Strange Tales

The Great You Dynasty had a flourishing literary culture.

Even porters hauling sacks at the docks and servers pouring tea at teahouses could usually recognize a few characters.

Thus, novels had already become popular.

Writing books for money was certainly a good business.

After a brief moment of thought, Xia Dong settled on the subject he wanted to write about: Tale of Liu Yi.

This world already had many strange tales about Dragon Kings, aquatic spirits, and fox immortals, so a story of this kind would not seem out of place.

In his previous life, Tale of Liu Yi had been one of the finest Tang Dynasty chuanqi tales.

To ensure the book became an instant hit in this world, Xia Dong didn't copy the original's somewhat restrained classical prose. Instead, he adapted it to better suit the style of this world.

On top of that, Xia Dong incorporated some techniques from the web novels of his previous life.

The opening first highlighted the arrogance and tyranny of the Jing River Dragon King's second son, and the Dragon Maiden's miserable abuse, stoking the readers' hatred to the fullest. Then came the male lead, Liu Yi, standing up against injustice and furiously berating the powerful. The plot then took a sudden turn: upon hearing that his niece had been humiliated, Dragon Lord Qiantang transformed into a crimson dragon and shot through the sky to punish the Dragon King's second son. Xia Dong described the scene with vivid imagery and an air of grandeur. The whole passage was utterly exhilarating.

At the end, the scholar stood his ground and refused a hefty reward, finally earning the Dragon Maiden's family's approval. In the end, he won the beauty's hand and attained immortality, leaving readers thoroughly satisfied.

Paper, brushes, and ink were already on hand at home.

With his deep literary foundation and stamina and wrist strength far beyond ordinary people's, Xia Dong wrote as if inspired by the gods.

In just three days and nights, his sweeping, dramatically plotted adaptation of Tale of Liu Yi was complete.

When it came time to sign his name, Xia Dong paused briefly. He didn't use his real name, but instead wrote three words with a hint of meaning: Gouchen Ke.

Sanhai Bookstore was the largest printing shop in Pingyang County.

Early that morning, Xia Dong deliberately changed into the scholar's robe that marked his status as a licentiate, then walked straight into the bookstore.

In ancient society, social ranks were sharply divided. That robe was the best pass he could have.

The shop assistant, who usually looked down his nose at everyone, saw that a young scholar had arrived and immediately put on a smile. He respectfully ushered Xia Dong into a private room at the back, served him good tea, and summoned the bookstore's manager.

The manager's surname was Qian, and he was known for his shrewdness.

When he first heard that Xia Dong had come to "sell a manuscript," he hadn't thought much of it.

After all, plenty of pedantic scholars came by with incomprehensible poems and songs, hoping to strike it lucky, only for their work to prove dull as dishwater.

But out of respect for Xia Dong's scholarly honors, he still opened the manuscript with a smile.

Yet after reading only the opening, Manager Qian was drawn right in.

The strange tales of the Great You Dynasty were mostly told in a flat, straightforward manner, dry and stiff. But Xia Dong's Tale of Liu Yi opened with a sharp conflict and a tantalizing mystery. Its prose blended classical and vernacular styles, making it easy to understand without losing its elegance. In particular, when Manager Qian reached the scene where Dragon Lord Qiantang burst out in a fury, he couldn't help slapping his thigh and crying, "Brilliant!"

He had been in the business for many years. Just from the style of this tale, he could tell Xia Dong was a once-in-a-century talent.

"Scholar Xia, what a gift! Such ingenuity is unheard of!" Manager Qian's earlier politeness gave way to genuine warmth, and his eyes glowed.

Xia Dong lifted his teacup and gently brushed aside the tea leaves, his expression calm. "Manager Qian, you're a man of experience, so I'll spare us the empty talk. How much will you pay to buy the book outright?"

After some intense haggling, Manager Qian, certain the book would sell well, offered fifty taels of silver for the manuscript.

A household in town spent no more than twenty taels of silver a year. One could imagine, then, how much Xia Dong's martial arts training had cost him.

