Thus Was the Dream

He looked at the clothes scattered across the sofa... The sight was actually rather decadent.

Sexy lingerie, black thigh-high stockings... They were just strewn about, still carrying her scent.

In the past, the sight might have stirred some naughty thoughts, but at that moment Chu Ge had absolutely none. He quietly gathered everything up and tossed it into the washing machine. After pressing the start button, he stood there in a daze for a long while, listening to the machine turn. Finally, he shook his head and went into his room to write.

Yet the dungeon arc he had already planned out so thoroughly, the one he had previously written at lightning speed-even while sitting on the toilet-now came out painfully slowly. He struggled for ages and simply could not get into the story.

Whenever he typed the name "Qiu Wuji," every frown and smile of hers immediately surfaced in his mind. Even the places she had hit him still ached faintly.

She was a real person now, not a fictional character he could shape however he pleased.

Then he would hesitate. How much influence did writing about her still have?

For instance, even if he severed the connection between Qiu Wuji and Chu Tiange, ordinary conversations and guidance between a sect leader and a disciple were still necessary. Otherwise, the protagonist joining the sect would lose its entire purpose. If he now wrote that Qiu Wuji gave Chu Tiange guidance, could she tell whether she wanted to teach him herself or whether he had written it? If she realized he had written it, would she still be willing to teach him?

His thoughts were a tangled mess, making writing genuinely difficult. Fortunately, this part of the plot was simple. After struggling for ages, he forced out two thousand characters. With no inclination to polish them, Chu Ge hurriedly posted the chapter and completed his usual quota of two chapters a day.

This was probably the chapter he had felt least engaged with since starting the book. He did not even know what the hell he had written. Not daring to read the comments, Chu Ge hesitated for a moment before opening the group chat.

He had not opened the readers' group in two days, despite usually lurking there whenever he had nothing to do. He was beginning to wonder whether he even seemed like a writer anymore.

When he opened it, the members were criticizing the latest chapter. Their complaints were remarkably consistent:

"Short and limp."

"Short and limp."

"How many pages was that? I finished reading before I even got my pants down on the toilet!"

Chu Ge: "...I've been revising the outline these past two days. Bear with me for now."

"Oh, the author's here? When does Qiu Wuji get laid?"

"Huh, Chu Da's here? When is Qiu Wuji going to update?"

"Speaking of which, your writing's getting better and better these last two chapters!"

Chu Ge: "?"

Are you sure? I clearly just half-assed a whole damn chapter. Nearly half the previous one was written on the toilet, too. A chapter with its own special aroma.

Someone said, "I think the writing in these two chapters is more nuanced. You haven't missed even the tiniest expression on Qiu Wuji's face. Oh, right, you've put more detail into her clothes, too. That wasn't your strong suit before, was it? It feels like you're writing with the actual person in front of you."

"Yeah, you've improved."

Chu Ge's hands hovered over the keyboard. After a long pause, he drew them back and used the mouse to post a lewd anime picture.

The conversation instantly went off the rails. "You call that lewd? A picture of a balloon would be lewder than that."

A dazzling assortment of lewd pictures began flooding the chat, and the discussion of whether Chu Ge had improved was promptly forgotten.

Having deliberately derailed the conversation, Chu Ge leaned back in his chair and watched the chat in a daze. He felt a strange, distant detachment, as though he were sitting in a bustling reception hall, surrounded by a clamor of voices yet separated from it all by another lifetime.

The world inside the book.

Qiu Wuji opened her eyes in the secluded chamber. All around her, the formations and treasures she had prepared for her "tribulation" were still in place, protecting her. Treasures shone brilliantly and spiritual energy flowed, forming a stark, vivid contrast to Chu Ge's ordinary rented apartment.

Another lifetime...

Qiu Wuji looked down at herself. She was still wearing her dignified sect leader's robes. That outfit she had just worn, whatever it was called, seemed like something from a dream.

Thus was the dream.

She let out a breath, rose to her feet, and left the chamber.

"Sect Leader, you've emerged from seclusion?" The core disciple standing guard outside bowed respectfully. "Elder Zhou came by earlier to report that word has arrived of a possible Azure Dragon Shedding Scale in the Ten Thousand Snake Cavern, ten thousand li to the southwest. He instructed us to inform you as soon as you emerged."

