Chapter 21 The Little Worm
After personally thanking Su Yuxin, Jiang Han returned to his small rented room. He planned to spend the rest of his vacation cultivating the Shaman’s Legacy. Jiang Han had gained quite a few insights within this short period of time with his various experience and observations.
He grew up in poverty and although he was hailed as an honour student, he was very clear on the reason for this. In truth, he wasn’t a natural born genius, his outstanding academic attainments wasn’t a result of his talents but rather it was largely attributed to the sweat and blood he poured into it.
A wise man once said: Geniuses are made from a combination of 99% hard work and 1% natural talent. Jiang Han had always been incredibly hard working, and that’s why he understood that the value of that 1% of natural talent far exceeded the value of pure hard work.
Regretfully, he lacked that 1% of natural born talent, and even with 100% of hard work he still wasn’t able to measure up to a true genius. He had done comparatively well for himself merely based on the materials and knowledge left behind by his predecessors, this attainment was fundamentally different from that of a true genius.
It was precisely because of this, with the absence of the Shaman’s Legacy then the rest of Jiang Han’s life would amount to nothing. From time to time, the media would explode with stories of these seemingly ordinary folks suddenly performing this amazing feats of contribution to humanity. In reality, other than receiving world wide praise for a brief period of time, their lives would returned back to normal and ordinary after that.
If for example, an ordinary working class person did something extraordinary and impressed his circle of friends and received praise from everyone, he would still have to brave the ‘cold wind’ to work from morning to night. There would be no pay rise nor any no decrease in work load, and all that would be left was only personal satisfaction. Regardless of these personal benefits, objectively speaking, their contribution to humanity would merely be a small part of a much larger picture.
Judging from a personal point of view, as long as they were upright and sincere with a clear conscience then they can’t be fault. With respect to society, if one follow the rules and act according to convention without making unnecessary trouble then they would be considered a good citizen. However, with regards to the world, would only a contribution to the advancement of the human race be considered a person of worth?
Without the Shaman’s Legacy, then the would-be ordinary Jiang Han would have no chance at all to measure up to all the great pioneers, inventors and innovators.
If he had never came across it, then he would think nothing of it. But now that he had not only seen it, he also had the qualification to potentially obtain the full complete legacy. Just like what the old Taoist said, this was a huge fortune and a big once upon a life time opportunity, there was no way he would let it slip through his fingers.
When he had just obtain the initial part of the legacy, he didn’t really think much of it. He merely thought that a free gift was better than nothing at all. Nevertheless, in less than a month, he had come across quite a number of people and situations that would normally be way beyond his league.
Jiang Han was becoming more and more mindful of that mysterious voice. He did not want to ever see the expression that was on Su Yuxin’s face after they left the clothing store. He was determine to never allow the people around him to feel like that ever again especially if it was because of him.
“Any unfavourable situations in the world can be largely ascribed to a person’s lack of strength or power. You’ve never entered the playing field of the rich and powerful before, therefore it is understandable that you do not know how to use their methods to find a solution, but by now you should know. There are some battles that you will not be able to win even if you gave it your all. This is because ‘your all’ is insignificant and not worth mentioning.”
When Jiang Han heard the voice, he notice that the voice sounds rather familiar. Jiang Han thought to himself, other than the old Taoist, he only knew one other person who spoke in such a haughty manner. The voice must belong to the same voice that helped him out back at the clothing store, and after they left the store, he no longer heard from the voice again, until now that is.
“Who are you?” Jiang Han looked all around him, but he was alone in his own room and there was nothing seemingly out of place in this small space.
“Let’s not bother with who I am just yet. Are you blind? Aren’t Big Brother, I, on top of your shoulder? What are you looking around for.” The voice was heard again, and it spoke rather grudgingly.
When Jiang Han heard this, he turned and looked at both sides of his shoulders, but he couldn’t see anything. He furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t see anything, where are you?”
“Nonsense, how would you see anything looking at your shoulders, I’m on the table right now.” The voiced said again and it made Jiang Han so frustrated that he wanted to hit someone.
In this small room there was only one small table that was right next to the bed, Jiang Han turned his head and stared at the table, he finally saw it… …
A small worm? There must be a mistake, Jiang Han rubbed his eyes and then open his wide, and clear saw that small little thing on the table.
It was in fact a small little worm, except that he had never seen a worm that look like that before. It was standing on its 2 legs and it had 4 hands with fingers. With a worm like this, even if you were to tell someone else about it, no one would believe you.
On the worm’s head there were a pair of antlers, and its 2 big eyes took up a third of its face. The important thing was that its face looked really devilish and its body looked like a skinnier version of the ‘Bubble Bobble’ (1) dragon.
“How rude for you to stare at a stranger like that. If I was a woman, I would take points off your first impression, and it would be really difficult if you wanted to pursue anything then.” The little worm started spouting out words, and began to criticise Jiang Han.
