Chapter 122: Heart Like a Fierce Tiger, Gently Sniffing the Roses

Heart Like a Fierce Tiger, Sniffing Roses (Fei Yue)

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August 7th, Fei Yue's Heartfelt Words: Heart Like a Fierce Tiger, Sniffing Roses – On a King's Power and Concealment (1)

Words Before Everything...

I had originally wanted to write this reflection much earlier, but as the book had just begun, I indefinitely postponed it until now for several main reasons.

Firstly, and most importantly, I am a loyal and long-term hardcore fan of Yue Guan. Before other fellow readers in Yue Guan's groups introduced this new book, I hadn't read any novels by Banana (I couldn't even finish Yue Guan's books). As the saying goes, without deep understanding, one has no right to speak. I couldn't accurately gauge the author's development and portrayal of Ning Yi's character, so it would have been inappropriate to hastily review the book when it was less than 100,000 words long. I needed to give the author's writing and the main characters' development a sufficient observation period.

Furthermore, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, because the book had too few words at the beginning, there was inevitably a lack of overall material for writing. I believe that the available information at the time was insufficient to depict the protagonist's complete image. Had I written then, there would surely have been significant errors and deviations compared to the character's full revelation in the middle or after the book's completion. This is something I cannot tolerate. I would rather not write; but if I do, it must be substantial, accurately expressing my feelings and aligning with the author's intentions, otherwise, it would not be the right approach.

I believe these two points represent the minimum respect between a reader and an author. Fortunately, today, I feel the opportunity has arrived. Having read today's plot, I can finally say that this short essay can now be released.

General Discussion: How I Define a Good Novel...

Firstly, in my personal opinion, the true soul, or the crucial points, of a novel are nothing more than three. Only by excelling in these three points does a novel become valuable and worth rereading repeatedly by readers.

First, the portrayal of the characters, events, and objects in the writing. Regarding characters, the focus is on their external appearance and internal thoughts. For events and objects, the emphasis is on the plot's unfolding and its reasonableness. How the author writes and enriches these elements is crucial.

Second, the specific plot must maintain logical truth and interest, and there must be coherence from beginning to end without qualitative changes. From a minor character or action to an entire plotline or the whole story, the feeling should remain consistent.

Third, every major character, especially some supporting roles—for instance, the protagonist's friends or romantic interests, and the enemy's forces and schemes—must be vivid and indispensable. Only then can it be considered successful, valuable for the author to write, and valuable for the reader to read.

Therefore, it can be seen that character development and personality, as well as the overall length and description, are absolutely key. Everything said and everything done is not easy. If characters are not well-written, it cannot truly be called a novel; it is merely a pile of worthless words. So, based on these three points, I will now focus on the most important and most controversial character in this book, the protagonist, Ning Yi, Ning Lihuan.

The main text begins below...

Origin...

Actually, I didn't initially want to comment on Ning Yi, this proper protagonist, because he's a man... (a very irresponsible smirk...). If you've ever visited Yue Guan's book review section, those who know me understand that I often only review women—the brilliant female characters in his books. For example, the ones I truly want to comment on are Nie Yunzhu, Su Tan'er, and Xiao Chan'er. As for male protagonists, I usually don't, because the main plot typically focuses on them, so there's no need to 'add flowers to the brocade' by dedicating a special post to them.

However, I never expected that this protagonist, once truly fleshed out, would spark such polarized discussions. Those who love him deeply overflow with praise, but those who dislike him react with extreme emotion. Roughly summarized, their points are as follows:

At the beginning, some comments were: "His actions are weak, he lacks ambition, he clearly has business talent but refuses to use it." "The plot involving poetry is cliché." "After so long, he still hasn't taken Tan'er." "His speech is often incomprehensible." Later, when Yunzhu appeared, there were increasing discussions about "his tolerance" and "pursuing relationships outside of his legal wife." Then, "he saved her life, then sold chickens and eggs, mundane household matters." The funniest part was "he desperately saved a female assassin, only because he wanted to learn martial arts, and she didn't even give him face." In short, he was seen as a failing protagonist—unambitious, idle, waiting to die, with no redeeming qualities—a perfect image of a loser.

