Chapter 791: The origin of the name "Mang" in Chapter 791: It was originally a dragon!
Filming for the plot of 'Máng' had reached this point, and in fact, many things had already become clear. However, compared to the lightheartedness of the opening, everyone's mood gradually grew much lower during this period.
As the lead actor, Xiao He was naturally no exception. After performing these scenes, his heart inevitably felt heavy.
In the early stages, people scaring people or ghosts scaring people only stayed on the surface.
But once one learned about the mounting blood debts left behind by the Japanese in China, one would feel that ghosts were no longer a big deal.
The most terrifying thing was still people.
'Máng' was not just the name of the movie, but also the core subject described in the entire story. 'Máng' was not just a simple monster; it even covered more metaphors. Only after finishing the movie could one understand the foreshadowing Director Zhuang had buried in this name.
At first, Zhou Zhiyi and the others thought that the 'Máng' on the fragment left in the Japanese research institute referred to those monsters.
They were distinct from simple ghosts and zombies, but rather a new species of monster that seemed to be a combination of human and dog. Neither Zhou Zhiyi nor other senior Celestial Masters had ever found an introduction to such a strange species in relevant ancient texts, and they didn't even know what it was called. So, when facing this monster, they uniformly used the code name 'Máng' from the remnant page as a reference.
The character 'shaggy' was actually a polyphonic character with different pronunciations and different meanings. But based on the current situation, it was perhaps pronounced 【máng】.
The 'Shuowen Jiezi' says: 'Máng, a dog with much hair.'
In this context, it meant a shaggy dog.
Even Zhou Zhiyi's initial explanation was: 'A dog's head and a hairy body, transformed by Yin baleful energy, neither corpse nor demon; I fear it is a mutation of the Máng type.'
It could even be combined with its adjectival property. On the basis of this shaggy dog, the meaning of 'lofty' could be added, because in ancient texts, it also shared the meaning of 'Páng.' Liu Shigu wrote in ancient texts that it was a 'Páng-ran great object,' and similar records existed. In those cases, it was pronounced 【páng】, which happened to correspond to those monsters as tall as humans.
Of course, in the very end, 'shaggy' itself could be called 【lóng】. In ancient times, it was interchangeable with 'Dragon' (dragon), which was the pronunciation and meaning it was supposed to have.
If looking at the character alone, no one would understand which syllable it should be pronounced as, what it should be called, or what it was meant to refer to.
Thus, based on the monster's terrifying appearance and treacherous habits, everyone had been calling it 【máng】 in the early stages, meaning a dog.
Whether it was Zhou Zhiyi's trio or the other Celestial Masters they brought in later, they all used this pronunciation and title when communicating. Wang Budao even got so excited during the later killing spree that he directly called them'son-of-a-bitch bastards.'
However, the truth was not that simple—
It wasn't until everyone reached the research institute with great difficulty, slew the monsters, and investigated the truth that they understood: the existence of this 'Máng' was a conspiracy from the very beginning, a complete humiliation and curse.
The name of the movie 'Máng' was pronounced 【lóng】.
Which is to say, Dragon.
It was supposed to be a dragon, not anything else.
And the reason the Japanese used the character 'shaggy' was precisely a deliberate insult by the person in charge.
He understood Chinese culture but never respected it. Thus, he gave this so-called Dragon Vein Destruction Plan a double-entendre name—the 'Máng' Project.
The existence of this research institute was a conspiracy of that country from the start!
The Southern Dragon governs 'literary luck and commerce,' and the Nanling Mountains are the key to gathering Qi and locking in water. They 'nailed' the research institute onto the Dragon Vein and produced these failed human experiment subjects with the intention of destroying the Dragon Vein's national fortune and weakening our country's southeastern luck from the beginning!
Even this 'Máng' itself was already a glaring hint!
A 'Dragon' (dragon) originally has no 'nail' (the extra stroke in shaggy), and the mountains and rivers are peaceful. But they insisted on burying a nail in the 'Dragon' to sever China's fortune, turning the 'Dragon' into 'Máng,' and also wanting to turn the 'Dragon' into a 'Dog'!
This was naked humiliation! It was a blatant provocation!
And those things everyone thought were monsters were actually products of human experiments made by the Japanese. They sewed humans and dogs together. Both the humans and dogs died with deep resentment, so their souls became entangled, they lost their humanity, and finally, they were stimulated by the Earth's Baleful Yin energy. They became a new type of monster similar to zombies but not entirely applicable to zombie categories!
They were not 'Máng,' but they never had names either.
Because they were tools, traps left behind, insignificant trash, and 'livestock' in the mouths of those people.
But they were our compatriots, our predecessors, living human lives, and skeletons that died with grievances!
After learning the truth, even Wang Budao couldn't help but give himself a few slaps in the face.
They weren't monsters.
They were victims.
They were the evidence of that country harming their compatriots in those years!
They shouldn't have been here, and they shouldn't have continued to be entangled with past pain...
In the end, everyone closed their eyes and sighed helplessly.
And the last thing everyone could do was only to perform a ritual for them, letting them rest in peace...
...
The filming location for the following scenes was moved to a large shed next to the building.
Which was the temporary set for the research institute in the later stages.
The shed here was even harder to endure because the weather was hot and the interior was shrouded in black, making it exceptionally heat-absorbent. When everyone filmed in the shed, they felt like they were in a steamer. Even though Director Zhuang called in many air coolers, it was still so stifling that people were in poor condition.
Moreover, because these scenes were very heavy to film, everyone talked and laughed much less.
Under such circumstances, Xiao He's mood naturally couldn't be any better. Every day he devoted himself wholeheartedly to work, and then came back to fall asleep immediately, not even having the heart for any other hobbies.
Liu Rulan, Xiao Chen, and the others also knew about this situation, so they usually just busied themselves with their own duties and didn't bother Xiao He much.
However, on this day, just as Xiao He returned from the set, Liu Rulan came over.
"What's the matter today?"
Xiao He took a look and noticed that Liu Rulan was in a good mood today, likely having some good news to tell him, so he asked along.
"There is one good thing."
Liu Rulan cleared her throat. "The results for that batch of defamation lawsuits before the Spring Festival have all come out now. We have been very successful in several lawsuits."
Xiao He was stunned for a moment, then indeed very pleasantly surprised: "Really? That's great! That was fast!"
That period was when Xiao He's popularity was skyrocketing, but it also brought many fans of varying quality and caused quite a bit of trouble.
So Linghui Entertainment also officially filed a large-scale defamation lawsuit for the first time.
Fortunately, all of this was completed very smoothly.
Liu Rulan also curled her lips into a smile; clearly, the efficiency and results of the legal team this time made her very satisfied.
"And do you still remember that fan who poisoned your birthday party?"
Xiao He nodded: "Of course, I remember that Reporter Zhou's side was notified to help investigate afterward. Could it be..."
"Yes, it's just as you think."
Liu Rulan directly took out her phone and waved it at Xiao He. "It's the number one trending topic right now. You can open it and take a look. They really chose a good time, not competing with your previous trending topics."
Xiao He was originally very curious, but hearing the second half of Liu Rulan's sentence, he was suddenly stuck between laughter and tears. He immediately took out his own phone to check.
Sure enough, the number one trending topic would not disappoint—