Chapter 13 Literature is interesting only if it makes readers feel pain! (violent words
In February, Sengenmaku obtained the shrine's property through some means.
Shrines in Japan are privately owned and the land can be rebuilt at will. If it is religious land, there will be some tax reductions, but the procedures will be more complicated. But this small shrine is not really a religion. In addition, the previous host has no relatives who can be contacted within three generations, so the property should have been nationalized, but the country has no time to take care of this matter for the time being. In short, after temporarily giving up the religious tax, the process went unexpectedly smoothly. After paying the land fee, it was registered under the name of Qianjianmaku.
The shrine is not large. Except for the main hall which has been abandoned due to long-term unrepaired conditions, the approach to the shrine, the sailor's house and the coin hall are still in good condition. In addition to some infrastructure and layouts, there are several Japanese-style houses at the back for the shrine staff to rest and stay. There is also a large courtyard, a dried-up pond, and a dilapidated warehouse.
The Sengenbaku did not completely rebuild the shrine, but instead renovated the area for worship and cleaned up the area except for the main hall, still treating it as a shrine.
There are eight million gods in Japan. Apart from a few relatively famous gods, the number of other minor gods is too numerous to count. Worshipers do not care which god they are worshipping; the main focus is on a sense of participation. So even though there are no other projects, there are still occasional residents from the surrounding area who come to pay their respects by paying homage.
Chijianmu originally planned to do an experiment. He was very sensitive about the topic of gods, so he was eager to try something new.
After repairing the shrine, he moved the main statue in the main hall to one side, then placed a blank book on the table. On the cover was written a very useless word "book", and then tried to worship in a serious manner. But unfortunately, the origin of the world does not consume the energy of faith.
But he didn't withdraw it. It was still a good idea to worship the origin of the world. At least no matter which god they are, the world is their ancestor.
Endo Shusaku came over once during this period and felt that his life was not stable enough living alone, so he brought a young man to help him with his daily affairs.
He was a young man with black hair and black eyes, named Nakai Hideo. He was very tall and was already 1.7 meters tall at the age of 14. She is quite taciturn but meticulous. She can do everything from cooking to cleaning, and will take the initiative to greet visitors when they come to worship.
When Qian Jianmu was writing at his desk, the young man sat beside him and read a book. He would come to refill the water after Qian Jianmu's cup was finished. He was very conscientious and serious, not willing to miss a single minute.
"Want to try to write something?"
The boy hesitated for a moment and shook his head.
"I don't know what to write, sir."
——After seeing his adult form, Zhou Zuo changed his address to "Sir".
"You've read so many books, but you can't think of any good stories?"
Then Nakai fell silent again, and he said:
"Whatever happens in the story is just an idealized conception. Readers only expect more exciting plots and never think about them. They don't care about ethics and morals, but only care about more intense conflicts and more exciting emotions. They are numb because of this, and they cheer for it. I just, I just feel... empty."
How candid.
The tip of the pen touched the paper, leaving a small black dot. Qian Jianmu blinked slowly and asked:
"What is your special ability?"
"It's called the Offering to the Void, and its power is... to deprive you of your emotions."
I see.
Qian Jianmu no longer looked at him. He lowered his eyes and put a period to the article. After finishing the full text, he took out a blank piece of manuscript paper and handed it to him.
"Write down what you just said."
He whispered:
“Isn’t this well written?”
——
【
I was born into a merchant family in a village.
It was a closed little mountain village where life was stagnant and there was no change.
For the first half of my life, I was pushed forward by my loved ones who cared about me.
When I was neglected, lonely and hopeless as a child, my grandmother told me, "Look forward."
When my brother accidentally killed my sister, I, the only one who was told the truth, said, "It's going to be okay."
There were rumors in the village that my parents had killed my sister. My father disappeared, my mother became seriously ill, and my brother disappeared because of guilt. I skipped school and sat in the hospital waiting room, facing the doctor's sympathetic eyes. Along with the white paper of the bill, he said: "It will be fine."
When my mother was critically ill and I decided to drop out of school to work to supplement the family income, she handed me her remaining savings with tears in her eyes, apologized to me for the first time for her neglect and mistakes in my childhood, and committed suicide by taking pills the next day.
Standing in my mother's funeral hall, the village chief who had turned a deaf ear to public opinion that day patted my shoulder and said with a sigh of regret, "Don't be sad."
My brother sneaked into the *** and heard the bad news. He secretly provided me with tuition. The last time I saw him before I left the village, he told me: "Leave here and don't come back."
Life is not always smooth sailing. Grudges come and go. Everything in the first half of my life has an answer, and I am the only one left today.
…
Now I am as old as my father.
I also had parents, siblings, seniors and teachers, a wife and children, and a place to return to.
But now I have returned here, to this village, with nothing in my hands.
