While Perlmut leads the way to Fǎwèi De Shǐ City to look for entertainment, she brings the topic of entertainment up again.
Perlmut: "Now that you've collected and composed again. And I'm healthy just so that I can safely carry Rex the whole time. How about something fun for a change?"
Hyang: "Hm, certainly an idea. Let's look for a logogram contest, as it is most interesting to hear the thoughts put forth by individuals about the logograms from the ancients and ponder on how the ancients described meanings of words with their mouth to mouth history. Also, I must say! Them being called contests is quite misleading, as winning them isn't what anyone there cares about. That would be a logogram drawing contest where you focus on how to draw them while minding their meaning through stronger or slimmer lines and such to highlight a meaning of it to sharpen the logogram's meaning. Also fascinating, I prefer it softer with more thinking involved."
Perlmut: *Is he getting back at me, or is he serious?*
Hyang: "Let's go and search for one and write us both in."
And so they search for a while. After they finally find a contest, they look at the time and date of it and write themself in for the event organizer to know. During the days of waiting for the event, they spend their time exploring the city for its food and beauty. Hyang getting nostalgic over the beauty of old architecture and other little things. And before they know it, the contest day is there, and they are sitting ready in a room with a table, chair and a podium. As well as someone in the front giving a rundown over how the contest will proceed.
Sitting order and structure:
PH
hh hh hh hh
O O O O
hh hh hh hh
PC
As it is a minor contest without any grant price, with it mainly being for people that like to think over what the ancients thought of certain meanings they described with their logograms, not many people come to these small gatherings with contest element.
Contest Presenter: "First, everyone will be handed pen and paper to write down their logogram and split it into their respective meanings they wish to include. After that, everyone will be given thinking time. After the thinking time is officially over, people will come forth, starting at the front left to the back left and continuing like that towards the right, always front to back. While presenting, please point at the logograms you talk about for a visual lead towards the process of presentation."
And so they always point to the part of the logogram that they are currently talking about. After the rundown is finally over, everyone is getting handed papers and feathers together with ink.
Contest Presenter: "Let the thinking begin and joy fill your feathers."
As the writing doesn't take long since it's just for showing off the pictograms, the time for thinking is taking the longest as the main focus. Deciding on what to pick and what reasoning and story to set behind it.
Perlmut *Since Hyang now no longer needs to worry about my crippled body being able to keep up with his journeying and him looking out for me in his infinite thoughtfulness trying to heal me. He really did walk me to the bone on this adventure trying to heal me. Well, regardless, this journey felt different from how things were in the past. But which word should I choose? Hmm, I think I'll just choose a girly word. A common word, not too simple, not too difficult.*
Perlmut writes down 爫->冖->心->夂 and lastly 愛. After which she cooks up a story that would logically fit with what the ancients would have thought when creating this logogram with these meanings.
After the presentations of contestents 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Contest Presenter: "Next contestant with the name Perlmut, please come forth and present us with your thoughts."
Perlmut stands up and goes on to the podium with her paper.
Perlmut, in a disinterested voice, presents her findings, reading them down:
"An ebony" 'point- 冖 (ebony, eve)'
"arrow" 'point- 爫 (in the form of a bamboo tube)'
"piercing your heart," 'point'- 心 (heart)'
"causing you to walk slowly" 'point- 夂 (Walk slowly)'
"what a thrilling description of love." 'point- 愛 (love)'
"And not only that, both these situations are just so similar. The brain suffering from the blood loss making you act weird. It's just so alike love."
Despite her low effort, she gets claps. And people disagree on her having put low effort into it or having put up an act to symbolize an arrow shot person through her way of talking, as it was just as lifeless, they say.
Perlmut leaves the stage, and the next person is called.
Contest Presenter: "Next contestant with the name Psy Zhèngcháng(正常) please come forth and present us with your thoughts."
Some Psy acting normal: "Heart (心) consists of" 'pointing at ->乚' "which is related to "knife" or "falchion'. And is surrounded by a" 'point丿' "on the left. After which come two" 'points at 丶' "which are completed action particles."
He slips out a laugh "Nyehe."
And starts grinning wickedly while cracking his neck in a move, certainly a discomforting presentation for everyone. However, everyone looks on in interest as to how he will present it with this play he is making. With everyone thinking, he most likely is copying the Granny with the play she came up with, and he is trying to evolve it to something even more advanced. Fascinating.
'pointing at 丿' Psy: "'Mwhaha he' you slash"
'pointing at 乚' Psy: "with something sharp 'hehe' doesn't really matter with what."
'pointing at 丶' Psy: "First you cut the body open."
'pointing at 丶' Psy: "And then you cut out the heart. That's how you get"
'licks paper with a crazy expression and cuts his tongue so that it bleeds on purpose'
Psy: "Yes, haha, after those two completed actions, you have it. May Ōkui be pleased by this presentation."
'slurp' 'swallow' And a bow to top it off.
The crowd's reaction, 'Ouw, but pretty good.'
Hyang: "Quite the gruesome representation of heart, especially how he drew it in blood."
