"..." Pei Ye paused. "No need."
Xu Chuo lowered her head and continued leafing through her book.
After a spell of silence, she said, "Actually, I didn't only just start writing this story, and I'm not writing it alone."
Pei Ye stared. "What?"
"When you have time, you can browse the Book Tower some more. There should indeed be a manuscript there, though it's incomplete, left over from long ago," Xu Chuo said. "There are two characters in the story. A friend and I each tried to fathom one of their states of mind... The real reason I called you here was to have you take her role."
She looked him over. "You happen to be a man, and you seem to have some potential for being devoted in love. That makes you suitable enough."
Pei Ye's eyes widened, but before he could say anything, a shrill, tender cry like an infant's came from inside the house, making his eyes widen further.
Xu Chuo merely set down her book, her expression unchanged. "All right, I'll go talk to Xiye. Find yourself a room to sleep in."
Pei Ye rose in bewilderment. Frowning, he wondered why he shouldn't return to the Sword Cultivation Academy to sleep if she wasn't going to write "Swinging Rope" with him. Before he could work it out, the woman behind him called him to a halt again.
He turned back. Standing before the steps, Xu Chuo said earnestly, "The 'Sword State' in which Cui Zhaoye has lodged her heart is precious. Tomorrow I'll call her over to help you. The Tidal Wave has been growing fiercer these days. You must not slacken in your swordsmanship-I've accounted for everything else, but when it comes to the very end, you're actually the only person I'm relying on."
Pei