I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 367 - 367 366. One Step Away from a Grand Slam_1

Chapter 367: 366. One Step Away from a Grand Slam_1 Chapter 367: 366. One Step Away from a Grand Slam_1 Bi Jia decided to stay at the mental hospital and learn from Lu Ban.

He lived just like a real patient with severe illness, getting up early every day, exercising, eating, listening to stories told by Lu Ban, and then being instructed by Lu Ban on how to paint.

In the past, Bi Jia not only had to ponder deeply on the content and creativity of his paintings but also deal with troubling interpersonal relationships, sometimes even facing skepticism from peers and misunderstanding from the audience.

Now, staying in the mental hospital, all that had drifted away.

Everyone was a patient, meeting each other with openness, often sitting together in the afternoon to chat, sharing their respective experiences.

Bi Jia had always considered himself indifferent, the news on the internet never affecting him much.

But now, as he listened to an aunt weepingly recount how she and her child were stabbed over one hundred and twenty times, and how she was sent to a mental hospital after crawling out of a spirit hall, Bi Jia was moved to tears.

In the past, Bi Jia thought that art was lofty, elegant, trendy, beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

Now, Bi Jia realized that art could also be affectionate, popular, and that one should immerse oneself in the masses to gain more inspiration.

“So this is how Lu Ban finds his material!”

Bi Jia suddenly understood.

It wasn’t some peculiar delusion of mental patients, nor a hallucination caused by schizophrenia, but rather the heartfelt emotions of these patients, who had shed the restraints of society to show their truest selves.

In everyday social interactions, people are always wearing insincere masks, even when they claim to be wholehearted, they still hold back. For instance, when someone asks what type of girl you like, you might say you prefer the sweet and cute ones, but definitely wouldn’t reveal that you actually like girls with ***** characteristics that even your display couldn’t fully articulate.

But it’s different in a mental hospital.

Here, everyone is like a newborn baby, where anything said is okay, with no one to hold you accountable, no one looking at you strangely. Some of the older fellows might even respond to the tar-black stories you tell with a question mark, saying, “That’s it?”

This benefitted Bi Jia a great deal.

Of course, Bi Jia still keenly noticed a problem.

He was increasingly finding these mental patients normal.

These patients in the severe ward, by all logic, were people unable to sustain a normal life in real society due to serious mental issues, but Bi Jia found communicating with them very smooth.

He didn’t suddenly feel like, “Huh, the other person seems to have some mental issues,” but rather thought of them like family, full of love and warmth.

Upon realizing this, Bi Jia thought that he might actually be crazy.

He went to the consultation room, wanting the doctor to give him a check-up.

However, after completing the psychological test, the doctor informed him of a surprising result.

“Mr. Bi Jia, you have been completely cured.”

The doctor looked at the consultation report and said incredulously.

“Ah?”

Bi Jia found it hard to believe.

“Wait a minute, doctor, don’t joke with me, I feel like I am seriously ill. The interaction with those severe patients goes really well, is there something wrong with me?”

“But according to the test and scan results, you are indeed normal.”

The doctor spoke earnestly.

“It’s possible that because you’ve lived here for so long, you’ve grown accustomed to it and don’t want to leave. This is quite common, Mr. Bi Jia, you are very normal, with no psychological problems or mental illnesses, not even the previous depression is there anymore.”

“???”

Bi Jia was at a loss for words.

He even started to think it was some kind of practical joke, maybe in a moment a bunch of people would jump out from behind the room, telling him it was a prank.

Holding the doctor’s certification, Bi Jia returned to his room.

In the sketchbook, were the works of inspiration that Lu Ban had provided him during these days.

Bi Jia opened it earnestly.

At first glance, these paintings would overwhelm and sadden viewers, cloud their consciousness, but upon closer inspection, one could feel a sense of peace in their soul.

While appreciating these works, Bi Jia felt as though his mind was being shattered and then slowly reshaped.

He was completely healed.

Bi Jia believed that if these paintings were displayed publicly, they would certainly liberate the weary souls of modern people and heal their deeply scarred hearts.

Watching Bi Jia’s discharge, Lu Ban felt that he had rested enough as well.

He also went through the discharge procedures.

Back at home, Lu Ban turned on the computer.

In the hard drive, a folder named “Springtime without Warfare” lay quietly.

Lu Ban clicked on it, and it was packed with videos.

The length and number of videos far exceeded those of the past.

Casually opening one, he saw a girl with soft black hair and amber eyes, sitting calmly on a cushion, her face aglow in the moonlight.

She stood up, took the longbow and arrows, and shot them under the moon.

Then, there was Lu Ban, standing beside her.

Lu Ban turned off the video, and onto his field of vision floated the cold and indifferent text of the System he hadn’t seen for a long time.

[Career Development Task]

[Sometimes, the reverberations of the heartstrings are more memorable than visual shocks. Unearth your innermost feelings, present your past, and create a character that the audience will remember forever. You already hold it in your palm, don’t you?]

[Task Requirements: Release a film in the Movie Universe and win three world-class awards.]

[Release film in the Movie Universe: 0/1]

[Obtain world-class awards: 0/3]

[“One step away from a Grand Slam, can he make it?”]

“World-class awards…”

Originally, Lu Ban thought that earning five billion last time was already incredible and had taken him a herculean effort to achieve. If this time the task set a goal of ten billion, he would have had to start manufacturing cars right away.

However, this time the task requirements were different.

World-class awards meant at least those of international film festivals’ standards, such as the Oscars, the Golden Bear, the Golden Lion, the Palme d’Or, not to mention, Lu Ban felt that at the very least, it had to be awards of the caliber like Miskatonic Film Festival’s Golden Octopus Award to count.

“Can’t just mix in with the college film festivals anymore, huh.”

Lu Ban felt a profound regret that those college students and rookie directors couldn’t compete with him—it was definitely their loss.

Compared to box office sales, award-winning films actually operate on a different dimension from profit and popularity.

Simply put, they require artistry.

Even the Oscars, the most commercial of awards, takes into account some political elements—the number of mainstream box office hits that have won the golden statuette is not small but also not large. More award-winning films reflect social issues, historical events, and the like.

And other awards are even more artistic. Even though Lu Ban’s movies earn such high box office worldwide, in the eyes of those haughty juries, they are considered tainted with the smell of money and not worth mentioning.

Moreover, a commercial film director like Lu Ban who has achieved large box-office success could also face boycotts from those circles. They might think Lu Ban has made too much money and now wants to gild his own face as filmmakers in theatre look down on filmmakers in cinema, and those making art films look down on those making commercial films; it happens all the time.

Such biases could lead to unfair judgments of the films, finding faults whenever they want—going out with the left foot first could be enough for dismissal, not to mention the subjectivity that influences film evaluations significantly.

For Lu Ban to win an award now might seem simple, but in reality, it’s fraught with difficulties.

“In any case, let’s work hard together,” he said, stretching his limbs and speaking to the air beside him.

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