December 10th.
World-renowned pianist Daniel Robin’s world tour performance at Nanjiang was held on this evening.
Qiu Wuji had been inside the book for five days since her return, and each day, while working on his writing, Chu Ge helplessly watched her prepare for battle within the book. She showed no signs of coming out, so he didn’t bother to disturb her.
Things on this side were manageable. He had reached the Golden Core stage, possibly even pseudo-Nascent Soul, and if he ventured into the world of cultivation, he would be a powerhouse. It made no sense to beg his wife for help to simply investigate a situation in the mundane world.
If he wanted to ‘hug’ her, he’d better do it in bed, where there were plenty of postures to explore. After all, Qiuqiu still had many advantages…
Uh, where did his mind wander off to?
What he really should focus on is the study of ti. Over these days, Chu Ge has mainly devoted his ti to this matter. For him, this sense of overlap between the world inside the book and the real world has beco quite profound. When he contemplated the passage of ti, he began to have a deeper understanding of how to wield it.
Even though he hadn’t fully grasped its intricacies yet.
He received two packages in the last few days: one contained tickets for the piano concert, and the other was a new copy of his book sent by the publishing house.
It wasn’t surprising that the tickets arrived so quickly, but the fast delivery of the new edition of the book did surprise Chu Ge.
Little Fla spent seven days refining the pills, and Qiu Wuji had been gone for five days, making it a total of twelve days. Yet, they managed to publish the new edition with such efficiency, which was truly impressive.
With a few hours left before the concert started, Chu Ge opened the brand-new physical copy of his book and decided to explore the concept of ti.
Reading the original manuscript felt so soothing – the authentic experience. Even though so of the wording could be improved upon, and Chu Ge had considered revising it in the future, it was a story that he thoroughly enjoyed. After all, no matter how you looked at it, it was not soone else’s story to edit.
Leaning back on the couch, turning the pages, and reading every familiar word, Chu Ge’s gaze soon beca distant.
He knew there was a world inside the book.
A world he had created.
Every word, every sentence, was like a brick or a stone. The land was laid out, the sky painted, the mountains and rivers flowed. One by one, the characters in the world progressed from being blurry to becoming distinct. The ink painting was gradually infused with color, and the once-silent world beca filled with the bustling sounds of people, cattle, dogs, and the rustling of wind across fields.
The “resolution” was much higher than the previous version that had been tampered with, and there was no more lag…
In a small village, a young Chu Tiange was running along the ridge, with a little girl trailing behind him, her nose running. “Brother Tian, wait for …”
Riding bamboo horses and picking green plums, playing and living together in the countryside, the two children were inseparable.
This is the beginning of the story, but unfortunately, this little girl doesn’t appear in the story anymore. Her role was deleted, but the person still exists. Chu Ge never gave a second thought to the “ineffective supporting character,” and he doesn’t even know where this little girl is now.
Chu Ge knew what he had been missing all along.
Even though he had acted very calm when he was with Qiu Wuji in the book, in reality, Chu Tiange’s attitude was of paramount importance to him… and for the entire world as well. It was so important that he didn’t dare to directly confront Chu Tiange and kept observing from the sidelines.
Chu Ge quietly morized the little girl’s presence, intuitively feeling that it would be useful in the future.
Suddenly, young Chu Tiange looked up at the sky with a strange expression, scratching his head.
The little girl finally caught up to him and hugged him, saying, “Gotcha!”
The strange feeling that Chu Tiange had just experienced suddenly vanished, and he sighed like a little adult. “As expected, won only hinder cultivation.”
“Don’t daydream, Brother Tiange. The immortal master for the assessnt isn’t coming until tomorrow. If you don’t go tend to the cattle, Fatty Tiger at the village entrance will scold you…”
“Fatty Tiger? So out of touch. Might as well call him Iron Egg…” Chu Tiange continued to jest. “And immortal master? The sa old routine from ten years ago. How backward is this world… Well, simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Being familiar with the routine is a kind of cheating.”
The little girl said, “Brother Tian, you’re talking nonsense again.”
Chu Ge smiled slightly.
This kid has always been quite rebellious.
After all, he’s a “soul from Earth who transmigrated.”
But, at such a young age, to have such a keen reaction to the probing of ‘heavenly Dao’ is truly a talent. Did he naturally possess this attribute from the mont he beca the protagonist, or was it acquired?
