the words written on it are like a hurricane, sweeping the world.
"Did you hear that?"
"What did you hear?"
"Haven't you heard? The imperial list has been posted all over the world!"
"Hiss... you mean... the increase in household tax, land tax, house tax, concubine tax, and childbirth tax?"
"The tenants in the village are going crazy! Nowadays, every household is afraid to have a baby! If you have more babies, you will have to pay an extra household tax. I heard that the village flower in the next village has round breasts and is easy to have children. She has white bamboo shoots and a good skin, but now no one is willing to marry her even if she pays the bride price!"
On the streets.
Between alleys.
Two tenant farmers in ragged clothes went to the city to do business. They squatted in the shade of a tree under the sun, chatting dejectedly.
The older man opened his mouth wide. He had never heard anything so ridiculous in his fifty years of life: "Seriously? Why?"
"That village girl is good everywhere, but she is weak and can't do the work! Isn't it a loss-making business to marry her into the family?"
The two dirty tenant farmers looked at each other and sighed at the same time: "What a sin!"
"Shh!"
"Here comes the one with the knife!"
A stern-faced general led his army out of the city.
They were so murderous all the way that the city was shocked into silence.
After a while, someone started talking in low voices.
"Did you hear that?"
"There's another flood in the south."
"Thousands of them died!"
"Many people have starved to death. A few days ago, some relatives fled from the south. They finally got here and were as thin as bamboo poles."
"I didn't know until I asked..."
"Someone in the south is rebelling!"
"Hiss! It's really fake!"
"Why did I lie to you! Not only in the south, but also in many places, they are raising the flag! The world is in bad shape again!"
"Then let's run away!"
"Where to run?"
"How about the Northern Barbarians? I heard that the Northern Barbarians have been quite peaceful in recent years."
…
The most prosperous street in the West Market is filled with billows of black smoke, the sound of the stove blowing is like a violent storm, and the sound of forging iron is like dense thunder. It has been noisy all day long and has become the most eye-catching scenery in the imperial city.
This is the "Iron Shop" street, and every house has a plaque with the name "Red Iron Shop". Among them, the best blacksmith is called Yan Jiji, whose craftsmanship has been passed down from his ancestors and is very impressive.
The common people heard that behind the Chi Tiefang, there was the shadow of the official family.
…
Although Zheng Xiu has never experienced it.
However, since the founding of the Daqian Dynasty, it has had a complete system of imperial examinations and academic institutions.
In ancient times, Gongsun Mo once had the ambition to obtain the number one scholar.
Taixue Academy has four branches in the city.
They are the four courtyards of "Deer", "Lin", "Crane" and "Tiger".
One morning, students from the Fourth Academy were washing and changing their clothes sleepily, and then sat down in the hall.
In the corner of Luyuan, known as the youngest "Mofuzi" in the history of Daqian, he walked slowly to class holding a "new book".
Mo Fuzi was only sixteen years old, but he was extremely talented. Two years ago, when he was only fourteen, he astonished everyone with his essay "The Book of Right and Wrong" and became the number one scholar. The most amazing thing about that essay was that he wrote "The Book of Right and Wrong". Thirty-six lines of neat "Putting aside right and wrong..." sentence pattern and a eloquent thousand-character text, using the past to satirize the present, became a popular story and attracted countless people to imitate it.
Later, this No. 1 Scholar essay was collected by Taixue, and countless students read it. It was as if their mind had been punched for thirty-six times, and they suddenly became enlightened. They were astonished and convinced the young master.
Others often say that literati look down upon each other, but this Master Mo conquered all literati with his unparalleled talent that spanned the ages.
"Ahem."
On the podium, the young Master Mo was dressed in a green shirt with jade on his waist. His face was as white as jade, and he was quite elegant.
"Today, I will study a new book with you."
Young Master Mo's eyes flickered and he held up a book.
Only then did the students notice that there was a brand new book on each of their desks.
"Master Mo!"
Someone raised their hand obediently.
"Let's talk."
Master Mo nodded and signaled the students to ask questions.
"The ink...seems like it's still not dry?"
The other students didn't believe it, so they stretched out their hands and dipped it in. The ink was not completely dry, and it seemed like it was a new book that had just been released.
