Forge a path to success

“While you were away, I held funerals for them. These souls suffer even more than the residents of Ying Shi Town; they yearn deeply for peace.” Bernhard’s fingers traced the spine of the Book of Revelation. “And where else are there souls who need my help?”

"Take a look at your book," Chu Hengkong sneered.

"The book records the fates of all living beings, but it doesn't mention the souls in the Heavenly Prison," Bernhard frankly stated.

Chu Hengkong originally didn't intend to pay attention, but after thinking about his experiences along the way, he changed his mind.

“You may go to the valley at the bottom of the sand sea. There are many people from the mist who remain there, tormented by nightmares but unable to escape them, and have no choice but to seek the blessing of the Black Moon.”

He was surprised to find emotion on Bernfar's face. It was a deep-seated hatred and profound anger. That expression made Chu Hengkong realize in an instant that the funeral procession hated Black Moon; they were mortal enemies.

"We can only turn to the blasphemous dead moon for help..." he sighed softly, "How pathetic... how hopeless..."

"Thank you for letting me know. I will do my best."

Bernfar left in a hurry, like a believer rushing to martyrdom. Chu Hengkong watched the priest walk away, a vague premonition in his heart that at least for the time being, he didn't need to worry about Bernfar becoming an enemy. Generally speaking, for funeral processions, burying the dead is always far more important than dealing with the living.

He walked along the road toward Qingxia's red house, knocking loudly on the door, bracing himself for the eccentric girl's antics. But once again, he found nothing; the house seemed empty. He strained his ears and heard children's laughter coming from the entrance of the settlement.

Almost all the children in the settlement ran to the entrance, jumping and laughing around their warrior captain. Qingxia single-handedly pulled several large carts, piled high with the exotic beasts they had hunted. The warriors were unloading the precious food while chanting slogans, and the warrior captain carried a basket of roasted meat, using the aroma to amuse the children.

"Who wants to eat meat?" Qingxia said with a half-smile.

"Me!" "I want to eat!" "Soldier commander, give it to me!" The children all raised their hands.

“What can we do? After all, no one gets to eat if he doesn’t work…” Qingxia smiled and stretched out her hand. “Then let’s do this! Let’s see if your strength has improved. Those who train well will get meat to eat.”

"Come on!" The young soldiers, always bold, didn't waste any words and eagerly threw punches. Their attacks struck Qingxia's palms like cotton balls hitting steel. Qingxia gently shook her hand and lifted the child up as easily as lifting a chick.

Chu Hengkong, watching from the sidelines, felt a bit smug. This scene reminded him of Wu He, who had been beaten like a chicken by Qingxia.

“Little Matti… just because he didn’t slack off, he got half a piece of meat.”

"I will continue to work hard..." the burly boy said, pursing his lips.

"Huh? You're slacking off! All you get are scraps of meat."

"Yes, sir." The skinny boy slunk away.

"Vita, you're not bad. You have two pieces of meat."

"Great!" the little girl in the helmet exclaimed.

To outsiders, these children appeared identical, easily picked up and put down, like frozen chickens being mass-produced on an assembly line. However, Qingxia could recount their recent progress in detail, and the children listened without uttering a single complaint. Chu Hengkong guessed that similar tests might be held regularly, hence her thorough understanding of these children's situations.

The small basket of roasted meat was quickly divided up, and the children scattered. Qingxia grabbed the last piece from the bottom of the basket and waved it at Chu Hengkong.

"Do you want to eat?"

"It's not worth competing with you for food." Chu Hengkong shrugged. "Why are you hunting so many prey?"

Generally speaking, Qingxia or the other warriors wouldn't hunt too many strange beasts; they needed to ensure a stable food source around the settlement. Qingxia popped the piece of meat into her mouth, muttering, "Too many guys have come out of the deep jungle, muah muah muah. And if Grandpa went out, he probably received some news... muah muah muah muah, he might be about to take action, woof."

Chu Hengkong had a headache: "Swallow what you're eating before you speak!"

"Therefore, we should store as much food as possible."

"Where is the cause and effect?! It's all masked by the chewing sounds, I can't hear anything at all!"

Qingxia swallowed the meat with a gulp and said seriously, "Time flies, and there's no time to lose. If there's anything that hasn't been resolved, we need to get it done as soon as possible!"

"You don't have to use allusions here. Every time you use a word, I worry whether you really understand its meaning."