Jiang Han bitterly smiled, if it had been any other topic then he would have surely responded, but when it came to girls and relationships, he who had experienced the little worm’s prowess could do nothing but lament.
“Forget it, forget it. Big Brother, I won’t argue with you about it. Let’s put all our cards out on the table, I know that you have the Shaman’s Legacy on you. I want to propose a piece of business, if you would pass the legacy to me, then I guarantee that you would be unharmed even after losing the legacy’s qualifications, this would be the first thing. Other than that, for the rest of your life, whatever you want, I’ll provide, this is the second thing.” When Jiang Han heard what the little worm said, it wasn’t difficult for anyone to imagine the impact and shocked that was on his face.
“How did you find out about the Shaman’s Legacy?” Jiang Han was unsettled. To start with, the fact that the worm could speak was nonsensical, not to mention his astounding physical appearance. To top it up, it actually knew about him and the legacy, it was no wonder he was shocked and startled.
“It’s not your business how I know, this is not important. What is important, is that you carefully consider my offer.” The little worm had his hands behind his back while he paced around the table, waiting patiently for Jiang Han to reply.
Jiang Han let out a deep breath, this was a serious matter and he had to carefully contemplate the offer. He had yet to receive the complete legacy and he had only met half the requirements. If he did not meet the full requirements within the years’ worth of given time then not only would he not be able to obtain the complete legacy, he would have to die.
Based on what was said previously, Jiang Han deduced that the little worm knew about the shaman’s legacy and it also knew what would have happened if he failed. Furthermore, it was able to guarantee his own safety and that it promised to satisfy any of his request for the rest of his life.
The offer was pretty enticing, after all there would be no harm to himself and furthermore he could sit back and enjoy the rest of his life. Since the little worm was this clear on the current situation, it was unlikely that he would deceived him to obtain the Shaman’s Legacy. He should be trustworthy.
This conditions was extremely alluring to any ordinary person. They wouldn’t need to do anything and yet they could then live as a king, who would have all the power in the world, more money than they could count and as many beautiful woman as they wanted.
If Jiang Han said he was unmoved then he would be lying. He was only half a cultivator, his thought process hasn’t changed yet and therefore he was equally enticed by the offer, that’s why he had to consider the offer.
t/s notes:
Bubble Bobble is an arcade comical action platformer video game by Taito, first released in 1986.
Chapter 21 The Little Worm
After personally thanking Su Yuxin, Jiang Han returned to his small rented room. He planned to spend the rest of his vacation cultivating the Shaman’s Legacy. Jiang Han had gained quite a few insights within this short period of time with his various experience and observations.
He grew up in poverty and although he was hailed as an honour student, he was very clear on the reason for this. In truth, he wasn’t a natural born genius, his outstanding academic attainments wasn’t a result of his talents but rather it was largely attributed to the sweat and blood he poured into it.
A wise man once said: Geniuses are made from a combination of 99% hard work and 1% natural talent. Jiang Han had always been incredibly hard working, and that’s why he understood that the value of that 1% of natural talent far exceeded the value of pure hard work.
Regretfully, he lacked that 1% of natural born talent, and even with 100% of hard work he still wasn’t able to measure up to a true genius. He had done comparatively well for himself merely based on the materials and knowledge left behind by his predecessors, this attainment was fundamentally different from that of a true genius.
It was precisely because of this, with the absence of the Shaman’s Legacy then the rest of Jiang Han’s life would amount to nothing. From time to time, the media would explode with stories of these seemingly ordinary folks suddenly performing this amazing feats of contribution to humanity. In reality, other than receiving world wide praise for a brief period of time, their lives would returned back to normal and ordinary after that.
If for example, an ordinary working class person did something extraordinary and impressed his circle of friends and received praise from everyone, he would still have to brave the ‘cold wind’ to work from morning to night. There would be no pay rise nor any no decrease in work load, and all that would be left was only personal satisfaction. Regardless of these personal benefits, objectively speaking, their contribution to humanity would merely be a small part of a much larger picture.
Judging from a personal point of view, as long as they were upright and sincere with a clear conscience then they can’t be fault. With respect to society, if one follow the rules and act according to convention without making unnecessary trouble then they would be considered a good citizen. However, with regards to the world, would only a contribution to the advancement of the human race be considered a person of worth?
Without the Shaman’s Legacy, then the would-be ordinary Jiang Han would have no chance at all to measure up to all the great pioneers, inventors and innovators.
If he had never came across it, then he would think nothing of it. But now that he had not only seen it, he also had the qualification to potentially obtain the full complete legacy. Just like what the old Taoist said, this was a huge fortune and a big once upon a life time opportunity, there was no way he would let it slip through his fingers.
