Chapter 318: A Chaotic Dance of Demons
Here is a question. From childhood to adulthood, we have watched many wuxia dramas, but the number of political strategem dramas we've watched is pitifully small—probably just a handful. Why is that?
The reason is simple. Wuxia dramas can bring visual impact and emotional fluctuations, filling people with yearning.
Political strategem dramas are different. They need to be filmed to allow for two different interpretations. Simply put, they have to be entertaining enough for those who don't see the underlying strategems, while also allowing some people to see the political maneuvering involved. The difficulty is imaginable.
For example, when Chen Ran was alive, he once discussed Journey to the West with other authors.
They unanimously agreed that the arc of the Bottomless Pit, involving the Mouse Demon, was the ceiling of battle of wits: the counterattack of a nobody.
Just look at the beginning and the end.
The beginning: The Mouse Demon lived in the Bottomless Pit, arguably the lowest tier of demons.
The end: The Mouse Demon was brought to the Heavenly Court by Li Jing as his adopted daughter.
The process in between was the Mouse Demon using Tang Sanzang as leverage to engage in extreme back-and-forth tug-of-war with the gods of the Heavenly Court and the Buddhas filling the sky. Ultimately, she succeeded in her gambit and achieved class transcendence.