The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 68

Chapter 69
End-of-Chapter Thoughts – Peering Through the Hole at the Light
TL;DR: Over 10,000 characters will be updated tomorrow, and the book will be available at noon!
And as usual, for those who aren’t rushing off, let’s sit down and chat.
I believe… reading a new book is like peering through a hole at the light.
Readers, on a dark, snowy night, approach houses with lights on and windows covered with paper.
While they can roughly discern the brightness of different houses, they don’t know their structure, let alone what the owners are doing.
Only by peeking through a hole in the wall can one see the interior furnishings; by carefully turning one’s head and looking through the narrow opening in the dim light of the house, can one clearly see what kind of family it is and why the light is on inside.
When they have seen clearly and are at ease, they will gently knock on the door and enter. To share this rare light on a snowy night.
This light comes from my heart, shared with all who wish to share it with me.
It is not an intense light, not like the sun that can illuminate everyone; nor is it like the surgical lamp that banishes darkness.
It is merely a lantern, a candle, a light bulb, a faint light that I can emit. But it is enough to illuminate this small room.
I hope you can see me through this light.
Reporting on achievements: The current follow-up readership for “Mù Xù” has already exceeded ten thousand.
This is undoubtedly my highest-achieving book in history.
Although my creative achievements are not bad, I have published five books that have been available for purchase before “Mù Xù,” accumulating over nine million completed characters, with three of them reaching ten thousand subscriptions and one being a premium selection. However, none of these three ten-thousand-subscription books received a premium rating upon initial release.
Not a single one.
Their rankings were all slowly built up through stable follow-up plots. And this book is my highest achievement in my writing career so far.
It even makes me somewhat anxious; I don’t know if I can maintain this hard-won achievement.
But at the same time, I am also proud.
Because I have always adhered to the principle of “If I don’t understand the developmental logic of the plot, I won’t write it, even if the unfolding is interesting.” Sudden success without understanding the reason will only ruin my worldview. Therefore, I only write plots that I understand, comprehend, and can replicate.
And the skills honed from my previous book have indeed been useful!
Although some authors say they are practicing after a failure, I had already told everyone before starting “Tower of Ruin” that I would specifically write a book to practice with. This was mainly because while writing “Player is Super Righteous,” I felt I was lacking in many areas and didn’t know how to write in many domains.
But “Player is Super Righteous” was being serialized at the time and was doing quite well. I dared not experiment with anything extravagant for fear of ruining the book. Therefore, even if I had new ideas, I didn’t dare to practice them.
I firmly believe in one principle: if one doesn’t practice, one will never learn; just as one won’t understand without experiencing it.
So, I recorded all the plots I wanted to write but didn’t dare to, and those whose effectiveness I wasn’t sure about, and practiced them in “Tower of Ruin.”
To eliminate confounding factors, I also deliberately chose a genre I was not proficient in. This was purely to observe readers’ reactions and reviews to different plots, character portrayals, and writing styles, and then make corrections.
It’s like when you’re creating a character in a game, you first choose a buzz cut or bald!
Among the many genres, I chose science fiction because of my love for science fiction.
—It’s okay to be bad at something and still love it!
I call this “compromised idealism.”
While cherishing dreams, one still pays attention to improvement and returns.
It’s like in a game, trying to maintain strength while balancing coolness and aesthetics—not purely an appearance player, nor purely a strength player.
When I first wrote “Mercury Blood,” it was entirely instinctual, without any outline or plan. There were many regrets like, “If only I had done this back then.” I also recorded them all, holding a firm belief in my heart, “One day, I will return to reclaim my glory.”
I had a chance to reclaim some of it when I was writing “Player is Super Righteous,” writing in a way that best fit popular aesthetics.
And the success of “Player is Super Righteous” was ten times that of “Mercury Blood.”
But as I was writing “Player is Super Righteous,” new regrets arose. So, this book underwent further optimization, and its success increased by four times that of “Player is Super Righteous.”
—If people persist in “effective learning” and self-criticism, they will truly improve!
…Of course, correspondingly, my health has also worsened.
My current sleep schedule has shifted to sleeping at 10:30 AM and waking up at 5:30 PM. Writing eight hours a day, I feel like I’m about to ascend.
The length of this book in the outline is probably enough to write for two years, over three million characters.
I hope I don’t kick the bucket.
After this book is finished, I will rest for at least half a year, and at most a year. I have already booked a villa with a friend in Wuzhishan, Hainan. By then, this cat will go down to Wuzhishan to act like a monkey and recuperate.
The more than a month of rest this time was simply not enough. Although the outline, setting, and inspiration were mostly finalized in October last year, I spent half of the month of rest recuperating.