"Haha..." Master Mo shook his head and chuckled: "The book is not ancient, but it has a soul."
"Soul, the soul of the word, the soul of the book, the soul of the meaning, a book with a thousand words, if the soul of the book is contained in it, you can travel proudly in the world, travel in the sky, know the vastness of the world, see the infinity of the sun and the moon, and feel the ruthlessness of the years .”
The students were stunned for a moment, and then applauded.
Makes sense.
Master Mo wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
The brand new cover has three words written on it - "The Prisoner's Story".
It was an obscure new book that even he couldn't understand.
He read it several times, and the book probably said that the vast world seemed endless, but in fact the round sky and the square place were just a huge prison. People in prison suffered a lot without realizing it.
Moisturizing his throat, Mr. Mo, who is sought after by countless people as the "little literary saint of Tianjing", read the title page aloud.
Not just "Deer Park".
Throughout the city, and even throughout the world, in academies and teahouses, a book called "The Prisoner's Theory" written by an unknown person was gradually circulated.
"Heaven and earth are unkind. They use heaven as a prison, earth as a prison, and all things as prisoners..."
"Human is born in heaven and earth, works at sunrise and rests at sunset..."
"Above the starry sky, is it the glow of the sun and moon from hundreds of millions of years ago, or are the cold eyes looking at all living beings?"
"He said..."
The sound of reading aloud came out of the academy in a cheerful atmosphere, floated to the sky, and gradually dissipated, leaving behind a little reflection.
This little bit of contemplation is like a wisp of sparks.
…
"A single spark can start a prairie fire."
In the evening, the whole city was filled with gloom due to the tax increase.
The atmosphere was no longer as lively and noisy as usual.
The lanterns were lit sadly.
A man and a cat were sitting on the high wall, overlooking the earth, watching indifferently.
There was a daze in the orange cat's eyes for a moment, and then he touched his chin in surprise: "It turns out that you have tried this a few times, this weird feeling of dissonance. So..."
Anne's eyes were shining brightly, and the cat's whiskers were gently brushing beside the man. She was so angry that she asked: "Do you understand now? The source of the huge distortion is a 'knot'."
"There are many, many, many, many knots." Zheng Xiu looked calmly and corrected the orange cat: "It's so many that it's unbelievable. This 'error' is like a virus, twisting crazily and spawning more 'errors' .I later discovered that the source of this 'error' was not entirely here, but somewhere further outside. There was something, deep down, like a wishing machine, twisting everything indiscriminately, just to make everything It seemed 'right'."
The orange cat was startled when he heard this.
Zheng Xiu raised an index finger and smiled slightly: "In addition, a similar conversation between us happened 'last time'. The only difference is that you are more catty."
The orange cat was stunned again, and the next second he was about to cry without tears. She turned her back to Zheng Xiu and glanced at her "authority" secretly. Sure enough, the jade feet were getting better, with more holes and becoming less and less qualified.
"Meow woo woo woo..."
The proud, great, extraordinary, and only indescribable Anne was crying at this moment, like a little female cat being placed on the operating table and about to undergo sterilization.
Zheng Xiu gently touched the orange cat's head, as if soothing him. He glanced at the orange cat and said calmly: "Sure enough, you also said that the field of view is different when looking from the 'outside' and looking from the 'inside'. It feels like we are looking at a nest of ants. Can we It is easy to trample them to death, ravage them, and bring about 'annihilation' for them, but in a flash, it is difficult for us to distinguish who is more or less among them, and who is doing what."
"This is what is called, the higher you stand, the broader your vision becomes, and the broader it becomes, the blurry it becomes. Unless... they condescend to become ants and change their vision to be the same as 'ants'."
"You only noticed that the twist shook a little, twisted a little, and changed a little color, but you had no way of knowing what I did."
"Unless the 'change' is so great that they can see the 'difference' at a glance."
"So, I accidentally caught their attention a few times."
Did I say this?
A rare look of shock appeared on Lady Anne's face.
Zheng Xiu lowered his head and said to himself: "You also said that they are just false gods who occupy authority, have no corresponding 'divinity', and have only 'authority' and 'divine power', so they are nothing to be afraid of."
"So I carefully tried to untie every 'knot' again and again."
