Ruyi was sitting at her desk in the Chinese Web Novel Platform's office building, reading the latest chapter.
Ruyi could feel Great God Xiaoyao's malicious intentions toward his readers. The way the plot was developing, why did it feel like he was about to break their hearts...
Hopefully it was just her imagination.
Although quite a few novels on the Chinese Web Novel Platform still killed off heroines or protagonists, that sort of thing...
Usually earned the author a vicious scolding. Ruyi wasn't sure, though. Given the tone of this novel so far, just how tragic could things get...
The next day, Ruyi could no longer smile. Li Xiaoyao had lost Lin Yueru, and she, Li Ruyi, had lost her smile.
Lin Yueru had actually died!!
How could this happen? Lin Yueru was the second female lead, a bold and free-spirited heroine. How could a character like her die?
After reading the freshly updated chapter, Li Ruyi burst into tears right there in the office.
When her coworkers saw Ruyi crying, they thought she had been wronged and hurried over to comfort her.
They all asked what had happened, but Ruyi said nothing and just kept crying.
She had arrived at the office that morning full of energy. How long had she even been at work? What could possibly have hit her so hard?
"Bastard Li Xiaoyao, give me back my Yueru!"
From a spot some distance away from Ruyi, the chuunibyou kid who had recited the Sword-Riding-With-the-Wind Mantra let out an angry roar. He sprang to his feet, radiating murderous intent.
Ruyi stopped crying, but could only choke out:
"Yueru actually died. He... how could he..."
Everyone understood at once. Oh, it was the plot of Legend of Sword and Fairy...
What!!? Lin Yueru died?
They opened their computers and hurriedly checked the story.
In the Demon Locking Tower, Lin Yueru had been crushed by a falling boulder while saving Ling'er.
They couldn't even find her body. In the rubble, Li Xiaoyao dug up Yueru's Never Forget Bell, while the Never Forget Bell on his own person fell to the ground at the same time...
The Never Forget Bells came in pairs. If one of their holders died, the other's bell would fall. That meant Lin Yueru really was dead.
This author, Li Xiaoyao, had actually broken the hearts of all his readers! How dare he!!
"This Li Xiaoyao is an absolute monster. Anyone got his address? I'll damn well send him something..."
"Holy crap, how could he do that?"
"Who gave him the nerve? Lin Yueru actually died."
"Yueru, my Yueru!"
If even the editors were reacting like this, just imagine the readers.
The comment section exploded.
"My Yueru is gone! You bastard author, how dare you!"
"Is this the kind of thing a human being does?"
"This is the first time I've cried over a fictional character. You did it, you bastard author. Give me your address, and I'll send you a few pounds of razor blades as thanks..."
"Li Xiaoyao! Drop dead!"
"I read books to have fun, and then you pull this on me. You bastard author, how can you face us?"
"Geneva, give me my money back!"
"Give me my money back!"
"There isn't any hope left! You bastard author, just tell us who else you plan to kill!"
"My damn heart can't take this."
"Bastard Li Xiaoyao, give me back my Yueru!"
"Give me back my Yueru!"
Most readers in the review section were expressing their genuine feelings, openly sending the author their heartfelt greetings.
Some were joking around, but they all agreed on one thing: this author was a menace!
He was even killing off the readers. Was there any justice? Any law?
Li Changle naturally couldn't see any of this, and he could more or less guess how the readers were reacting. That was why he hadn't dared to look.
Feeling a little guilty toward the readers, he wondered if he should release the remaining chapters over the next few days to console them.
He hadn't expected to finish writing Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 in just over a month.
It was a little fast, but the story wasn't long, so it made sense.
Having made up his mind, he planned to release all the remaining chapters over the next few days, to mend his wounded readers' hearts and express his apologies.
What Li Changle didn't know was that after he posted the chapter where Lin Yueru died, a trending topic titled "Lin Yueru Is Dead" had appeared on Weibo.
Many Legend of Sword and Fairy fans on Weibo were furiously complaining about the author, Li Xiaoyao, and frantically searching for information about him.
The passionate readers wanted to express how moved they were by the story, and hoped they could visit the author in person to thank him.
Weibo users who hadn't read Legend of Sword and Fairy were baffled. Who was Lin Yueru? Why was her death trending? Curiosity got the better of them, and they clicked on the topic.
Oh, Lin Yueru was just a character in a novel.
That was ridiculous. A fictional character died, and somehow it was trending. Some people searched for the novel, Legend of Sword and Fairy.
Half a day later: "You awful author, give me back my Yueru!"
"This novel is so good, warm and healing. It's my favorite novel of the year. I highly recommend everyone read it..."
Li Changle never could have imagined that Legend of Sword and Fairy had only just begun to turn tragic, and it was already trending. At first, it had only become a hit on the Chinese Web Novel Platform. Now it was going viral across the entire internet!
