Surrounded by a group of burly men, Little Flame was naturally captured.
Actually, he could have struggled a bit, but he discovered that Qiu Wuji's strength wasn't as high as he'd imagined, and the Heavenly Father God's fighting style was a strange mix of techniques. The others in the dark room simply didn't understand the mysteries of the primordial spirit.
Especially Qiu Wuji's strength seemed unable to utilize the primordial spirit restraint techniques found in the book's world; he couldn't restrain the primordial spirit at all, and even if they stopped him, they couldn't capture him.
And the others simply didn't have the ability to destroy the primordial spirit of a Tribulation Transcending cultivator, no matter how weak he was.
If he really wanted to escape, it seemed like he still had a chance…
Then he saw the Heavenly Father God leisurely take out a bead.
His Soul-Binding Bead.
That bead was the place where his primordial spirit resided after his body was destroyed; theoretically, it was equivalent to a temporary body, currently the only place that could accommodate and restrain him.
Where in this world would a Soul-Binding Bead come from? Complete cheating.
Looking at it from another angle, isn't it also the net of fate, from which there is no escape?
It's just manifested.
The little flame finally couldn't withstand the encirclement of the group and was forcibly pressed into the bead by Qiu Wuji, who then placed a seal on it… To outsiders, this perfectly matched Chu Ge's previous explanation: Sixth Brother practiced fire abilities and escaped the out-of-control fire spirit.
This fire ability seemed to be summoning-type, somewhat spiritual, and even after being captured, it exuded a resentful and violent aura.
Zhong Yi, completely unaware that this spiritual little flame had followed him through a night of rain, exclaimed in amazement to Qiu Wuji, "You can become invisible and summon fire; it seems dual-ability users truly exist. It seems we need to change our thinking."
Qiu Wuji didn't reply.
Yan Qianlie inside the bead just wanted to give this idiot the middle finger.
Dual abilities my ass! "Do you even know how much I could have taught you, how much I could have helped you become a legend? I was captured before I even started, and you still don't know? You're still here researching the ability to summon flames!"
"Hey Chu Da, this flame is so fun! It seems to be sitting cross-legged inside the bead, angrily crossing its arms." Panda leaned closer, examining the bead. "Such a cute little flame!" Yan Qianlie lowered his arms.
Wan Zijun: "Oh ho, it's quite rebellious." Chu Ge finally scratched his head, wondering what was wrong with him, but he actually didn't want Yan Qianlie to be humiliated.
He gestured for Qiu Wuji to put away the beads, then clasped his hands in a respectful bow to everyone in the dark room: "Thank you all for your help. I'll treat you all to dinner another day."
"Hey, hey, hey, what about the side story?" Panda said, "If you're not writing a Qiu Qiu side story, you can write one about Yan Qianqian, right?"
Chu Ge finally sighed: "Just kidding... How about this, how about we add an extra chapter of Qiu Qiu's autobiography when we get back?"
Panda and Wan Zijun were overjoyed: "You should have updated the main story a long time ago!" No one saw Qiu Wuji's lips twitch beneath the mask. He really wanted to tell everyone how shameless this author was; that autobiography was something he had already written but hadn't uploaded yet...
...The young couple bid farewell to everyone in the dark room and returned home in the pouring rain. They looked at each other for a few seconds, both clearly letting out a long sigh of relief.
The "male villain who escaped," whom they thought would be a huge problem, was successfully brought back in just one night, so smoothly that they themselves felt lucky.
Chu Ge sighed, sprawled on the sofa, still somewhat shaken, "That really scared me to death... I was so afraid this would happen, I even reinforced it, but it still happened... Luckily, he didn't have time to do anything..." A furious voice came from the bead: "Reinforce your mother's ass! If you hadn't reinforced it, I would have gone back long ago!"
Chu Ge: "..." Qiu Wuji: "..."
"Damn you, God..." Before he could finish speaking, Qiu Wuji tapped the bead, his soul vibrating, suppressing all of Yan Qianlie's furious cursing.
Qiu Wuji sat down next to Chu Ge, the two of them watching the furious yet helpless Yan Qianlie inside.
Chu Ge looked at her strangely for a while, then shook his head: "The reinforcement is just right."
Yan Qianlie: "?"
"If you go back, then you'll know the state of this world before you go back. The Yan Qianlie of that time will no longer be the Yan Qianlie in the book, and the accidents he could cause are beyond my imagination."
Yan Qianlie retorted angrily: "Then what about this woman? Shouldn't Heaven treat everyone equally?"
Chu Ge kissed Qiu Wuji on the cheek, as if to say, "We're practically family."
Yan Qianlie had a lot to say, but he didn't know how to retort.
Qiu Wuji also pushed Chu Ge away irritably. It seemed that showing affection in front of a formidable rival made her uncomfortable. In fact, she hadn't said much since catching Yan Qianlie.
This really felt like being caught cheating by her opponent. Qiu Wuji felt her face burning.
Sure enough, Yan Qianlie's next sentence was a cold chuckle: "The aloof and famous Qiu Wuji, hehe, I've seen it all."