Xia Dong didn't bargain. Sanhai Bookstore's influence extended only as far as Pingyang County. Even if the book sold well, it would make money only in Pingyang County.

As for other places, there were plenty of unscrupulous bookstores that would print it in secret and sell it. He wouldn't even know whom to sue.

The Great You Dynasty had no copyright laws.

So fifty taels was by no means a small fee.

Besides, Xia Dong had no intention of continuing to work with Sanhai Bookstore.

This was only his foot in the door, proof that he had the ability to write books.

He had another, more suitable partner in mind.

So Xia Dong signed a contract with Manager Qian under the pen name Gouchen Ke, selling Tale of Liu Yi to him.

With these fifty taels of silver, he should be able to make considerable progress in Crane Shadow Step.

After collecting the money, Xia Dong continued his secluded cultivation, focusing on Crane Shadow Step.

No matter what, he would improve his strength first. That would give him more confidence in everything he did afterward.

After he secluded himself to consolidate his gains,

Pingyang County was in an uproar within just a few days.

Tale of Liu Yi swept through the county's teahouses, taverns, and docks with unstoppable force.

"Splendid! Splendid! That young dragon of the Jing River committed evil after evil. He deserved to have his skin peeled off and his bones scraped clean by Dragon Lord Qiantang!"

"Scholar Liu is a model for us scholars! He stood firm even in the face of the Dragon Palace's most precious treasure. No wonder even the Immortal Dragon Maiden fell for him!"

The bookstore's block carvers worked day and night. Freshly printed copies barely had time to warm on the shelves before they sold out. Storytellers on the street held the tale up as a model for all. Every day, the moment they struck the block and began telling Tale of Liu Yi, the teahouses filled to capacity. Even porters and peddlers would save the coppers they'd have spent on half a bun just to hear a segment about "the Dragon Maiden's repayment of kindness."

Even the price of paper in the county edged up by a few coins because of the extra print runs of Tale of Liu Yi.

The name "Gouchen Ke" had become the talk of every street and alley in Pingyang County.

And inevitably, this wave of excitement reached an elegant residence in the eastern part of town.

Agarwood incense curled through the study.

An elderly man with a full head of white hair and a vigorous bearing wore a pair of reading glasses imported from overseas, reading through an already yellowed first edition of Tale of Liu Yi, word by word.

He was none other than the renowned Lord He of Pingyang County. He had once risen to the post of Official of the Ministry of Rites in the capital. After retiring from office, he had returned to his hometown, where he was deeply respected by both the county magistrate and the prefect. Lord He was now leading an assignment for the county yamen, overseeing the compilation of the Pingyang County Gazetteer.

Compiling a county gazetteer was a great deed that benefited one's hometown and earned a place in history. The sections on astronomy, geography, and local customs had all been accounted for. Only the Volume of Strange Tales had given Lord He a serious headache.

Pingyang County lay by the sea, and there were countless tales of aquatic spirits and supernatural creatures. This should have been an important part of the gazetteer. But the county's scholars either dismissed strange tales as something "Confucius did not discuss," and treated the work as a mere formality, or wrote in such a dry style that they turned wondrous events into dull lists of facts, devoid of any spirit. Their work could hardly capture the character of Linyuan Prefecture.

"What fine prose... what superb structure!"

Lord He set down the book and stroked his beard in admiration.

Though Tale of Liu Yi was a work of fiction, its descriptions of the customs of the aquatic spirits in the Dragon Palace and the habits of supernatural creatures seemed wild and fanciful, yet were in harmony with the principles of human conduct. More importantly, the noble righteousness and free-spirited boldness that shone through every line were beyond the reach of ordinary pedants.

"To write strange tales with such vivid detail, and give them the power to edify..." A glint flashed in Lord He's eyes. "If I can persuade this Gouchen Ke to write the Volume of Strange Tales for the gazetteer, what great undertaking could possibly fail?"

He immediately turned to the steward standing nearby and gave his instructions in a grave voice:

"Find out who this Gouchen Ke is. Whether or not he holds scholarly honors, invite him here with all due courtesy. Tell him this old man has a favor to ask."