Chapter 97: Summary of Volume One

Summary of Volume One

Volume One ends here. I'd like to have a little exchange with everyone.

As I mentioned before, I am a new author, so this is my first time meeting my readers. This summary is also my first exchange regarding the book's content. Through this, you can get a rough idea of what kind of author "Parrot Biting Tongue" is, what kind of book "Food Immortal Master" is, and whether it suits your taste.

First, let's talk about a point that drew a relatively large reaction from readers: the issue of "killing off characters" (dao ren). This was likely the first minor controversy the book encountered.

This controversy first appeared with Zhu Gaoyang. At the time, I felt it was a serialization issue; the subsequent content hadn't been updated yet, the protagonist's group had entered their lowest point, and both Zhu and the Black Serpent were caught off guard by the suddenly appearing Immortal Lord.

After the Immortal Lord awakened, his first strike, along with the time spent plotting in the shadows, certainly couldn't fail, so I wrote him as overwhelming and unstoppable.

But I actually left hooks, such as: why did the Immortal Lord, who was in need of devouring energy, let Zhu Gaoyang go instead? Therefore, Zhu Gaoyang definitely still has things to do later.

Regarding the Black Serpent, seeing some readers react strongly, I was super considerate and wrote it quite clearly, straightforwardly stating that it had left a backup plan. Later, we learned it was a ruse to bury its own consciousness into the dragon's body.

But this didn't solve the problem; everyone's mood remained inclined toward the gloomy. I think the problem lies in the story of the entire first volume—it was consistently oppressive, consistently passive, and lacked a satisfying "release."

This problem cannot be solved in the short term, so I had to continue updating normally and then reflect on the creation of the second volume.

That is the story regarding Zhu and the Black Serpent.

I understand why readers reacted to the "killing off characters" in this plot, because everyone thought Zhu and the Black Serpent were really going to die. Characters who just appeared and clearly carry a lot of subsequent story, dying in ten or twenty chapters, obviously doesn't meet everyone's expectations. If I saw such a plot while reading, I would also find it baffling.

However, I am a bit confused by the voices saying "killing off characters" in other chapters—truly confused, because when I wrote some of those plots, I didn't think it was "killing off characters."

In the entire volume, the only important character I truly intended to kill was Yue Muzhou, and he appeared as a broken body, already close to death. The remaining important characters—Zhu Gaoyang, Ming Qitian, the Black Serpent—and the secondary important characters—Xing Zhi, Shang Lang—did not die.

Those who died were all tool characters who appeared for half a chapter, one chapter, or two chapters, or rather, extras. Since the Immortal Lord finally descended once, he had to kill some people, otherwise, he would lose too much face.

So, I put myself in the reader's shoes to think about it.

Then I felt it might be like this: the reader's feeling of "killing off characters" might not depend on the importance of the character, but on whether emotions were invested in that character.

In other words, as long as the reader likes or pays even a little attention to the character, then as soon as he dies, it will give the reader a feeling of sighing.

Then, I must quibble a bit.

I am absolutely not an author who takes pleasure in this—deliberately writing a likable character and then destroying him to see readers sad.

The logic of my creating them is actually this: out of plot necessity, I first think of this character, and then as soon as this character appears, his ending is death—the plot function he bears is just like that.

But he has to speak and act before he dies. At this time, I am unwilling to let him become a pure tool character without a face or memory points, so I like to spend time carving these "speaking" and "acting" moments to make this character slightly fuller.

In other words, they were dead people the moment they appeared in my mind; I was just conceiving the scenes of their lives.

This should be somewhat different from writing a character to be very charming first and then killing him to deliberately earn the reader's tears—although the effect presented to the reader seems about the same.

So why did the author not feel it was "killing off characters" while the readers did? I think there are probably two reasons.

The first point might be the difference in plot tolerance between the two sides.

Perhaps in my previous reading experience, there were many books that truly made people's stomachs ache from killing off characters, which led me to have more resistance, so I didn't feel anything when I wrote some people to death.

