Your Heavenly Realm

Chu Ge felt he had spoken and acted with real poise and presence this time. If he had been this impressive on his blind date with Gu Ruoyan, things might actually have worked out...

What a shame.

Gu Ruoyan was a real person, yet he knew nothing about her. Years of barely socializing had left him unsure how to interact gracefully with strangers. Qiu Wuji's appearance was unreal, yet to him, she felt like family, as though they had already spent years together.

At the very least, she had been with him through every day and night since he first conceived this book.

She was the stranger he knew best.

But Chu Ge had forgotten that Qiu Wuji knew nothing of handshakes.

Qiu Wuji stared coldly at his outstretched hand. Her calm face flushed, then turned livid.

With a bang, Chu Ge was sent sprawling to the floor, chair and all.

"Lecher! Already trying to touch me? What kind of woman do you take me for?"

What did he mean, a woman created from all his loveliest fantasies?

What was he thinking?

He had written this woman just to indulge his dirty fantasies. Utterly disgusting!

Chu Ge crouched with his hands over his head. "Holy shit, that was just a handshake... I, I need to patch this. Qiu Wuji needs to understand this stuff first!"

Qiu Wuji gave him a vicious kick. "Before this so-called patch, shouldn't you explain what you meant by 'if she wanted a man, it should be the Father God who created her'?"

It was over. There was no getting past this.

Combined with this attempt to "touch her hand," his image as a filthy pervert seemed firmly entrenched and impossible to wash away.

All Chu Ge could do was cover his head and say, "Since you don't want anything to do with Chu Tiange, I needed some way to reconcile your earlier thoughts. This was the most reasonable narrative turn. Of course any man Qiu Wuji wanted would have to be on the Creator God's level. Just look at the comments if you don't believe me. Everyone's praising it!"

The comments that had rubbed him the wrong way earlier had actually come in handy!

But Qiu Wuji had no interest in reading comments. "Why should I want a man? That thought should never have existed in the first place! Change it back!"

Chu Ge covered his head and fell silent.

"Speak! Weren't you full of eloquence a moment ago? Gone mute?"

"...I don't think I can change it."

"?"

"It's already finalized and published. How am I supposed to change it now...? Besides, all that says is that if you wanted a man, you'd want someone of that caliber. It doesn't say you have to want one. Have you fallen for me now? No, right? Then what are you getting so worked up about?"

Qiu Wuji's chest rose and fell with anger.

So you've got an answer for everything?

But I never wanted a man in the first place. Why should I! Besides, doesn't this mean that if I ever do want one, my target will be you?

Whether I've fallen for you is my business. Does that somehow excuse your own sleazy intentions?

It was infuriating. She couldn't kill him, and even beating him came with the risk of accidentally hitting too hard and killing him. Revising the manuscript herself did nothing, either. What was she supposed to do?

Come to think of it, why was the woman of his loveliest fantasies someone who could beat him to death at any moment? Was this man secretly a masochist?

Qiu Wuji's gaze grew a little strange.

Of course Chu Ge wasn't a masochist.

It was simply the thrill of a premise where he could "conquer a woman far above him." He couldn't get that in real life. Wasn't he at least allowed to indulge himself in a novel?

And perhaps it was precisely because he had made her so powerful that his heroine, poised on the brink of ascension, had broken through the dimensional wall and come running out...

Now domestic violence was practically inevitable... Huh, wait. Why did I think of domestic violence?

In short, Chu Ge could almost foresee the dark days ahead. His earlier attempt to project authority had been meant to seize the initiative. But with such an enormous gap in strength, how could he win control through words alone? What was he supposed to do now that she had decided he was a pervert?

Still covering his head, Chu Ge stole a glance upward and saw a surging expanse.

A slender waist cinched by a jade belt, magnificent curves, a delicate nose and small mouth, creamy skin, faintly flushed cheeks, stern and piercing eyes, and an air of mature authority.

She really hit every one of my buttons...

As expected of the perfect woman from his imagination: the perfect figure, the perfect face, the perfect bearing. Every part of her spoke straight to his dreams.

"What are you looking at?" Qiu Wuji's voice sounded as though it came from the deepest underworld. "Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Chu Ge finally sighed and said, "Judge people by their actions, not their thoughts. In your world, there must be thousands upon thousands of people who've fantasized about you. Even plenty of your sect's disciples look away guiltily when they see you. Did you kill them all?" "How are they remotely comparable to you?"

