At this moment, the world within the book is broad daylight, with a light drizzle.
Qiu Wuji, within the book, leans against a stone pavilion, listening quietly to the drizzle, reading a book.
The thread-bound book exudes a high-class feel; the maids always assume their sect leader is reading some profound Taoist scripture, but little do they know, their sect leader is reading martial arts novels—dozens of them, even the complete works of Jin Yong and Gu Long.
Now she's reading Huang Yi… and then she realizes where Chu Ge's style comes from.
Chu Ge's style bears a heavy resemblance to Jin Yong and Gu Long; it's evident everywhere. For example, her duel with Yan Qianlie is a typical reference to Gu Long, but in many other places, it's Huang Yi's style.
Chu Ge told her this at the time: "In a sense, Master Huang Yi is one of the pioneers of online literature. *A Step into the Past* opened a new chapter, and the world-building and fantasy imagination in series like *The Great Swordsman* and *Interstellar Prodigal*, including his combination of martial arts and dynastic struggles in *The Tang Dynasty*, greatly inspired and pioneered the later rise of fantasy..."
"Furthermore, the mysterious descriptions of battles in his works, the elucidation on a spiritual level, the time-stopping expression, and the use of the 'surprise of passersby' style—these are things authors refer to at the writing level, and they will be very helpful for your previous difficulties. Don't just focus on the eroticism." Qiu Wuji felt that Master Chu Ge's words were indeed very reasonable, both the things mentioned earlier and the last sentence about eroticism.
She even felt that Chu Ge himself hadn't learned much of the earlier points, only the last sentence, especially considering the very distinct style of Chu Ge's previous works.
And his innovative techniques surpassed even Master Huang's!
Where did he learn the medicine-pounding trick?
Chu Ge would never have guessed that Qiu Wuji had learned it from his own book!
Qiu Wuji could also innovate.
You, Chu Ge, can lightly twirl your sword, but I can hold a spear upside down!
Hmph.
The little apprentice Qiu Wuji had unknowingly gone completely astray.
"Sect Master, Sect Master..." The little maid rushed over, looking at Qiu Wuji leaning against the stone pavilion, hesitant to speak.
Wait, Sect Master, what are you doing? If you're reading, fine, but why is your other hand making a gesture as if you're gripping a sword hilt? Are you researching a new supernatural ability where you can't hold a sword?
Qiu Wuji looked up from the book and lazily asked, "Just say what you have to say. What are you holding back for?"
The maidservant hurriedly replied, "It's like this, Elder Zhou and the others heard news from the far north that our disciple, Chu Tiange, encountered a group of demons. He fought his way out and escaped, but his whereabouts are currently unknown… This happened several days ago, and the elders are worried that something might have happened to him."
Qiu Wuji thought to himself, "The plot is unfolding!"
"Take my order and dispatch the Sword Peak Hall to storm the far north, sweep away the demonic forces, protect our disciples, and search for Chu Tiange. Also, spread the word that Chu Tiange is an important rising star of our sect, the future of the next generation. Anyone who dares to harm a hair on his head is an enemy of our entire sect and will be executed!"
The maidservant bowed solemnly: "Yes!"
Watching the maidservant leave, Qiu Wuji sighed. Knowing full well that Chu Tiange was perfectly fine, and knowing he was out at sea, she still felt awkward making a scene, acting like an actor.
But even knowing, she had to let it go—it was both an attitude and a declaration of power!
Qiu Wuji clenched her fist!
At that moment, she seemed to hear a "howl" from across the realm, then subside.
The clone hurriedly looked over; nothing was wrong, the little cutie was crying.
...
"Really okay?" Qiu Wuji asked, suppressing a laugh.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Chu Ge tried to smooth his twitching face, his voice contorted into a gentle tone: "At least I have a Golden Bell Shield that's been established..."
Qiu Wuji suppressed a laugh. You modified the Golden Bell Shield, but didn't use it much for anything important, only for this…
Actually, it's alright. The clone didn't have much strength after all. If the original body had clenched like that, it would have been a disaster.
"Let's go back..." Qiu Wuji helped Chu Ge to her feet with a strange feeling. "Let's see if you still want good things in the future."
Chu Ge looked at Qiu Wuji's flushed face, still feeling refreshed, thinking to herself that even if she squeezed harder, it would be worth it to limp home tonight...