At the gate of the old and empty village, sat a crying boy.
I walked up to him and handed him a candy.
He said, “What should I do?”
I said, "When you have nowhere to go, just look forward and move forward, walk far away, and don't look back."
He said, “Is this going to make things better?”
"It can't get any worse," I said.
…
How much worse could it be? As long as I keep moving forward, I will always reach my destination. Just like everyone's end point.
We all go through cycles in life.
We who cannot face the sorrow can only forget all the pain.
…
Isn’t this great? Life still has to go on.
If you just look forward,
What could be worse?
Excerpt from Looking Forward
】
Qian Jianmu gradually realized the crux of this world.
numbness.
Life alone has become difficult because the Internet is not widely used. Everyone lives in a remote corner, with no cultural input and no language output. So when faced with suffering, most people simply deceive themselves and try to adapt and get used to it.
When he was in the slums, he once sat in a corner to rest. At that time, he met a milkman. He was also an employee of a company, but his wife and children had left him and he was alone. When the snow fell, he sat next to him and mistook him for a homeless child and gave him a candy.
"Life is like this, so let's move on."
He possesses a humorous optimism. He accepts all the tragedies in life and lives a quiet and contented life with great tenacity. This is somewhat similar to mutism, but also very different.
The three words "look forward" actually have a kind of ironic and cold joke meaning. Even if its original meaning is to persist in life, when life itself is all kinds of oppression, then this kind of optimism is a kind of self-hypnotic numbness.
So he decided to write his story.
He showed the manuscript to Nakai, who read it and said bluntly:
“Readers won’t like it.”
"Why?" he asked.
"Readers like something more exciting. Such manuscripts are no different from their lives, and they will just feel bored."
"Isn't this what ordinary people's lives are like?" Qian Jianmu smiled. "Isn't it exciting enough to see your life sliding towards a nightmare like the protagonist?"
"I don't quite understand."
"Writing is not just about making readers happy. What's the point of trembling over other people's pain? Let them suffer and tremble. Let them witness the end of their lives and wander in great sorrow. Isn't this interesting?"
“Can they really realize that this is who they are?”
“Why not give it a try?”
After that, Nakai also started writing. Coincidentally, Sengenmaku recently received a few short poems from Nakai. They were written in a very immature way, but with a unique perspective and sad meaning. So Chikanmaku asked Nakai to read it. After reading it, Nakai said:
“He’s writing about himself.”
Nakai is really a very talented reader and writer, but perhaps because of his past, he has a very dull personality and doesn't understand hints. He is a very scheming person and when faced with malicious doubts, he will respond in a speechless way. He is really a very useful assistant.
So when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom in April, Sengenmaku took him to meet Fukuzawa Yukichi and Edogawa Ranpo.
After not seeing each other for a winter, the two old friends have changed a lot. They obtained a license to operate a supernatural business from somewhere and opened an armed detective agency.
Well, the Armed Detective Agency is also very Yokohama-style.
A detective agency alone is too ordinary. In Yokohama, weapons are very important.
The warrior became the president, but he still looked indifferent. However, Edogawa Ranpo greeted him loudly as soon as he saw him, and asked him to sit down with a smile. When he saw Nakai following him, his eyes suddenly widened and he laughed exaggeratedly.
"You brought a very interesting guy with you!! Ranpo-sama, I'm very interested!"
The three met in Wanxiang Hall, a classroom-style room with a brush-written inscription above the blackboard that read "regardless of morality, human feelings, or shame."
These twelve words define the specific positioning of the Armed Detective Agency. It’s hard to explain what the concept is, but it’s quite interesting.
Seeing his gaze, Fukuzawa Yukichi tilted his head and looked over. After a moment, he said softly:
"That's the inscription my teacher gave to the Armed Detective Agency."
"I see..." Qian Jianmu narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Your teacher is a very powerful person."
"Why do you say that?" the man was a little confused.
Hearing the conversation between the two people, Edogawa Ranpo also looked over. He understood the situation at a glance, laughed immediately, and said bluntly:
"The dusk between black and white is the perfect place for a detective to shine! Isn't this well written? I like it very much!"
"Ranpo!" the president frowned and said softly, so the young boy immediately fell silent and stopped talking. Instead, he rubbed against Nakai like a cat, jumping up and down to watch. Despite this, Nakai didn't react at all and acted as if he didn't hear anything.
He raised his head slightly and looked at the inscription, as if he was thinking about something.
"What does Nakai think?" asked Chijianmu.
"……strangeness."
Nakai's intuition in certain aspects is simply a genius. Even if he doesn't understand, he can still feel the essential things. So Qianjianmu immediately revealed a faint smile.
At this time, a chaotic gray organization appeared. Although it had not yet sprouted, one could vaguely sense the signs of change.
It is not easy to obtain a license to start a business with supernatural powers.