Qingxia chuckled and beckoned, pulling the assassin towards their home. Chu Hengkong sighed, repeatedly telling himself to be mentally prepared, not to have any expectations of centaur knowledge, and certainly not to get angry after a few words. Qingxia's personality was just like that; he was there to repay a debt of gratitude, not to cause trouble.

They entered and sat down beside the straw mat bed (Qingxia's house didn't have chairs, so she didn't need them). The red-haired girl rubbed her hands together excitedly, her ears twitching with anticipation. Chu Hengkong kept a tense expression, as if negotiating, and seeing Qingxia's attitude, he concluded that things wouldn't end well today.

"What are your requirements?" he asked stiffly.

"Before that, I'd like to ask you a question," Qingxia said earnestly. "How should I apologize to Ji Huaisu and Qingye? I went to see them before, but I was turned away... Was it because there weren't enough thorns?"

First, there's the topic of an apology, which means she took what I said before to heart, a good sign. Chu Hengkong nodded.

"...No, what does this have to do with thorns?"

“I read in a book that to show sincerity, one should carry thorns on one’s back to apologize,” Qingxia said seriously. “So I carried two bundles of thorns to them to give them as a gift.”

Less than half a minute into the formal conversation, Chu Hengkong couldn't hold back any longer: "That thing isn't a gift, it's a torture device, you idiot!"

Qingxia covered her mouth with her hand, greatly surprised.

"What!? So a sincere apology means binding me with thorns?!"

"I've had enough! You better sit down and listen to me properly!"

Chu Hengkong's imposing aura was so terrifying that Qingxia couldn't help but sit up straight. All the resentment that had accumulated up to this point due to his bizarre use of allusions finally erupted at this moment. He pounded on the table like a teacher and quickly recounted the relevant stories from the biographies of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru that he still remembered.

Qingxia listened attentively, nodding frequently, like a model student eager for knowledge. After Chu Hengkong finished speaking, he plopped back down on the straw mat and angrily demanded, "Did you understand?!"

"Oh..." Qingxia pondered, "So thorns are used to hit people..."

"Can we focus on the central idea instead?!"

Qingxia slammed her hand down: "So, does the story of the Jing people crossing the Yong River refer to the thorns that whipped them across?"

"I'm more surprised that you would know such an obscure story than that I understand why."

Luckily, he had skimmed through "Lüshi Chunqiu" back then, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to catch this joke at all.

Chu Hengkong recounted the story of the Chu people crossing the Yong River in a few words, but Qingxia's reaction gave him a deep headache: "Where did you get these stories from? Have you ever seen other Earthlings before?"

Qingxia's ears twitched: "I don't know which dust island Earth is. I read these stories in books."

"Book?"

"Yes, it's a book I found on the beach when I was little." Qingxia turned her gaze to the side. "It has lots and lots of interesting stories inside!"

Chu Hengkong followed her gaze and found several crumpled, thread-bound books on a bookshelf not far from the straw bed. The books were yellowish-brown, roughly bound, and had no names on the covers; they looked more like old notebooks than "books."

With Qingxia's permission, he took down a book and carefully turned the pages. The wordless book had been soaked in seawater, and many pages had holes from worms; it was easy to break the pages if one wasn't careful.

The mighty Yangtze River flows eastward, its waves washing away the heroes of the past. Right and wrong, success and failure, all vanish in the blink of an eye... So many events, past and present, are now just tales told with a laugh.

The first page features Yang Shen's poem "Linjiang Xian," followed naturally by the familiar opening lines: "It is said that the world, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of unity, tends to divide..." Even those who haven't finished reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms should be familiar with these opening lines. What follows is naturally the Oath of the Peach Garden and the first act of merit in slaying the Yellow Turbans...

Then he turned to the next page, the title of which was clear from the beginning: "Master Zhang prays to ward off the plague, Grand Marshal Hong mistakenly releases demons."

"…………"

Chu Hengkong rubbed his eyes hard, repeatedly comparing the pages before and after to make sure he hadn't picked up the wrong book. He told himself to stay calm and maintain his wildest imagination. Turning to the next page, he saw several lines of handwritten annotations that connected the preceding and following texts, explaining that the demon's true form was originally a monkey that sprang from a stone…

"Qingxia, tell the truth." He closed the book, his expression gentle. "This book wasn't originally like this, was it?"

Qingxia looked out the window and whistled loudly.

"Clear flaws!!!"

