The two quickly returned to their daily routine of cooking and writing together, the previously notorious fugitive seemingly a trivial incident.
The ensuing uproar seemed completely irrelevant to them.
Instead, a related news item appeared in a completely unrelated book club chat: "Fugitive serial killer apprehended, kind citizen intervenes."
The report sparked discussion among the group members not about the killer's capture, but rather about street photos taken by other kind citizens of the Good Samaritan, a heartwarming image of a boy with a tilted head and a bright smile.
"Such a great physique even with a mask on." This was the group admin's fair and objective assessment: "This enthusiastic citizen must be incredibly handsome."
"??? Chu Da, isn't your focus a bit off?"
"Male ketone confirmed..."
"Chu Chu, my Chu Chu~"
Chu Ge: "?"
"Who are Bu Jingyun and Jian Chen?"
"We are. Please see the group name."
"Chu Chu, my Chu Chu~" was marked as a featured message by the admin Qiu Wuji.
Chu Ge: "..." You don't even know what this meme means, why did you mark it as a featured message? You think the name is funny enough?
"Rong Fu has gone insane. He's completely dazed and confused, and when asked anything, he just says he's cultivating immortality." Lin Wuyang called to report the situation: "This time, forget about keeping it a secret, even I don't know."
"Uh..."
"I told you not to hit him! Smashing his head like that, isn't it normal for him to go insane? It's a miracle he wasn't killed. Luckily, this is a serial killer who wouldn't have been too harsh to kill on the spot. If it were someone else, you'd be in serious trouble."
"Yes, yes, I'll remember that. I won't be so impulsive in the future."
"Even now, the situation is a little troublesome. Anyway, there's no commendation for bravery, maybe a small reward, but not much. The reward for assisting in the capture of the wanted criminal is quite substantial; it's from above, you won't be shortchanged, it's 100,000! When..." "Want to treat me to dinner?"
"Only 100,000? You can easily earn 500,000 by reporting a netizen from northern China."
"Just think about it, be content." Lin Wuyang said, "Think about how many words you painstakingly write to earn 100,000."
"Hiss...you're right, maybe I should consider making money in that direction in the future?"
"There are people like that, the new-era bounty hunters, thinking they have some special abilities, without considering that this is a job that puts their heads on the line." Lin Wuyang sighed, "Speaking of which, I want to remind you in the Black Room, Rong Fu is already like this, it's best to end the revenge here. If you focus your attention on the Wang family, I'm afraid you'll be the ones committing crimes." Chu Ge snorted slightly, not answering immediately.
Lin Wuyang knew what he was thinking. The mastermind was fine, just a broken knife, but something felt off, and what if they came back later? It's understandable that people think like this, but the law doesn't support it.
Theoretically, even whether the Wang family was the mastermind lacks evidence, the police can't make that conclusion.
"Who told you to knock Rong Fu's brains out? Now it'll be hard to gather evidence."
He sighed, "You need to know your limits."
"I won't make things difficult for you." Chu Ge smiled, "I'm not one to meddle."
"Hmm." Lin Wuyang believed Chu Ge wasn't one to meddle, but he was worried that Pan Dawan and Zi Jun would be angry after being discharged from the hospital. Thinking about it again, there was no point in arguing with Chu Ge. Chu Ge was just an outsider, not even a core member. It was better to talk to Zhong Yi.
Lin Wuyang hung up, and Chu Ge excitedly ran next door to show off: "I unexpectedly made 100,000!"
Qiu Wuji had actually been listening intently, looking quite envious. 100,000 already! This job makes money fast! Why didn't he think of it before…
But before, without an identity, he couldn't have made this money. Just now, Chu Ge asked a question, and she knew part of it was on purpose, asking for her sake. Now it seemed she could make money off that…
But for some reason, she was too lazy to write anything. She'd only written the beginning of her autobiography: "Ten thousand is ten thousand, not even enough to buy a bathroom, what's there to brag about?"
Chu Ge: "…" Qiu Wuji tugged at his sleeve: "Look, isn't my beginning a little better?"
Chu Ge peeked over: "My name is Qiu Wuji, from a farming family, nothing special…"
"Huh?" Chu Ge was quite surprised: "Your writing style is not only becoming more colloquial, but you've also learned to use the first person!"
