Chapter 303: Spying Through Time
Qiu Wuji leaned into Chu Ge’s shoulder, and together, the author and the female protagonist read about how the author wrote the female protagonist in the book.
It felt rather strange; they both had a sense of embarrassment and yet an inexplicable sweetness.
At this moment, Chu Ge realized the benefit of having sentences altered – whenever he saw something embarrassing, he could say that it was changed by others, not my fault.
Gradually, they moved beyond the moments that had been altered and were drawn into the story.
The plot remained the same, the story was still the same, and they found themselves immersed.
Chu Ge’s vision began to blur slightly, and his sense of hearing also grew fuzzy. Unbeknownst to him, he started to see distant memories, the green hills and rivers of the past, the year of swirling snow in the clouds.
Chu Tiange was in the outskirts of a town, adventuring with his friends and completing a low-level dungeon to make a final effort before the outer disciple selection.
The scene suddenly shifted, and Qiu Wuji sat cross-legged in the mountains, playing a melody on her zither as snowflakes swirled around her.
Several elders stood beside her, listening attentively. She inquired, “Are there any outstanding disciples in the upcoming outer disciple selection?”
One of the elders responded, “There is a disciple named Cheng Hao, renowned in the outer sect, one of the best in recent years. There’s also someone called Chu Tiange; they say he defeated inner sect disciples, but he appears quite ordinary.”
Qiu Wuji nodded slightly and said, “This time, I will personally observe the competition.”
The scenes were becoming a bit blurry, the voices distorted, as if… he had found an old CD in an ancient house, inserted it into a vintage VCD player, and it showed Jackie Chan’s face from a long time ago, while Qi Qin sang “Past Events Gone with the Wind.” Then the sound stuttered, attempting to fast-forward, but the image shattered. When he came to his senses, it was already the present, years later.
There was no longer the red hue of the dungeon, no green mountains and white snow.
The aloof Qiu Wuji now nestled in his arms, reading a book together.
Chu Ge looked at the words in the book with a distant expression. The brief image from a moment ago left him with a sense of excitement.
Unexpectedly, through the mirrored reflection of the physical book, he hadn’t found a pathway between two worlds… he had found a pathway to time.
Gone with the Wind… But this wind seemed to be capturable.
Indeed… if we say that the Heavenly Dao oversees, what he should see is not just the present and is not just about weaving the future.
In essence, it is about witnessing the eternal flow of the ancient river and weaving together the threads of time.
If we talk about changes in space… space and time should be interdependent. The flow of time in the two realms has always been different. What is the present? If we can’t break through time, how do we build a bridge of connection? Even if a channel is established, what point in time does it connect to?
“Interesting, it’s getting more and more fascinating… no wonder I couldn’t find a way to establish the channel. It turns out it’s not just a bridge in space,” Chu Ge muttered to himself. “This reference from the mirror is indeed intriguing, very intriguing…”
Qiu Wuji lifted her head gently from his embrace to look at his contemplative expression.
Just now, she couldn’t see anything; that was the realm of experience belonging to Chu Ge. He was the Heavenly Dao, and he could have these feelings, but she couldn’t.
However, she could feel Chu Ge’s changes; his eyes had become deep, like the vast universe, mysterious and enigmatic. It was as if she could tune into his emotions, devoid of joy and sorrow, seeing through the eons of the human world.
In that moment, she, too, could grasp the concept of the Heavenly Dao – the changing of time and space.
“Is this… seeing time?” she hesitated and asked.
Chu Ge bent down to kiss her forehead. “Yes, I saw you, the one recorded in this moment in the book.”
Qiu Wuji was somewhat moved, whispering, “It’s…truly incredible.”
Chu Ge mused to himself, “It is… if we talk about the Heavenly Dao, what I had known before was too little; there’s no way the Heavenly Dao is that amateur. Now, with this perspective, I have found some resemblance to what it should be. I roughly know how to proceed in the future, and I have more confidence in building the connection between the two realms.”
Qiu Wuji’s expression showed delight. “So, this approach works?”
“It does,” Chu Ge whispered. “The mirror’s mirrored reference does seem to work here. My SSS dad is a bit frightening; it seems he knows things even more mysterious than my mother, and she’s SSS too…”
Qiu Wuji suggested, “Maybe it’s because you haven’t had in-depth communication with your mother. Next time, you can ask her more, she might have more guidance to offer.”
“Yes, perhaps,” Chu Ge stretched lazily. “I feel like I haven’t kept up with my cultivation… Qianqian~”
An annoyed response came from the room across. “Not so fast. Do you think alchemical pills of the Divine transformation level are that easy to refine? I told you it would take many days; you want to finish it in just a few hours?”
