HEIFEIGU -Chapter 154

Quan Chengcong and the livestream remained silent for a long time.

His fingers brushed over the weathered raised dots, as if caressing that era of history.

The old man’s voice was hoarser than when the broadcast had just started.

“When I was translating these notes, I felt as if I had put myself in the shoes of the person sending the telegrams. I could sense the immense pressure he felt while typing out those characters.”

“He was fully aware that sending these messages could put him in danger, but if he didn’t send them…”

Quan Chengzong sighed again. “Comrades sacrificed themselves to protect him, dangers lurked all around, and the battles’ outcome was uncertain.”

“The overwhelming guilt and pressure could easily break down his psychological defenses.”

“So, I always emphasize: historical figures were also living humans.”

“They had emotions, feelings, attachments—they truly existed. We should approach them with critical thinking.”

“Don’t overly demonize historical figures, and don’t over-mythologize them either.”

“If you want to understand or reconstruct a historical figure, it’s best to brew a cup of tea, adopt a conversational mindset, and chat with them across the span of time.”

“Try to get close to them as much as possible before drawing any conclusions, and really understand them.”

“To that end, I also visited the archives in H City.”

【Huh? Grandpa Quan also went to that archive?】

【Yeah, tell us about the archive. Why such a huge contrast?】

【This is pretty bizarre. On one hand they call him a traitor, on the other, a national hero—it’s completely extreme.】

“Hold on a second.”

Quan Chengzong got up, added hot water to his tea cup, and brought over two file folders.

“I went to H City several times. First, I privately visited the archives to take a look.”

“To be honest, the contents were messy and unorganized, not systematic—definitely not done by professionals.”

“The most eye-catching items were the old newspapers related to Yin Wenshan.”

“Scandalous news, traitors, bloody executions—sensational stuff, but none of these papers indicated which organizations published them, nor their level of authority.”

“I took care of that research myself.”

“Among them, the two that published the scandalous news were the lowest-tier tabloids, with terrible reputations. They built themselves up by fabricating celebrity scandals. Viewing these as news is laughable—it’s better to treat them as jokes.”

A faint look of disdain appeared on the old man’s face.

Finally, he made a sharp remark, “The photos are okay, though—perhaps because Yin Wenshan himself was quite handsome.”

“As for this newspaper reporting Yin Wenshan’s execution…”

Quan Chengzong pulled up an image of the paper on the display.

In bold, black characters: “Ta Kung Pao”.

“This report is what saddled Yin Wenshan with the label of a traitor for over a hundred years.”

He shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Ta Kung Pao…”

“Students who often attend my lectures must be familiar with this name.”

“I initially thought this paper in the archives was the leading newspaper of the Republic, and even doubted whether the materials I had were accurate.”

“To verify, I went to the library to check every issue of Ta Kung Pao around that time. I didn’t find any issue reporting on Yin Wenshan.”

“This confirmed one of my ideas: as a modern history researcher, I had never come across the claim that Yin Wenshan was a traitor.”

“I also asked some students and colleagues. Similarly, no one remembered this claim. Only one colleague from H City vaguely recalled hearing it.”

“At that time, Ta Kung Pao was almost nationwide in circulation. To test my theory, I checked libraries in other cities and still found nothing resembling the H City paper. So it’s almost certain: this edition was not issued by the Ta Kung Pao we know.”

“Then I investigated the source of this paper.”

“First, I asked the local H City government office responsible for such institutions. They told me the archive was privately run, with no government involvement.”

【Oh…】

【Unexpected.】

【Not only were there fake experts, now even the archives are fake.】

“I visited the H City archive twice, hoping to meet the person in charge, but came up empty both times.”

“On my third visit, after multiple contacts, I finally met the owner of the archive.”

“With his help, I compared their Ta Kung Pao with the copies in our archive and finally made a discovery.”

Quan Chengzong held up a display board, showing two newspapers side by side. At first glance, they looked almost identical, but a careful comparison revealed differences.

“Although the font, layout, and printing are very similar, a closer look shows the distinctions.”

“The H City newspaper seems to be forged—essentially a knock-off, distributed on a small scale.”

“Or we can say that certain forces at the time wanted to pin this outcome on Yin Wenshan, so they printed a fake Ta Kung Pao for H City readers.”

