Chapter 1152: Daxia Legend, Mainstream Drama

"Everyone, ten days have passed again. Is the work I asked for ready?" After sitting in the main seat of the Reception Room, Xia Duo went straight to the point.

He swept his gaze over the seven people with varying expressions and randomly pointed at one of them, "Ruide, looking at how confident you are, let's start with you!"

"Yes, Lord!"

Ruide was indeed very confident this time. After being named by Xia Duo, he did not panic in the slightest, but instead walked out from the crowd with poise.

He walked in front of Xia Duo, gave a slight bow, then pulled a lute from under his loose robes, tuned it briefly, and began to sing while plucking the strings:

"Strange guests, come and listen to my song,

"I can tell you many things,

"About the great Yong Zhe Kai Tuo Zhi Di,

"About the Legendary Arcane followers,

"In the year of the beginning, when flowers bloom, the wheel of fate turns—

"..."

As the singing continued, two other Bards took out their instruments to accompany him. Xia Duo glanced at them and knew this song must have been a collaborative effort by these few.

The melody was not complex, mostly just the common tunes found in taverns, but the lyrics had clearly taken some effort. Xia Duo listened for a long time without finding many obscure words; most were terms frequently used in daily colloquial speech.

This indeed met his initial requirements—simple, straightforward, and catchy—but it did not have much to do with "progressing from the simple to the profound, step by step."

Considering that this song was singing the praises of himself and Daxia Territory, he would reluctantly pass it!

Before long, Ruide finished his performance. Everyone looked at Xia Duo expectantly, hoping for an affirmative answer. Of course, Xia Duo did not disappoint them; he nodded calmly and then uttered one word:

"Acceptable!"

"To receive the approval of Lord Xia Duo is our honor. May we offer another song for you, my Lord!"

To this, Xia Duo did not refuse; he also wanted to see what else Ruide had prepared. However, just as Ruide sang two lines, Xia Duo hurriedly called a stop.

It was simply too sycophantic and completely devoid of originality; it was exactly the style of paid flattery used by down-and-out Bards in taverns.

First praise the appearance, then praise the martial prowess, and finally wish for a bright future. After this whole process, most Adventurers could be coaxed into submission and then willingly empty their wallets.

Isn't this just like the phrases shouted by beautiful streamers on Earth, such as "the boss is generous"?

Before crossing over, Xia Duo had even personally experienced such scenes of "Bard" flattery while they went from street to street begging for tips in reality. Some people truly liked listening, while others were too embarrassed to refuse; either way, they had to pay.

This Ruide probably thought the previous lyrics were approved because they flattered him and Daxia Territory, so he wanted to strike while the iron was hot to reap more benefits.

How truly naive!

Xia Duo himself did not like such direct flattery; like the Old Immortal of the Stars, it was simply too shameful!

At least be a bit subtle! If he really accepted such direct, vulgar flattery, wouldn't it make him seem too low-class?

For a moment, Xia Duo even thought Ruide was trying to test him with this method. Fine, consider your test a success. Xia Duo decisively called a stop to the sycophantic lyrics and called out the next person:

"Kanaer, you go. I hope you won't use these tricks that fool Adventurers to fool me again!"

"Yes, Lord!"

After Kanaer responded, he performed with the other two. Compared to the solo performance of Ruide's group, Kanaer's group was more like performing a drama, with all three participating.

The first act introduced the background, set on a ship—

The Envoy of the great Lord of Daxia, while passing through a certain Territory, accidentally saved a ship of Slaves and encountered a storm on the way back to Daxia Territory, causing many Slaves to fall ill.

A Bard accompanying them worried about the contagion and wanted to abandon the sick Slaves, but was stopped by the benevolent Envoy and the wise captain, who used a certain herb to cure the Slaves.

Kanaer and the other two played the captain acting as the Envoy of the Lord of Daxia, the Bard who wanted to abandon the Slaves, and a sick Slave respectively.

This play ended with the Slaves' paeans of infinite longing for Daxia Territory and the Lord of Daxia.

Xia Duo only watched this part, and his expression immediately turned sour.

It was clearly the crew of the "Yuanfang" who wanted to abandon the Slaves on the ship, and the Bard Lawrence who saved them. Now that Kanaer and the others had reversed the performance, and right in front of Lawrence, it would be a miracle if Xia Duo's expression remained good.

However, looking at this act of performance alone, objectively speaking, it was quite good—a proper mainstream work!

And the following second act confirmed this point, and it was precisely because he saw the second act that Xia Duo's expression cleared up slightly.

The background of the second act was at the Linshui Village Altar Square—

A Slave who came to Daxia Territory from a distant Territory, relying on their own hard work and intelligence, soon saved up enough merit for promotion. The representative of the Lord of Daxia, the Executive Laidun, personally promoted their status.

Kanaer and the other two played the Slave who earned the promotion, Laidun, and the onlookers respectively.

The beginning of this act was the Slave telling the onlookers about their life before coming to Daxia Territory and their life after arriving in Daxia Territory.

It fully demonstrated the progressiveness of Daxia Territory from its system to its governance, interspersed with the responses and additions of the onlookers.

After that was the Promotion Ritual, where Laidun issued the Slave an Identity Card of Daxia Territory, a Land Deed, and several Gold Coins—basically a replica of the land-granting ceremony Xia Duo held the day before.

This act ended with the cheers of the onlookers: "No regrets entering Nan Jing in this life; I will be a Daxia People again in the next."

Seeing the end, Xia Duo could not help but clap and cheer. Unlike when Ruide finished his performance and he didn't even ask a question, this time he asked Kanaer with great interest:

"Did you write this drama?"

"I was the main creator of the first act, and Kaiwen was the main creator of the second act," Kanaer answered honestly.

Xia Duo gave him a meaningful look. This guy probably had some hidden thoughts when he first wrote the first act, but being able to combine it with the second act could be considered making up for his mistakes.

As art workers, Kanaer, Kaiwen, and the others should be very clear about what the theme of this drama was. Regardless of their true thoughts, being able to write it and perform it already indicated their attitude.

These people were all quite famous Bards in Seventon. Without special circumstances, Xia Duo would not do anything to them, at most Banishment.

Then, conversely, without threats to their personal safety, the attitudes of these people could be said to come from their own hearts.

In other words, the image of Daxia Territory should be relatively positive in the minds of these people.