Coming Thick and Fast

Qiu Wuji wondered whether even her poetic epithet was part of some inscrutable heavenly design.

If Chu Ge had originally chosen it with deliberate intent, the water was her, and the heavens might have meant Chu Tiange. Thus, water follows the heavens.

But from another perspective, weren't the heavens also Chu Ge himself?

He was the heavens of that world.

So, water follows the heavens?

Was that why her mind went blank when she tried to change her nickname, only to settle instinctively on that same phrase?

She glanced up at Chu Ge. He was beaming, and she had no idea whether he had considered those deeper implications. Probably not. He was simply happy that she had kept something he had given her.

Forget it. I'm Qiu Wuji anyway. What difference does changing it make? She said nothing more, put away her phone, and murmured, "Let's go buy groceries."

Seeing that she seemed a little distracted, Chu Ge asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Mm, nothing. I was wondering whether I should buy a cookbook."

"Oh, you don't need to buy one. With a phone and computer, you can look up whatever dish you want to make. There are also loads of cooking livestreams and videos you can learn from directly."

"What... are those?"

Chu Ge laughed. "I suppose these two things are the most important magical treasures in this world. Once you've mastered them, you'll be a modern person."

After they returned, Qiu Wuji carried the groceries into the kitchen, while Chu Ge went back to writing. He felt that his writing had entered a very peculiar state.

Previously, every time he posted a chapter, he would eagerly refresh the chapter comments, read reviews, and chat in the groups. Now, once he finished writing, that was it. He paid no attention to anything else.

Partly, he didn't want to upset himself by reading arguments. Partly, he felt that his heart simply wasn't in those things anymore.

The most important soul of his book was already there beside him, vividly alive. The aroma of cooking drifted from the kitchen, and he could almost see Qiu Wuji reading a book while cooking with immortal arts. It was all so real.

Did it still matter how well the book was written?

Its greatest value seemed to lie in building a complete world, giving her existence a firmer foundation. That was all the work needed to mean. What did it matter whether others praised it or cursed it? What if it flopped? He could always get a job. Surely he wouldn't starve to death.

That laid-back attitude made him increasingly relaxed and comfortable, and his writing grew faster along with it. He had even posted an extra chapter yesterday and still managed to save half a chapter in reserve.

Exercise and shopping had taken up so much time that morning, yet it looked as though he could still finish another chapter before lunch. If nothing else interrupted him, he might even post ten thousand words that day. That would be a personal record.

Qiu Wuji's upcoming storyline primarily revolved around gathering the Four Symbols Formation Materials and other items that would help her survive her tribulation and ascend. This was her main plotline, and all sorts of events would unfold during her search. Some involved Chu Tiange, while others did not. After all, Chu Tiange's cultivation was still too low for him to participate in many high-level battles.

Under his original approach, the plots involving Chu Tiange would receive lavish attention, while Qiu Wuji's own activities would get only a brief mention or two, falling under "things the character did offscreen." Now, however, Chu Ge instinctively focused on Qiu Wuji's individual scenes, making the story feel a little as though it had two protagonists.

To keep that impression from becoming too pronounced, Chu Ge was also considering giving other characters more independent scenes. After all that tinkering, it would practically become an ensemble story.

It was difficult to control, starting to exceed his abilities, but who cared? He would just write it.

After posting the new chapter, Chu Ge was about to head into the kitchen to chat with Qiu Wuji when a series of beeps sounded. QQ was ringing.

He took a closer look. His editor...

Chu Ge's heart skipped a beat. Had he run into the same trouble as Zhang Qiren?

"Any instructions for me, boss?"

"Your word count is about right now. I applied for a homepage feature for you, and the chief editor approved it. Stockpile some chapters over the next few days, and write an author's note for the occasion."

"Thank you, boss!" Chu Ge was both delighted and puzzled. He was delighted because he had written several books without ever getting a major homepage feature. Although launch-screen recommendations had now overtaken it in terms of traffic, its historical significance and prestige as the biggest recommendation still remained. It was an affirmation of a work, something even the big-name authors used to commemorate with an author's note.

His readership had clearly been dropping lately, yet a good thing like this had actually come his way?

What puzzled him was that recommendations were normally announced through site messages. Almost every editor's QQ status said, "Don't ask about recommendations." Why had his editor come to tell him personally? It made no sense.

Then the editor's next message arrived: "Your recent writing has been good. The editorial team is very optimistic about it. Keep it up."

Chu Ge: "?"

It was surprising enough that the editorial team was following new chapters of a work that had only recently reached the premium tier. What was more, he had clearly been letting himself go a little lately, yet they were optimistic about it?

