Literary Master 1983

Chapter 174: Yu Qie as the hero of the martial arts

He took a ship all the way north, preparing to publish a martial arts novel in Hong Kong. This is a route from Penang to Hong Kong, which takes a week. Although it takes a long time, the ticket price is low and there are various entertainment facilities available.

Wen Ruian is now financially strapped and lacks inspiration.

While on the boat, Wen Ruian was able to experience various customs and cultures, which in turn promoted his own creations.

He wanted to write about a chivalrous male protagonist who was sentimental and righteous, someone with a great background, young, skilled in martial arts, good at uniting various forces, and with a pure heart.

The last point is particularly important. This person cannot be a sophisticated egoist. When the protagonist's reverse scale is touched, he is willing to give everything for the great ideal.

What kind of person should I write about?

In reality, there seems to be no such character. If there is such a person, Wen Ruian would not dare to write about him.

Because he collected his poems and was imprisoned, he cannot do it again.

Wen Ruian was so absorbed in thought that he lost a lot of weight.

So, when he had nothing to do, he would read "A Way Out" to kill time. "A Way Out" was first printed with 32 copies, well bound, 30-mo, 75 Hong Kong dollars per copy, equivalent to 15 Thai baht, or Malaysian ringgit.

In fact, the price is much higher because there is currently only the version published by a Thai publisher, and the others are pirated.

The latest batch of 300,000 copies was printed in mainland China by five publishing houses. Of course, the price is cheaper, only less than 8 Hong Kong dollars, and the cover is designed by Yu Qie himself.

Wen Ruian thought to himself: This cotangent is quite interesting. The mainland version is the cheapest, but it turns out that the mainland version is the most attentive.

The book "A Way Out" was a hot commodity. On the ship, Wen Ruian exchanged books with others and he unexpectedly got a copy of "Big Scatter". This novel was not as profound to him as "A Way Out", but the photo on the book cover left a deep impression on him.

It turns out that the cotangent looks like this.

Damn! Wen Ruian was a little jealous.

The person who holds the copy of Da Saba is a Yu Qie fan from Hong Kong. He knows everything about Yu Qie's deeds in the past two years, and even knows that his father is a mathematics teacher.

No wonder it’s called Yu Qie.

Among them, there is a section about Yu Qie's visit to the front line to express condolences, which was particularly praised by book fans.

"This is definitely a risky thing to do, but he did not hesitate, and he was determined to go even if there were thousands of people against him. I felt that he was a person who combined knowledge and action. From then on, I admired him not only for his novels, but also for his personality."

Wen Ruian was shocked. In the following days, he learned a lot of information about Yu Qie, and gradually came up with the idea of ​​using "Yu Qie" as a template to write the male protagonist of the novel.

The male protagonist is the leader of Lianyun Village, nicknamed "Nine-appearing Dragon". He is a martial arts expert, wise and brave. He is not swayed by power and pursues justice and freedom.

His name is Qi Shaoshang, and the novel is called "Against the Cold Current".

Of course, as his novels gradually took shape, he naturally projected his love for the characters into real-life prototypes, and he admired Yu Qie more and more.

What surprised him most was that his friend Cha Liangyong, playing the role of a villain, was suspected to have prompted Yu Qie to write the article "A Way Out".

No wonder Ming Pao did not comment on the recent popular Chinese novels. It turns out that this is the root cause.

Just like that, when Wen Ruian arrived in Hong Kong, he did not go to Ming Pao to submit his manuscript first, but made a special trip to visit Kowloon Walled City, pretending to be a small-time gangster, but he was still found out.

The man said: "Now there are many foreigners wearing glasses, with tears in their eyes, coming straight to our Kowloon Walled City to see it. It is difficult for us to stop them, but it is also a headache."

Wen Ruian asked, "You also know Yu Qie's novels?" "How could I not know? We welcome writers and reporters now. This place will be demolished in the future, and it is up to you to record it."

"I'm also a writer, and I want to create something. Is there a chance to visit?"

Wen Ruian was treated with special respect. He walked the same path Yu Qie had walked and found that some children were learning traditional poetry on their own initiative. The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng was particularly popular because Yu Qie highly praised this parallel prose.

This brought back memories in Wen Ruian's heart. When he was a child, he organized a Chinese poetry club in a public school in Malaysia, and he served as the president. This community organization was very successful, so much so that other indigenous people came to learn Tang poetry and recite Song lyrics.

He actually turned the elective Chinese course into a compulsory course.

Just when he thought he had accomplished "peaceful reform," his club was banned by the school. He then realized that mild reforms did not work and that the situation faced by the Chinese was more systemic.

After leaving Kowloon Walled City, Wen Ruian did not immediately go to Ming Pao to find Cha Liangyong. Instead, he stayed at his residence for two or three days and wrote the beginning of Against the Cold Water: A traitor appeared inside Lianyun Village, causing panic among the people in the village, and Qi Shaoshang was forced to leave Lianyun Village and start to flee.

While on the run, he gradually made new allies, gathered strength, and prepared to seek revenge on the court and traitors.

After finishing the beginning of the novel, Wen Ruian found Cha Liangyong and went directly to Cha Liangyong's house.

"Snapped!"

The manuscript was folded on Cha Liangyong's coffee table.

Cha Liangyong was known for his diligence. He worked more than ten hours a day, handling newspaper affairs during the day and writing and revising at night, as well as reading other people's manuscripts.

The next day, Wen Ruian came to see Cha Liangyong.

"How's my novel going?" he asked.

"Well written. With just a few strokes, you created a heroic character with both affection and righteousness. The three parallel plots are Qi Shaoshang's escape, Gu Xichao's pursuit, and Zhui Ming's investigation. I can no longer offer any suggestions. In my opinion, Against the Cold Water may be the new pinnacle of your martial arts novels."

Cha Liangyong's words were very sincere, but Wen Ruian felt a sense of sadness. Today, Cha Liangyong is a successful businessman, living in "No. 1 Peak Road" on the top of Victoria Peak, with a quiet environment and a broad view.

Looking down from the top of the mountain, you can have a panoramic view of the dazzling night view of Victoria Harbour and the busy city skyline.

But did he see the Kowloon Walled City?
The Peak was also a gathering place for celebrities and literati in Hong Kong. Cha Liangyong had close contacts with many cultural figures here. He might have seen the vendors in the Thai seafood market and the Malay students who were not allowed to speak Chinese.

In Cha Liangyong's home, there were televisions and radios, and they were on, but he wondered if he could hear the sounds outside.

"What do you think of 'Qi Shaoshang'?"

"I told you, he is a man of integrity and ambition, a true hero."

"You know, when I wrote this novel, I referenced a young man from the mainland. He is eager to help others and does things that ordinary people dare not think about and do. The most exciting part of this novel is not the story, but this person."

Zha Liangyong was not dull, he had sensed something: "Who is this person you are talking about?"

Wen Ruian leaned forward, and it looked like he was oppressing Cha Liangyong.

The TV in Cha Liangyong's house was on, and for some reason, there was a faint sound, which was a report from a Hong Kong reporter going to Bangkok. In order to bid farewell to the delegation, the Thai royal family invited them to attend the award ceremony of the royal medal for the last time.

It is reported that Yu Qie may get a medal.

Wen Ruian sighed at this time and said, "You guessed it, that person is Yu Qie."

(End of this chapter)