Literary Master 1983

Chapter 175 Qi Shaoshang Cannot Die
Cha Liangyong was very disappointed: Yuqie again?
"Have you read Yu Qie's novel? It's indeed well written. After his novel was published, many people have said that I didn't do a good job... But we should judge based on facts, not novels."

Wen Ruian immediately said angrily: "Mr. Cha, what is the truth? I went to Kowloon Walled City, where prostitutes and priests shared a clothesline and cockroaches crawled over the torn pages of The Analects."

"What do you see? A prostitute or a cockroach? I see a clothesline and the Analects, and so does Yu Qie."

Cha Liangyong was surprised at Wen Ruian's attitude. He asked someone to serve Wen Ruian a pot of tea. After Wen Ruian's emotions stabilized a little, he spoke in a deep voice.

"After all, reality is not the underworld. You have to have rules when doing things, otherwise everything will collapse. Kowloon Walled City is a cancer, and I think it's inappropriate for you to see some good things about it."

"Moreover..." Cha Liangyong got angry when he said this, "I think it's not ethical to always promote it and make it a big deal."

Wen Ruian was furious.

Although he could not write novels as well as Cha Liangyong, he had really learned Hongquan since he was a child and had some kung fu skills. If Cha Liangyong was not his "old" friend, but someone else had said such nonsense, he would have beaten that person to his knees and begged for mercy.

Wen Ruian angrily asked: "Mr. Cha, are you Chinese or a citizen of the world? Are you writing your book for the Chinese or for the British Hong Kong government?"

Cha Liangyong was also irritated: "You are also exaggerating? You call me a villain, and you are all great! Do you think I have never known Kowloon Walled City? I am now a member of the government. I have really read the files. I think the government has made an effort and it is sincere."

"Bullshit! Just because you contribute now doesn't mean you can shirk responsibility in the past."

Wen Ruian suddenly had an idea. A flash of lightning flashed through his mind and he suddenly asked, "Do you have any problem with Yu Qie?"

"No, I can't say!"

Wen Ruian looked carefully at Zha Liangyong's expression, and then said excitedly: "I guessed it right, that's it, Mr. Zha, you are a person who shows your emotions easily, you are not suitable to be an official!"

Since he was guessed, Zha Liangyong no longer concealed it. He said: "I have always believed that those who cause suffering are often those who think they are great. You asked me if I feel disgusted. I think I may have some."

"So that's how it is! I should have understood it earlier!"

Wen Ruian sat down and was no longer angry.

At this point, the differences between the two were already obvious. Cha Liangyong was not only a novelist, but also a real government official. He believed that the government's attitude in the demolition was benign and should not be blamed.

However, Wen Ruian knew that the main suffering in Kowloon Walled City was caused by the British Hong Kong government.

This is just like in his hometown of Malaysia where speaking Chinese is not allowed. They have made ridiculous regulations and used various "compliant" methods to force a group of Chinese people to the margins of society for decades, causing extremely bad effects, and then pretended to save them.

So it seems that prostitutes and cockroaches have nothing to do with this government and appeared out of thin air.

In fact, although Kowloon Walled City was a no-man's land, the only one who actually had the ability to do so was the British Hong Kong government. The population there surged from a few hundred to 5, but the British Hong Kong government never took any action.

In the 1980s, there were many fires in the area, and the British Hong Kong government only symbolically stationed firefighters on the outskirts.

Historically, the real demolition of the Kowloon Walled City was carried out after the negotiations, when the Chinese side clearly proposed to solve this problem. Then the British Hong Kong government suddenly took efficient action, destroyed a large number of historical archives, and hastily carried out the demolition.

It also left behind a large amount of debt, which worsened the local finances and left a hot potato.

Who will thank the mainlanders?
Who knows the contribution made by the mainland? Wen Ruian drank the tea that Cha Liangyong served him.