Qiu Wuji smiled. "Understood."

This was originally supposed to be "Qiu Wuji said indifferently." Her lips twisted almost imperceptibly.

The disciple stared, momentarily dazed. The sect leader rarely smiled, and she looked so beautiful when she did...

Qiu Wuji looked up at the moon and flew away beneath its light. "Have them gather in the council hall."

The disciple left to carry out her instructions, but glanced up in puzzlement at Qiu Wuji's departing figure.

Why was the sect leader holding down her robes as she flew?

"I am aware of the Azure Dragon Shedding Scale." In the council hall, Qiu Wuji addressed the elders. "I must obtain it, so I will make the journey personally. Furthermore, the Ten Thousand Snake Cavern holds many mysteries, and its outer reaches are quite suitable for disciples to undergo trials. Since we are going, we ought to bring some disciples along. They may find opportunities there."

One elder said, "Then we shall select some disciples..."

"Chu Tiange discovered this lead in a marketplace in the Southern Frontier, correct?" Qiu Wuji said. "This disciple has fortune on his side. We should bring him... I will also grant him additional guidance and rewards for this information. Summon him."

The elders exchanged glances. She had only just emerged from seclusion. How did she know that Chu Tiange had discovered the lead?

Could the sect leader's divination have reached such a level? Yet she had never seemed to practice divination before. She was becoming ever more unfathomable...

Chu Tiange was summoned. He cautiously entered the council hall, surrounded by powerful figures, and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Sect Leader."

As he bowed, a strange feeling arose in him.

He kept feeling that the sect leader's gaze held... killing intent.

It must be my imagination. Why would the sect leader want to kill me out of nowhere? If she really did, I might as well lie down and wait to die. There'd be nothing to think about. Hmm, she looks amused now. Seems she was only testing my temperament.

Qiu Wuji's gaze had indeed shifted from murderous to amused.

She had noticed that Chu Tiange looked a little like Chu Ge. Of course he did. He was originally a projection of Chu Ge himself, who had written the protagonist as his own stand-in. But his descriptions could not follow his own appearance exactly. For instance, he was quite handsome, but since he wanted an ordinary person as his protagonist, he could only describe Chu Tiange as "plain-looking, but cheerful and resolute."

Moreover, Chu Tiange was still a "youth," whereas Chu Ge was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight. With those brows and eyes modeled after Chu Ge's, he practically looked like a younger version of him. Or his son?

Exactly. He created him, didn't he? He's the "Father God," isn't he? That makes him his son! The thought delighted Qiu Wuji. Strictly speaking, isn't Chu Ge competing with his own "son" for a woman now?

That realization swept away even her frustration at being forced into a romance. Now she just wanted to laugh.

At the same time, she felt a little sympathy.

You think you got this far through your own hard work?

Someone wrote it all...

Resting her right arm on the armrest, Qiu Wuji lounged sideways with her hand against her forehead. "Discovering the lead to the Azure Dragon Shedding Scale is a great service to our sect. Chu Tiange, what reward would you like from me?"

Chu Tiange hurriedly replied, "I would not dare ask. It was only my duty as a disciple."

Qiu Wuji said lazily, "You may enter the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion to study for seven days and choose any one Mystic Tier cultivation technique."

The elders were visibly stirred. That was a truly generous reward. Given Chu Tiange's rank, access to the Scripture Pavilion's second floor would already have been excellent, and any technique awarded would generally have been Yellow Tier. Yet she was sending him straight to the third floor, with a Mystic Tier technique...

Why had the sect leader suddenly become so generous?

Qiu Wuji inwardly pursed her lips. Surely I'm not expected to teach him personally? I'll substitute a few rewards and be done with it.

Right, he wrote the second floor. What will change if I do this? It's worth observing.

"Furthermore..." Qiu Wuji considered for a moment. "Chu Tiange has yet to attain freedom from food, correct? Instruct the dining hall to give him an extra bowl of beef noodles today, as encouragement. That will be all. Everyone, return and make your preparations. We leave for the Ten Thousand Snake Cavern in seven days."

Chu Tiange: "???"

Chu Tiange: "???"

Another faint smile touched Qiu Wuji's lips.

So that's all there is to it.

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(End of chapter)

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