Renegade Immortal Afterword

It has been nearly half a month since Renegade Immortal concluded. I have always said there would be an afterword, but I could never quite find the right feeling for it. With the New Year approaching, I've finally organized my thoughts today, so let's start with a casual chat.

Renegade Immortal has been written for over two years, and now that it's over, looking back, I am filled with many emotions.

I still remember the very first month of Renegade Immortal. I remember the collection count was only a little over ten thousand, and the subscription numbers were a total flop. Yet, Er Gen did not give up. Instead, I drank beer, eyes bloodshot, and told myself that even if I were a failure, I would be damned if I didn't finish the entire story.

I went all in—I wrote!

Back then, Er Gen was a newcomer, lost regarding the future, lost regarding life. I would always stare blankly at the sky, filled with many thoughts and ideals, but in the end, as I watched my beard grow thicker and thicker, all that remained was helplessness.

I didn't want to give up; I had to persevere. That was what I told myself back in that June, two and a half years ago.

The theme of Renegade Immortal is "defiance," and for me, it was also a form of defiance amidst the struggle—step by step, continuing the pursuit. The hardships and confusion within it were many, so many.

I still remember the insults, the rebukes, the vicious words, and so much more... but at the same time, I also remember your comfort, every single one of your heartwarming words...

There were several times when I looked at the familiar names in the book review section, saw the many Alliance Masters, and watched the monthly votes surge time and again, and I shed tears of joy. Truly, this is the truth.

Thank you all, thank you everyone, thank you to every reader of Renegade Immortal, and thank you to the General Alliance and all the vice-moderators who have served over these two-plus years!

It can be said that as Renegade Immortal progressed, I grew as well—a growth in thought. Wang Lin's Dao is as if I were writing my own Dao.

Life and death, cause and effect, reincarnation, the true self.

These artistic conceptions were not in the outline; they were things I slowly pursued alongside Wang Lin as the story unfolded. A person's life is less than a hundred years; only thought can roam endlessly. Thought is the hallmark of humanity; that is how I have always understood it.

Two and a half years have passed, and I am very reluctant to let go. In the few days since it ended, my body has started to feel unwell, as if a string that had been taut for over two years suddenly snapped, and my whole being went limp.

I am still coughing now, and my chest feels tight.

A person's life will have many two-year stretches, but I know that I am very satisfied with these two years of mine. I am very happy because I had your company.

I have grown a lot through this book, Renegade Immortal. From the initial stiffness to the final proficiency, I had realizations almost every month. But I know there are still flaws; for instance, I am not sensitive to numbers and always make mistakes between the beginning and the end...

Many fellow Daoists know this...

Often, I would write that something was on the third floor, and in the blink of an eye, I would write it was on the fourth. I felt very depressed about it myself; it was my memory playing tricks on me...

There are quite a few other shortcomings like this, but I have noted them all down one by one and will try my best to avoid them in my new book.

Even the sentence structure in Renegade Immortal often made it feel awkward for everyone to read, but I suspect that is something I cannot change...

Also, I remember the lack of vocabulary. For example, phrases like "sneered," "eyes flashed," "coldly snorted," "stepped forward," and so on—I used them very frequently, and I feel a bit ashamed.

In a book of over ten million words, it is very difficult for Er Gen to achieve perfection. I hope everyone doesn't mind.

However, I do have merits too~~ many, many merits, hehe.

At the very least, I think the character development was quite good. Not every supporting character, but the vast majority were quite successful: Situ, Qingshui, Hong Die, Zhou Yi, Thirteen, Big Head, and so on.

This is something that brings me great joy.

There are too many merits to list them one by one to praise myself; you all understand~

Overall, shortcomings and merits coexist. Renegade Immortal is far from perfect, but it is the limit of my current stage. In my new book, I will try other methods to let my growth climb once again. (It seems I've used the word "climb" quite a lot.)

There are many plot holes in Renegade Immortal, and even until the end, there were quite a few left unfilled. In fact, I even dug a few more at the very end. I considered this, but in the end, I chose to keep them.