He no longer intended to communicate with Cha Liangyong, he had his own way of speaking.

"Against the Cold Current" was serialized in "Ming Pao" soon afterwards. This novel was worthy of being Wen Ruian's masterpiece that he had conceived for many years. It was widely popular as soon as it was published, and the whole city was in a craze for chasing more updates.

At six in the morning, a long line had formed in front of the newsstand on Nathan Road. The owner of the tea restaurant, "Fat Uncle", walked in with ten copies of Ming Pao. The front-page headline "Against the Cold: Gu Xichao Bloodbaths Lianyun Village!" was soaked in ink.

Seeing this, A Ling, a student girl from the University of Hong Kong, said, "Uncle Fatty? Did you buy today's Ming Pao? Can I exchange the barbecued pork bun for a newspaper?"

Fatty guarded the newspaper like a family heirloom:

"Crazy! Lawyer Chen from the law firm above paid double the price and ordered ten copies to send to his wife in Canada. Even Huang Banxian, the fortune teller in Temple Street, changed his tune, saying that Gu Xichao is a Purple Star descended to earth and is doomed to be alone!"

Student girl A Ling asked: "How did Huang Banxian calculate the leader of Lianyun Village Qi Shaoshang?"

"If Heaven had not given birth to Qi Shaoshang, the path of swordsmanship would have been as dark as the night. Against the current, the cold sword hides its edge and emerges, and the nine-appearing dragon remains undeterred. He is the star of destiny."

"well!"

After hearing this, the onlookers immediately cheered.

In a corner booth, two construction workers were reading a newspaper while drinking iced lemon tea. Suddenly, one of them pounded the table.

Worker A's fingers were covered in cement dust as he pointed at the serialized pages: "Damn! Qi Shaoshang clearly saw through Wu Mengnu's disguise, so why did he still drink that cup of poisoned wine? Wen Ruian is kidding!"

Worker B grabbed the newspaper and read it carefully. Suddenly, his eyes turned red:

"What do you know! Last time, Qi Shaoshang said to Xi Honglei in Huinuo City, 'The world is too big, I'll carry you on my back'. Today, he drank the poisoned wine himself, clearly to protect Honglei from disaster! This is a real man!"

After saying that, he gulped down the iced lemon tea.

Uncle Fatty suddenly received a call and yelled, "I'm sorry, everyone! A newsstand in Tsim Sha Tsui was robbed by a lunatic this morning. All 300 copies of Ming Pao were taken away! The robber left a note saying 'Qi Shaoshang must not die' - Wen Ruian has killed someone!"

Amid the uproar, Mr. Chen, a white-collar worker in a suit, quietly took out three copies of Ming Pao from his briefcase. On the cover, the opening words of Ni Shui Han were written in regular script. The housewife sitting next to him suddenly screamed after seeing this.

"There's a word on the seventh line of the fifth paragraph of your newspaper that's been blurred by ink! Is Qi Shaoshang dead or not?"

Mr. Chen pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said slowly, "Mr. Wen left a foreshadowing. The text only says 'blood-stained Ni Shui Han', but does not mention the word 'death'. Based on Mr. Wen's writing style, I'm afraid he is going to imitate Xiao Qiushui in 'The Heroes of Shenzhou', escaping into 'The Great Dream of Jianghu' by pretending to die... If there is no description of a new corpse within three days, the Nine-Appearing Dragon will return from the underworld!"

Suddenly, a newsboy outside the restaurant roared, "Breaking news! Ming Pao has printed a special issue! Qi Shaoshang reversed the fate of the country!" The crowd poured out of the restaurant like a tide. Fatty stepped on a stool and waved the newspaper, like a martial arts leader waving a flag.

"I have not only Ming Pao but also Oriental Daily News. Mr. Wen revealed a shocking secret in the newspaper! Yu Qie is Qi Shaoshang, and Qi Shaoshang is Yu Qie!"

(End of this chapter)