Of course, sometimes I do deliberately use death to mobilize the protagonist's emotions, such as Cheng Feng, but I think this is a normal writing method—the protagonist must be angry and sad to seek revenge.

By the way, the only one that counts as "killing for the sake of killing" should be that young lady from the Prince's mansion. Her ending has no impact on the subsequent story, although surviving would be slightly unreasonable. But when I wrote to that point, I felt "I have never flown before" would be a better exit, so I killed her off.

If everyone says I deliberately killed off characters here, I admit it, but I don't want to play with the reader's emotions. Let's put it more nicely—I want to share this kind of emotion with everyone.

And most of the time, I didn't think this would be "killing off characters" at all.

For example, Shen Yanping, Old Xiangzi, Feng Zhi, Jing Ziwang—when I wrote them dying, I neither wanted to provoke the protagonist's emotions nor the reader's emotions.

They were all plot-functional characters, and then they received their "boxed lunch" normally.

It's not that there should be no reaction to their deaths; after all, this is a character's exit, and it also represents the plot sliding or turning in a certain direction, but they all serve the plot's direction. It really can't be called "killing off characters," and I didn't perform any emotional rendering.

If everyone really can't stand the deaths of these few, then you can subscribe to "Food Immortal Master" more! It's equivalent to doing a little tolerance training!

The second reason, I think, might account for 70%, which is the problem of the overall plot being oppressive.

That is to say, everyone was already reading a bit stifled, and then when people died, it was even harder to accept. If it were an overall refreshing plot, dying a few people shouldn't be a big deal (I guess that's the case).

But this returns to the tone of the first volume's story. If given another chance, I wouldn't write this story, but since it has already been written, I cannot force it to be written very happily. Where it should be pressed, it must be pressed, otherwise, it's equivalent to not being refreshed well, and not being sad enough, and it just rots.

Alright, then, Parrot Biting Tongue, since you already know where the problem lies, how do you plan to correct it?

Sorry, I can't change it.

What should be written must be written, and who should die must die.

Of course, as I said before, we are not taking pleasure in killing off characters, so we can still make a statement.

First, like all web novels, our important characters are very important and will absolutely not die casually; they are all late-stage characters (it's not that they will die in the late stage (but it's not that they definitely won't die)).

Secondly, ordinary supporting characters and extras don't necessarily have to die. I will portray the characters who are to die well, and I will also portray the characters who live happily well.

Some readers asked, I searched with a magnifying glass for 200,000 words and didn't see anyone living happily.

That has to do with the tone of this volume.

In each volume, I will try hard to portray characters well, but in heavy and tragic volumes, they mostly have bad endings, while in relaxed and happy volumes, they mostly have relaxed and happy endings. It is decided according to the story the whole volume wants to tell.

Anyway, writing such an oppressive story in the first volume was not a very clever decision.

It was hard for everyone to watch a protagonist who didn't level up for 200,000 words and followed along uselessly for 150,000 words.

It further proves that I am a pig-brained novice with no experience.

Alright, after responding to the controversy, let's summarize the creation of the first volume. It is both my own reflection and an exchange with everyone to see what differences there are between the reader's and the author's thoughts.

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The "function" of the story in the first volume is very simple, and that is to form a feud.

Why does Pei Ye, an ordinary small-town youth, want to kill the so-called Taiyi True Dragon Immortal Lord? This matter needs a source, which is to provide a main thread for the entire story.

This is, of course, a somewhat traditional way of writing, using a whole volume to write this. It doesn't seem to be popular now, but I didn't deliberately write unpopular things; I still lacked experience and awareness.

And the character I most wanted to write in the first volume is Yue Muzhou.

The portrayal of this character is somewhat hurried and unsatisfactory, but generally speaking, it was written out.

What I most want to share with everyone is my view on this character; everyone can also have their own views.

What kind of person is Yue Muzhou?

When I cannot enter that state myself, looking at this character, I would think he is stupid.

Because his behavior is very counter-intuitive, and even more contrary to the thinking of normal people.

