It wasn't without its advantages that Qiu Wuji discovered someone who understood her better than she understood herself.
Theoretically, this was called a soulmate… but unfortunately, this wasn't a true soulmate; the reason he knew was too frustrating.
But undeniably, the loneliness of being a stranger in this foreign land was lessened to a minimum.
Because there was someone familiar beside her… the most familiar stranger.
She sighed softly and whispered, "Since I'm here, of course I should know."
Chu Ge smiled: "Let's go. Before I accompany you through these experiences, you should have dinner with me first."
To be honest, although the difference in martial arts strength between Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji was ridiculously large, and he faced the constant risk of being beaten or even stabbed, his mindset was actually quite high.
After all, she was the woman he had "created."
In his heart, he felt a strong sense of mission to help this woman understand the world; he felt it was his responsibility.
Looking at Qiu Wuji with this mindset, he didn't feel much of the fear or hesitation that came with the difference in martial arts strength; instead, he genuinely felt a fatherly and mentorly enthusiasm.
What's it like to guide a woman who seems to have stepped out of a book through the modern world?
I don't know… but it's very interesting.
It's like a real-life character creation and nurturing experience.
Chu Ge casually went to a ramen shop on the street, ordered a bowl of beef noodles, and turned to ask Qiu Wuji, "Do you want some?"
Qiu Wuji hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"Two bowls, both with eggs."
Chu Ge led Qiu Wuji to a table and sat down, asking somewhat strangely, "You really need to eat? You've been practicing abstinence from grains for years."
Qiu Wuji's current state is different from what Chu Ge predicted. Logically, she should be a wandering soul, yet she has a physical form, even a fragrance, as if a physical body has been forcibly solidified, and its strength is far less than what's depicted in the book.
And now she actually wants to eat.
Qiu Wuji said, "Your world is a bit strange; pure soul bodies are hard to preserve. So I forcibly condensed a physical body. This isn't my original body, nor is it made from any rare and precious materials. It's inherently weak; its current strength is at most at the Qi Refining stage, and it knows a few minor spells." Chu Ge nodded; this didn't deviate from his own settings.
Qiu Wuji's world was originally just a "human realm," where everyone was still striving to ascend to the upper realms. The overall strength wasn't very high, roughly similar to the Legend of Sword and Fairy series, far from being capable of destroying the world. Although Qiu Wuji was a top-tier figure in her time, once she crossed realms and split her soul, she would have to condense her own physical body, obviously unable to maintain much strength. She wasn't one of those omnipresent, god-like figures.
So, she was only stronger than mortals in terms of martial prowess; in reality, she couldn't achieve most of the mysteries of immortals…
Even with her original strength, she probably wouldn't feel superior in this world—mortals could go to the moon, but she couldn't.
Thinking about it, Qiu Wuji, who was usually as fierce as a female tyrannosaurus, now looked like a stray cat, her eyes filled with confusion yet trying to appear calm… tsk.
Qiu Wuji had no idea what Chu Ge was thinking. She glanced around warily; the other customers in the shop were giving her strange looks, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Didn't you say no one cared about my attire? What about now?"
Chu Ge snapped out of her daze, amusedly pointing to her own short-sleeved T-shirt, then to Qiu Wuji's heavy robes: "It's summer. Do you think everyone is immune to heat and cold?"
Qiu Wuji: "…"
"I told you not to wear robes, didn't I? Disobeying Father God…"
Qiu Wuji gritted her teeth: "Shut up!"
The owner, who had just brought over the noodles, also gave Qiu Wuji a strange look, a hint of regret in his eyes. Such a beautiful girl, it's a pity her brain isn't working properly…
Chu Ge coughed: "Anime/manga, you know."
The owner gave a knowing look, shook his head, and left.
Before Qiu Wuji could lose his temper, Chu Ge lowered his head and ate his noodles: "Speaking of which, haven't you really enjoyed the taste of a normal meal in a long time?"
One sentence broke down Qiu Wuji's defenses.
Qiu Wuji gritted his teeth and ate his noodles, thinking to himself that his immediate priority should be to find a way to change his thinking, so this guy wouldn't always be like a mind reader—it was too embarrassing.
But…
These noodles are so delicious.
How could there be such delicious food in the mortal realm? Shouldn't this be the work of immortals?
Uh, which immortal would make beef noodles?
Qiu Wuji thought absentmindedly, then asked, "In our world, mortal resources are scarce, people rarely taste meat or oil, and all beings suffer… You clearly have meat everywhere here, why write it like this?"
Chu Ge said, "That's true. This world was like that in ancient times too, except now it's a golden age, the greatest golden age in history, the kind you wouldn't trade even for the immortal realm."
Qiu Wuji fell silent, lost in thought. Chu Ge said calmly, "You don't need to take this as my fabrication; just take it as fact. Actually, I don't want you to see your whole world as fake—you are real, the world is real, and the Qiu Wuji in my heart should have this belief."