I have always believed that a novel always needs to have some regrets. If not in the characters, then in the plot. In reality, the answers to some of these holes can be found within the text and through contemplation.

For example, the missing piece inside the Heaven Defying Bead—the answer was actually given at the end. That missing piece was Tian Yunzi.

For example, the so-called white bead; there must naturally be a black bead. These black and white beads were also given an answer in the final chapter, on that chessboard.

For example, the earliest mention of the incense being poisonous—I gave an explanation for that at the Mourning Clan, though I didn't state it directly.

There are many more. For instance, the East Arrival Sect—there is an answer in the text.

However, there are indeed some holes for which I have no conclusion. I want to leave those stories for the Wang Lin who is accompanying Li Qianmei on the Immortal Astral Continent to unravel.

Or perhaps some of the hidden mysteries in the Cave Abode World—I intend to leave those for the Wang Lin who is accompanying Mu Bingmei to seek out.

Likewise, I have left two questions for all you fellow Daoists. The first is about Wang Lin himself.

Wang Lin exists beside Li Muwan, Li Qianmei, and Mu Bingmei, but which one is the real him? I believe the vast majority of fellow Daoists would say in unison that it is Li Muwan.

But think carefully; perhaps that is not the correct answer.

Perhaps it really is Li Muwan, or perhaps it isn't...

Of course, if it isn't, then the persistence Wang Lin showed in his struggle throughout his life seems somewhat absurd. But there are some things—we are not Wang Lin, and we do not know the truth.

At the very least, I cannot distinguish it. Rationally, I believe that the one who left with Li Muwan is the real Wang Lin. But when I think of Li Qianmei's story, and Mu Bingmei's story, I suddenly become lost. Which one is truly him?

I want to bring this confusion to all of you fellow Daoists.

If you were Wang Lin, which of these three women would you choose to stay with?

The answer to this is different for everyone.

What I want is for those fellow Daoists who like Li Qianmei to believe that the one who stayed by her side is the real Wang Lin. By the same token, for those who like Mu Bingmei, I hope you will firmly believe that the real Wang Lin stayed in the Cave Abode World that gave birth to him and raised him.

I also hope that those who like Li Muwan can believe without hesitation that the one who left is the real Wang Lin.

There is no answer; I don't have one...

Perhaps only Wang Lin, only he himself, knows the answer to this question that has no answer.

This is the first work by Er Gen that has truly reached a conclusion in the real sense, and also his first foray into xianxia. I have always felt that xianxia novels have no ending; I do not like writing jokes about Wang Lin becoming the number one person in the universe and the firmament.

What I wanted to write was a person of flesh and blood, a man who walks against the heavens for the sake of the defiance within his heart.

Cultivation has no end, which is why I wrote of a fourth step, a fifth step, a sixth step, and perhaps, even more; it is a long and arduous road.

This represents the pursuit and persistence of a person, representing the climbing and gazing toward an ideal, like footsteps moving forward that will never cease, continuing on forever.

Renegade Immortal is merely a part of Wang Lin's life, the earliest part. Beyond this, he will have more of a life, only this part of his life is not reflected in the book, but rather wanders through our imaginations.

I like to think, and I hope that you, too, will occasionally, when bored, or after being moved by something, drift off into a daydream—that is a joy in itself.

The starry sky is vast. When I look up at the night sky, I know that Wang Lin is just a story, yet the defiance he carries is what I lack. Therefore, I wrote such a character to tell myself, to remind myself, and to let myself yearn.

I am in the web, and you all are as well.

Just like that game of chess at the end... that question and that answer.

"Do you understand?"

"I understand."

Yet, Wang Lin understands, the guardian understands, but I—I still do not understand.

Life is like a dream.

This is Miscellaneous Talk One. There will be a second, and perhaps postscripts for other characters, though I cannot guarantee it. But as long as the feeling strikes, I will write them down.

For instance, Situ, Qingshui, Hong Die, Zhou Yi, Thirteen, Zhou Ru, and so on...

Although I spend less time online, I remain with all of you fellow Daoists.