I can't help but want to ask him: the breakthrough you sought for so long is already close at hand; with such good talent, such a high status, and such a bright future, why must you send yourself to be killed by the Prince of Zhenbei?

Because I would put myself in his shoes; the things he possesses represent the "success" that people dream of, which our protagonist might have to struggle for several volumes to obtain.

But Yue Muzhou would say: "Because I don't care."

"I want to kill him, so I must kill him now, immediately, right away."

The things I want to do, I must do.

So-called "freedom" is not just not being restrained by others; what is harder to get rid of is actually the shackles from oneself.

Each of us is bound by all aspects of life, actually bound by the desire for fame and fortune, the fear of gain and loss, and everything experienced in the first half of our lives.

If Yue Muzhou were also bound by these things in his life—divine weapons and arts, talent and status, fame and fortune, and even the cultivation he spent half his life working on—then he would be no different from us.

So I want to write about him repeatedly throwing away things we find a pity.

Even including bone-deep hatred.

I saw a reader comment on the Prince's mansion chapter: "I killed your son and you tortured me; now I have killed your daughter again, so what?"

This is the different "Hamlet" in the hearts of me and this reader.

Of course, I am not trying to teach readers how to read. The things I write for everyone to see, as long as everyone is happy reading, can be understood in any way; even putting yourself in the Immortal Lord's perspective is fine.

I am just quoting it here to talk about my thoughts on this character.

The Yue Muzhou in my heart did not have this thought when he killed that young lady.

Because those tortures did not turn him into a person who would turn red-eyed upon hearing "Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion." If he thought "Prince of Zhenbei, I want you to taste the pain of losing a loved one again" while killing that young lady, then he was still bound by hatred.

Even if what he saw was not the young lady torturing the maid, but the steward oppressing the groom, he would still take action.

Even if the deep hatred could never be avenged again.

When he appeared, I wrote that he "didn't care much about his own life or death."

At the end, when the young girl asked him if he was afraid of death, he said very simply that he was not.

He really wasn't.

He is such a character with no shackles or cares, who truly dares to throw everything away, incomparably free and incomparably unrestrained.

He walked through the world; fame and fortune could not entangle him, and hatred could not bind him. He only did what he wanted to do in his life.

Thinking of such a person, my heart feels clear and happy.

Of course, his ending was still covered with a layer of sadness, which I didn't quite want to see, and it is also a place for improvement. But I think Yue Muzhou himself wouldn't feel sad, because when he wanted to be happy, he really went to be happy.

This is the character that appeared in my heart when I first conceived this volume.

Everyone might also notice that although this character has exited, he still left many hooks, big and small. In a certain volume later, we will still continue to describe this character from the protagonist's perspective.

But that might be a long time later.

Besides Yue Muzhou, we certainly completed some other work in this volume. For example, in this volume, Pei Ye completed the trust between him and the Black Serpent. They are certainly not exactly the same people, nor will they unconditionally rely on the other side. But from suspicion to setbacks to trust, they eventually became true "fellow travelers" due to the same goal, and will gradually treat entrusting life and death to each other as a habit in the future.

Of course, there is a lot of other work, so I won't list them one by one.

Overall, if the first volume is modified, it can be a relatively complete medium-length story. Pei Ye is the clue, and Yue Muzhou is the protagonist; it seems quite good.

Then let's look forward to the second volume.

The second volume will probably be an orthodox story of travel and growth. Our perspective will be lowered; we will no longer describe those high-flying characters, but will return to the bottom of the Jianghu, return to the protagonist, and the tone will be more relaxed.

I can structure the plot of this volume, but I haven't thought of a "good move" with enough weight yet to make me impatient and full of passion to write it out.

This is really important to me.

I hope there will be one.

Of course, there is a lot of other learning and preparation work. Still, the same sentence: I am a novice, so I am uneasy about my subsequent creation. I hope to write better, but I am also worried about suddenly touching some pit hidden in the fog.

Anyway, let's just wade through it.