Actually, all these points mentioned above are correct, but none of them concerned me. What truly deeply shocked me was the plot point where he was "heart like a fierce tiger, slaughtering an entire family," and then the direct and straightforward description of him killing Student Gu. This aroused my immense interest.

Ning Yi (hereinafter referred to as Lihuan): What kind of person is he exactly? Let's re-examine him from the beginning.

(One might blame Banana's habitually slow updates—often less than four thousand words a day, one update a day—oh, no, that's not it, it's his realistic, down-to-earth, diligent, and hardworking updates... forcing me to reread previous chapters day after day... words are truly marvelous, human nature is truly fascinating; the two sides of an issue completely depend on how you describe them... I've completely gone off-topic here.)

Now, let's re-examine Chapter 0 from the very beginning (this sentence appears for the second time). If we don't compare it with the narrative later on, the previously unclear images now become perfectly clear. It turns out that this seemingly insignificant dialogue between two friends—or rivals? allies? enemies?—actually contained many subtle hints about the protagonist's character planted by Banana long ago. For example:

"When you reach the peak, you'll find that apart from a moment of achievement, there's actually nothing. You'll always feel... regret... The path you're on now might not be what you yearned for in your heart back then." (This implies a dying man's good words, a self-aware summary of one's life at its very end. Most people feel more regret or sorrow, and the protagonist is no exception.)

"It's nothing... We're brothers, and this setup is excellent. The company is yours, it won't collapse." (This sounds a bit unconvinced, a bit sour, and even a bit of confident arrogance—a final self-mockery.)

"I always wanted to do it, always thought I remembered, but when I thought about it, I didn't feel rushed, so I always delayed." (This fully reveals the protagonist's demeanor and ability. It's not that he couldn't do it, nor that he didn't want to, but because he felt it would be easy, he wasn't in a hurry... though ultimately... he never did it.)

"Cut the grass but not the roots, and it will grow again with the spring wind. Letting the tiger return to the mountain..." A strictness in his calm gaze. "What do you think you are?" (This shows his methods and decisive power in action: either not act, or act completely in one go; decisive and swift, never hesitant or soft-hearted.)

"As long as I live, I can threaten you!" (This once again shows the protagonist's confidence in his ability and decisiveness. Even in such a situation, as long as he doesn't die, there's still a possibility of him making a comeback and defeating his opponents, and the chances are high, not just empty talk like a fool's dream.)

"High places are cold. Having come this far in this life, it's enough. Even if I could start over, I'd want to do it again without any burdens, with a clean slate. All those messy things, the scheming... If I could do it again..." (This passage is very straightforward; it is the biggest and most important foreshadowing in the entire book, the primary source of all subsequent plot points.)

Then, after saying all this, the protagonist suddenly took out a gun and faced his own death...

These seemingly simple words, this seemingly bland prologue, truly show Banana's painstaking effort. The depth and precision of the implied descriptions, the seasoned brushstrokes, and the meticulous skill in portrayal are commendable. This is exactly what I mentioned earlier as the most crucial point in a novel: the shaping of a character's personality.

These words are already enough for us readers to form a true and three-dimensional image of Lihuan in our minds.

I. He is an exceptionally talented business genius, building a multi-billion dollar fortune from scratch in just over a decade.

II. He is extremely arrogant but not short-sighted, possessing deep insight and a clear understanding of his own abilities and limitations.

III. He is ruthless towards his enemies but even more ruthless towards himself. A concrete manifestation of this is his preference for a dignified self-termination rather than a dishonorable survival (if he hadn't revealed the gun, he would have been fine, at least temporarily—this was suicide).

IV. He is tired and wishes to rest, to leave everything behind, to no longer be troubled by all this, and ultimately, his wish is granted.

Compared to his seemingly refined but actually incredibly malicious "friend" Tang Mingyuan, Lihuan is quite lovable... and respectable.

Therefore, I began to calmly read this work, until it became unstoppable...

(I really don't want to call him Lihuan, but I can't help it; that's the main name for the protagonist in the book. His previous name hasn't been mentioned much directly... I'll use it for now, and you all can read it as such.)

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