As a longtime flop of an author, Chu Ge ultimately didn't dare question his famously aloof editor further. He thanked him again and closed the chat window, thoroughly confused. Another private-message avatar kept flashing. Chu Ge immediately recognized Zhang Qiren's flashy profile picture, and his mood settled somewhat. He clicked it and asked with a smile, "How's work going?"

Bully with Backing: "So busy I barely have time to breathe. Man, writing still feels better. You're poor, but you're free, and you don't have someone bossing you around."

Chu Ge replied, "It's pretty much the same, really. We have editors above us too... They just manage us differently. In the end, we still need someone to appreciate us."

"True enough. As a flop, I barely ever spoke to my editor, and when I did, it was to get taken down, hahaha." Zhang Qiren laughed it off, then changed tack. "You've been acting pretty strange lately, though, Brother Chu. I haven't seen you chatting in the authors' group for days, and you haven't replied to reviews or chapter comments either. You're like a heartless update machine."

Chu Ge answered vaguely, "Well, you haven't been showing up either..."

"I'm busy."

"So am I..."

"Busy dating, right?" Zhang Qiren sent a smirking emoji and finally revealed why he had messaged. "I saw you shopping with a beautiful woman."

"Hiss... I was shopping during normal working hours, wasn't I? Were you slacking off? Speaking of which, what's your position now? Is your company nearby?"

Chu Ge was blatantly changing the subject, but Zhang Qiren didn't press him. He merely said, "Bring her out sometime so your buddy can meet her."

"...I was asking about your job."

"Basically a security guard. Not exactly far away, not exactly close. This morning, I was chasing a thief with someone and ended up around there. The shopping district was crowded, and we couldn't find him anywhere, but I happened to spot you instead. You should be careful too, Brother Chu. Security at our apartment complex is practically nonexistent. You don't even need to swipe a card to get in or out. Watch out for thieves."

Chu Ge was astonished. "With that build of yours, you can actually catch thieves?"

Zhang Qiren sent an emoji with its hands on its hips. "Thieves are scared of the uniform, not how much muscle you've got."

Chu Ge pointed out, "Can you outrun them, though? That's why he got away, isn't it?"

Bully with Backing left the chat cursing.

Chu Ge scratched his head, feeling that something was a little odd. He had certainly danced around the subject without answering anything about Qiu Wuji, but after all that talking, Zhang Qiren hadn't said which company he worked for either.

Both of them had talked at length without actually saying anything.

"Time to eat." Qiu Wuji's voice drifted over.

Those three simple words shattered every other thought. Like a gentle breeze on a summer afternoon, they tickled at his heart, making it sway and flutter.

"What is it? Why are you grinning?" For some reason, the sight of that expression made Qiu Wuji want to hit him. She asked stiffly, "Have your aches gone away?"

"No... Something good happened today. Mm, you could think of it as my sect rewarding me with access to the Scripture Pavilion. How much I can turn that into cultivation still depends on me."

Chu Ge's analogies for Qiu Wuji were always especially direct and accurate. He understood her world far too well... The moment she heard it, Qiu Wuji knew this really was something worth celebrating. She couldn't help smiling. "Are you getting the protagonist treatment now?"

Chu Ge blinked at her without saying a word.

Qiu Wuji paused, and her smile turned murderous. Didn't her own presence count as him getting the protagonist treatment?

Chu Ge promptly lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth. "Maybe the heroine's arrival brought good luck my way."

He was practically overflowing with the will to survive...

He had clearly smoothed things over quite nicely, yet Qiu Wuji felt an ever-growing urge to hit him. It seemed different from when she had beaten him upon first crossing over... She just wanted to hit him.

Neither of them spoke again through the rest of the meal. After finishing, Qiu Wuji cleared everything away with a stern face, then turned and went into her room. "I'm going to cultivate for a while using the midday yang energy. Don't disturb me unless it's important."

Chu Ge badly wanted to say that he had even more yang energy right here-pure yang! But he knew perfectly well that saying it would get him beaten to death, so he obediently returned to his own room, planning to take a nap too.

With such a vivid beauty beside him, when would they finally be able to take things a step further?

On that summer afternoon, the sun blazed outside, and the air was dry and still. The occasional cry of a cicada stirred something deep in his heart, something eager to surge up and sprout. Half asleep, Chu Ge wondered whether this was summer or spring.

Just as everything fell silent, a human silhouette gradually appeared on the door.

The figure grew more and more solid, then actually "walked" straight out of the door.

Wall-Piercing Technique!

(End of chapter)