bookrandom Chapter 53: Storytelling or History?
Chapter 53: Storytelling or History?
The audience immediately erupted in boos.
"That old man has no shame; he stopped fighting before the battle even started."
"If you keep stopping like this, you'll have to rest forty or fifty times during a game."
“Son, carve the word ‘money’ on the wooden sign and throw it at them.”
It was noisy and chaotic.
That's exactly the effect we wanted; the lively crowd quickly attracted even more people to join in the fun.
Zhong Ming tossed over half a smoked fish tail; its value was just right.
Although most of the strong and healthy young men obeyed the government's call and left more than a hundred miles away, there were inevitably a few filial sons who couldn't carry their elderly mothers on their backs for a hundred miles. They stayed home and waited to die, and were eventually taken to a refugee camp by the government.
If the tip is too high, the old storyteller might not be able to keep it. This little bit is just enough to add some flavor to the meal.
The old man accepted some strange and unusual tips, cleared his throat, and continued speaking.
"To understand what General Hong Rong said, we must first understand what he was thinking."
Who is the Great General? He is the leader of all people, the one on whom everyone looks up. What does he do? He observes the hardships of the people and understands their joys and sorrows.
The scorching sun beat down on their backs as if burning their bodies, the floodwaters covered their necks as if draining their breath, the dead lay everywhere, and destitution gripped them.
Suffering accompanies all living beings under heaven, all because the old dragon is locked in battle with the golden crow, and the ocean confronts the scorching sun—how can this be tolerated?!
General Hong Rong, standing atop the earth, cried out in anguish: "Alas! Heaven's mandate is mine; what right do heroes of all races have to be born with special privileges?"
Therefore, they raised an army to attack Heaven.
History records: "With a cry from the mountaintop, 'My life ends,' all the heroes of the world flock to the west."
The old man closed his folding fan, slowly picked up the wooden bowl, took a sip of water, and then held the fan up and twirled it, as if recalling a scene from a story.
Seeing that some people looked disdainful, he said, "Gentlemen, this is not some nonsense. This was taught to me by a master I met when I visited Qin Chengshan in the capital. He said that this is the beginning of history. If you don't believe it, you can ask about the third volume of the 'Annals of the Ancestor of Man,' which is about the Ancestor of Man's conquest of Heaven."
"Stop talking nonsense, tell me quickly, among the heroes of all races, there must be tigers and bears."
"Hey!" The old man pointed his folding fan at the speaker and said loudly:
"It is true what the ancestor thought."
At the summit of the mountains, Hong Rong gave a shout, and heroes responded in no time.
A howling wind and a turbulent current made it impossible for General Hong to open his eyes.
But a warm touch can't lie.
General Hong Rong was on the top of a snow-capped mountain, where dark clouds obscured the sun. But now, as he squinted, the sun was shining in.
Huh~
After a while, the sunlight suddenly disappeared, but the wind also subsided considerably. General Hong looked up and exclaimed, "Wow!"
In the sky, a giant crane broke through the layers of dark clouds and arrived here. Its wingspan was probably hundreds of feet, covering the sky and the sun.
The previous brilliance was the hole it pierced when it broke through the clouds; now, it flies directly above the general, casting a shadow that obscures the general's body.
The giant crane let out a long cry and flapped its wings.
With a flap of its wings, the wind and snow dispersed, and the view became clear.
With another flap of its wings, the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly on the snow-capped peaks. In the midst of the darkness, all living beings saw the radiance of this place, like a lighthouse appearing on a vast ocean battered by a storm.
With three flaps of his wings, General Hong Rong's voice was carried to all corners of the world, and all races under heaven raised their heads in response.
After doing this, the crane stopped in front of General Hong, bowed its head, and lowered its tail in shame.
He did not utter a sound, but a voice suddenly emerged in Hong Rong's mind, which could be described as a celestial technique, where minds were in perfect harmony.
The crane said: "The Celestial Court has long bullied the creatures of our earth. Relying on its physical strength and superb immortal arts, it uses thunder and lightning as a game, and burns forests with raging fire for its own consumption. When it sees the flourishing of life, it wipes the world white with snow, and when it sees birds vying for height, it urges the wind to tremble in fear..."
A storyteller who simply reads from the script is not a qualified storyteller. Seeing that the audience didn't quite understand, he skipped over a few parts.
