“…It’s roughly like that, did you get it all down?”
The dim yellow candlelight flickered slightly, and it was unclear how much time had passed, but Wei Changtian finally finished telling the story of “Journey to the West”.
According to the original novel, the four master-and-disciple pairs ultimately achieved their goals: those who sought benevolence received benevolence; those who sought longevity received longevity; those who sought abundance received abundance; and those who sought to escape suffering escaped suffering, making it a happy ending.
Of course, some people thought it was a tragedy, but that’s not worth discussing here.
However, the fact that the demons became gods was 100% against the Great Ning Empire’s “Demons are unforgivable” values.
So, to ensure that this book could be “published” smoothly without causing any trouble, Wei Changtian simply rewrote the ending—
Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, two demons, were suppressed for 500 years, and one was directly killed with a palm strike.
Tang Sanzang and Sha Wujing, on the other hand, basically followed the original novel, with one becoming a Buddha and the other becoming a golden arhat.
Never mind whether this ending was reasonable or artistic.
When writing novels, the most important thing is to avoid being 404-ed.
Wei Changtian took a dry mouthful of tea, and Lu Jingyao gently put down her pen.
“Yeah, got it all down.”
She didn’t have any doubts about this ending, and after a moment of hesitation, she asked, “Is there another book after ‘Journey to the West’?”
“There might be, might not be… If there is, I’ll write it and send it to you.”
“Oh…”
Lu Jingyao lowered her head, remaining silent for a while before suddenly asking in a barely audible voice, “Can I, can I go to Shuzhou with you?”
Wei Changtian was a bit surprised: “You want to come with me too?”
“Too?” Lu Jingyao looked up in confusion.
“Uh!”
Realizing his mistake, Wei Changtian quickly covered it up: “This isn’t important, the key is that I can’t bring family members on this trip, and you know that.”
“I can disguise myself as a maid!”
Lu Jingyao blurted out, seemingly having thought of a plan beforehand.
“Disguise as a maid…”
Wei Changtian was taken aback: “Well, it’s doable, but you can’t disguise yourself as a maid for three years, can you?”
“I can!”
Lu Jingyao confidently declared, “I, I can endure hardship! And I won’t let anyone discover my identity, definitely won’t cause trouble for you!”
“This…”
Looking at that expectant face, Wei Changtian felt a bit entangled for a moment.
To be honest, he still didn’t know what kind of feelings he had for Lu Jingyao.
If he said she was just a tool, it seemed a bit different.
But if he said he liked her…
That didn’t quite add up either.
At first, he had kept Lu Jingyao just to earn more system points, but later, he slowly got used to having a woman in the courtyard who would always be waiting for him to come back…
After a long time, a voice finally broke the silence in the room.
“Forget it.”
“……”
Lu Jingyao was like she had been hit by an invisible giant hammer, and her body jerked violently.
She forced out a smile, but before she could speak, Wei Changtian continued,
“But I’ve said it before – you only need to stay in the Wei Manor for half a year. After half a year, I won’t care what you do.”
“If you still want to go to Shu State then, you can go.”
From noble mtl dot come
“……”
Lu Jingyao suddenly became overjoyed, so excited that she couldn’t even speak, and just kept nodding.
Looking at her happy expression, Wei Changtian showed no reaction on the surface, but inwardly, he let out a sigh.
Sigh, I don’t know if this is right or wrong…
…
…
September 27th.
Wei Changtian got up before dawn.
All the things he was taking to Shu State had already been loaded onto the horse carriage. He looked back at the slightly empty room, and his heart couldn’t help but feel a bit sentimental.
It had only been less than three months since he transmigrated, and now he was already moving again.
In these three months, he had done many things, but he had also left many regrets.
The “hundred victories” oath he had made at the Martial Arts Hall was still ten victories short; he had promised to visit the kiln with Kong Changgui, but hadn’t gone; the Mutual Aid Society hadn’t played a significant role yet; and there were still several plot monsters he hadn’t killed…
More importantly, there was someone he hadn’t married.
After Wei Changtian went out, he went to find Xu Qingwan, but Kong Changgui said she was ill and had gone home. He then went to the Xu family, but still didn’t see her.
He waited at the Xu family gate for an entire afternoon until a little maid finally came out and handed him a red thread.
Wei Changtian didn’t know why Xu Qingwan didn’t want to see him, and just assumed she couldn’t bear the pain of parting.
It’s hard to meet, and hard to part.