The officially recognized privilege of employing people with special abilities and handling social affairs, this special abilities business license is no less significant than getting a good piece of the pie.
Ranpo said...
Night, day, dusk?
"I really want to meet the gentleman who sent this calligraphy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Jianmu suddenly stopped, as if his body was frozen in an instant. He slowly turned his head and his eyes fell on the calico cat squatting on the window.
The calico cat seemed to have no idea what they were talking about. It was washing its face with its paws. Its soft ears were slightly bent by the paws, and then bounced up suddenly the moment it put down the paws. It can be said to be very cute.
The president couldn't help but look over.
...It must be an illusion.
That sudden sharp feeling of being stared at.
Tan Xiao's heart suddenly turned cold. Qian Jianmu let out a breath and piled two thick stacks of manuscripts from his backpack on the table. The president looked at the stack of manuscripts and froze for a moment.
"One long story, one short story. Please read it."
The output of the entire winter is no joke. Chihiro moves very quickly, and once he gets into the mood, his creation speed is comparable to that of a typewriter. Apart from basic checks, he hardly made any deletions or revisions and wrote hundreds of manuscripts in just one winter.
Ranpo had given up trying to poke his head at Nakai. He hadn't taken off his glasses since Sengenmaku brought Nakai over. Now, he squatted in front of the table, adjusted his glasses, and widened his eyes.
"Hey! You're not really here to revive the literary world! Your last article caused a big stir! It's really troublesome! Ranpo-san won't tolerate it again!"
Sengenmaku was unaware of the situation and did not pay attention to it, and Fukuzawa Yukichi gave up after failing to get through to him several times. In fact, the publication of mutism really turned the forum literature scene upside down.
For a whole month, the literary pages were a carnival of mutism. Complain about life, feel miserable, and blame superiors. The forum had to create a new section, and the moderator of the new section was a mutist book lover. The section description read: Refuse to be silent.
This group of book lovers is not very large, but it is quite active. Some of them have formed a group to count and share everyone's stories. In just one month, they compiled a statistical list of life's sufferings and the people who caused them. Including school teachers, domestically violent couples, antisocial children, social bosses, and feudal villages. From regions to life details, from an organization to an individual. No one knows what they mean by this statistics. The statistical information circulated in the forum and then disappeared at a very fast speed.
This may be the earliest human flesh, and it can be said that it caused considerable hidden dangers. The Special Powers Division asked someone to come to the Armed Detective Agency to find Ranpo to judge the situation, but the final result was an unsettling "good intentions lead to bad results".
"That person just wanted to help others avoid risks, but he accidentally leaked the information. He also realized the harm that this list could cause, and in any case, it will not happen again."
The 15-year-old police academy student, formerly known as Sakaguchi Binggo and now known as Sakaguchi Ango, who was almost in big trouble because his classmate accidentally sent out the information he had worked so hard to compile, pushed up his glasses and hid his achievements and fame.
"There shouldn't be any more problems, right?"
"Your credit score with me is low! Let me take a look first!" Edogawa Ranpo took the thinner stack first, leaned back in the chair with his feet crossed and started to read.
The boy's excessive frankness and calmness can be described as a little arrogance of an intelligent person, but this arrogance seems so ordinary and kind in him.
No matter who they are, they won't have any bad feelings towards him. No matter what he does, everyone will probably just think that, after all, this is Lord Ranpo.
Just saying this, the Armed Detective Agency will probably only have one detective. After all, such a proud and powerful young man would overshadow all other detectives of the same type within his field.
Qian Jianmu didn't pay attention to his slightly abrupt action, but the polite president seemed a little apologetic. But to put it bluntly, the fact that these two people can get along with each other shows that they have certain similarities, and they can sing in unison and relax in their own way.
Sure enough, the president gently nodded in apology, but said nothing. Instead, he picked up the thicker stack, tacitly approved of the boy's behavior, and gave him considerable confidence and encouragement behind the scenes.
Fortunately, the boy got "Look Forward".
If it were another "Ship of Theseus", I'm afraid it would have been seen through.
He didn't want to experience the feeling of being seen through and exposed by the boy again, although he knew that as long as he kept writing, sooner or later, the boy would become the person who understood him best.
Well, let’s find a chance to end the topic quickly. When the boy sees another story, he can only suppress the desire to reveal the truth and be anxious because he can’t find him!
He thought so as if he was just watching the fun.
At this moment, Chiganemaku had no idea that one day in the future the famous detective Ranpo would come to his door.
He had no idea how persistent a detective could be.
Just like he would never guess that after the detective came to his door, he would get lost and didn't know how to get back, and it happened that the president was out on a business trip and couldn't return to Tokyo, so he couldn't find his home at all and had to stay at the shrine for a full half month.
The deserted shrine is about to become lively.
Congratulations, congratulations.
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