She could hear Chu Ge murmur, "It's so good to see you. These past two days... I've missed you so much." Qiu Wuji didn't reply. Her tense body finally softened unconsciously, and she leaned quietly against him, thinking that a hug might actually be nice.
He could still laugh, jump, and hug her. He wasn't hurt... as long as he wasn't hurt.
Being able to fully touch his body, that tight embrace that felt like she might run away, was no longer a fleeting dream; it was real.
The anxiety and trepidation of the day, the restlessness and absent-mindedness she felt, completely vanished in that embrace.
The moonlight was so warm, like the moon he had substituted for that day, smiling, like a smiling QQ emoticon.
Autumn deepened.
The night was slightly cool, and fallen leaves swirled around them, like colorful butterflies, dancing for them.
Was this a day of separation, a test of how much she cared for him?
Qiu Wuji hesitated, wondering if he should also pull Chu Ge closer to feel it...
Just as he hesitated, he felt Chu Ge tilt his head, unsure if he wanted to whisper something in his ear, or... what?
Qiu Wuji became alert.
His lips brushed against his ear, and he could feel Chu Ge's breath, ticklish and a little scary.
Qiu Wuji reacted instinctively, grabbing the man's ear: "What do you want?"
Chu Ge: "..." To be blunt, I just couldn't help wanting to kiss your cheek.
He really couldn't help himself...
He felt he couldn't say it aloud, or he'd get a beating... He could only force a smile: "I just wanted to talk, why are you so nervous?"
"Pah, how long are you going to stand here? Is there anything you can't say back home?" Sect Leader Qiu grabbed his ear and dragged the liar away: "I'm just worried about you causing the world to collapse, not that I care about you personally. Don't push your luck!"
"Ah, yes, yes, we'll talk when we get back." Chu Ge, being dragged by the ear, was quite regretful. If only he hadn't been so impulsive, he could have hugged her a little longer.
But he was still very happy.
He hugged her; she smelled so good.
Even when he wanted to sneak a kiss, he only got his ear grabbed and didn't get a beating.
So much so that even when he got home, everything smelled wonderful, even the bed smelled sweet.
He wondered what Qiu Wuji was feeling next door at that moment, whether he was tossing and turning in bed. In any case, Chu Ge slept very peacefully, his dreams filled with smiles.
Then he woke up and it was already past eleven…
Chu Ge was startled and jumped up: "Oh no, my update…"
Chu Ge didn't even have time to wash his face, hurriedly checked his phone, and saw that no one in the comments section was cursing; instead, they were all laughing: "Today's update is Qiu Qiu's autobiography! Great, great, great!"
"Chu Ge's main story is just for fun, the real good stuff is Qiu Qiu's autobiography."
"What are you talking about? This is the main story!"
"Right, right, Chu Ge, update more of the main story!"
Chu Ge: "…" Forget it, a bunch of idiots, time to wash up.
Luckily, he had some unused drafts for Qiu Qiu's autobiography.
While brushing his teeth, he suddenly realized something was wrong. How could Qiu Wuji upload chapters herself? When did she peek at his author backend password?
You're a mature female protagonist now… you can actually upload chapters yourself…
Chu Ge stood there dumbfounded with a mouthful of foam, this feeling was so strange…
After quickly washing up and leaving the bathroom, he heard the sound of stir-frying coming from the kitchen. Peeking in, Chu Ge saw Qiu Wuji wearing an apron, stir-frying something. The aroma of meat filled the kitchen, and she was even humming a little tune.
"What are you peeking at?" Qiu Wuji said without turning her head. "The food's ready in 20 minutes. Go back to writing, write as much as you can. The autobiography is just a side story, it's just something to fill out, not a real update."
"Yes, ma'am..." Chu Ge swallowed the words "my dear wife" back.
Qiu Wuji turned and picked up the spatula, her eyes dangerous.
"Trying to call me an old lady, huh?"
Chu Ge dashed away.
Opening his computer document, how was he supposed to write for these 20 minutes? He couldn't concentrate at all; his mind was filled with her every smile and gesture, the image of her stir-frying in her apron.
And the softness and fragrance of their embrace last night.
"I almost kissed her! If I had been more decisive and quicker, maybe I would have succeeded... *sobs*..."
Twenty minutes passed.
Qiu Wuji's head appeared beside him, his expression unfriendly as he stared at the "Chapter xxx" title on the document, his face as black as the bottom of a pot: "Is this your writing?"
Chu Ge muttered, "That's only five words..."
"I thought a writer with ten thousand subscriptions would have profound insights, but instead, you utter such lame talk!" Qiu Wuji grabbed his ear again: "Go eat!"
Did you go to the Bilibili parody section?
Chu Ge smiled apologetically: "Can we make a deal..."
"What?"
"Don't pull my ears anymore. Pulling my collar was fine before." This is too henpecked. What if you get used to pulling my ears in public? How am I supposed to face people then...?
"Why can't I pull your ears?" Qiu Wuji thought this gesture was good, very useful for asserting her status.