Chapter 203 A Fake Book

“It was originally more complete than it is now…” Qingxia’s fingers moved back and forth, “but when I was little, the book was damaged in an accident… Later, my grandfather helped me collect it and sew it up, but the missing pages could not be found.”

I filled in the plot based on my general impression, but some parts still don't quite make sense..."

"Oh yeah. You know it's not very convincing to explain it to me." Chu Hengkong said with a forced smile.

"Hmm, some plot developments lack foreshadowing. I still don't understand how King Arthur joined the eighteen princes. Maybe I got the order wrong."

"It's not a matter of order!"

Qingxia clasped her hands together and looked at him expectantly.

"Chu Hengkong, I guess you've read the original book. Can you tell me what the original story was like?"

Chu Hengkong flipped through the old book, getting more and more of a headache. The whole book was like a zombie-like monster, a masterpiece torn apart and then stitched together. Every page he read made his Earthling instincts scream, urging him to throw the thing away.

It's hard to imagine anyone enjoying reading this kind of story, even a child who has just learned to read... They would probably find the book incoherent and nonsensical.

"Tell me how the book got damaged first." Chu Hengkong's expression twisted. "I need to understand the cause and effect before I can tell you how to... fix the book."

"..."

Qingxia fell silent immediately, even her pointed ears drooped, and she looked listless. She poked her fingers back and forth and whispered, "This has nothing to do with the book..."

"There are too many strange things in this place. If you don't tell the story, the details might not be complete." Chu Hengkong deliberately bluffed. After experiencing the One Heart Ritual, he was already very familiar with this trick to fool children.

Qingxia hesitated for a long time, then steeled her heart and whispered, "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone else."

"no problem."

“When I was little, I was kidnapped by Vansalal.” Qingxia lowered her eyes. “Grandpa barely managed to break into the Nightmare City and rescue me. That’s when the book was damaged… and Grandpa’s leg also…”

Chu Heng pressed his temples, inwardly wishing he could slap himself twice. He had hoped to hear a story about a child who had accidentally torn a book, but instead, he had encountered this awful situation.

He gently patted Qingxia's fur, his tone softening: "That's alright, it's not a big deal. This book can be repaired, and Silar's leg can be treated after we get out."

Qingxia immediately perked up, her ears perking up again: "Really? That's great!"

Her performance was like a dream come true. Chu Hengkong looked at the messy collection of classic works and couldn't reconcile it with the child's expectations. He cautiously asked, "But the original texts are somewhat different from the books you're familiar with... Do you find these incomplete stories enjoyable?"

“Yes, very interesting!” Qingxia said earnestly. “Some people care about the well-being of all people, while others are after their own interests. They fight for their own positions and interests, instead of struggling in some crazy world of heretics. They can go on adventures and fight in all sorts of places without worrying about being corrupted by heretics. How wonderful the world beyond the wilderness is!”

"This is a story that can never be born in the desolate wilderness of despair, a place where only death and despair exist. So please, I really want to see the complete story!"

The red-haired girl spoke with great seriousness; the last time he'd seen her like this was at the seaside cemetery. He realized Qingxia was right; she cared about these stories as much as she cared about the warriors in the settlement.

"This book actually contains many stories." Chu Hengkong put the book back on the shelf. "Let me tell you one of them first..."

He turned to the beginning of the book, which began with the Oath of the Peach Garden and ended with the alliance of the eighteen princes. In the process, he realized that storytelling was really difficult. Everyone could remember the general plot, but without the original text, it was really hard to explain the details and the order of events clearly.

Especially when he talked about the meeting of feudal lords, scenes from the damn new TV series flashed through his mind. He almost turned a proper meeting of feudal lords into a quarrel in the cafeteria, and he was sweating profusely.

"...To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next chapter!" Chu Hengkong concluded decisively, and Qingxia quickly handed him a glass of water. Even this narration, which wasn't much better than a "good book," captivated her, making her want to take notes.

"Master Chu, please tell us another part!" Qingxia's eyes were practically sparkling.

“That’s a break for today.” Master Chu waved his hand repeatedly. “The story is too long, I’ll tell it tomorrow! There are about ten stories in this book, and this one story I’m going to tell will keep you entertained for a month.”

"Wow! Thank you!" Qingxia hugged him tightly, smiling like a child. "I'll go find something to eat to repay you."

She really did run out in a flash, leaving Chu Hengkong in her room. Chu Hengkong flipped through the tattered book, his weariness disappearing, his expression dark and unreadable.

