Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 183 Plot Recurrence: Liu Tang Sets Fire to Warships, Song Jiang Defeats Grand Commandant Gao Twice
"Master Luo!"

Master Miaojing rose and, together with her retinue and Jiang Wenyuan, went to greet them.

In front of outsiders, he did not call Fengzhou Shanren by his real name, but instead called him by his character name.

This character is none other than Luo Cheng, the master of Gongsun Sheng, the Cloud Dragon, who is like a god in the book!
According to the power system setting of "The Loyal and Righteous Water Margin", supernatural powers and magic are almost completely isolated from ordinary people. Even the 108 Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Fiends mostly only know some martial arts, and are no different from ordinary people.

However, in the hands of a very few, its expressive power is extraordinary, completely no less than that of the top three ranks of "living ghosts and gods".

The key is the persona.

Once the outsider's code is incorporated into these special mages, the character settings in the book are no longer their shackles, but instead they can gain huge benefits based on their own divine official positions.

In the entire Water Margin, Master Luo is definitely the number one person in supernatural powers and magic after the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden and Zhang Tianshi!
"Master Luo's surname is Luo, and Luo Guanzhong's surname is also Luo. It's really hard to say whether Luo Guanzhong left any backdoors for his master Shi Nai'an when he revised this book, so as to take over the world in the book."

Unfortunately, in the end, it benefited the mysterious 'Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng'.

Even if this person cannot control the entire world in the book like the original author and the reviser, just by embodying the character of Master Luo, he is enough to intimidate everyone present.

Wang Cheng activated the "Rare Goods for Hoarding" skill and looked closely, but could only see layers of rosy clouds and auspicious clouds, obscuring the true identity and appearance of Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng.

It's as if he's back to how he was when he first looked at the middle-ranking officials as an ordinary person. You have to admit that he's an exceptional character in "Water Margin".

Absolutely invincible!

"By the way, I remember that Luo Zhenren's original name in Water Margin was Luo Cheng, the same as mine."

I wonder if I could have gotten along with this big shot if I hadn't pretended.

Now, I, Wang Cheng, have become the Ximen Qing customized by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng, while Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng has become Luo Cheng, the real Luo.

This sip and drink seem to be preordained.

"If I hadn't come, this Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng would have had two top-tier roles at his disposal: the ethereal and otherworldly Luo Zhenren as his job, and the hedonistic Ximen Qing as his life—truly living the life of a god."

Wang Cheng pulled Zheng Qian, who was eavesdropping on gossip, and hid behind Abbess Miaojing and her entourage, watching as the Yellow Turban warriors placed hundreds of book boxes on the training ground in front of the Hall of Righteousness.

One of the figures, wearing a Taoist robe and carrying an amulet, immediately caught his attention.

"Hey, is that my Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick, the Gold Medal Killer King, [Official Killer Attack Body Type] Gao Ren?"
So he came here too, and seems to be doing quite well?

Gao Ren, along with various factions from the Guishan Academy, entered the world of the book ahead of time.

During these three days, while Fengzhou Shanren's two disciples were away, he served the man diligently, truly embodying the essence of the word "small".

It turns out that not only rich women love sweet talk, but sugar daddies do too.

He didn't just "cling to a sugar daddy"; he developed his own style, taste, and sophistication through it.

Using his fluency in four languages, he compiled some of the finest short stories from foreign dramas from his Qiankun Bag and gave them to Fengzhou Shanren.

Putting aside the literary merit of these dramas and whether they suit the local conditions, their novelty alone is enough to win the hearts of the people of Fengzhou Mountain.

Gao Ren gave the most enthusiastic response, almost writing "Ren has wandered for half his life, only regretting that he has not met a wise ruler. If you do not abandon him, Ren is willing to become your godfather" on his face.

Of course, these words should never be said aloud.

Because Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has been written for almost two hundred years, every novelist and storyteller can recite the classic scenes by heart.

If Gao Ren dared to say that, Fengzhou Shanren would dare to kill him on the spot.