The first volume is like this, and then let's chat with everyone about some fragmented things.

Because writing is still a fresh thing for me, there are quite a lot of fresh insights.

For example, I found a few small biases and small problems of my own.

First, I like to write about simple people, simple light and darkness.

Many readers say that the friendly forces are all very good, without any dark thoughts.

Of course, because the protagonist also has no dark thoughts, haha.

I like to write about these simple things; the enemies are fierce, cunning, and cruel, and every one of them is not easy to defeat.

But friends are also bright, sincere, working together, and living and dying together.

I think this is even a refreshing point—such a simple world, you can vent your hatred to one side to your heart's content, and give your unreserved sincerity to the other side, without having to worry too much.

Of course, I will try to write about complex people later, but perhaps my experience and writing ability cannot reach it, so what I write will probably lack power.

Just like when I was in the grotto, I also wrote two sentences about the faint family affection and humanity of those fanatical believers, but if I were really asked to frontally and with large strokes describe the distorted development of humanity in that environment, the inner contradictions of the believers, and the light of rice grains flashing and disappearing in the dark blood, I think I am challenging my ability limit.

But if it can really be written out, it must also be a very fulfilling thing.

Secondly, I seem to have some problems with the issue of narrative detail.

Because I see some readers having doubts about the plot, I think: isn't this just like this and that here?

Looking again, oh, I skipped some things here.

One example is the bronze cup in Pei Ye's hand in the wine cellar.

I wrote about Pei Ye's action of looking up and drinking, wrote about the bronze cup falling to the ground, and later wrote about Pei Ye splashing a cup full of liquid at Wu Wu Zai Gu.

What I didn't write is: Pei Ye was acting with the empty cup he took from Old Xiangzi's house, and the cup filled with liquid was secretly held in his hand.

I don't know if the readers understood my skipping or didn't notice "there seems to be a bug" at all. Anyway, if they didn't notice, then the first layer is equal to the third layer, and it doesn't affect reading.

The second example is when Zhu Gaoyang and Pei Ye planned to counterattack the purple-robed person.

I wrote about Zhu Gaoyang taking out two different sets of clothes, wrote about him taking out strange tools. Then I wrote that in the battle, the white-clothed person and the youth became Pei Ye and Zhu Gaoyang respectively.

What I didn't write is: Zhu Gaoyang wore a cloth shirt, Pei Ye wore white clothes, and those strange tools were not chewing heads, but tools for disguise—Zhu Gaoyang had already disguised himself as "Zhang Siche" earlier. Later, when the purple-robed person saw a cloth-shirted youth carrying a white-clothed young master, it was actually Zhu Gaoyang carrying Pei Ye.

Anyway, it increased the reading cost somewhat.

Maybe this is a problem; I don't like to write everything too straightforwardly and clearly. So if everyone reads this book by skipping or reading too fast, you will lose some information.

Of course, if everyone thinks it's better to write clearly, I am still willing to change it. After all, these are all damn word counts.

……

……

Alright, let's chat here. The more I talk, the more I feel that everything I write is a problem.

Anyway, authors are always like this; when conceiving, I feel very awesome, and when writing, I am full of passion, but after writing, I always feel this is not good and that is not good.

From an intuitive feeling, I feel that the 200,000 words I wrote are only 4-6 points, and there are problems everywhere, but from a personal ability perspective, I should have already exerted 8-9 points, and the next volume may not necessarily be written better.

Anyway, I am always aiming high but achieving little.

Let's try hard to write.

——

Starting tomorrow, the second volume! No rest!

But this month may not necessarily be daily four, and I may even ask for leave, so I'll give a vaccination.

Finally, thank you for everyone's various support, and I once again earnestly request readers who plan to raise the book to open an automatic subscription.

I actually wrote so many words; if it could become my saved manuscript, that would be great.

Thank you to Boss Bei Dui for the reward, thank you to Boss Book Friend for the reward, and thank you to Boss Moon's Coming Night for the reward!

Thank you all for your support!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 98 =====