Perlmut: "I saw him write it with his finger."
Hyang: "Explains why your representation was a coldly presented ancient meaning without much enthusiasm, if any. You finished yours swiftly without much effort."
As Psy has left the stage, the next one is called up.
Contest Presenter: "Next contestant, the Commoner with the name Hàm. We all know him! We all love him for wanting to be presented as a commoner under commoners. Please come forth and present us with your thoughts."
🍔CaoCao:
"The world"->'pointing at 世=world'
"is a place where you -age-" -> 'pointing at 世=age'
"and -live-" -> 'pointing at 世=Life'
"in for -generations-" -> 'pointing at 世=generation'
Audience: -.- oOo o..o .o. o.o oUo OOO -w.👍
🍔CaoCao:->'pointing at 廿=20' "until the 20.000 year mark is reached."
'Crowd clapping' "Indeed the fun comes with our funny one."
"WHooo Yeah, you're not gonna win but that's why we love you." Coming from the first and the last two desks. Except for one person on the last two desks that isn't overreacting like that.
Hyang: "Hmm, also the word he used was set up to be a failure, as it doesn't have sufficient logograms with known meanings. Additionally, jumping from a limited in use 20 to 20000 seems like more than just a jump. The meaning that he derived from it is fascinating nonetheless. As, if you think about it, a true immortal would have had to have created these writings for this world, and he potentially even created this world. Also, the 20000 year span still seems weird. Why create it and then destroy it after only 20000 years?"
Contest Presenter: "Next contestant with the name Hyang, please come forth and present us with your thoughts."
Hyang comes up onto the podium.
Hyang uses an oracle bone or small seal script for his thoughts on the ancient logograms, which commoners can't distinguish between, as they are so rare to come across.
Hyang: "First and foremost, for anyone who got confused by Psy, the pictogram 丿 isn't really known to have a meaning, or rather, I have yet to meet someone that can prove it has the meaning they say it has. And as such, I'll choose the meaning "live" for it. My reasoning being that, for one, the heart is the center of life. Secondly, the first thing a conscious being was able to create was life as well. Also, to be fair, it would be more accurate to say the most important thing that was created in the eyes of the ancients is something that is alive. I'll be getting into that later. So I'll give it that as a meaning. With that out of the way, let's run down the meanings of each element for (造) create, (丶) a completed action particle, (辶) walk, (口) mouth and person, (土) earth, and of course this (丿), which I take as live. So we have something walking around and speaking to some earth that than is alive. Now you can argue that the alive is on the earth, and so he would be walking and speaking to living earth like ordering it to do something, and that would then mean create. However, let's cut it short there cause If you wanna challenge me on that, I tell you I'll leave it out completely and use a more compact form of the pictograms forming create (造). And then we are left with (辶) walk and (告), which has following meanings. The meanings of (告) are as follows: to report, to tell/to inform, to request, to announce/to declare, to expose/to denounce, to accuse/to sue/to file a lawsuite and more. Now, in short, it would mean to declare something of importance. This would in turn mean that someone is walking around declaring something, and that in turn creates something. Truly, I tell you this resembles the power of word cultivation at its highest peak. Now, as for what my ancient small seal script has to say about it, you for one might know that our writing has changed over time, but most commoners aren't as aware of it anymore.
Create written in the old:
____
|辵屮| Version1
|__告|
‾‾‾‾
____
|彳山|
|止告|
‾‾‾‾
Now then, on this small seal script we see an older version of (造) create. Let's start with the left side of the pictogram. There we see (辵), which means "to walk for a while and be still for a while". Now this, of course, consists of even more pictograms, which are (彳) "walk slowly, step with the left foot, to suddenly stop when walking" and (止) "foot" or "to stop". Also, "foot" would be the meaning it had first, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. Now this of course means that (辶) "walk" is a guaranteed meaning backed by (彳) "walk slowly" and (止) "foot". Of course, their combination says the same (辵) "walk a while and stay still a while". This additionally backs my presentation's preconclusion. Alright, next comes the right side. On the top right we have (屮) "left hand or new birth of plant". Or we could see it as (山) "mountain", which then would let us have the complete right side with (告) "declare". Now why would someone cut out the (山) "mountain" and let the (土) earth in? Well, if we understand them to have thought of both the (山) "mountain" and (土) "earth" as both being products of creation, then it would make sense for them to only leave the more important one in, as that would make it easier to write the whole pictogram. This new form of the pictogram would have been part of a larger simplification process, something our current emperor is rumored to have done to help out the common folk in the past. These rumors have been told by the grandparents of all mortals. My conclusion also means that when you reach the peak of word cultivation, where the words you speak have the power of creation, you will be able to create mountains before living earth. With our current conclusion, the only part that you can ponder about is if the (口) person that can speak is also created through the power of word, and if so, that would mean that the living earth and talking person are one process and one creation through declaration. Since, as we already know, the creation of mountains has been taken out, which would then mean that what is left is but one creation. Well, regardless, this is where I'll leave you to ponder about it yourselves. Have fun with it. Thank you for your admirable attention."