"Wrong many, many times."
"But, there are too many of them."
"You gave in twice."
"Struck by lightning three times."
"I got frozen four times."
"Pereted by tentacles six times."
"Being crushed by mountains eleven times."
"It was blown away five times by the wind."
"Well, the world was accidentally destroyed twice, and I almost escaped."
When the orange cat first heard that he had "cowed twice", there was still a bit of disdain on his face. When I was in my heyday, those false gods were wiped out in one fell swoop, but now it’s really the cat that fell here and was deceived by the gods. But as she listened, Annie became more and more frightened. Her eyes widened and she asked dumbfounded: "Wait, wait a minute, how many times have you tried...?"
Zheng Xiu's eyes were slightly vacant, as if he didn't hear the orange cat's words, and was talking to himself:
"Annie, do you know? In fact, everything remains the same. I regard that path as a 'doorway', my repeated attempts as 'rules', and every 'knot' as a door."
"Different paths lead to the same destination."
"As the saying goes, 'Those who have reached the extreme end of the Tao will end up in the same place.' This thing is no different from practicing the art. It is just practice. There is nothing to say."
"But one thing is different. There are thousands of thaumaturges in the world. As far as I know, even Gongsun Mo's so-called 'reaching' the end is just 'walking' away, far from the 'authority' you mentioned." , there is still a hundred and eighty thousand miles to go.”
"To get there, you have to fly up."
"You said that 'understanding' is the basis for forging 'authority'. 'Rules' are constantly tempering one's throne until one reaches the pinnacle."
"Shut up!" Like an agitated kitten, Annie became inexplicably angry when she heard Zheng Xiu's increasingly indifferent tone. She clearly didn't say those words, she didn't remember them. But what Zheng Xiu said was indeed something that was impossible to say based on his "current" vision. The orange cat's pupils almost shrank into two slits: "How many times have you... tried!"
Zheng Xiu was silent for a moment, then he raised his index finger.
"I do not remember."
The tip of his index finger suddenly twisted.
A "sphere" appeared out of thin air, spinning on Zheng Xiu's fingertips.
The sphere is hollow, and its body is made up of countless tiny chains. Inside the sphere, there is a mass of "matter" that is constantly changing shape, color, and material. No, it couldn't even be called a "substance". The orange cat stared blankly at the "ball" on Zheng Xiu's fingertips. She had never seen this kind of "power", the "thing" wrapped in the ball, It seems to be something that is flickering and changing every moment, elusive and indeterminate.
"Variables", "randomness", "unstable factors". Three terms flashed through the orange cat's mind.
She couldn't summarize "that thing" on Zheng Xiu's fingertips.
She wasn't even sure if it was a manifestation of "authority" or...a half-finished product?
She couldn't be sure. In fact, even though she was looking back and becoming catty, her vision was still there. Something that can make her "uncertain" at a glance, this "uncertainty" itself is something that is enough to shock the world.
"I do not remember."
Zheng Xiu did not deliberately show off at this moment. He raised his index finger, rotated the ball, and lowered his head in thought. He was really deep in thought.
"Ten thousand times? Twenty thousand times? One hundred thousand times?"
"I...can't remember clearly."
Zheng Xiu's eyes were blank.
The pupils were dark and deep.
"I probably did... spend a thousand years inside."
…
…
"There are always one or two trends in the world..."
The bloody full moon hangs high in the sky.
The color brighter than blood makes the huge full moon look like an "eye" entrenched in the sky, staring coldly at the earth.
The undulating jungle stretches as far as the eye can see.
This was once a green "world".
Today, the huge roots are withered and black, sticky "rivers" flow through the forest, emitting a foul odor. The "jungle" is lingering on, losing its former vitality.
Countless red shimmers condensed into balls of gorgeously colored light, moving flexibly through the towering ancient forest.
Colorful monsters that are hundreds of meters long and look like butterflies fly in groups between towering trees hundreds of meters high, chasing the bloody balls of light.
Feng Bei was still dressed in black clothes like crow feathers, sitting on a tree trunk hundreds of meters high, swinging his legs and humming softly.
