"This backstory is enough to make you the protagonist of a novel," Sun Hang remarked.
"What kind of novel protagonist is destined to die before fifty?" Candle Dragon laughed.
"That's only true of novels nowadays. Nine out of ten chase after invincible protagonists who can dominate the world. Readers can't stand seeing the protagonist suffer even the slightest setback, and authors are terrified that their writing won't be satisfying enough and readers will drop the book. Go back ten or twenty years, and there were plenty of protagonists with tragic endings. Topics like heaven envying talent and heroes growing old have always been moving..."
Sun Hang paused before continuing, "Besides, the plot of defying fate is what grips people's hearts the most. Just because the previous generations of Candle Dragons couldn't do it doesn't mean you can't."
"Are you trying to comfort me?" Candle Dragon asked.
"No. I'm just discussing novels with you," Sun Hang said.
Sun Hang himself had no spare time to read novels, but the memories devoured and fused by Taishui contained plenty of information on the subject—among the victims who had been turned into Taishui's nourishment, there had probably been more than one fervent novel enthusiast.
"Ha, I don't really like popular novels. I prefer ancient books that others might find dry and boring." Candle Dragon glanced toward a bookcase beside him, his gaze eventually settling on a massive set of books that occupied four entire shelves. "Lately, I've been reading the Zizhi Tongjian compiled by Sima Guang during the Northern Song dynasty. I finished the sixty volumes of the Annals of Han the day before yesterday. Next up is the Annals of Wei."
"You like history?" Sun Hang asked.
"'Using bronze as a mirror, one can straighten one's attire; using history as a mirror, one