"Bring it here so I can see it!"
After saying this, Xi Wendian realized that something was wrong with him.
This was in someone else's house, and he was so eager to see other people's things and kept urging them, which was of course very rude.
He calmed down a bit and said softly, "Could you open those two boxes and let me see? This is very important!"
Everyone looked at Liu Ruyan, who nodded slightly and opened the box with the words "Sword Fight" written on it with some difficulty.
Lying in the box were a dozen iron badges.
"This is……"
Xi Wendian in front of the screen pushed his glasses higher and squinted his eyes and said:
"Bring over here that one, the one in the middle with the small sword. Yes, the one on the left. Let me see it..."
After Liu Ruyan took out the badge he mentioned, Xi Wendian's breathing became noticeably faster.
"Please bring out the flying knife badge, um, the one in the upper left corner."
"Then there's the one with the farewell hook... No, the one with the curved hook."
"And the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms... uh, the one shaped like a palm."
...Xi Wendian ordered 6 badges in total, and Liu Ruyan placed all the ones he mentioned on the floor, lining them up in a row.
From left to right, the badge features a throwing knife, a small sword, a black knife, a fist, a farewell hook and a deer with raised horns.
"No, no way..."
Xiao Qing sat on the ground, her long legs wrapped in thin stockings tilted on the floor, her lips trembling and her eyes trembling.
Her voluptuous body slumped limply, as if all the strength had been drained from her.
Obviously, she had realized something.
As a writer herself, she knows the meaning behind those small badges.
But the others didn't understand. Faced with the shock of Xi Wendian and Xiao Qing, they were a little confused.
Gu Yuanzhen clenched her fists and said, "Teacher Xi, please stop keeping me in suspense! What exactly are these badges used for?"
Xi Wendian tried hard to suppress his voice, so that it wouldn't tremble, and said slowly:
"The reason I asked you to open the box is because I recognize that box."
"More than a decade ago, The Sentimental Swordsman and The Legend of the Condor Heroes came out, sparking a craze for martial arts novels and creating a whole new genre."
"To fuel this wave of enthusiasm, several publishing houses and authoritative magazines joined forces and held several 'Swordsman Contests'."
"Swordsmanship Competition?" Qin Yunchu repeated the name.
She felt somewhat familiar, but her memory was not very clear.
"Oh! I remember now," Gu Yuanzhen clapped her hands, "It was sent to a writer of martial arts novels!"
Xi Wendian nodded and said, "This award is used to honor outstanding writers of martial arts novels. It has been held for a total of seven times."
"The first award was in 2013. There was a strong public outcry for both Jin Yong and Gu Long to win the award. In the end, the jury, despite the pressure, gave the award to Gu Long's The Sentimental Swordsman and the Ruthless Sword in recognition of his pioneering work in martial arts."
Gu Yuanzhen nodded and said, "I remember! Back then, this award caused a lot of controversy! People on the forum created 30,000 comments just to argue about who was more deserving of the award, Jin Yong or Gu Long!"
A look of nostalgia emerged on Xi Wendian's face, as if he was recalling the golden age of martial arts novels.
Then he continued slowly:
"In the second session, Gu Long had already won the award. If we didn't give it to Jin Yong, the authority of the award would be lost. So, we gave it to Jin Yong's The Return of the Condor Heroes."
"In the third round, Gu Long's 'Meteor, Butterfly, Sword' and 'Tianya, Mingyue, Sword' were truly outstanding, representing a significant breakthrough in terms of novel achievement. Fu Hongxue's sword was particularly impressive, so this year's winner is Gu Long."
"The fourth edition was the year when Jin Yong broke out. 'Swordsman' and 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' were both released that year, and he became the undisputed winner."
"In the fifth edition, Gu Long announced his retirement. Out of remembrance, everyone unanimously agreed to give him the award. The badge is engraved with a farewell hook, implying their desire to keep him - although he's gone, everyone wants to hook him back."
"Who would have thought that by the sixth award ceremony, Jin Yong would have left behind a copy of 'The Deer and the Cauldron' and disappeared. The theme of this year's medal is the deer, and in 'The Deer and the Cauldron', the deer refers to all living beings and the common people in the world."
The more Xi Wendian spoke, the more shocked the listeners were.
They all realized the problem.
Whether Gu Long or Jin Yong won the award, the controversy of that year has only left a faint memory in people's hearts today.
The medals that condense all the controversies are like history solidified into a solid state, and are placed side by side on the ground.
Gu Long, Jin Yong, and their medals are now in the same box, working together in harmony and reaching the same destination.
Gu Yuanzhen said in a trembling voice, "Teacher Xi, are these medals...real?"
"I have seen and touched every one of them with my own hands, how could they be fake?" said Xi Wendian.
He Shiying and Gu Yuanzhen looked at each other, then said together:
"Jin Yong... is Gu Long?"
"Gu Long is Jin Yong?"
They suddenly felt powerless.
They argued back and forth, trying to figure out who was stronger. They argued so fiercely that they almost broke their heads.
Who would have thought that the two people were the same person.
"No, Jin Yong is Jin Yong, and Gu Long is Gu Long." Qin Yunchu corrected them, "They are all Chen Ya's sock puppets."
The room was silent for a long time, with only the leaves of the sycamore tree outside the window whispering in the wind.
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