He shook his head, picked up the dragon flute on the table, and walked out of the room.
The red thread tied to the hilt of his sword fluttered in the wind, like the red glow jumping between the green silk threads.
He turned back to lock the door, then looked at Lu Jingyao, who was hiding behind the window and secretly watching him. Wei Changtian smiled and reminded her,
“Don’t forget to give the things to Cai Ling.”
…
“Rumble, rumble…”
The remaining moonlight cast white rays, the horse carriage wheels rolled over the bluestone road, and the horse bells jingled.
Wei Changtian didn’t let anyone come to see him off. At this moment, the only people sitting in the carriage were himself, the silently crying Yu’er, and a sturdy man.
Because Wang Er had to take care of the Mutual Aid Society, Wei Changtian had left him in the capital.
This man was his chosen “successor”.
The name was also quite casual – Zhang San.
The lawless tyrant had finally arrived?
He casually lifted the curtain of the carriage, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery flashing by, and soon the carriage drove out of the city gate.
At this moment, the sun had not yet risen, and the autumn morning mist was particularly thick. The dew hung heavily on the grass leaves along the official road, sparkling and translucent.
Ahead, over a hundred riders in green armor were already waiting, led by an inspector sent by the court, as well as a man and a woman.
It was exactly Liang Zhen, who had just finished his duties and was about to return to Shu Province, and Liang Jin, whose expression was somewhat complicated.
“Hahaha! Nephew, aren’t you going to get out and take a last look at the capital?”
Liang Zhen seemed to be trying to alleviate Wei Changtian’s “melancholy” mood, laughing loudly.
However, Wei Changtian didn’t intend to get out, and instead laughed loudly:
“Uncle Liang, I’m not leaving for good! What’s there to see?”
“Shall we leave now?”
“Let’s go!”
“……”
Over a hundred riders, plus five or six horse-drawn carriages, slowly set off, disappearing from the end of the official road before long.
The capital city behind them was still asleep, while the sky at the horizon had already turned white.
……
Three days later.
At the Suspense Bureau, in the willow leaf area.
Zhou Cheng looked at Xu Qingwan, who had “recovered from illness,” with a hint of surprise on his face.
“Commander Xu, why didn’t you wear a red ribbon today?”
“……”
Xu Qingwan was taken aback, didn’t speak, and walked away on her own.
Zhou Cheng wondered, scratching his head, thinking that Xu Qingwan must have forgotten.
The next day, Zhou Cheng asked Xu Qingwan the same question again, but still didn’t get an answer.
On the third day, Zhou Cheng asked again.
On the fourth day, he asked again.
After asking for five days in a row, Zhou Cheng finally figured out the reason and stopped asking.
Two months passed.
On this day, Zhou Cheng was in the midst of exorcising demons with several runners in the agency, while outside, it was snowing heavily.
Just as he was about to win, Xu Qingwan, with a red ribbon tied around her head, suddenly appeared.
“Zhou Cheng, I’m leaving the capital.”
“Ah?”
Zhou Cheng instantly turned his head back, not even noticing that he had lost the game.
“Leaving the capital? Where are you going? Is there a mission?”
“No.”
Xu Qingwan smiled, very sweetly.
“I’ve been transferred to Shu Province.”
……
Wei Manor.
Lu Jingyao, wrapped in a thick cloak, pushed open the courtyard door, her cheeks flushed.
Autumn Cloud, holding a paper umbrella beside her, laughed and urged, “Madam, the snow is too heavy, let’s hurry inside to warm up!”
“Okay.”
Lu Jingyao nodded, but after taking two steps, she suddenly stopped and reached out to catch a snowflake.
“Autumn Cloud, do you think Shuzhou will snow?”
“Madam, I’ve never left the capital since I was a child, so how would I know?”
Autumn Cloud covered her mouth and laughed, “Are you thinking of writing a letter to the young master again? You’ve written five letters this month!”
“You’re making fun of me!”
Lu Jingyao pretended to hit Autumn Cloud, “There’s one letter in there that I wrote for you too!”
“Ah! Madam, spare my life, I won’t dare anymore!”
“Don’t run!”
The two girls, one chasing the other, created a lively atmosphere in the small courtyard.
Just then, another familiar voice came from outside the courtyard.
“You stupid ghost! How could you be so clumsy!”
“Run faster!”
“……”
“Woof! Woof woof!”
……
(End of Volume 1)