Qiu Wuji angrily wanted to shut him up. She knew Yan Qianlie would make wild guesses, making it seem like she was selling herself for support, but that wasn't the case at all… Yet she felt utterly helpless; anyone could think that way, how could she explain? There was no way to explain it—"We are truly in love," what result would it bring besides laughter?
Suddenly, Chu Ge grabbed her hand, shaking his head slightly, signaling her not to confront Yan Qianlie.
Qiu Wuji paused, turning her head away in silence. It was all your fault, kissing in front of him!
But then Chu Ge slowly said, "Yan Qianlie, as clever as you are, you should have already guessed what's going on… That's right, the world you live in, and even the story that unfolds between you, is from a book I wrote. You might think your duel with Qiu Qiu was cheated, but I can tell you, quite the opposite. If she hadn't read the story and misjudged, you would have lost even more decisively." Yan Qianlie sneered, clearly unconvinced.
Chu Ge said calmly, "Do you think you have an unexpectedly powerful White Flame? But she also has an unexpectedly powerful Heaven-Turning Seal. Your White Flame didn't decide the outcome, and her trump card is still unused. You're bound to lose. It's my hasty intervention that ruined her preparations." Yan Qianlie paused, his cold laugh fading, and said calmly, "You're so confident because you believe the plot will inevitably follow your predetermined outcome?"
"That's right... so far, I have that confidence."
Yan Qianlie sneered, "Then, if I break free, will your plot go out of control? What makes you so confident?"
"My confidence..." "It all started when you came out, and I knew it. Your whereabouts are inescapable, and I can't escape your pursuit," Chu Ge said slowly. "Yan Qianlie, you just came out and were captured without doing anything. Isn't that the same as you still being caught in the vortex of fate, unable to escape?" Yan Qianlie's expression slowly turned serious: "What if I killed someone as soon as I came out?"
"Because of your personality… as long as you are still the Yan Qianlie I created, you will not act rashly before knowing the true nature of this world. You are still the you I wrote, fate is still there, and even if you start over, the ending probably won't change." Yan Qianlie finally didn't answer.
He glanced at Qiu Wuji, who was sitting to the side lost in thought, looking somewhat melancholy, without the joy of capturing her opponent.
Perhaps Chu Ge's words had struck a chord with her.
This is the question everyone has been exploring.
He suddenly asked, "Why did you so quickly take me away when those people were humiliating me?"
Chu Ge said, "Do you believe me?"
Yan Qianlie said calmly, "If Heaven is willing to deceive, then I am willing to believe."
Chu Ge sighed, "The Yan Qianlie in my heart is a peerless hero, arrogant and domineering, with an unwavering will. Even as a villain, he has dignity in defeat; he shouldn't be pointed at and stared at like that."
Yan Qianlie was surprised, his small flame flickering slightly.
Chu Ge murmured, "Do you believe me...? I have feelings for each and every one of you, including the villains... Every character I create, from their initial design to every line of dialogue to their exit scene, is the culmination of countless days and nights of my hard work... They have personalities. People can call Yan Qianlie bloodthirsty and cruel, but they cannot humiliate Yan Qianlie; that would be tantamount to humiliating myself."
Qiu Wuji turned to look at him, the slight melancholy in his eyes slowly dissipating, turning into tenderness.
It was this very man who had captured his heart. Yan Qianlie was clearly shaken and speechless for a moment.
Being at the mercy of others, Chu Ge had no reason to lie to him; these words truly came from the heart.
He could vaguely understand why Qiu Wuji had started a relationship with this person; it didn't seem so difficult to comprehend anymore.
Chu Ge continued, "I've told Qiu Qiu before that I understand why all of you want to break free. This time, Qiu Qiu ascended without consulting me, and I was somewhat unhappy about that… but I still support and understand. Because, putting myself in your shoes, I would also desperately try to break free from this predetermined fate, no matter how intense or anxious I was."
Yan Qianlie finally said, "Are you willing to help me break free too?"
Chu Ge shook his head: "No."
"So what you're saying is nonsense?"
"Simply because you really are the villain." Chu Ge looked intently at the small flame in the bead: "I can't create an evil..." "The demons wreak havoc on the world... I'd rather kill you, then revise my subsequent outline, so that Yan Qianlie will never exist again, either in or out of the book." Yan Qianlie stared at him for a long time, then suddenly said, "I heard sincerity in your previous words; Heaven's favor is appreciated. But this statement contains a hint of hypocrisy." Chu Ge was taken aback: "What? My killing you is hypocritical?" Yan Qianlie said calmly, "Because I am an evil person, you want to kill me... If it were Xie Jiuxiao of Yunxiao City, a righteous gentleman, full of integrity, what would you do? Would you, like Qiu Wuji, let him explore and break free?" Chu Ge's pupils contracted slightly.
He found he couldn't answer this.
Because he truly didn't want to.
Forget Xie Jiuxiao, even Chu Tiange... he wouldn't want that.
Yan Qianlie laughed loudly: "So what does this have to do with benevolence and righteousness? Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs. This is truly not deceiving me!"