*Claps hands* Next is the gratitude segment—
First, I thank my friends for their chapter recommendations. I will treat you to a meal next time we meet!
Next, I thank my editor, Canaan! Before this book was published, Canaan and I reviewed the settings and outline for a long time, which was of great help!
And thank my invincible operations specialist and artist, [No Grain in the Jar]!
Guan Guan is invincible—look at the cover of this book and my previous book, “Tower of Ruin”; they were all drawn by Guan Guan! Even the character designs for this book and the designs for various merchandise for this book were all hand-crafted by her!
What kind of celestial operations specialist do you have (loudly)?
She has opened a giveaway in the comment section, offering free merchandise made by Guan Guan! Although the author cannot sell merchandise, it can be given away for free if it doesn’t cost money!
—The shipping fee will, of course, be covered by me! Y’all go take a look later!
Next, I thank the readers for their rewards!
Thank you, Fu Luoli Tian Ze Lü, for the Silver Alliance!
Since Tian Ze and I met in “Mercury Blood,” Tian Ze has basically been gifting one to three Alliance Lords every month. On the adjacent platform, Tian Ze has accumulated three Silver Alliances, while “Player is Super Righteous” and “Tower of Ruin” have each received a Gold Alliance, with “Tower of Ruin” also having several additional Silver Alliances…
Thank you so much, beautiful Tian Ze. I feel spoiled, meow.
Thank you to Yin Tian Shen Yin, Li Tian X, Xin Qing?? Fu Za, Ying Ni Yan, Yu Zhou Ge, Chai Ke Fu Si Ji Ta Ke Wei Qi, Mu Feng Zhi Ge, Wei La 0205, Gu Xin Xuan, Zuo Bo Jia Ye Zi for the Alliance Lords!
Thank you to Cang Jing Meng Hai, Dian Si Ji Zi, Yao Du Ting Ri for the Helmsmen!
Also, thank you to everyone for your rewards, votes, and subscriptions!
I have never had such a wonderful beginning (clenches fist with Graveler)… This sentence seems a bit ominous, let’s skip it.
Someone asked me before, “Can you really stick to studying for two hours every day? Or rather, how do you ensure you can study every day?”
The answer is simple. And as soon as I say it, you will immediately know the feasibility of this method—although perhaps not everyone can use it.
Simply put, after I start working (that is, writing code) every day, I immediately put down my work and go to read.
My strong desire not to work and my obsession with escaping work will drive me to read as much as possible to pass the time. In this state, escaping into a space free from the troubles of work, I become very free, and my learning efficiency is extremely high.
It’s like when you’re doing homework, you flip through the textbook to look for answers. But the strong desire not to do homework will push you to read more of the textbook, to flip through it carefully… Things you normally wouldn’t look at become very sweet under this impulse to escape reality.
—When I was doing homework in school, to avoid writing homework, I could stare at the medicine bottles on the table for a long time, let alone extracurricular reading!
It turns out that people will do anything to slack off. And they can do anything.
The inspiration for this book comes from a large number of books and games—when I’m at home, I only do two things: either read or play games.
I can’t count how many game settings I’ve incorporated into my books, but it should be a lot. My friend Yin Tian and I are fundamentally different; he writes books for pure enjoyment, writing is something he loves to do. But for me, writing is just a convenience, and my ultimate goal is to read and play games… Writing itself is a byproduct of the overflow of inspiration after extensive reading and gaming.
In conclusion, if anything looks familiar, it’s a tribute! Thank you to all the beloved games that have provided me with inspiration, including Granblue Fantasy, Final Fantasy, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, Cultist Simulator, and more!
Finally, I’ll share my reading list, which several people have asked about.
I originally planned to release it all at once at a suitable time—but I was too busy during the New Year and forgot to post it!
Readers who aren’t interested in this can skip it. The following part is basically unrelated to this book; it’s a knowledge-sharing segment~
The books listed below are from 2019 when “Player is Super Righteous” began serialization until now. They include books I have finished, reread twice or more, and some I have browsed through but not finished the first read, spanning a four-year library!
Looking at these books, you can probably guess the author’s personal preferences.
I believe this is also a way to enhance mutual understanding.
Here, I am not only sharing the books I like with readers who like this book but also providing usable creative materials and sources for inspiration to fellow authors. If nothing unexpected happens, these books should all be available for purchase, but I’m not recommending them, as everyone’s proficient genres are different, and the books I read are quite diverse.
Of course, to avoid the suspicion of recommending books, I haven’t included any online novels I usually read.
These books are not ranked, and I am not recommending them; they are simply books I have read, and I will only provide brief reviews for those I have reread multiple times. I also don’t include books I read before but haven’t read in recent years. I treat books that are too idiotic as if I haven’t read them, perhaps deleting them from my cache. I will add all the books that I can recall the title of, and there may be omissions.