"The crane complained to the Ancestor for a long time about the humiliations it had suffered at the hands of the Celestial Court, and then sighed, saying:"
'Our clan excels only at riding the wind and flying, but the Celestial Court flies even higher than us. The Wild Bear clan has thick skin and flesh, but the Celestial Court clan is even stronger. Jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards rely only on their sharp teeth and claws, but the Celestial Court clan has even more powerful claws and teeth.'
It is not that we are born of lowly race and are content to live under the thumb of others; it is that those who fight will only face death.
However, the human race is entirely different. They lack claws and teeth, and have little body hair, yet possess a wisdom rarely seen in heaven and earth. They can use grass, wood, bamboo, and bones to create tools; they can mine and quarry; they wear golden armor. They have transformed the wonders of heaven and earth into their own use. In places blessed with natural beauty and abundant resources, outstanding individuals emerge; in the harsh deserts, they find ways to survive against all odds. It can be said that every place is filled with spiritual energy and teeming with people.
The crane praised the human race at length before explaining why it had come.
"In the realm of immortal arts, we are all inferior to the Celestial Court. However, in the art of weapon crafting, the Celestial Court uses divine artifacts from all over the world for its crafting, and so does the human race. What is there to be afraid of in claiming victory?"
The Celestial Court resides high in the heavens; how could it possibly compete with us, the myriad races nurtured by the earth, in the search for rare and precious treasures? This is a victory indeed.
The Celestial Court prides itself on its physical strength, with armor capable of carrying mountains and claws capable of cleaving rivers, and disdains the art of weapon forging. You humans are too weak, so devote yourselves to studying the methods of forging and nurturing weapons.
One purpose is decoration and entertainment, and the other is a matter of life and death. Human artifacts are becoming increasingly exquisite, far surpassing those of the Celestial Court. These are the two advantages.
In this calamity of heaven and earth, all races are of one mind, but the Celestial Court harbors its own ulterior motives. The feud between the Three-Legged Golden Crow and the Dragon King alone is difficult to resolve. This is the third victory.
The various races of the world have long harbored resentment towards the Celestial Court, and their blood feud is difficult to resolve. However, the Celestial Court is acting in its own self-interest and may not be willing to fight to the death. This is the fourth advantage.
We, the crane clan, are willing to shoulder the responsibility of the battle for the ascension of all races to the heavens. If misfortune befalls us, those who come after us may devour our flesh and blood to strengthen themselves and ascend to the heavens.
I beseech you, Lord of Humanity, to armor my wings and strengthen my claws, so that I may triumph over the Celestial Court.
Upon hearing this, Hong Rong flipped himself onto the back of a crane and soared into the sky. He saw that on the earth, all kinds of beasts were running around, rivers and lakes were filled with fish and shrimp swimming upstream, and all kinds of creatures were moving together, which was a magnificent sight.
He then drew his longsword, which was made of meteorite iron. It had been forged in the volcanic land for countless years, and was created by 108 generations of craftsmen who sacrificed themselves for it. On the day it was completed, it was rushed to a depth of a hundred miles underground to obscure the divine light, so that the celestial court would not know about it and it would hide in the mortal world.
At this moment, Hong Rong drew his sword, its divine light soaring into the sky, its aura reaching the heavens. With a single horizontal slash, the second highest peak in the world was cleaved off, leaving a smooth, flat surface that transformed into a platform with a circumference of fifty miles.
Later generations called it: the Commander's Platform.
The ancestor of mankind, Hong Rong, was to appoint his generals here.
......"
The old man spoke with great grandeur, and Zhong Ming was deeply moved.
However, at this moment, above the sea of clouds, the old Taoist priest was secretly eavesdropping, and he was extremely embarrassed, his toes curling up in a fist.
'In general, the concept is indeed a mental cultivation method: the imagery of the Ancestor of Humanity fighting against Heaven. I don't know if that's the correct name, but whoever created this mental cultivation method imagery is truly a genius. However... changing the name is one thing, but to avoid suspicion, does the storyteller have some grudge against dragons? The Three-Legged Golden Crow and the Dragon Clan fought wholeheartedly back then, so how did they become the main villains here?'
The old Taoist priest finished speaking, shook his head, and said that there was no point in listening any further. Hearing that the old storyteller said that he had been taught by a master during his visit to the capital, he decided to go and visit his old friend.