The second issue of the Capital Morning Post hit the streets like a thunderclap.
The front page covered the aftermath of the Flower Maiden Competition and Yue Xiaochan's rising popularity. But the real virus was on page three.
SERIAL NOVEL: THE WHITE-HAIRED MAIDEN (CHAPTER 1)
By noon, the capital had stopped working.
In the teahouses, storytellers abandoned their usual tales of ancient wars to read the newspaper aloud. Crowds gathered, hanging on every word.
"And then... she drew her sword, her eyes cold as winter ice..." the storyteller boomed.
The audience gasped.
"But Zhuo Yihang... he hesitated!"
"Coward!" a blacksmith shouted from the back, slamming his tankard. "If that were me, I'd burn the Wudang Sect to the ground for her!"
"Sit down, Old Li! You can't even burn toast!"
Laughter. But underneath the laughter, there was a shift.
For centuries, the "Righteous Sects" were the heroes. They were infallible. The "Demonic Sects" were the villains.
But Xue Mu's story blurred the lines. Lian Nishang was a "demoness," yet she was loyal, passionate, and pure. Zhuo Yihang was "righteous," yet he was indecisive and bound by hypocritical rules.
In the private box of the Wind and Rain Tea House, a group of young disciples from the prestigious Sword Manor were reading the paper.
"This author... 'The Scholar of Sadness'... he writes with poison," one disciple muttered. "He makes the righteous look weak."
"But is he wrong?" another disciple whispered, looking guilty. "Does our Master not forbid us from marrying commoners? Are we not bound by rules that stifle the heart?"
They looked at each other, uncomfortable. The seed of doubt had been planted.
Meanwhile, at the Hundred Flowers Manor, the gates were under siege. Not by enemies, but by readers.
"We want Chapter 2!" "Is Lian Nishang going to die?" "I'll pay double for the next issue right now!"
Xue Mu stood on the balcony, watching the chaos below.
"They are addicted," Xue Qingqiu observed, standing beside him. She held a copy of the paper, her fingers tracing the illustration of the White-Haired Maiden. "You have trapped their minds with ink."
"People crave emotion, Sect Master," Xue Mu said. "Martial arts cultivate the body. Stories cultivate the heart. And right now, their hearts belong to us."
He pointed to the crowd. "Look at them. They aren't talking about how evil the Star-Moon Sect is anymore. They are talking about Lian Nishang. They are sympathizing with a demoness."
Xue Qingqiu looked at him with a complex expression. "You are terrifying, Xue Mu. You manipulate the soul without using a single strand of Qi."
"I'm just a writer," Xue Mu shrugged. "I just tell the truth... mostly."