If there are multiple versions or similar names, I will mark the author for easier searching:
1. Read but not finished:
Scott’s “Wicca Magic”;
“Witchcraft, Fear, & Folklore”;
Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s “A Scots Quair”;
Robert’s “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”;
Sue Tompkins’ “Aspect Analysis” and “The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magic, Meditation and Working with the Higher Self”;
Leo Strauss’ “History of Political Philosophy”;
“The Third Wave”;
“Prisoner IA”;
Borges’ “The Book of Sand”;
“Tess of the d’Urbervilles”;
“The Murder of Roger Ackroyd”;
“The Rise of the Bible, Protestantism, and Natural Science”;
“History of International Relations, Vol. III.”
2. Finished reading:
“Morphology of the Folktale”;
“Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande”;
“The Myth of the Fiery Origin”;
“Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844”;
“An Inquiry into the Chinese Ancient Thought Patterns and the Theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements”;
Toffler’s “The Shifting Power”;
“A Guide to Western Mysticism”;
“The Secret of Alchemy”;
“The Zend Avesta: The Holy Book of Zoroastrianism”;
“The Shepherd’s Bible”;
“Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man”;
“Research on Narrative Theory in English and American Fiction”;
“Detective AI”;
“The Thirteen Steps to Nowhere”;
“The Headless Corpse”;
“The Twelve Hours of Chang’an”;
“When Mysticism Knocks”;
“The Odyssey”;
“The Moon and Sixpence”;
“The Stranger’s Music”;
“The Glass Hammer”;
“The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe”;
“Man and His Symbols”;
“Yes, Minister”;
Thomas Ralston’s “Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race”;
Richard Morgan’s “Altered Carbon”;
Kazuhiro Ura’s “Delta no Higeki”;
Roger Zelazny’s “Lord of Light”;
Thomas Mann’s “Doctor Faustus”;
Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat!”;
“Into the Depths of History: Research on Marx’s Philosophy of History”;
Guo Qingguang’s “Principles of Communication (Second Edition)”;
Keigo Higashino’s “Howl of the Cat,” “Hōkago,” “The Devotion of Suspect X,” “Newcomer,” “The Phantom”;
Paz’s “The Bow and the Lyre”;
“The Weight of a Butterfly: Selected Poems of Nelly Sachs”;
“Milton’s Life”;
Friedrich Schiller’s “On the Aesthetic Education of Man”;
“The Alphabet Killer Club”;
Pamuk’s “My Name Is Red”;
“Close Reading of the Rigveda”;
“Discourse on the Bhagavad Gita”;
Liu Zhongyu’s “Chinese Monsters and Spirits Culture”;
Ye Shuxian’s “Heroes and the Sun: A Reconstruction of Ancient Chinese Epic Archetypes”;
Okajima Futari’s “Klein Bottle”;
“Detective: Traveler at Dusk”;
3. Reread more than once, and reread repeatedly in the last three to four years:
Ryūhiko Shibusawa’s “Black Magic Handbook”; (Excellent reference book, clearly explained)
Robert McKee’s “Story”; (Highly recommended, I believe all novelists need to read it)
James George Frazer’s “The Golden Bough”; (Recommended, essential reading for anyone writing about mysteries or related topics)
Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat! Strikes Back”; (Much better than the first one)
“Violet and Black”; (A brilliant fantasy story)
“Tagore’s Poems”; (I quite enjoy reading poetry, and this was the basis for the creation of “Tower of Ruin”)
Akutagawa Ryūnosuke’s short story collection “Rashomon”; (A memory from my high school days)
Alfred Hitchcock’s short stories and screenplays published by Era Literary Press, “Suspicion,” “North by Northwest,” “Strangers on a Train,” “Dial M for Murder,” “The Wrong Man”; (A memory from my middle school days, still fresh and reread even now)
Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” “Sand and Foam”; (Reading poetry +1)
“The Fugitive: Selected Poems of Paul Celan”; (Reading poetry +2)
“The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II”; (Probably my favorite light novel)
“Kara no Kyōkai”; (My second favorite!)
“Thus Spoke Zarathustra”; (The basis for the creation of “Player is Super Righteous”)
“Faust”; (Also the basis for “Player is Super Righteous”)
“The Godfather”; (Also a childhood memory; I was very young when I read this book)
The complete collection of “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes”; (Childhood memory +1)
The complete collection of Agatha Christie detective novels. (Childhood memory +2)
…
Finally, I’ll recommend a public WeChat account, “Literary Theory and Criticism,” where you can occasionally find good books.
Although I feel that not many readers will scroll this far, following tradition, I must end with that sentence…
I hope we can meet again tomorrow.
—May happiness always be with you.