He got straight to work. Li Qingshan immediately ordered people to bring a brush, ink, and paper. He pushed aside all the dishes before him and set up the table before throwing his head back and having another hearty cup of alcohol. Right when Gu Yanying thought he was going to use the alcohol for inspiration, to go off on a great artistic creation and line the paper with words, Li Qingshan began biting the end of the brush, sometimes in thought and sometimes letting out a great sigh. A while later, he actually began drinking alcohol and eating meat again.

  “Well what are you waiting for? Get writing!”


  “Can’t you see I’m planning?” Li Qingshan said restlessly as he chewed away at the tough ape meat.

  “But you’re clearly eating.”


  “Only novelists understand. What would a woman like you know?” Li Qingshan shot her a glance.

  “Alright, I don’t know anything. Please continue, mister Li,” Gu Yanying said helplessly. She felt like perhaps he was not reliable all the time.

  Afterwards, she saw Li Qingshan wander around in the warm room with the brush in his mouth, admiring the snow outside the window, looking at the precious paintings on the wall, and basically flipping through every single item in the room. Only then did he sit back down in front of the table and grip the brush in a rather awkward manner. Suddenly, he said to Gu Yanying, “What do you think those guys outside look like when they practise the sword?”


  “Don’t know.” Gu Yanying lay on her side on the bed, holding a book called the Secret History of the Martial Arts Society in her hand. She did not even glance at him.

  “Why don’t we…”


  “Not going.”


  “I never said we should go and take a look.”


  “Hurry up and write.”


  “Is this my novel or your novel?” Li Qingshan was furious.

  “So be it. It’s not like you can write anything anyway, so let’s go out and take a look!” Gu Yanying put her book down and smiled.

  “Who said I can’t write anything? I’m basically done with planning. I’ll write right now and show you!”


  As a member of the school of Novels, how could Li Qingshan endure such humiliation? He immediately got to work and wrote away fervently. His horrible handwriting was very funny in Gu Yanying’s eyes, but she said nothing when she saw how serious he was. She could help him write out a copy in better handwriting later anyway.

  The whistling of the wind and snow rang out softly from the windows, which only highlighted the silence in the room. The fireplace crackled from time to time.

  She leaned against her hand. She had already forgotten how many years it had been since she had so much leisure. Perhaps she never possessed any from the very day she was born.

  She had no regard for the flow of time, nor was she in a hurry to do anything. She had nothing to do anyway. To mortals, perhaps this was a very ordinary feeling, but she cherished it very much. She had been fixated on the people in the distance, so she obviously had no time to admire the scenery of the journey.

  After spending who knew how long in a trance, the sound of Li Qingshan placing his brush down made her return to her senses. She asked with a smile, “Have you finished writing?”


  “Of course?” Li Qingshan picked up a page complacently and handed it to Gu Yanying.

  “So little!” Gu Yanying was slightly suprised. She felt like she had dazed off for at least two hours.

  “What did you think I was doing? Do you know what writing a novel means?” Li Qingshan slammed the desk and roared.

  “Forgive me. I’m mistaken.”


  Gu Yanying even felt her ears reverberate. Even when they were in outer space, he had not been so short-tempered, perhaps because he had actually poured his heart out into writing. As a result, she apologised helplessly and took a look. The characters were very difficult to read, but she could still guess what they meant. Her expression gradually became rather strange. In the short time she took to read the page, her furrowed brows turned into a smile before becoming a sneer.

  Afterwards, she rolled the page into a ball and threw it on the ground. She smiled and said, “I wasn’t mistaken!”


  “Gu Yanying, what are you doing!?”


  Li Qingshan let out a furious roar so loud that even the people in the external courtyard could almost make it out clearly. They all leapt in fright. Even when he killed Hou Hongtao in a single strike, he had done so without even batting an eye, so just who had left him so furious, and what would be the end result? The thought of it alone was terrifying.

  Li Qingshan kneeled on the ground, cupping all of his efforts that had now been scrunched up into a ball. He was absolutely livid.

  Gu Yanying shook her head and said seriously, “Li Qingshan, no one will read something like that. Even if you’ve added a secret martial arts manual into the content, they’ll only read the secret manual!”


  Li Qingshan’s face changed a few times before he suddenly shrugged. “Alright, I give up!” He returned to the bed on the other side and laid down with his arms and legs sprawled out, downing cup after cup of alcohol.

  Gu Yanying was surprised at first before letting out a wry smile. Was this still that relentless, indomitable Li Qingshan she knew?

  “Xiao An is still the better one! Xiao An, where are you right now? I can’t go on without you!”


  Li Qingshan recalled the wonderful time he had spent on Cloudwisp island with Xiao An. Back then, he wrote and she supported him. It was harmonious.

  Gu Yanying became a little restless. She sat up and apologised, “Mister Li, don’t be like this. I’ll admit I’m wrong, alright? Why don’t we think of some other way?”


  “You’re in the wrong, so you think!”


  “Alright. I’ll think, I’ll think.” Gu Yanying paced around and said in thought, “Since it’s a chronicle regarding the White Ape King, you only need to learn a little bit about what he’s gone through in his life and then string these stories together. Isn’t that basically a book then?”


  “I’m tired. You can go learn about it!” Li Qingshan rolled over, turning away from Gu Yanying.

  Gu Yanying rolled her eyes and called Yuan Feifei inside, “Caretaker Yuan, I heard you’ve followed the White Ape King for many years?”


  “Manor lord, you can just call me Feifei. You’ll be overwhelming me if you call me something like caretaker.” Yuan Feifei glanced at Li Qingshan nervously. His furious roar earlier had almost made her pee herself out of fright.

  “Alright, Feifei. Tell me about his stories, the more detailed the better.”


  Gu Yanying nodded. When it came to their age, there really was nothing wrong with calling her Feifei.

  Yuan Feifei began to talk. She went from stuttering to eloquent speech. She had always been a clever-tongued fellow, and the White Ape King loved boasting about his various stories when he was drunk too. As such, there were basically as many stories as they could ever want.

  Gu Yanying listened quietly, only to see Li Qingshan secretly listening in as well, which made her smile.

  After listening for a while longer, Li Qingshan suddenly sat up and turned around. He was stern.

  Yuan Feifei paled in fright and knelt down on the ground. She cried out, “Spare me, manor lord!”


  “Keep going. Why would I want your life?”


  “Yes, yes!”


  They continued until the middle of the night. Even when she became parched, she did not dare to stop.

  Gu Yanying waved her hand. “Enough, you can go for now. We can continue with the rest tomorrow.”


  Li Qingshan rubbed his chin in thought and noticed the exhaustion on Gu Yanying’s face. He snuffed out the lamps. “It’s quite late, so you get some rest too.”


  Gu Yanying laid down and shut her eyes, gripping the kunpeng’s feather in her hand as she anticipated the dream.

  “You can support me with the writing tomorrow!” Li Qingshan suddenly said. That was originally Xiao An’s job.

  Gu Yanying opened her eyes and smiled. “Sure. I even feel a little flattered.” After a moment of silence, she could not help but ask, “It’s fine even if you don’t have Xiao An?”


  “Of course, not!”


  “Poor Xiao An. She must be very envious of me.” Gu Yanying shut her eyes again and adjusted herself into a more comfortable posture.

  “Only the people trapped here are pitiful.”


  “Yeah, poor Gu Yanying.”


  Regardless of everything that had happened, Li Qingshan’s plan to write had finally begun again.