Chu Ge muttered softly to himself, “Sooner or later, I’ll make this time no longer be.”
…
One can freely brag, but life must go on as usual.
This time, the Little Flame spent a long time refining the pills, a full seven days. Chu Ge and his girlfriend spent those seven days diligently, him writing and her drawing.
As a side note, Qiu Wuji graduated early from her online class and received a certificate of unknown validity.
In any case, the certificate’s validity wasn’t very important; much like a driver’s license, she had had it for so long but didn’t intend to buy a car.
Everything was just a kind of imprint in this world, in every aspect, building the true Qiu Wuji.
During these seven days, things on the internet were calm. The publishing house had recalled the first edition of the physical book and was reworking it. It was said they were working overtime, and the new edition was already in the process of being printed. The single copy Chu Ge had on hand was the only one from the first edition, and he read it every day recently, just to seek out time.
Unfortunately, the effect was mediocre, and not every attempt resulted in an experience. More often than not, his eyes would get tired, and there would be no use in doing so.
Chu Ge wasn’t in a hurry; he’d wait for the new edition to come out. Especially when more volumes were available, he would try again. The results were sure to be better than this one that had been messed up with changes.
Yan Qianli was refining pills on one side while his real body was following the storyline. In the book, the mainland had begun to show signs of turmoil on the horizon, signifying that Yan Qianli was colluding with overseas guests and preparing for another battle with Qiu Wuji.
As a result, the real-life Qiu Wuji and Little Flame were scowling at each other. Chu Ge, the one who had set things in motion, remained quiet, lying flat.
Although he couldn’t temporarily observe the “past,” he was still overlooking the “present” while writing. However, at this point, most of his focus was on Chu Tiange.
Under his own pen, Chu Tiange’s storyline was filled with various battles and had very little involvement with Xie Yun’er. Outside the storyline, there wasn’t much connection either.
Chu Tiange simply had no thoughts of romantic entanglements, and any red threads attached to Qiu Wuji remained white.
Still, Chu Ge couldn’t help but feel that while he was observing and overseeing through his writing, he often saw Chu Tiange raise his head and gaze at the sky, as if in a father-son eye contact.
“He must be sensing my presence,” Chu Ge told Qiu Wuji.
“He said before that it would be better if he didn’t see you. It’s clear he’s wanting to break through to the Cross Tribulation stage before meeting you,” Qiu Wuji said.
“Hmm…” Chu Ge silently met eyes with his “son” for a moment before shifting his gaze away.
As if sensing something, Chu Tiange also withdrew his gaze from the sky.
The Heavenly Dao’s gaze had now fallen beyond, onto a small country in the mortal realm, completely unrelated to the storyline.
The small country was in the midst of spring planting, and the application of various magical artifacts gave Chu Ge a sense of modernized farming. The nation’s young people were engaged in studying — Qiu Wuji was piloting an experimental compulsory education.
Chu Ge found this change very interesting, despite how bewildering it was. He wondered when these changes would bear fruit.
Amidst the various developments in the storylines and beyond, Yan Qianli had finally finished refining the pill.
“Are you sure you want to use this Spirit Soul Jade Pill to break through the Golden Core stage?” Little Flame made a final confirmation, appearing somewhat exasperated. “This pill is meant to aid in transcending to the Divine Transformation stage. I’ll ask you one more time… Don’t come back to me with health problems if you blow yourselves up.”
Qiu Wuji examined the pill in her hand from different angles, her eyes filled with amazement. “This pill’s quality…”
Little Flame crossed his arms. “You mean it’s extraordinary, right? Yes, it is. From ancient times to the present, there has never been such a good Spirit Soul Jade Pill. If the pill had a thirty percent chance of assisting in breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage in the past, now it’s at eighty percent. It’s quite literally otherworldly, and it shouldn’t exist in this world.”
“Is this because of your cooperation with Qingyan?”
“Yes,” Little Flame answered nonchalantly. “Through this alchemical process, I’ve gained some insights. I’ll be able to thoroughly defeat you when I go back.”
Qiu Wuji scoffed, “I’ve gained insights too, and it’s not any less than you. What do you know?”
What she had gained insights into was time, and while it was still in its early stages and quite rudimentary, it was a level of understanding that was otherworldly.
Chu Ge had no idea to what extent Qiu Wuji had gained insights. At least he himself had only scratched the surface.
Little Flame couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. “I’m going back. The world there is about to go into a major war. You can stay here, wrapped up in your romance. Breaking through to the Golden Core stage with diligence would be quite an accomplishment.”
Qiu Wuji, “…”
One red and one blue flame vanished into thin air.
Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji, each holding their pill with shimmering lights, suddenly remembered that it had been a very long time since Qiu Wuji here had returned to her original self.