Next to Feng Bei, a bat was lying on a mini beach chair, wearing sunglasses on its eyes, crossing its legs, and resting its wings on the back of its head, enjoying the "blood moon" leisurely.
Phew~
The blood-colored ball of light flew past, and the bat took a small mouthful, and the ball of light, which had no time to escape, slurped into its mouth.
"This essence tastes really good."
After taking a sip of "Blood Moon Essence", the bat shuddered with satisfaction, took off his glasses, listened to Feng Bei humming softly, and magically a small notebook appeared between his wings.
"You hummed this strange song for the 3672nd time."
Feng Bei shut his mouth instantly and ignored the bat.
"Still thinking about your man?"
Bat Wings made a complicated gesture and asked with a smirk.
"boring."
"Ha~ Woman." Bat put his hands on his hips and sneered: "You have to leave there, for his own good. It's not suitable to stay in this shabby place for a long time. Sooner or later, we will end together, unless you want to die together. Haha, compared to being here Here's 'retrospection', 'death' is also quite happy, as soon as you close your eyes, you'll sleep peacefully."
Feng Bei remained silent and ignored the bat.
"You, it's always like this. If a man is not around, you will be unhappy. Can't we, as women, be independent and self-reliant? Regardless of whether he can come or not, you have disappeared for so long, and none of the men in your family have even looked at you. Isn’t there a little bit wrong?”
Feng Bei was stunned when she heard this. She was speechless. It sounded like... wrong, he couldn't come out! Feng Bei reacted and she almost missed the punch. Feng Bei rolled his eyes.
"So," the bat was still chattering, its wings rolled up like an index finger: "When you come to a new place, walk more, see more, learn new postures, knowledge, and become bigger and stronger, otherwise, you will always be like this Boring, can you maintain your sense of freshness in front of your men?"
"You..." Feng Bei's eyes turned cold: "Peeping into my dreams again?"
"Just looking at it without losing any meat!" Bat heard this and felt a little guilty. He lowered his head and muttered: "In my opinion, your dream is like a bubble movie screen hanging above your head in 360-degree high-definition The uncensored video is playing in a loop, and you can see things with your eyes open. How can you call it a voyeur in an open and honest manner?" Turning around to see Feng Bei, a stingy woman, her face darkened, and she immediately puffed up her chest: "Anyway, I'm here for Hello!"
"snort."
"Madam," Bat's furry little face showed a vivid "intriguing" look, and he laughed: "You don't want your man to be seduced by a slut who knows more tricks because you are not fresh enough, right? "
The bat folded its wings together and made a "hook" gesture.
Ah this.
Feng Bei was instantly alert.
After a while, she stood up and looked into the distance calmly: "I... walked around."
"That's right! Each ship has a different structure and operates under different rules. It's never wrong to take a closer look."
Bat smiled and said: "It's time for questions."
A man and a bat were running like lightning among the thick tree trunks.
"Why don't you leave, and your men can't leave too?"
Feng Bei thought for a while: "Prisoner?"
"Only half of the answers are correct, seven points!" Bat said the answer: "Didn't I tell you before, every world needs people of all kinds."
"Some places are: 'Pioneer', 'Child of the World', 'Hunter', 'Scavenger', 'Rich Man', 'Lost', 'Discouraged Brother', 'Good Brother', 'Comedian', 'Rebellion'" By',……"
"Where you used to be, what was called a 'doorway' was just the same thing."
"But there is only one character who is indispensable and must exist in any world."
Feng Bei thought for a while, recalling the knowledge that Bats had crammed into her. Feng Bei, who never liked using her brain, looked embarrassed. After a while, she still couldn't remember.
Bat chuckled and raised the chestnut:
"The dragon among snakes,"
"The King of Dogs,"
"The King of Chickens."
Feng Bei: "?"
"In a complete 'system', there is a kind of person who is the 'core' of the world, the 'pillar' and the 'support point'. They either go smoothly, or turn over in adversity, or move forward indomitably, 'they', if not Despite the interference of external forces, in the end, a mortal can be compared with the gods. This kind of person is called a 'saint' in the 'various' system. But before that, the 'saint' in that place was you."
Feng Bei was stunned.
"Now, that position is vacant."
The charming little bat chuckled.
Asking for a monthly ticket!
(End of chapter)