Your very reason for writing was filthy, and you might keep forcing thoughts into my head. What if you actually write that I fall in love with you? Qiu Wuji didn't voice that last part. She was afraid he hadn't thought of it before and she would only be giving him ideas.

Chu Ge said, "Honestly, even if my reasons for writing you weren't entirely pure, so what? I didn't know you would become a real person. Is mere fantasy a crime...? As I said earlier, maybe that was how things were before, but from now on, I'll respect you as a real person. What you're worried about... won't happen."

So much for worrying she would give him ideas. He understood everything perfectly and had known what she feared all along.

Qiu Wuji suddenly felt that this man didn't merely understand her. He was clever and perceptive.

Chu Ge stole another glance at her, unsure whether he had passed this test. In truth, his words had sidestepped one implication: I really am interested in you. If I treat you as a real person, I don't have to write it. I can woo you.

Chu Ge himself wasn't sure whether he wanted to pursue her. Maybe, as Zhang Qiren had said, he was simply lusting after her, which was perfectly normal. Who could really say whether that counted as liking her? Actually courting a person he had written into existence would be just as outlandish as treating a fictional character as his wife. Chu Ge didn't even know whether that made him a pervert.

Seeing that Qiu Wuji seemed to have nothing more to say, Chu Ge finally got cautiously to his feet and checked the time. Eight in the evening.

He hadn't eaten all day! His stomach growled with hunger, and he said helplessly, "I don't know whether you need to eat in your current state, but I can't hold out any longer. I need dinner. Do you want to come with me... and see this whole new world?"

Qiu Wuji said nothing. She opened the door and walked out.

Aside from stopping this bastard from writing that she fell in love with a man, what should she be focusing on after crossing the boundary between worlds?

Naturally, it was understanding this entirely new world.

This square magical artifact, this strange glowing screen, this building whose construction she couldn't fathom, and Chu Ge's peculiar clothes.

For a seeker of the Dao intent on traveling countless worlds and discerning the truth, these were what mattered most. Was she supposed to huddle in this tiny room and remain entangled with a man?

Chu Ge silently pressed the elevator button and watched the floor numbers change slowly. Qiu Wuji spoke first. "My attire is very different from yours. Will anyone stop and question me outside?"

Chu Ge shook his head casually. "Plenty of people wear traditional Han clothing out these days. You're more likely to have someone ask where you bought such a beautiful outfit... Actually, never mind. The person wearing it is too beautiful to buy."

Qiu Wuji: "..."

Once they entered the elevator, a little wonder appeared in Qiu Wuji's eyes, but she said nothing. It wasn't as though she had never seen mortal craftsmen use winches to raise and lower goods... though the energy this thing used was rather strange.

Walking through the residential complex, Qiu Wuji surveyed the tall buildings around her. Their cramped, oppressive feeling made her uncomfortable. This world was strange in other ways, too. Spiritual energy was exceedingly sparse, and neither the people nor the objects around her showed any sign of using it.

No spiritual energy. Was this merely a mortal realm? Had breaking through the boundary and ascending brought me to nothing more than an ordinary mortal world?

As they left the complex, Qiu Wuji suddenly stopped.

It was like opening a window in a sealed meditation chamber: clouds parted to reveal the moon, and all the sky's splendor unfolded before her.

Neon lights illuminated the entire city, making night seem like day. Metal vehicles sped along broad streets. A great bridge spanned the river from north to south, and far overhead, she could faintly make out a flying machine moving through the sky.

Someone held a small rectangle and seemed to be speaking to another person. Voice transmission over vast distances?

With a click, someone took a picture of themselves with food from a roadside stall. Capturing the soul to preserve an image?

With a snap, someone lit a paper roll held between their lips. Fire manipulation?

But...

There was no spiritual energy.

No spiritual energy.

A crowd of ordinary mortals was doing things only immortals could do?

No... even the existence of immortals was uncertain. That was merely a story made up by the man beside me.

This place... was real.

Qiu Wuji stared in bewilderment at everything around her. Nothing was familiar, and almost everything defied her understanding.

Even the girls passing by had their long, pale legs openly exposed, like seductive women of the demonic path, yet everyone else acted as though there was nothing to see.

What kind of hellish place was this?

She suddenly felt... that she didn't belong here at all.

"A stranger in a strange land. Are you lost? Are you shrinking back? If so, how can you speak of exploring the Myriad Heavens?" Chu Ge's voice came from beside her. "Experience it... your Heavenly Realm."

(End of chapter)