Qiu Wuji looked up and thought for a moment, then smiled: "Because I'm really reminiscing, like talking about the past with someone, telling my memories…" "Come out..."
"Good thing, good thing... but isn't something a little off about this?"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"A peasant family wouldn't come up with a name like Qiu Wuji, and how could someone as naturally beautiful as you be plain?"
"...That doesn't seem to be my problem." Qiu Wuji looked at Chu Ge with disdain: "Being poor from childhood is a quote from a certain master; the flaws in the resulting story are your problem." The literary master was thoroughly humiliated, his face burning: "How can a scholar's affairs be considered a problem? That's called a bug, unavoidable... As for plain, cough, anyway, it's a good word, a good word, and I'm plain-looking too." Chu Ge, thoroughly embarrassed, dashed back to his room to write.
Qiu Wuji watched him run off, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Today, Chu Ge, while writing, would often wander over and say a few off-topic things, quite different from his usual focused writing.
What's wrong with him?
Hmm, maybe it's because he's just become a literary master and feels responsible.
Having received some praise from Chu Ge, and finding the beginning quite acceptable, Qiu Wuji was energized and continued writing furiously. It was strange; when she wrote her own stories, she lacked detail, making everything tedious and tedious. But when it came to reminiscing about the past, Qiu Wuji knew exactly what deserved more attention and what could be glossed over.
Since these were stories from countless years ago, long since forgotten, she knew to avoid writing about those boring details like sunbathing and catching lice. She wanted to focus on how her family was bullied by the village landlord, how sickly her mother was, how hard her father worked, how she herself had to learn to manage the household early, how she had cut her feet raw in the fields as a child, and how she had sat by the paddy field, looking at the abundant rice stalks with a satisfied joy, dreaming of buying a sweet candy from a peddler during the New Year.
This led to the later scenes of her crying and resentment after the land was seized by the bully, the pain of her parents' successive deaths, and her solitary escape into the mountains, fearing being taken by the bully… Qiu Wuji felt the emotions bursting forth from the page.
So, she once had a home.
Back then, she wanted to practice martial arts and cultivate her spirituality, to rid the world of injustice…
Her luck was quite good; wandering the mountains seeking immortals, an immortal touched her head and asked, "Little girl, would you like to learn swordsmanship from me?"
Qiu Wuji pulled her thoughts from her manuscript, startled to realize that dusk had fallen outside the window.
She sighed softly.
This was a background briefly mentioned in Chu Ge's writing, yet it was the vicissitudes of her life reflected in her own millennia-long reflection.
This was her life, those marks etched deep within her heart… What did it have to do with who created the world?
Qiu Wuji suddenly felt that this wasn't practicing writing, but clearly spiritual cultivation.
One day, I will be myself.
Suddenly, the aroma of food wafted in from outside. Qiu Wuji paused, sniffed, and confirmed that the smell was coming from the kitchen, not takeout.
Listening more closely, she could hear the sound of stir-frying.
Qiu Wuji was extremely surprised and quietly peeked out.
Chu Ge clumsily scrambled eggs, while the rice cooker beside him steamed, the rice ready.
Qiu Wuji stared blankly at his back, her lips unconsciously tightening.
As if sensing someone's gaze, Chu Ge turned and saw Qiu Wuji peeking at him from behind the door, her little face resembling a cute "secretly observing.jpg" QQ emoticon.
Chu Ge grinned: "Seeing you so engrossed, I didn't want to disturb you. Ordering takeout isn't much fun… um… nothing else will do, but scrambled eggs shouldn't be too bad. Want to try some?"
Qiu Wuji blurted out instinctively, "It's definitely going to be awful."
"Go away, I'll do it." She stepped forward, nudging Chu Ge aside, and took over, only to find there was nothing left to do—the eggs were already cooked.
Qiu Wuji silently plated the scrambled eggs, wondering what it tasted like. Perhaps at this moment, she could understand some of the feelings Chu Ge had when watching her cook; it was truly tender.
Even if it tasted terrible, she felt she could eat it all up.
Having traversed ten thousand years and crossed two realms, it seems that I now have a home.