Qiu Wuji squinted at him, "Why don't you suppress my ambition? Wouldn't that be more beneficial for you? Why do you advise me instead?"
Chu Ge ate his noodles, mumbling, "Because that's not my Qiu Wuji."
Qiu Wuji looked at him for a long time, then lowered his head to eat his noodles, remaining silent.
Chu Ge finished his noodles, wiping his mouth contentedly, "Although I really wanted to take you out to experience more, unfortunately, we have to go home first after we finish eating."
Qiu Wuji asked, "Why?"
"I've been off updating for a day, and I haven't even started working on the outline I wanted to revise." Chu Ge scanned the code to pay, sighing, "Do you think I write books to fantasize about you…? First and foremost, it's to eat."
Qiu Wuji looked at his payment method with confusion, hesitating to speak.
Even cultivators can't transfer spirit stones like this... Are you sure the shopkeeper will accept your money?
Confused about the payment method, Qiu Wuji forgot to argue with him about profound questions like, "Why are you writing about me when you're earning your own living?" Even after returning to Chu Ge's rented apartment, Qiu Wuji didn't remember that Chu Ge had used the word "home," and she hadn't objected at all.
She used to think Chu Ge was the one with a muddled mind, but now it seemed it was actually herself.
This confused behavior—where was the air of someone who had roamed the world freely?
But the biggest problem was that she seemed to really have to go home with him; he was the only familiar person she knew. Although she felt she could go out and rob the rich to help the poor to get through the initial stages, it was clearly not as convenient as being with Chu Ge to quickly understand the world.
Especially... he genuinely didn't seem to have any ill intentions.
"Because that's not my Qiu Wuji." Chu Ge's words flashed through her mind, and Qiu Wuji knew that Chu Ge didn't mean anything lewd when he said that.
That was the Qiu Wuji he had created.
"Here..." Chu Ge sat in front of the computer, pointing to the outline on the screen: "This is the next plot point. You heard that a Azure Dragon might shed its scales in the Serpent Cave thousands of miles southwest, which would be beneficial for your Four Symbols Formation, so you led your people there. Deep within the cave, you encountered the Poisonous Hand Demon Lord and fought him at the Fallen Dragon Pool. You initially had the upper hand, but he ambushed you with a vicious magic weapon, causing you to fall into the pool and be poisoned by a strange snake."
Qiu Wuji said with a stern face: "How could the Poisonous Hand Demon Lord possibly be my match?"
"That's right, that's your mentality."
"..." Your sect's disciple was also on the outer layer of the cave. Chu Tiange... well, of course, the protagonist's luck is different from others. He accidentally obtained a Snake Saliva Fruit, which just happened to be your antidote."
"Antidote?" Qiu Wuji became alert: "Are you going to write a clichéd story about me being drugged?"
"Damn it, I've never written a story like that in your world. Is this some kind of self-sufficient social foundation?"
Qiu Wuji roared: "Tell me..." "Important point!"
"You know that's a clichéd story, why would I write it like that? Writing clichéd plots these days is just asking for trouble. It's just that Chu Tiange did something good, and that's why he's more appealing to you. I've always been a storyteller, building up the plot step by step. The key to this story is actually the protagonist's fortuitous encounter. He gains a lot himself; helping you is just a side effect. After all, the gap between him and you is huge, and it's still a long way off." Qiu Wuji gritted his teeth, "You had to drag a romantic relationship into a perfectly good fortuitous encounter. You make money writing this kind of stuff?"
"Do you think just anyone can write a good romance story? That's skill! Okay, stop looking at me like that. I already said I'm going to revise the outline…wait a minute…" Chu Ge's expression slowly turned strange: "Actually, you've already seen the plot, so the Poisonous Hand Demon Lord shouldn't have been able to trick you…but if I still write it like this, will you still fall for it?" Qiu Wuji also paused, his expression turning strange as well.
Is this considered precognition? Having foreseen the future, if he doesn't change the plot, will he still fall victim to it?
Is fate inescapable?
Chu Ge hesitated, then asked tentatively, "Won't you try changing it? Can you handle being poisoned? It might be a bit uncomfortable."
"Injury and poisoning are nothing..." Qiu Wuji also hesitated, "I'd like to try... but those minor bumps and knocks are off."
Chu Ge readily agreed, "Of course, I'll write that you found the antidote yourself at the bottom of the pool. Because since yesterday, Chu Tiange and you haven't had any contact."
Qiu Wuji pursed his lips, tentatively asking, "You didn't seem willing to change the text before."
Chu Ge, busy revising the manuscript and deleting scenes, casually replied, "This is your life; no one has the right to control it, neither me nor fate. This test is precisely to ask... what fate holds?"