Piracy? Knockoffs? Malicious competition?
When Zi Shou learned that the spread of Little Liu Bei had hit a snag, a strange expression appeared on his face.
The Yao Bookshop had actually published a book called Strange Tales from Yao Studio, with plots and character concepts copied wholesale from his Little Liu Bei.
Granted, when it came to filthy language and advanced positions, Strange Tales could not compare with an old hand like him, who had received the unstinting instruction of many teachers in his previous life. But its wording was more elegant and artistic.
Put another way, it was a work of refinement he could never have written.
Zi Shou sent You Hun to buy a copy. After reading it, he found that, although it could not compare with Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio in later ages, it was still a heavyweight bombshell in this era-a work worthy of founding an entire genre.
The characters and stories in Little Liu Bei had been drawn from several ancient classics. Without its botched endings, even stripping away the filthy language would have left stories compelling enough to attract countless readers. Having copied its plots and characters and supplied proper endings, Strange Tales from Yao Studio could easily become an overnight sensation while crushing the original Little Liu Bei, which had no literary merit whatsoever and deliberately botched its endings.
If this kept up, he was finished!
The more widely Strange Tales from Yao Studio spread, the less attention Little Liu Bei would receive. Even revealing himself as its author now would hardly cause much of a stir.
Zi Shou gritted his teeth. He would just have to put in a little more work!
I can't beat your prose, but I can give readers illustrations! My book comes with pictures!
Painting had