Lu Bu was only Emperor Xian's "Loyal Marquis," but he was a "major threat" in the eyes of all his adoptive fathers.

Although the formal kinship ceremony has not yet been fully established, the practice of "paying respects to kin and worshipping the master" has successfully shifted its focus, and the practitioner has begun to learn from Fengzhou Shanren.

He then changed into a Taoist robe and directed a group of Yellow Turban warriors to do this and that.

Wang Cheng couldn't see through "Master Luo," but he could see right through Gao Ren at a glance.

"From Cui Sheng, the stonemason captain of the Qingyi ship, to Sun Xiong, the mountain-carrying general who has already been executed by me, and then to Mao Haifeng, the Black Kirin, it seems that he was able to obtain a portion of the 'inheritance' for every official who died violently."

Fate, spiritual cultivation, and wealth all improved rapidly.

There were a seventh-rank official, a sixth-rank official, and a fourth-rank official as sacrifices. Now Gao Ren has reached the threshold of being promoted to the sixth-rank Bai Shui Lang.

He can be promoted in just a few days, his ability to outmaneuver his superiors will continue to improve, and then a virtuous cycle will be formed.

I think this guy might be able to find another path to success by following the old ways of "adopting godparents and worshipping gods."

Huang Yuanzhou focused on 'offering sacrifices to the master,' while he focused on 'becoming a godparent'!
If he and his senior brother Zhang Quan combine their skills to further develop the "Bang" technique, perhaps after three years and then another three years, he will become the true leader of the "pure stream"?

Then, facing his only direct superior—the sovereign of the state?

He shook his head, trying to banish this baseless thought from his mind.

Before long, Tao and Cao sailed their paper boats and retrieved more than a hundred folk deities from the entire world of the book.

Bai Shuilang, Qianxingguan, Chaofenglang, Carpenter, Jiangzuo Dajiang, Counterfeit, Physiognomist, Liuren Daoshi.
Wang Cheng glanced over and, as expected, the majority of the officers were from the water-class.

Their lives were worthless, they had no influence in the court, and they had nowhere to seek justice after they died.

"Found them, everyone's here."

After looking at the portrait, Wang Cheng immediately recognized Zheng Bailian, the imposter "Thousand-Machine Craftsman" under Zheng Shiniang's command, and his apprentice Zhou Sanpao.

And Master Yao, the "Master Craftsman" under Lin Daoqian. Apart from the traces of being corrupted by their respective roles, they are in relatively good condition.

The only one missing was Sister A-Xiao, whom Wang Cheng had always been worried about.

If it weren't for knowing through her dragon girl form that she was alright and playing hide-and-seek with a group of Yellow Turban warriors, I would have been tempted to send the bookworm spirit out to search for her whereabouts in the sea of ​​books.

In addition to these civilian officials, there were also nearly a hundred capable personnel sent by the Minzhou branch of the Guishan Academy.

Once everyone was gathered, Senior Brother Tao led Junior Brother Cao to their master to report back.

He glanced at his junior brother Cao, whose face was completely innocent, gritted his teeth, bowed deeply to his master, and once again took the blame upon himself:
"Master, it's all my fault."

In the process of capturing Zheng Jin, the young master of the Five Tigers Shipyard and a master craftsman, they accidentally sent him into the novel "Jin Ping Mei".

This person has usurped Ximen Qing's identity and obtained a portion of the destiny of the main characters in this book's world. I beg Master to punish him.

Impatient with these mundane matters, Master Luo descended from the clouds, greeted Abbess Miaojing, and then closed his eyes to meditate, using the falsehoods in the book to cultivate his own truth.

It wasn't until the disciple mentioned it that they noticed Wang Cheng's identity.

After carefully examining him for a while, he was not annoyed at all. Instead, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he said "good" three times.

"Wonderful!"

Our Confucian school has its own art of judging people by the "Ice Mirror". Although this person may seem elusive, he possesses a vast and ever-accumulating literary talent that rivals that of a great Confucian scholar!

