Here's something you don't read about every day. An elderly woman in China knelt and prayed before a life-sized statue of what she thought was a Chinese deity. Unbeknownst to her, the statue was actually that of a popular "League of Legends" champion.
Misled By Uncanny Resemblance
The old lady, who was presumably not into the "League of Legends" craze, was just passing by a local internet café when she noticed a massive figure of Garen ornately displayed inside a glass box enclosure. Moments later, she dropped to her knees and started praying to the statue, complete with solemn chants and burning incense.
Shanghaiist speculated that the woman may have mistook the video game character for a celebrated Chinese general named Guan Yu. The war hero lived during China's Three Kingdoms period and played a pivotal role in overthrowing the Eastern Han Dynasty. He is immortalized and turned into a god in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," one of China's most popular historic novels.
Odd Sighting Goes Viral
As for the oblivious Chinese woman, photos of her public prayer session quickly went viral online. Screenshots from the internet cafe's close-circuit camera, which you can view here and here, were first posted on Weibo via Sina.com. Needless to say, the photos have since caused quite a stir among "League of Legends" aficionados around the world.
"I feel really sorry for her, probably her family ran into some unexpected trouble, and she is looking for help," said one netizen. Another commenter insisted, "As long as your beliefs are sincere, then the true god will help you."
Game Rant pointed out that while Garen and Guan Yu's garbs are strikingly similar, their reputations couldn't be any more different. Garen is a force of nature who specializes in brutal melee attacks.
His most popular quote in the game is "The most effective way to kill an opponent is to slice through the man next to him." Contrastingly, Guan Yu is a shining symbol for loyalty and righteousness.
