"Miss Keqing, Miss Keqing, why are you crying?"
The secretaries who had accompanied Ningguang were startled to see Keqing wiping the corners of her eyes.
Ningguang, who had been reviewing official matters, raised her head when she heard the question, and found Keqing holding a comic in one hand while dabbing away tears with the other.
She immediately asked, "Keqing, is something troubling you?"
Caught off guard, Keqing blinked in confusion. "Huh? Trouble? Oh, you mean me? No... I just thought Chu Chu and Bu Jingyun's story was so tragic. Wait, why are you all looking at me like that?"
Ningguang gave a helpless smile. "We were only wondering what made you tear up like that. It seems the comic's story really moved you."
Realizing what had happened, Keqing's face flushed crimson. "Ah... the story was just too touching. I couldn't help it. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."
To prove that her emotional outburst wasn't intentional, she handed the newest chapter to Ningguang and the others. When they read the part where Chu Chu disguised herself as an assassin to let Bu Jingyun's Supreme Sword awaken, they were all struck by how foolishly devoted the girl was, but Bu Jingyun's reaction in the end made them equally moved.
After finishing the chapter, Ningguang sighed softly. "What a pair of hopeless lovers... No wonder you were touched. Anyone else would've cried even harder."
Meanwhile, the secretaries who had followed them were already crying like little rabbits. Seeing this, Keqing finally relaxed. At least she wasn't the only one so moved, that made things far less embarrassing.
Downstairs.
Many patrons reading the same chapter had also set down their chopsticks. With Chu Chu's devotion and Bu Jingyun's sorrow, who could still eat after reading that?
One customer downed a cup of wine and sighed. "I thought Bu Jingyun would live alone in solitude forever... never expected he'd meet someone like her."
The man beside him chuckled. "Come on, Chu Chu's love wasn't one-sided, Bu Jingyun felt it too."
"I just hope they can defeat Absolute Godless and live happily ever after," a female fan added softly.
But the story wasn't over yet. The next part was even more thrilling.
After Bu Jingyun and Chu Chu's story concluded, the legend of Nameless continued. Though his martial arts had been crippled during captivity, he turned misfortune into fortune and cultivated an even greater technique, Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect. The power he gained shook both heaven and earth.
"Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"
Without even holding a blade, sword qi burst forth on its own. Nameless had already surpassed the Heavenly Sword Realm, his sword energy filling the skies. Yet even with this strength, he could only fight Absolute Godless to a draw.
Inside the Hall of Ten Thousand Peoples, the audience burst into heated discussion.
"Absolute Godless's Invincible Golden Body is terrifying! It can even withstand Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"
"No, no, Master Nameless was injured. If he were in peak form, Absolute Godless would've been finished!"
"That's true enough."
Though he hadn't won, Nameless managed to escape with Nie Feng's help.
But defeating Absolute Godless seemed almost impossible. Until the Third Pig Emperor declared, "Only the Demonic Blade can defeat him. But beware, cultivating it means falling completely into the demonic path."
For the sake of the martial world, and for all under heaven, Nie Feng ultimately chose to enter demonhood. The comic ended there, leaving readers hanging in suspense.
Fans were anxious beyond belief. If Nie Feng mastered the Demonic Blade, his power would soar, but once he fell into madness, how could he ever recover?
"One storm hasn't passed before another rises..."
"Right? Once someone falls into the demonic path, regaining clarity is near impossible."
"Damn it! Why did the author stop here again? I hate you, Boss Su!"
"Hahaha, who doesn't?"
"Exactly! He made poor Chu Chu suffer so much. The other day, over a hundred rotten eggs were thrown at the comic shop's door, the clerks spent an hour cleaning up!"
"Hahahaha! That's the power of comics for you. Still, I think once they defeat Absolute Godless, peace will finally come."
"Probably. Wind and Cloud's strength has reached its peak. From now on, no one can stand against them."
At this point, Nameless had passed Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect to Bu Jingyun, and Nie Feng had mastered the terrifying Demonic Blade. If the two joined forces again, they would be truly invincible.
Meanwhile, inside the Northern Bank.
The Eleventh Fatui Harbinger, Tartaglia, was also reading the comic. Unlike other readers, his focus was entirely on the battle scenes.
"Palm of the Cloud-Piercing Strike, Heavenly Frost Fist, Wind God Kick..."
"Sword Twenty-Three, Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Sect!"
"What exquisite techniques... and that Invincible Golden Body! I wonder whether his defense is stronger than my Foul Legacy."
"Too bad they're only comic characters. Otherwise, I'd challenge them all myself."
As a battle fanatic, Tartaglia thrived on challenging the strong. Even in defeat, he never lost heart, for only by fighting powerful opponents could his strength grow.
Lately, however, his power had stagnated, and he was itching for a fight.
Just as Tartaglia was immersed in the comic world, a subordinate appeared behind him and knelt down.
"My lord."
"How goes the investigation?"
"Reporting, my lord, the owner of the comic shop is an ordinary man. He previously lived abroad and only returned a few months ago. His strength is negligible, once chased for miles by the weakest monsters. He's friendly with the secretaries of the Liyue Qixing and has close ties with your acquaintance, Consultant Zhongli."
"Wait." Tartaglia suddenly interrupted. "Have you fought him yourselves?"
The subordinate froze before answering, "Er... the target has never left the city, so we haven't had the chance to test him."
Then, remembering something, he quickly added, "However, I just received word, that Boss Su seems to have gone out alone on urgent business. Clement took an interest in him and has already led men to intercept. We should have results soon."
At this, Tartaglia's face darkened as he stood abruptly. "How long ago did they leave?"
"Two hours."
"Hmph. You think a mere shopkeeper could survive two hours against the Debt Collectors? Don't make me laugh. Follow me, if we're late, we might not even find what's left of Clement's corpse."
Tartaglia grabbed his cloak and strode toward the door.
His subordinate hesitated. "My lord, do you suspect that man is hiding his strength?"
"Why not?" Tartaglia's eyes gleamed. "Perhaps you don't know, but the martial realms described in that comic follow real logic. I tested one of the moves myself yesterday. Even without understanding the internal energy, the technique alone surpassed Liyue's ordinary martial arts.
"So tell me, could a man who creates such a comic truly be an ordinary shopkeeper?"
In the shadows, Tartaglia's eyes burned with excitement.
If his hunch was right, that comic shop owner was no mere mortal.
He could only hope the man would not disappoint him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonus chapters every 300 Power Stone!
10, 20, 30 Advanced chapters in my Patreon!
patreon.com/hollyrisk