Chu Ge dispelled her inappropriate thoughts with just one sentence: "That's something only couples do." Qiu Wuji released his ear as if electrocuted.
I'll pull them later.
No, there's no way I'll pull them later! Qiu Wuji sat down at the table, clearly annoyed. He picked up his chopsticks, his face stern. "I was too busy yesterday to scold you. Now I need to ask you, what gave you the confidence to go to such a big event alone?"
"I wasn't going to be a main force. I just wanted to see if I could find an opening to help, or if I could provide backup..."
"Fine, I know you have a chivalrous spirit. You wouldn't have done that if I asked you to stay home alone." Qiu Wuji said sternly. "But you need to think things through more. Your character Chu Tiange is very methodical and cautious. What about you?"
"...Actually, it's because the cautious style was more popular when I started writing."
Qiu Wuji: "?"
"Well, I wasn't reckless. I lay in ambush for a long time before striking. I think I performed quite well."
"Really?" Qiu Wuji hadn't seen the previous battle and was deeply skeptical of his explanation—you used to just jump right in.
If you really lay in ambush, then I should commend you. Good progress.
Chu Ge said, "There's another big problem, Master."
"What?"
"I really don't know my own strength level, so I can't make a preliminary assessment." Qiu Wuji ate his rice, thought silently for a while, and then said, "It's hard to assess strength in terms of raw power, mainly because you lack practical experience. Actually, in terms of sheer strength, you're no worse than that water-type ability user, and might even be stronger, because the Golden Bell Shield is truly one of the best defensive techniques, and my movement techniques are no joke either… But in actual combat, you'd most likely lose to him, let alone his boss."
Chu Ge nodded. He was able to defeat Hai Dongqing yesterday not because Hai Dongqing was weak, but because Hai Dongqing had been electrocuted by Qiu Wuji first and then trapped in the "Zhuangzi's Dream of a Butterfly" illusion. That one blow to the chair shattered it, at least halving his fighting ability. Even so, he had to put in considerable effort to win. In a fair fight, he'd most likely be no match for him.
Qiu Wuji had been warning him before that Hai Dongqing was very strong, precisely because he was worried he couldn't beat him.
Don't even mention the anvil. He's a tough guy who can hold his own even when ganged up on. His own punch was only landed because of his amazing footwork, allowing him to strike unexpectedly amidst the chaos. In a fair fight, he'd be impaled to death by the anvil.
"How do you practice this kind of real combat?" Chu Ge was incredibly frustrated. "I've been in so many fights lately, I'm practically the most in this society. Where do I usually practice real combat?"
"Fight the people in the dark room," Qiu Wuji said with a slight smile. "Or there's another way."
"Huh?" Qiu Wuji pointed to his nose: "Fight me." Chu Ge almost spat out his food.
Wait a minute, thinking about it this way, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Getting up close and personal with my beautiful master, all sweaty and panting… I guess I really am a writer…
Qiu Wuji had no idea what filthy thoughts he was having. He was quite enthusiastic about the topic: "Speaking of which, you haven't learned any attack techniques. Your punches and kicks look pathetic. I need to consider teaching you something…"
Chu Ge said, "Since we're going for the Golden Bell Shield route, let's go with something like the Vajra Subduing Demon Fist—straightforward and powerful. I feel like that's pretty much my style…"
"If that's what you're going for, I could have taught you already. Why have you hesitated for so long?"
"Is there a reason for that?"
"Yes." Qiu Wuji said, "The reason I'm only teaching you movement techniques and defense is because movement techniques and defense methods are applicable to any cultivation path." "Go ahead and practice the compatible ones; it's never wrong to start. But for true core cultivation, I absolutely must teach you what I'm best at. If it's another advanced method, I might not be able to teach it well… But my forte is sword cultivation, which isn't quite suitable for this world, so I've been hesitant." He paused, then tilted his head and said, "Besides, I also personally feel that my father's learning should be all-encompassing, not limited to sword cultivation or anything like that. All-encompassing techniques are quite rare…" Chu Ge smiled and shook his head: "I thought it was some big problem… It's alright, these kinds of things aren't our core pursuit at all, something close enough is fine… I just want to know how to get into the book to see you, I just want to know how you can stay here forever." Qiu Wuji chewed his rice, quietly watching him, without saying a word.
Chu Ge thought for a moment, "From this perspective, I should probably focus on mental techniques, like the Heaven-Shattering Earth-Striking Technique. Or something related to space and time... but that's too difficult, beyond my current cultivation level. So let's consider mental techniques first." Qiu Wuji tilted her head, looking at him, finding his confident and eloquent talk about cultivation, despite being a novice, both absurd and perfectly logical.
He created the world, so no one understood the theoretical framework better than him, not even Qiu Wuji.
As the "Father God," he should have his own thoughts and choices.
"So..." Qiu Wuji asked, "What have you decided to focus on for now?"
"Yes," Chu Ge said seriously, "The book transitions from the mortal world to the immortal realm, and I've incorporated many settings from martial arts works, including the Heaven-Shattering Earth-Striking Technique."