Hyang gets applause for having such a relic with him and giving such an insightful presentation of the ancient cultivator/s as he leaves the podium and returns to his seat.
As Hyang sits down on his seat again, someone on the desk and seat next to him strikes up a conversation, interested in Hyang's pictogram, thoughts, and his presentation. He introduces himself as Qiong.
Qiong: "Hello there, my name is Qiong. May I interest you in- sorry, bad habit of mine. Your presentation was a well of wisdom, truly inspiring, really. The power of words must be the greatest power if it really is that capable at its peak. Don't you think?"
Hyang: "Possibly, but we might never know, as cultivators are rarer than the common folk, and people that cultivate in the power of words are even rarer. Unless the fellow cultivator is one."
Qiong: "Hohoho, it takes a cultivator to know a cultivator."
Contest Presenter: "Next contestant with the name Qiong, please come forth and present us with your thoughts."
Qiong comes up onto the podium.
Qiong: "I present 苦. And as everyone knows, it stands for bitter, hardship, pain, to suffer, to bring suffering to and painstakingly. Now what does it consist of? At the top is grass (艹). Some also use it as "fuck", fitting for a pictogram presented in the pictogram for pain. Now below it we have a number, which is ten (十). And below that we have the pictogram for mouth and or person (口). Lastly, what could the ancients have thought when they chose these pictograms for to suffer? Well, let's start with deciding which pictogram the ten (十) is supposed to count the amount of. Well, it's obvious to say that one person afflicted with something would be less suffering than 10 (十) people (口) afflicted with the same thing. So in conclusion we have 10 people doing something with their mouths, which would most certainly be having to eat the grass. The next logical conclusion would be that they are going through hardship in which they have nothing else to eat - truly a well thought through way of the ancients to describe suffering. To conclude the presentation of my pictogram, I dream of getting rid of world hunger. Thank you for your continued attention."
Qiong gets a lot of applause for his great presentation as he returns to his seat.
Hyang: "Your presentation wasn't too bad. Well done."
Qiong: "Hohoho, after your lecture I can indeed see this as a great compliment. After all, no one here will be able to be as thorough as you with their presentation."
Afterwards, Hyang and Qiong discuss the thoughts presented by the next participants in the short pauses in between. However, during the last half of people presenting their thoughts, Perlmut couldn't help herself. And so she started to ponder about what kind of shenanigans she could do.
Perlmut *Hmm, how about secretly placing fart cushions underneath people? On their chairs? No, too obvious, too simple minded. Hmm, or needles? No, that would be a hideous act rather than a joke. Hm hm, letting pieces of wood fall on top of people's heads? Never mind. These mortals are too weak. And there are too few people in general to spread a humorous conversation among them. And besides, I'm not a villain. Not only that, but it would also be unfair to Hyang. After all, we are doing something that he enjoys. Ah, I've got it.*
She smiles but quickly hides it. As to not give away anything. She now tries out how much of an advantage she has over normal mortals with her cultivation and hair control technique. Using some of all the materials in her ring, secretly filling the place here and there with some things, causing the people to put those things away every now and then leaving them to believe those things where there to begin with. The psycho is repeatedly bothered by wood that reappears under the desk right before his feet, even going as far as to having the wood fall onto his feet. As Perlmut just figured out, she can use her hair to summon things from the ring. There isn't even a need to sneakily transport them. Having listened well to her master during the body reforming, she assumes it must be thanks to the heightened amount of spirit allowing for the hair to be also somewhat included in her soul form.
Perlmut *This must be something Hyang would be surprised by, or did he anticipate it? Let's not disturb him and just continue with the fun.*
'tong'
Psycho: "艹! Mother of a Goose! Wha?! Mother of a donkey fucking Melon! What is this? WHy is there so much wood under the table?! Who did this!!!!?"
"Shh." "Quiet."
Crowd's opinion: "Guy really wants the attention with making such a joke. 'Oh no, there is wood where the wooden floor is.' tststs"
He gets threatened to be thrown out if he doesn't shut up and instead continues to cause a commotion. So he calms down again.
After the last person has presented their thoughts, they start an open discussion in which everyone can talk with each other and write down questions to ask each person during what is up next. A questioning round where everyone gets up in order again and gets asked corresponding questions to their thoughts. And after all this is finally coming to a close at the end of the event, Qiong and Hyang are still speaking with each other.
Hyang: "Actually, I've been adventuring around with Lady Perlmut over there."
Qiong: "Interesting, I too have once looked and wandered around the world and have been dreaming of doing so once again for a while now."
Hyang: "You could join us. After all, the more the merrier. As long as it isn't a caravan, anyways. Things like that would be too high profile for an adventuring party."
Qiong: "I'm a really busy man, but after having sunk into nostalgia recently. I decided on letting things flow and looked around here and there. Only occasionally doing some busy person stuff, so it would indeed be fun to join you for a while."
Hyang: "Alright, I'm happy to have you around for some time and some more."
The new party member and the two leave together in the end and talk about a meeting spot because Qiong prefers higher living qualities than some mediocre inn, a place where wanderers reside and sleep.