This person either possesses unparalleled talent or extraordinary abilities; both his destiny and knowledge seem to subtly resonate with these precious maps.

Of the hundreds of people captured, I think this young master Zheng is the one with the best chance of completely deciphering the coded message.

"I've told you many times that the key to rewriting and reinterpreting a story is to involve new characters in the old one, and this is a good opportunity."

He praised Senior Brother Tao, who had taken the initiative to admit his mistake:

"Tao Yin, you did a good job."

As your teacher, I plan to reenact Chapter 79 using the method of plot reincarnation: "Liu Tang sets fire to the warships, and Song Jiang defeats Grand Commandant Gao twice."

If we could get this young master of the Zheng family to decipher the treasure map as Ximen Qing, changing the plot and breaking the cycle of events in the book, it would be a great success.

This will surely help me further seize control of "The Loyal and Righteous Water Margin" and even covet the position of Zhang Tianshi, which even Mr. Luo Guanzhong failed to obtain.

"I have a writing guide for you here. I hope you will study it carefully and carry forward the school of thought of mine."

Senior Brother Tao never expected that he could turn misfortune into good fortune, and he was so excited that his face turned red.

Behind him, Junior Brother Cao hesitated, about to use his tried-and-true trick of "my father is the Provincial Education Commissioner of Minzhou" to steal the credit, but Fengzhou Shanren had already handed the essay to Tao Yin.

"Disciple thanks Master for bestowing the Dharma!"

After thanking his teacher, the latter quickly put the item into his arms.

Neither of the fellow disciples noticed that Fengzhou Shanren, with his keen eyesight, had already seen through their little tricks.

The divine path of cultivating one's own power differs somewhat from the mundane world of officialdom.

To some extent, the intricate web of "relationships" in officialdom is power itself, but spiritual practice is not.

When a master gets old, he really needs a capable disciple to step forward, protect them from harm, and continue the lineage.

Just like Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong, the novel "Water Margin" could not have been published without their disciple; those with connections could not have done so.

Soon, Wang Cheng, Zheng Qian, and other civilian officials received the tasks assigned by Master Luo:

"The greater the influence of a novel, the more realistic the world within it becomes, driven by boundless willpower, and the more stubborn the plot becomes. Novelists can then construct an indestructible prison through the method of plot recurrence."

Outsiders who accidentally wander in can only escape by breaking the inertia of the plot.

Your plot cycle is: Liu Tang sets fire to the warships, Song Jiang defeats Grand Commandant Gao twice, those who break through are rewarded, those who fail are punished.

He demanded that all civilian officials join the ranks of the defeated Grand Marshal Gao, and help the shipwright Ye Chun build warships to attack Liangshan.

Meanwhile, all the members of the Kameyama Academy became outlaws, joining the original victors and becoming shipwrights.

They helped Liangshan boatman Meng Kang build a Liangshan naval force to fight against Gao Taiwei's encirclement and suppression.

If a civilian official can decipher the key technology before a battle and build an invincible treasure ship to reverse the tide of war, the corruption of their role will be reduced by 10%.

If useful shipbuilding technology is not deciphered by the time of battle, resulting in continued defeat, the erosion will worsen by 10%.

This situation will continue until Zheng He's treasure maps are completely deciphered, or until everyone is assimilated into the world within the book and dies!

Wang Cheng sighed inwardly with a hint of regret:
"It seems that I, Ximen Qing, will never have the chance to make great contributions to Liangshan and be ranked among the Heavenly Prostitute Star, Heavenly Sun Star, or Heavenly Yang Star."

At this moment, a strange official, who looked like a monk and had a fierce face, suddenly spoke up and sneered at Master Luo:

"It is said that the Zheng He Treasure Map was kept by the Liu Daxia family for forty years, and two generations of them failed to figure it out. How can we possibly do it?"

Since death is inevitable, whether sooner or later, why should we let you have your way?

(End of this chapter)