Chapter 277: Incomprehensible Hints

Chu Ge felt like Qiu Wuji was trying to lure him into the world of the book…

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but there was a sense of “if both sides were cut off, it would be nice if you could stay with me in that world” in her demeanor.

Although Qiu Wuji didn’t explicitly say it, Chu Ge had a feeling.

Upon closer consideration, it didn’t seem like a big issue, but at the very least, he had to wait until he properly took care of his parents in their old age before considering such a move. So, Qiu Wuji naturally didn’t want to bring it up.

But in reality, Chu Ge thought it might not be possible.

Because once it was cut off, he probably wouldn’t be able to project himself into that world anymore. It wasn’t that simple.

The two of them left the old alley in high spirits and took the subway back to their rented place. Qiu Wuji took out the small mirror to study, while Chu Ge went into the room and opened the book left behind by his father.

The first page had a bold and powerful penmanship: “Others write explicit content, and so does my son, but why is there such a huge gap in skill?”

Chu Ge: “?”

Dad, I don’t need to compare myself to famous books, do I? I’m just writing light novels. Are your standards too high…

He continued reading.

“The main difference is that others describe things so explicitly, why doesn’t my son dare to?”

Chu Ge: “Damn.”

It seems like this version is the uncensored one.

“As for the complexities of the world, as real as they are, I don’t expect that from my son… If that day comes, then his writing will encompass the world, not just a thousand catties of grain, not just a golden house, not just beauty like jade! Mutual affection, how close can it get?”

Chu Ge looked at this sentence with a serious expression for a long time.

Did his dad have a premonition?

Or was it just an expectation for his son’s success?

He wanted to read more, but there was nothing else.

With this note on the first page, it didn’t seem like annotations or reflections; it looked more like something left for Chu Ge to read.

He probably also knew that there was a 99% chance Chu Ge would bring this book, “Jin Ping Mei,” back home.

Chu Ge wanted to shout “Damn” again.

Turning to the first page of the preface, there were no notes, but there was an underlined section that stood out: “Chu Xiaoxiu and a young man attended a feast of singing and dancing together, eventually arriving at the Night Banquet of Hegemon. The young man, with desire in his eyes, said, ‘How can a man not indulge like this?’ Chu Xiaoxiu replied, ‘This was only set up for the Wujiang river, after all.’ Those seated around sighed and praised it as wise words.”

Chu Ge scratched his head.

In fact, the admonitions and satirical elements in this book were quite clear. The first chapter began with lengthy discussions about the dangers of wine, women, and wealth, leading to “there was someone named Ximen Qing who did all these things and died a terrible death in the end.” This was the essence of the entire work. Those who read this book generally understood its message, and it didn’t need to be emphasized repeatedly.

As for the preface, it also emphasized many things repeatedly. His dad didn’t underline anything else, only this particular part about the Night Banquet. It didn’t seem like he was marking the book itself, but rather something else.

It’s as if it’s advising not to become too arrogant, similar to “Don’t get carried away.” Shortly after the Night Banquet of the Hegemon is the Wujiang River.

Chu Ge wasn’t sure if it was his father’s self-awareness or if it was meant for him to read.

Regardless of which it was, Chu Ge indeed felt quite proud of himself at the moment. He was making progress both inside and outside the book, and even Qiuqiu had been eaten up. The momentum was so strong that he felt like he was floating. He even planned the return to the old house to show off, something he never would have thought of before.

Was this reminder coming at just the right time?

However, Chu Ge didn’t really feel like he had any weaknesses that needed to be addressed. If the anime and film adaptation failed, there was nothing he could do about it; it wasn’t something he could control. So, what use was this self-awareness?

Flipping through the pages, there was an important opening about the dangers of wine, women, and wealth. He expected to find underlined passages or notes, but strangely, there were none. Instead, there was a line drawn under the couplet describing the feast at the temple: “In this endless abode, there is a universe within the wine jug.”

Chu Ge’s heart skipped a beat.

He increasingly felt like this was meant for him…

But what did it mean? There weren’t any more underlined warnings, so did it mean he could indulge?