A few tattered pages from a famous book cannot be pieced together to form a complete book, so many loose pages are interspersed among them, with the reader's speculations written in a childlike hand. For example, how Zhang Tianshi is connected to the Peach Garden, or how Grand Marshal Hong went to Flower and Fruit Mountain.

From a modern perspective, these incoherent inferences are naturally laughable, but the reader who finds the book probably doesn't think so.

In the desolate wilderness, there are no schools or books. The settlement serves as a training ground for warriors, and all intelligence from the outside world is provided by "newcomers" like them. Growing up in such barren land makes it extremely difficult to develop an understanding of culture and books. Qingxia likely lacks the "appreciation ability" for literary works; she has seen too little to distinguish between different writing styles and narrative techniques.

To her, these differences were perfectly natural. Books were just that kind of thing, and the world beyond the wilderness was just like that. If she couldn't understand them, that was her own problem.

This must be the real reason she's kept quiet all this time. It has nothing to do with camaraderie or seeking help from the community; it's purely Qingxia's own selfish motive. She likes the characters in these stories and imitates their behavior, wanting to hear how these stories end, which is why she's been so accommodating to him. But this isn't a reason she can openly admit, which is why she's always been too embarrassed to say it aloud.

"He's still just a child," the assassin sighed.

He put the book back on the shelf, reflecting on whether he had been too harsh on Qingxia. Then he noticed another book hidden on top of the shelf, a nearly brand-new picture book.

The small picture book is bound in a wooden case, with a line of large, gold-embossed characters on the cover that read "The Adventures of the Holy Knight Duranbeth." The cover resembles a children's picture book, but the materials and design are quite exquisite, clearly indicating that it is not from the same era as the old books in Qingxia's collection.

Chu Hengkong flipped open the book and noticed that *The Adventures of Chu Hengkong* used the fold-out binding common in children's books. The long pages unfolded to reveal a vividly colored illustration: on one side, various demons and monsters occupied the mountains and forests, causing ordinary people to flee in panic; on the other side, a white-horned knight with golden hair rode forward, sword in hand, followed by a cloaked, wounded soul wielding a knife in battle. The wounded soul's cloak was tattered, and as he ran, it draped behind him, resembling strangely colored flames. He felt this figure looked somewhat familiar.

Behind the illustration are round, colorful words telling the story of a brave and fearless "Holy Knight Durandal," who, under the command of the Knight King, travels the world, creating many legends of chivalry along the way. One day, Durandal arrives at a remote dusty island, where he finds a demon ruling the mountain and enslaving the island's inhabitants.

The locals were filled with fear, and the paladin, who always hated evil, vowed to join his companions, the Heartbreakers, in eradicating the demons and restoring peace to Dust Isle.

"..."

Chu Hengkong quickly flipped through the book, several pages of which were about knights and their companions fighting demons. For some reason, the protagonist, "Holy Knight Duranbai," was not depicted in any detail of his battles; he simply stood prominently in the picture, holding a sword. On the contrary, the cloaked Remnant Heart was given a lot of attention, with close-ups of his shuriken and swordsmanship drawn exceptionally coolly.

He quickly skipped the battle, jumping straight to the end. At the end of the picture book, the demon was finally slain. But the locals were weak, and with the demon ruling the island dead, other enemies would soon arrive.

So the paladin planted a tree of light on the island of dust, using his power to replace the demons and protect the island. He rode his white horse and bid a graceful farewell to the people. The rescued locals were filled with gratitude and vowed to follow in the knight's footsteps, becoming great warriors.

It is almost exactly the same as the legend of the settlement.

"How did you manage to dig up this fake book?"

The small picture book flew over Chu Hengkong's head and returned to the top of the bookshelf. The bony claws that had been grabbing the book nimbly retracted back to the doorway and behind Qingxia. She was carrying a basket of roasted dried insects, and the house was filled with the aroma of protein.

"Is this story fake?" Chu Hengkong asked.

“Of course, because this book is a story imagined by outsiders.” Qingxia put the food basket on the ground. “How could we knights look like humans? Besides, the knight in the picture wasn’t wearing gloves when planting the sacred pillar. That detail is too fake. We knights can’t touch sacred pillars!”

“But the Holy Pillar is a product of the knights,” Chu Hengkong retorted.

"It's a product of the 'Allied Forces,' that's what your eyeballs say too," Qingxia said. "I guess it was mostly planted by the Heartbreakers, but Grandpa's ancestors didn't understand the situation and mistakenly thought it was planted by the knights."

Reasonable.