【Wait, they went to such lengths? Made a fake newspaper just to frame someone?】

【I watched Shan Hai Wu Ming. If most of the film’s plot is true, they took all the Yin family’s money, and printing a fake paper would be a huge profit.】

【Also, the Yin family had considerable influence in business at the time. If they hadn’t smeared them, the rest of the business alliance families would have probably united in opposition.】

“I’ve applied to start a new research project on this. Interested students can sign up on the Literature and History Archive’s website and participate in cloud-based research.”

【Wow, the old man is doing something new again, even with cloud research.】

【So the question of whether Yin Wenshan was a traitor still isn’t settled. Two hours of live broadcast—what did we even learn?】

【Upstairs, have you checked your IQ?】

【How can you settle it? Historical events aren’t about final verdicts—they’re about the evidence. And the evidence is already clear. Why insist on a verdict?】

【Unless someone could travel back in time to witness it, or Yin Wenshan’s ghost appears to tell the story, how could you ever definitively know?】

【Speaking of Yin Wenshan’s ghost, did anyone watch the crew’s live roadshow in H City? It was amazing!】

The comments gradually went wild. After over two hours, Quan Chengzong was exhausted.

“Later, we will designate a space at the C City Film Base to build the Yin Wenshan Film Museum and Yin Wenshan Memorial Hall.”

“The research focus will be there, with materials updated in real time. Both museums are non-profit, free of charge.”

“Those interested in this period of history can also visit.”

After explaining this, the old man ended the live stream.

The new trending topic was concise: #The Male Lead of Shan Hai Wu Ming Based on a Traitor? Reversed!#

The online debate about the real-life inspiration had finally settled.

【Feeling conflicted… I feel like such a fool.】

【I even joined the boycott before… I regret it so much.】

【Really, the telegram content shocked me. Thinking of all the suffering he endured in life and the slander after death, and now someone finally defends him, yet I still boycotted…】

【I literally wake up at night just to slap myself.】

【Never rushing to pick sides again.】

【But isn’t this manipulation by someone deliberately stirring people up?】

【Boycott “a bucket of popcorn”? Apologize! Delete the account! Leave the internet!】

The uproar caused by “a bucket of popcorn” ended up backfiring on them.

This content creator, who had run the channel for years with over a million followers, quietly deleted their account.

Netizens’ anger and guilt had nowhere to go, so they vented on Shan Hai Wu Ming’s box office.

The blend of real historical events and fictional storytelling made the movie feel mysterious.

It wasn’t expensive, and people had to see it in theaters.

In just three days, Shan Hai Wu Ming’s box office went from last place back to first.

Those in H City who had visited the archive felt even worse.

It felt like they had paid to be deceived.

Many went to the archive demanding refunds.

Ironically, a sign at the entrance had just raised ticket prices to 60 yuan.

No bottom line at all!

People who had initially thought they might not get refunds were now determined to demand them.

After several days of commotion, they finally confronted the archive owner.

The money was already in his pocket—naturally, he had no reason to give it back.

He hadn’t opened the archive out of interest in history.

He had bought the land thinking the surrounding area might be demolished for the new film base.

The land was public-use land, so he couldn’t openly run a business. He just leveraged the fact that it had been a Republican-era prison to set up an archive.

He hadn’t spent much on collecting materials or verifying their origins—he just thought Yin Wenshan’s story was legendary enough to put in the spotlight.

Previously, they had raised prices secretly and pretended to ignore complaints. Now, they were reaping the consequences.

From now on, no one would voluntarily go to that archive.

The owner refused to refund tickets, so the archive was ultimately opened for free.

The Yin Wenshan materials in the collection were also donated to the Yin Wenshan Memorial Hall for free.

Doing this neither cost money nor harmed their image; it even earned them a small favor from Qian Shuyun—truly a triple win.

The archives issued a sincere apology online and released a statement. Only then was the matter considered closed.

Although Shan Hai Wu Ming’s promotion never played the high-level, high-concept, or main-theme cards, this incident somehow pushed it into that spotlight.

Some official media even posted articles like “Don’t Let ‘Clown’ Hype Distort the Narrative—Protect Our Online Cultural Space” and “Don’t Let Capitalist Frenzy Destroy the Roots and Soul of the Cultural Industry.”

Once these two articles were published, they essentially drew a full stop on the Shan Hai Wu Ming incident.

Fans and casual supporters who had sided with the production from the start spread the news immediately.

The sky cleared—box office time!