But after all, Chu Tiange still couldn’t figure out that this world was soone else’s book. He simply thought he had transmigrated into a relatively traditional cultivation world. His reaction to “Fatty Tiger” was ‘out of touch’, rather than thinking, “Which author is so uninspired that they ca up with a na like this?”
I wonder how he sees things now.
When he reminisces today, will he discover that there were vulnerabilities everywhere?
Wait a minute… Chu Ge had a sudden idea. “Creation of the world” didn’t start at this mont, after all, Qiu Wuji had been living here for ten thousand years. If he goes back to the ti just before the current story began, what can he see? Can he see the true beginning of creation?
That would be a thorough study of the world’s origin and end.
He attempted to shift his focus backward in ti.
Stuck, and it didn’t go back.
“Don’t rewind the VCD and show Jackie Chan’s face, please… Right, I want to see Qiuqiu. That should be possible, right?”
Chu Ge gathered all his ntal strength and tried to go back.
The screen went black.
Chu Ge: “…”
No, this isn’t the way. If he wants to see Qiuqiu, there’s a trace to follow; she left an autobiography! Chu Ge tried to recall the content of her autobiography, slowly working backward.
After the ‘black screen’ stutter, colors started to erge slowly. Chu Ge gradually saw the riverside, where a young Qiu Wuji stood by the water, holding the Solitary Swan Sword, gazing into the distance where the water t the sky.
The description was not very objective… the young Qiu Wuji with the Solitary Swan Sword was already a Dao Immortal, her beauty was tiless, and there was no difference in her appearance from now. However, Chu Ge still felt the “youthfulness,” mostly because she was lacking the long-term aura of a sect leader and had a bit of a worldly temperant.
This was the Sword Immortal Qiu Wuji from her self-description…
The autumn wind rustled, causing a strand of her disheveled hair to brush her cheek. Qiu Wuji reached out to tuck it behind her ear.
Just this one movent made Chu Ge’s heart skip a beat.
Qiu Wuji’s gaze suddenly turned sharp, and she looked toward the sky. “Who?”
The Solitary Swan cast its shadow, but there was no response.
The novice heavenly Dao had already left the book, and his eyes were still spinning, overtaxed…
Qiu Wuji searched but found nothing. She muttered quietly, “In that instant of boundless vastness, it was as if I’d seen the view of the ancient river of ti.”
“Is this the heavenly Dao? The endpoint I’ve pursued all my life is indeed sothing people long for.”
She looked toward the end of the river, the river flowing gently, eastward, rging with the heavens, as if it had entered the embrace of the sky.
“From now on, I shall follow the river and beco the boundless autumn.”
If Qiu Wuji were to learn that the Heavenly Dao she yearned for in her heart was nothing more than a newbie who got dizzy and panicked after she questioned him sternly for causing his heart to race just by tucking her hair, she might regret choosing this poetic title.
It seems like following a rooster or a dog is better than following this lousy Heavenly Dao…
On the other hand, Chu Ge, with his head throbbing and brain swollen, massaged his forehead. Apparently, claiming to “retrace the river of ti” and “witness the eons” sounds impressive, but it’s not sothing just anyone can do. Attempting it after breaking through by taking pills is still so challenging. He didn’t watch for long, but he felt like he had just suffered a severe illness, ntally fatigued, and had a bit of a headache.
Chu Ge directly took out an Origin Elixir pill from Qiu Wuji’s room in the book and ate it to restore his spirit.
Qiu Wuji: “?”
Chu Ge reached out and fumbled again, and Qiu Wuji felt like an invisible hand had brushed across her forehead, as if helping her tuck her hair.
Qiu Wuji was dumbfounded. “What’s gotten into you?”
How could Chu Ge tell her that he had just seen the youthful sword immortal Qiu Wuji from around a thousand years ago and was captivated? He could only play dead and remain silent.
Qiu Wuji looked around, biting her lip. “The elders are waiting for a eting on the mountainside. If you ss around again, I’ll beat you up!”
There are other people around? Isn’t that even more interesting?
Well, forget it. Seeing Qiuqiu’s face turning red, Chu Ge decided to stop bothering her. He consud another pill to recover for a mont and felt much better ntally. He looked up at the sky and noticed that it was about ti.
Today’s exploration would end here. He’d have an early dinner and then attend the music performance.
Let’s see how this so-called international pianist fares.
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