Of course, she couldn't say that aloud; she had to praise her: "Qiu Qiu is so good..."
Qiu Wuji burst into laughter, bending over.
Chu Ge: "..." It was quite late when they got back, and the streets were much quieter. The whole city felt to Qiu Wuji like a Sichuan opera face-changing act—one moment festive, the next a cold, indifferent face.
The traffic flowed endlessly, the streets as cold as steel.
It was worse than that Qixi Festival night, when even late at night you could see young couples riding bicycles, laughter filling the streets.
At least, it was only the city that changed its face, not Chu Ge.
Chu Ge still held her hand, smiling and chatting all the way, though he limped a little, his expression still gentle, even a little obsequious. Of course! After all that, dare you try changing your expression? I'd chop off both his big head and cute head!
It was just... just a tiny bit of an accident.
One felt a surge of pleasure and was secretly pleased, the other felt guilty for hurting him. Both harbored their own secrets and dared not look at each other's faces.
After a long while, Chu Ge tentatively said, "Um... there should still be quite a few shopping malls open, or some toy stores or boutiques." Qiu Wuji snapped out of her daze and asked curiously, "What else are you going to buy?"
Chu Ge said, "I'll buy you a big pig. I remember... I didn't buy one before because I don't have enough space."
Qiu Wuji's heart softened, and she whispered, "It's not a rush..."
"No way! You give me a jade Guanyin, I have to give you a plush pig too." Chu Ge pulled her along, running: "That's called exchanging tokens of love." Qiu Wuji ran after him, both amused and annoyed. The two, dressed in ancient costumes and carrying swords, ran hand in hand under the neon lights of the bustling city, ignoring the curious glances of passersby. Qiu Wuji no longer felt embarrassed.
Because he was with her.
The toy store clerk saw the two ancient people rush in excitedly, immediately asking to buy a pig: "Do you have pigs?" The clerk's mind went blank for a moment before she realized what was going on, and she asked, amused, "How big of a pig?"
"About the size of a person!"
"We don't have pigs that big, but we do have big dogs or big bears." Chu Ge was a little disappointed; the two had been using pigs as a metaphor for each other for a long time, and they had developed a bond!
Turning to look at Qiu Wuji, she didn't seem disappointed at all. She smiled and circled the shelves for a while, then excitedly asked the clerk, "Look, look, doesn't this bear look like him?"
Chu Ge: "?" The clerk: "?" Looking left and right, there wasn't a single resemblance.
But Qiu Wuji still thought it looked a lot like him: "Look closer! Look at those silly eyes, that silly nose, look at that smiling curve of that mouth..." Chu Ge: "..." Actually, Chu Ge thought the bear didn't look like him at all, but rather a bit like Qiu Wuji... The shop assistant, however, understood.
It's just love-struck thinking, isn't it? She sees anything cute and thinks it looks like her crush. Even if you just drew a random ^_^ expression, she'd probably think it looks like the man next to her.
The shop assistant, not wanting to expose her lie, immediately chimed in, "Yes, now that you mention it, it really does look alike!"
Qiu Wuji happily hugged the teddy bear, "This is it!"
Holding it close, she realized how huge the bear really was. It was only slightly shorter than Qiu Wuji, but several sizes bigger. Hugging it like this really did resemble how she hugged Chu Ge. Even Chu Ge now felt the bear did look a bit like him…
Qiu Wuji feigned concern and asked Chu Ge, "Isn't it too big?"
Chu Ge immediately replied, "As a famously thick and long halberd, it should be this big! Besides, big ones are tougher, and later…"
Qiu Wuji nodded, "Later, if it makes me angry, I'll beat you up."
Chu Ge: "?" The shop assistant almost burst out laughing. She thought the pair was adorable, even cuter than the teddy bear.
"Ding!" The shop clock chimed, pointing to midnight.
"Mid-Autumn Festival is over." Qiu Wuji pouted slightly.
But hugging the teddy bear, she became happy again, rubbing its face.
Autumn, a season of boundless expanse, holds no particular significance in the book. Yet, after leaving home, she enjoyed her first Qixi Festival and her first Mid-Autumn Festival immensely.
Looking at the bear's憨憨 (憨憨 is a Chinese idiom meaning silly or goofy) appearance, the ten-thousand-year-old lady laughed like a three-hundred-pound child.