First Prize: Best Man -- Lin Xiao

Book Review: The Ultimate Man - On Lin Xiao

Reviewer: Too Quiet

The Jiangnan scenery is beautiful, how could you understand? Life is too rushed, it's best to be wild for a season. On lonely nights, it rains outside the window, and I can only take away the boredom, hiding the lonely shell. My gaze is fixed on the deep starry sky; that is where men's pursuit lies, their direction and paradise.

The sound of the flute is like water, the sound of the dizi tells of emotions. Kunlun Peak, the floating life is distant, the cycle of all living beings, who can stop it, who can comprehend it? Different worlds, different settings, different persistence forge different values, and different legends spread. When the past fades, when everything concludes, only that eternal classic silently burns, that touch of passion, in the heart, vanishes in an instant, yet is forever passed down.

From the beginning to the end of the novel, Lin Xiao consistently follows one main thread: unyielding persistence and an immortal belief. What kind of state is this? From an unknown, bullied youth to a man of strong character and decisive action, what price did he pay in between? How many people can understand?

The "undying cockroach" followed him all the way, from the Human Realm all the way into the Divine Realm. The belief in love in his heart never faded. Facing insurmountable existences, he dared to step forward. How much courage does that require? For someone who fiddled with medicine jars since childhood, killing always went against the professional ethics of a physician. However, some things must be done, even if they cannot be spoken of.

Between cycles of reincarnation, past lives are extinguished, yet the face in dreams grows clearer. But the formidable enemies become increasingly heaven-defying. The fate of this life, the fate of the next life, the changes of the sea and mulberry fields, they finally become a couple. The ups and downs in between, the righteous anger for a beauty that ignites a man's resolve, fully embody a man's responsibility.

Lin Xiao is not like Feng Zi with his schemes and ruthlessness born from a life of hardship. He is not like Yi Chen with his manipulative prowess and coldness. He is not like Long Zhan with his brutal slaughter. He lacks Xia's dominance and tenderness, and Fang Wen's cunning gained from two lifetimes. He doesn't have Lin Ke's high starting point.

He only had the pursuit and the life of drifting and hardship that accompanied him through wind and rain. He sought survival in schemes and treacherous paths, survival among powerful forces, and even when knowing he was outmatched, he fought for his beliefs.

What is this? It is the courage born from the burning of belief, a brave man in perseverance. Burning blood, burning belief, he rushed forward without hesitation, only to see Yao'er in the Divine Realm, for that glance before the Buddha, for the kowtow before the mountain, for the laughter in the mountains, for the companionship of the familiar past.

He has no millions of soldiers in his chest, no miraculous tactics of slaughter in his hands. He only has the courage and persistence forged through trials. Sometimes he is also lost, lost as to why this world has so much darkness, lost as to why this life is so unfair. He was lost regarding his strength, regarding the formation of his own power, until finally, he understood that this is a world where fists speak.

A calm mindset, acceptable. A calm attitude, acceptable. But persistence cannot be abandoned, belief cannot be forsaken. That image in his heart cannot be given up. Combat cannot be approached calmly, fighting spirit cannot be approached calmly.

Lin Xiao, with his experiences along the way, tells us that as a man, one must have a brave heart. Genius, talent, and the like are not the most crucial factors for success in the end. What is needed is persistence, what is needed is courage, what is needed is the determination and courage to shatter everything before your eyes.

Lin Xiao doesn't possess the grand ambition of "brooding for ten years, a pillar collapses, raging waves surge from his side, a heart full of heroism pierces the sun and moon, as if a long rainbow transforms into a mighty eagle." He only has the sentiment of "suffering in the mortal world, painting rosy cheeks. Floating clouds dance. Love is hard to refuse, love is intertwined, only envying mandarin ducks, not immortals." Yet, in my opinion, he is the bravest man among all of Pig Head's books.

He strikes and never looks back, only that hand that manipulates clouds and rain, who is it waiting to save? Waiting for whom? Waiting for himself to wake up. Lin Xiao answers thus. Resounding and irrefutable. If he himself lacks the confidence of victory, if he himself abandons that flicker of belief, how can he face the brothers who followed him all the way? How can he face Yao'er's past and present lives? How can he bear it!

Heaven asks me what I seek? The galaxy is dim, the great river flows. I seek no pity from the world, only to take the head of my enemy. Half a lifetime of hot blood spills across the sky, singing songs of slaughter all the way. What is greatness at ninety thousand li? Unrivaled in the world belongs to Xiao Yao.

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Being a person is not easy.

Being a man is even less easy.

Being a good man is particularly difficult.

Grudges and affections, loyalty and betrayal, a thousand threads of causal connections.

In the vast mortal world, the great universe, to maintain one's original heart unchanged.

To prevent one's original heart from intentionally harming or deceiving others.

This is a good person.

And for a good person to treat one woman eternally.

This is a good man.

Without a doubt, Lin Xiao is a good man.

As for whether he is a good protagonist, that is for different people to have different opinions (To be continued).