Chapter 19 - The Novelist School (3).

"Are you saying the Chitu God is a novel you wrote? Why are the people in the city still performing sacrifices?" Hearing the other party's words, Xu Xuan's face showed a puzzled expression: "On my way here, I heard many stories about live sacrifices being held for the Chitu God."

"Ahahaha! How should I put this..." Liu Xian let out an awkward laugh, and then said: "I merely gave this book to the King of Eastern Chu, and for some unknown reason, the King of Eastern Chu began to vigorously promote this book throughout the country. He even arranged for storytellers in various taverns and inns to specifically tell this story."

"Can you get to the point?"

"This is the point, you know! Do you know how popular this book was then, and how deeply it resonated?" Hearing Xu Xuan's words, Liu Xian replied with a dissatisfied tone.

"I'm not interested in how successful your book is; I just want to know why things outside have become like this."

"Haha, in the end, it's because my book was simply too popular. In less than half a year, it became a household name. Then, people began to build temples and offer sacrifices to the Chitu God. Hahaha, it seems those lower-class commoners don't quite understand the difference between a novel story and a myth." Liu Xian said with a laugh: "And then, many people came forward claiming to have witnessed miracles of the Chitu God."

"Fakes are fakes, aren't they? Now that it's come to this, aren't you going to come out and explain?"

"I'm just a storyteller, what persuasive power do I have! Moreover, in the interpretations of the common people and folk rumors, the setting of the Chitu God has completely deviated from my original idea! I'm also very distressed, everyone now worships the Chitu God, but they just don't read the novels I wrote. What's more, temples and such have already been built, and there are so many people who supposedly witnessed miracles coming forward to speak. Even if I came out and said it was fake, I would only be beaten to death by those people, right? Besides, I want to see this interesting matter through to the end; I don't want to lose my life over it."

"So, just because of one of your novels, a false deity, ultimately led to so many people in the Eastern Chu State being sacrificed?"

"No, no, no, how can you call it a false deity? Look outside, look at those common people; you must know that in the Eastern Chu State, the Chitu God is a true deity."

"Wasn't he created in your novel?"

"But that doesn't mean he isn't real. The moment all the people of the Eastern Chu State were willing to believe in the existence of this deity, it already existed. Recently, quite a few refugees seem to have fled this country, so perhaps its legends and stories will soon spread throughout the world as well."

"What do you mean by that? I don't understand."

"Still don't understand? The Chitu God truly appeared. In the entire Eastern Chu State, from the monarch down to the common people, everyone heard the voice of the Chitu God after that, on the same night, simultaneously hearing the oracle of the Chitu God."

"What?" Hearing the other party's words, Xu Xuan couldn't help but look at the man in front of him, whose face was covered by a black veil, with some surprise.

"Yes, every person in the Eastern Chu State simultaneously saw the Chitu God in their dreams, and simultaneously heard his oracle. So, the next day, the King of Chu declared the Chitu God the deity of this country." Liu Xian said, looking at Xiaozhuang beside him: "Just like you back then, through the spread of my own created story, I truly made a deity appear in this country."

"Creating a god?" Hearing the other party's words, Xiaozhuang merely sighed: "Do you really think that is a deity? Or are you truly certain that it isn't some unknown entity taking advantage of the opportunity to occupy this identity?"

"Who knows? After all, I don't have the ability to confirm these things, and I wasn't the one who truly propelled all of this forward." Liu Xian said with a smile: "But isn't it better for something to appear than for nothing to appear at all? As long as something appears, it's always good."

"Sigh, so you people still haven't given up. You work so hard to pull off this stunt, causing the deaths of so many, and in the end, you might not even be able to control it yourselves. Isn't it exhausting?" Taking a sip of wine, Xiaozhuang couldn't help but complain: "Even if you succeed like this, you're only increasing the duration of your suffering. It's meaningless."

"There's no other way; the goal is simply too tempting." Hearing the other party's words, Liu Xian merely said calmly: "If it truly succeeds, I believe any number of deaths will be worth it."

"What are you talking about? So, from beginning to end, Liu Xian, you were intentionally creating the Chitu God? So, what is your ultimate goal in painstakingly creating such an unknown entity in the Eastern Chu State?"

"Does that even need asking? Of course, it's to seek the secret of immortality." Hearing Xu Xuan's words, Liu Xian merely smiled and said: "It truly is too difficult to hide anything from Miss Xiaozhuang. However, there's one thing I want to clarify: I really just gave the King of Chu a novel and some miscellaneous skills. As for this method of creating a god, I didn't tell the King of Chu about it. It's quite clear that some people from other countries are meddling in this. After all, even if we were to use novels to create something, we would make preparations beforehand. This time, I was completely unprepared. But now that things have come to this, it no longer matters. Ultimately, creating gods was one of our goals anyway. To create a deity, and then use the created deity as a medium to find out the reason for their immortality. After all, life is simply too short. Even powerful Qi Practitioners can only live for a little over two hundred years at most. It's too short!"