The Chinese Web Novel Platform's editor-in-chief looked at the numbers in the back end, his grin stretching from ear to ear. His face lit up with delight.
This year, one Legend of Sword and Fairy had already brought in more traffic than the platform's entire annual target!
The platform had often seen this sort of thing during its rapid growth. But after it became the biggest online novel-reading site, it was rare for a single novel to attract such a huge influx of outside traffic!
Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 had only been serialized for a little over a month, and at this rate, it would probably be finished this month.
It was a shame the story was ending so soon. If it were longer, the Chinese Web Novel Platform might have gained new members steadily. Now that online fiction had grown to this point, attracting even one new user was difficult.
Still, it wasn't a problem! He was already very satisfied with the results of Legend of Sword and Fairy. More importantly, they had to keep Li Xiaoyao, this great god, on board!
With Li Xiaoyao around, he believed the Chinese Web Novel Platform could climb to a new level!
He was a walking advertisement. They couldn't let him go, especially since his contract was still the standard author contract.
The editor-in-chief, Qinghe, wondered if he should pay Li a visit and offer him a top-tier contract in person.
Qinghe decided it was necessary! Most importantly, it would put his mind at ease. After making up his mind, he called Ruyi over.
"Ruyi, ask that Li Xiaoyao about signing a contract with the Chinese Web Novel Platform. Offer him a Great God contract—no, a Platinum contract. Ask for his home address, too. We'll visit him in a couple of days..."
"Huh...? A Platinum contract right away?"
Ruyi stared at the editor-in-chief in surprise. Usually, Platinum contracts were reserved for great gods who had at least two major hits under their belts.
Li Xiaoyao was a newcomer, and this was his first book. It wasn't even that long, only a little over a million words. Wasn't giving him a Platinum contract a bit reckless?
But then again, Legend of Sword and Fairy deserved it! It was tragic, but it was good...
People couldn't help reading even as they cursed the author, and Legend of Sword and Fairy had been quite popular online these past few days.
It had brought plenty of traffic and new users to the Chinese Web Novel Platform. If they could hold on to these new users, the platform would grow considerably.
"Legend of Sword and Fairy alone is enough to earn him a Platinum contract. More importantly, we have to keep him here..."
"Got it! I'll ask him!"
Li Changle looked a little puzzled when he saw the message from Ruyi. The Chinese Web Novel Platform wanted to renegotiate his contract?
They were offering him a Platinum contract? Uh... The platform was being pretty generous, but there was obviously no downside for Li Changle.
He sent her his address, and they agreed to meet in a few days. Then Li Changle shut down QQ without giving it another thought.
Legend of Sword and Fairy was finished, and it would soon be fully updated. He just needed to speed things up.
Li Changle had no interest in stringing his readers along. He wanted to finish posting the chapters as quickly as possible so he could get his royalties sooner.
And with a Platinum contract, he could probably earn more in royalties. He'd also get a bigger cut if his future works were adapted.
Li Changle was really hoping Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 would be adapted for television in this world, but it had to be done well.
Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 was a classic. But Zhu Xian, another classic Xianxia IP...
Was an utter mess. Back then, Li Changle hadn't even finished watching the first episode before turning off the TV.
The soundtrack, insert songs, and theme song for Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 were all classics, too. They could bring those over as well.
The adaptation rights to Legend of Sword and Fairy weren't in his hands, though. As an author for the Chinese Web Novel Platform, the rights belonged to the platform.
He hoped the Chinese Web Novel Platform would do the right thing and pick a good director.
If possible, Li Changle still wanted to have a say. If Legend of Sword and Fairy 1 was adapted into a TV series, he could offer some input...
They were coming by in a few days, so he could discuss it with them then. Li Changle didn't want such a classic IP ruined on his watch.
Li Changle felt guilty about his readers, so he decided to post a few more chapters that day.
But instead of thanking him and forgiving him...
His readers only loved him more deeply.
"You bastard! Killing off Yueru wasn't enough, so now you have Anu hurting Tang Yu Xiaobao! Are you planning to kill them off in the end, too?"
"This is monstrous! Why did I read this novel? I'm crying my eyes out. You bastard author, you die!"
"Where the hell does this guy live? I'm gonna go over and have a little chat about life with him..."
"I'm furious! How can an author like this exist? Life is hard enough already, and this guy still has to cut my heart to ribbons with his novel. The worst part is, I can't stop reading this damn thing..."
There had been novels about heroines or male leads dying before, but none of them had been all that popular.
They couldn't compare to a phenomenon like Legend of Sword and Fairy. That's why its tragic story had sparked unprecedented discussion.
Li Changle unknowingly sped up his updates, and the story unfolded before everyone, scene by scene.
They all knew it was a tragedy, but they couldn't stop reading.
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