Continuing to flip through the book, when Wu Song appeared, there was a note: “Starting from this point until the sixth section, just read Water Margin. This part is purely a fan-fiction version. It only transitions to original content starting from the seventh section…”

Chu Ge became more and more speechless. Wasn’t he here to uncover the secrets of his powers? Was there a need to study classical literature?

He picked up the pace and flipped through the pages. There were very few notes or remarks, with most of the markings being underlined passages. Some of the underlined parts were completely inexplicable, and he had no idea why they were marked. A quick scan yielded no meaningful insights.

As he was getting a headache from this, he suddenly heard a faint explosion coming from the next room. Chu Ge rushed over and saw Qiu Wuji pinching a sword technique, pointing it at the mirror above, with a serious expression.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Ge asked hurriedly.

“It’s nothing…” Qiu Wuji looked somewhat helpless. “I was trying to use my spiritual sense to analyze it, to figure out how it’s achieving this effect. But my probing spiritual sense was like mud sinking into the ocean, completely absorbed and disappeared. When I increased the intensity, it started to resist and almost invaded my spiritual sea. I had to sever the connection.”

Chu Ge: “…”

Both of them seemed to have reached a dead end in their research.

“But I haven’t gained nothing.” Qiu Wuji continued, “In essence, what we see in the mirror can be considered a mirrored world. Even though it doesn’t exist, it serves as a foundation for imagination and manifestation. In other words, your father’s manifestation probably requires prior recognition of ‘the existence of something,’ and it can’t just happen out of thin air.”

Chu Ge remarked, “It’s like him turning a piece of rock into something in the mining area. First, he needs to know what the rock looks like before he can transform it. But he doesn’t know the finer details, so it’s more like a semblance of the original, which you discovered.”

“Yes.”

Chu Ge contemplated.

His world also had to be based on his own cognition.

Going in to understand each person, isn’t that what it’s all about?

There are quite a few similarities.

“Furthermore…” Qiu Wuji said with a serious expression, “I can still sense it now. When you’re present, this mirror behaves obediently. But when you’re in the neighboring room, it becomes a bit temperamental. From this, we can infer that your father has set it up to sense a familiar presence approaching before it obediently behaves. If a thief entered, they might have met a gruesome end.”

“…Can we also infer that there might be other things in the house that don’t manifest because I’m inside, but if someone else went in, it would be a real haunted house?”

Qiu Wuji said with a strange look, “Yes, if I entered myself, I might have to tear the house down.”

A house that didn’t recognize its daughter-in-law.

Qiu Wuji was very upset.

She had previously said that she liked it here, but suddenly, she didn’t like it anymore! Wahhh… The neatly framed “Good Student” award certificate and the photo of the little boy in split pants suddenly lost their appeal…

She angrily put away the mirror and asked, “Anyway, it’s listening to me a bit now. Did you make any progress on your end?”

“I feel like I’m reading classical literature with my dad. Besides reminding me not to float, I haven’t gained much for now. But I always feel like it’s giving me hints, or else it shouldn’t have been written that way…”

“What do you want to do then?”

“I want to examine it closely, analyze it, and even look for hidden messages or connections between the underlined parts. But that would require a lot of time and effort…”

Qiu Wuji widened her eyes, “You actually consider something like that… Is it really that exaggerated?”

“Can’t help it. Right now, my dad’s image in my mind is mysterious and lofty, probably similar to how people in the book speculate about the Heavenly Dao, even though the actual Heavenly Dao might just be a lazy writer who didn’t think of anything profound. But others don’t know that.”

Qiu Wuji couldn’t help but chuckle, “You have a good self-awareness.”

“Well, I have an idea. Instead of going through all that painstaking effort, I can record the places he underlined, and then we can slowly ponder it in the book. This time the story ends at the end of the volume, with Chu Tiange returning after crossing the sea. It’s written as ‘several months later,’ so we’ve got plenty of time to study my dad’s underlining. I might even be able to move into the book and finish the conclusion…”

“How long have you had this ‘several months later’ thing on your mind?” Qiu Wuji sighed and shook her head, but did not object to his ‘promising’ pursuit; in fact, there was a hint of joy and a subtle coyness in her eyes. “Then… Let’s go home.”