When he had just obtain the initial part of the legacy, he didn’t really think much of it. He merely thought that a free gift was better than nothing at all. Nevertheless, in less than a month, he had come across quite a number of people and situations that would normally be way beyond his league.
Jiang Han was becoming more and more mindful of that mysterious voice. He did not want to ever see the expression that was on Su Yuxin’s face after they left the clothing store. He was determine to never allow the people around him to feel like that ever again especially if it was because of him.
“Any unfavourable situations in the world can be largely ascribed to a person’s lack of strength or power. You’ve never entered the playing field of the rich and powerful before, therefore it is understandable that you do not know how to use their methods to find a solution, but by now you should know. There are some battles that you will not be able to win even if you gave it your all. This is because ‘your all’ is insignificant and not worth mentioning.”
When Jiang Han heard the voice, he notice that the voice sounds rather familiar. Jiang Han thought to himself, other than the old Taoist, he only knew one other person who spoke in such a haughty manner. The voice must belong to the same voice that helped him out back at the clothing store, and after they left the store, he no longer heard from the voice again, until now that is.
“Who are you?” Jiang Han looked all around him, but he was alone in his own room and there was nothing seemingly out of place in this small space.
“Let’s not bother with who I am just yet. Are you blind? Aren’t Big Brother, I, on top of your shoulder? What are you looking around for.” The voice was heard again, and it spoke rather grudgingly.
When Jiang Han heard this, he turned and looked at both sides of his shoulders, but he couldn’t see anything. He furrowed his eyebrows, “I don’t see anything, where are you?”
“Nonsense, how would you see anything looking at your shoulders, I’m on the table right now.” The voiced said again and it made Jiang Han so frustrated that he wanted to hit someone.
In this small room there was only one small table that was right next to the bed, Jiang Han turned his head and stared at the table, he finally saw it… …
A small worm? There must be a mistake, Jiang Han rubbed his eyes and then open his wide, and clear saw that small little thing on the table.
It was in fact a small little worm, except that he had never seen a worm that look like that before. It was standing on its 2 legs and it had 4 hands with fingers. With a worm like this, even if you were to tell someone else about it, no one would believe you.
On the worm’s head there were a pair of antlers, and its 2 big eyes took up a third of its face. The important thing was that its face looked really devilish and its body looked like a skinnier version of the ‘Bubble Bobble’ (1) dragon.
“How rude for you to stare at a stranger like that. If I was a woman, I would take points off your first impression, and it would be really difficult if you wanted to pursue anything then.” The little worm started spouting out words, and began to criticise Jiang Han.
Jiang Han bitterly smiled, if it had been any other topic then he would have surely responded, but when it came to girls and relationships, he who had experienced the little worm’s prowess could do nothing but lament.
“Forget it, forget it. Big Brother, I won’t argue with you about it. Let’s put all our cards out on the table, I know that you have the Shaman’s Legacy on you. I want to propose a piece of business, if you would pass the legacy to me, then I guarantee that you would be unharmed even after losing the legacy’s qualifications, this would be the first thing. Other than that, for the rest of your life, whatever you want, I’ll provide, this is the second thing.” When Jiang Han heard what the little worm said, it wasn’t difficult for anyone to imagine the impact and shocked that was on his face.
“How did you find out about the Shaman’s Legacy?” Jiang Han was unsettled. To start with, the fact that the worm could speak was nonsensical, not to mention his astounding physical appearance. To top it up, it actually knew about him and the legacy, it was no wonder he was shocked and startled.
“It’s not your business how I know, this is not important. What is important, is that you carefully consider my offer.” The little worm had his hands behind his back while he paced around the table, waiting patiently for Jiang Han to reply.
Jiang Han let out a deep breath, this was a serious matter and he had to carefully contemplate the offer. He had yet to receive the complete legacy and he had only met half the requirements. If he did not meet the full requirements within the years’ worth of given time then not only would he not be able to obtain the complete legacy, he would have to die.
Based on what was said previously, Jiang Han deduced that the little worm knew about the shaman’s legacy and it also knew what would have happened if he failed. Furthermore, it was able to guarantee his own safety and that it promised to satisfy any of his request for the rest of his life.
The offer was pretty enticing, after all there would be no harm to himself and furthermore he could sit back and enjoy the rest of his life. Since the little worm was this clear on the current situation, it was unlikely that he would deceived him to obtain the Shaman’s Legacy. He should be trustworthy.
This conditions was extremely alluring to any ordinary person. They wouldn’t need to do anything and yet they could then live as a king, who would have all the power in the world, more money than they could count and as many beautiful woman as they wanted.
If Jiang Han said he was unmoved then he would be lying. He was only half a cultivator, his thought process hasn’t changed yet and therefore he was equally enticed by the offer, that’s why he had to consider the offer.
t/s notes:
Bubble Bobble is an arcade comical action platformer video game by Taito, first released in 1986.