"Two hundred years is still short?"

"The mysteries of heaven and earth are endless, and the world's scenery is vast; two hundred years is simply not enough to see it all." Liu Xian sighed: "Speaking of which, isn't Miss Xiaozhuang interested? The method of immortality."

"No interest. In my eyes, the way to measure the length of life is different from yours. It's like a stone and an mayfly; a stone's life is endless, but in my opinion, an mayfly's life is longer than a stone's." Xiaozhuang replied indifferently: "I can't believe the King of Chu would actually approve of the appearance of this deity; he truly has approached madness."

"That's none of my business! I'm just a novelist; ultimately, he was the one who actively sought out my story. As you know, I'm just a minor official; I can't defy the monarch."

"Alright, second question: where is the local Demon Extermination Department? I want to take care of something." After saying so much, Xu Xuan finally remembered his main business, which was to go to the Demon Extermination Department to find a way to lift the curse.

"The Demon Extermination Department, ah, I'm sorry, the Demon Extermination Department in this city disappeared a few days ago. You're too late."

"Disappeared?" Hearing the other party's words, Xu Xuan was somewhat surprised: "How did it disappear?"

"I don't know? Anyway, it just vanished overnight. Hahaha." Liu Xian said, standing up and asking the two: "Do you have any other questions?" Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

"I don't have any more questions."

"Alright, stop with the nonsense, it's time for me to see your true face, isn't it?" Xiaozhuang said impatiently: "Then you can leave."

"Alright then." With that, Liu Xian used his hand to lift the veil on his hat that covered his face. Seeing the sight behind the veil, Xu Xuan recalled a certain unpleasant memory.

The reason was simple: there was no head behind the other party's veil! There was no human head above his neck, and his hat was eerily supported by a bamboo pole inserted into his neck...

"Holy shit!!!" Seeing this scene, Xu Xuan couldn't help but curse: "What the hell are you?"

"That's very rude, you know!! Ultimately, all of us Novelist School members are like this; the price of joining the Novelist School is sacrificing one's head. That's all. Hahaha." After speaking, Liu Xian lowered his veil and walked out the door with a smile: "In that case, I won't disturb you any further."

Watching Liu Xian leave the private room, Xu Xuan glanced at Xiaozhuang, who remained unfazed and continued eating calmly. He said somewhat helplessly: "I don't understand what his purpose is? Why would he reveal so much information to me for no reason?"

"Of course, it's to understand you." Xiaozhuang looked up and said with a smile: "As for this information, you could ask other people and find it out just the same. And the matter of the Novelist School using stories to create gods is not a secret to begin with. Ultimately, he merely told you some information that you could learn from others later on. He didn't reveal any true secrets!"

"..." Hearing the other party's words, Xu Xuan thought carefully and realized it seemed to be true: "Then why did he approach me? I don't think I said much to him, did I?"

"Just a few simple words are enough for him."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a Novelist School member, remember? Ultimately, he just sees you as interesting material." Xiaozhuang said, then looked at Xu Xuan with a serious gaze: "No matter what, don't forget who you are!"

"What do you mean?"

"The stories created by the Novelist School, as long as they spread widely and are recognized by many, will influence reality." Xiaozhuang said seriously to Xu Xuan: "If a story's spread is wide and long enough, they can even create monsters and ghosts out of thin air. They can even twist the lives of the original protagonists in the story."

"Holy shit!! There's such a thing? Wouldn't I be in trouble if he targeted me?" With that, Xu Xuan drew his sword and walked outside: "As expected, I have to kill him!"

"Hahaha, don't worry, it's not that easy! After all, novels are considered low-class things in this world, and the Hundred Schools of Thought are somewhat wary of them, so they generally won't allow such stories to spread on a large scale." Seeing Xu Xuan's panicked expression, Xiaozhuang couldn't help but laugh: "And as long as you are clear about your own identity, you won't be twisted by his stories. Sit down and drink, relax? You must be tired after traveling with Mo Li for so long, right?"

"Oh, if you say so, I'm relieved."

"And if there truly are novel stories with such a high degree of circulation, there's nothing that can be done, is there? After all, everyone has an ideal world in their hearts." Xiaozhuang said, looking out the window, where the moon had gradually risen: "Anyway, by then you'll probably have been dead for many years, so you might as well enjoy yourself while you can. Moreover, who knows if our world isn't already a world twisted by some novel?"

"Speaking of which, what was that Kunpeng thing the man mentioned earlier?"