Somewhere, not far from the battlefield, the old men sat around a long table beneath the shade of an ancient tree, wine glasses in hand, the sounds of combat echoing in the distance like background music that didn't concern them at all.
Zhou Ji said, raising his glass slightly:
"Your control skills have improved a lot since last time."
He smiled, looking at Bai Ren sitting across from him, then continued with light mockery:
"But... couldn't you have avoided cutting off the boy's arm? Hm?"
Bai Ren laughed from deep in his chest, a light laugh carrying a hint of nostalgia:
"Hahaha, it's been a while since I last hit him... I couldn't help myself. Look at him... actually thinking he's capable of killing a lion."
"Well."
Zhou Ji shook his head with a faint smile, then said:
"That's what the plot called for. We had to help him in our own way."
The sound of the wind died down, the fighting stopped... but they kept drinking their wine calmly, as though the world didn't concern them at all.
"Ling... well, you handed me the writer's role this time..." Zhou Ji said, swirling his glass between his fingers, his tone mixing humor with seriousness, "so what do you think of the progress so far?"
Ling Li sipped his wine slowly before setting the glass aside and looking at him with a cold stare, his eyes half-closed, and said in a quiet voice carrying a faint edge:
"My opinion? Technically speaking, what you've done is garbage."
He rested his elbow on the table and continued, his tone shifting to something closer to disgust:
"But for certain people, it'll be devastating, and terrifying by every measure. Especially that one, he's going to be thrilled when he sees your unique approach.
Overall, the story as a whole wasn't up to the required standard, and every attempt to build tension failed because you simply didn't translate it into tangible danger, or it was easier than it should've been.
And his training? It was fine, yes, but completely random. You all cut his lessons the way leaves get cut by the wind. No curriculum, no progression."
He smiled mockingly as he continued:
"Nothing gives it any dramatic weight."
"Then the plot... do you even dare call what happened a plot? You let the boy finish everything with absurd ease, no real escalation, no moments of real downfall, no internal struggle worth mentioning. Everything moved with such mindless smoothness, like a child looking for his toy in his own backyard under his mother's watchful eye."
He tapped the table with his fingertips and continued with sharper intensity:
"Our appearance was your biggest mistake. We should've stayed in the shadows. But you... pushed us to the front, with no timing, no significance, no purpose. And here we are... a scene with nothing worth noting except hollow polish."
He finished with a dry tone:
"I kept up with it anyway... because that's what you asked for. Nothing more."
He raised his glass again, drank it down to the last drop, then said in a near-whisper:
"You either write with your heart, or leave the job to someone else."
"Pfft... hahahaha." Bai Ren burst out laughing, his shoulders shaking as he set his glass aside, then said in his usual mocking tone:
"You should've given me that job from the start... man, I would've made something unforgettable out of it."
Zhou Ji raised an eyebrow and gave him a long look before answering with a tone laced with sarcasm:
"Look who's talking... you? You would've killed the boy by the second chapter, you effeminate old man."
Bai Ren waved his hand as if deflecting the accusation, but laughed again and said in a mocking voice:
"And would that have been so bad? It would've given it meaning... or at least a tragic flavor."
Zhou Ji smiled, shaking his head:
"Yeah... meaning as short as a grave. Is Shen Zuo really that unimportant to you?"
Then he raised his glass again and muttered:
"Luckily... it wasn't your call to make."
"Alright, neither you nor him will be writing this time."
Ling Li said sharply, then added, extending his hand:
"Give me the pen... I'll be writing the next arc."
But Zhou Ji raised his glass calmly, took a small sip, then said with a faint smile:
"My idea was to make it feel real..."
Bai Ren raised an eyebrow and said mockingly:
"Real? You had the boy fight a Level Three lion and come out alive, where's the realism in that?"
But Zhou Ji didn't pay the words any mind, continuing in a low voice, as though talking more to himself than to them:
"Real life, Ling, mostly has no plot. No one draws you clear lines, no one hands you a neat, tidy development. Sometimes you wake up... and find yourself in the middle of a fight you don't even remember the start of. And sometimes you survive... not because you're strong... but simply because you didn't die. That's how I wanted it to be, random. Choppy, without exaggeration... exactly like life."
Ling Li didn't look convinced, but he didn't interrupt.
His eyes stayed fixed on Zhou Ji, as though studying what lay beneath his words.
Bai Ren, who'd stayed silent for a moment, simply tilted his head back and let out his famous laugh, a laugh carrying nothing but mockery toward the entire world, then waved his hand as if shooing away a fly and said:
"Sure, sure... I'm sure you weren't exaggerating at all! But do... you... actually believe yourself?"
He let the words trail off slowly, like someone deliberately planting a thorn in another's path.
Zhou Ji closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled faintly and said calmly:
"Maybe not. But, in the end... no one lives their life with a perfectly crafted plot. Most people are pushed toward decisions... like chess pieces that don't even know the origin of the game. A life with no plot... is life itself."
Ling Li's eyebrows lowered slightly, like someone who'd heard a line that bothered him, but couldn't deny most of it.
Bai Ren leaned his body forward and whispered mockingly:
"If life has no plot... then why are we writing it, then?"
Zhou Ji leaned slightly, sighing as he raised his cup:
"Well, that one's obsessed with writing and plots, as you know. We had to meet his request one way or another."
Then he rolled his eyes lazily and added in a sarcastic tone:
"I know your memory's absurd, either you forgot the matter, or you're conveniently ignoring it as usual."
Bai Ren smiled a sidelong smile, but didn't interrupt.
Zhou Ji continued, tapping his fingers on the table:
"Anyway... the tenth season of 'Writings of the Plains' just came out recently... we'll need to buy it for him soon."
Ling Li raised an eyebrow lazily and said in a tone not lacking in indifference:
"Fine... I'll leave the pen with you, but you're the one who has to deal with his anger when he sees your 'life lesson' plots."
Bai Ren laughed lightly and said, raising his glass again:
"Yeah... if we let you write alone, he'd eventually discover that life really does have no plot... and then he'd quit reading altogether after that."
Zhou Ji asked, inquiring:
"Alright, we're entering the new training period, what do you all think, should I detail out the entire training, or compress all five years?"
Bai Ren laughed mockingly, saying:
"Yes, yes, show every detail of the training, let them call it dragging on, and not just a lack of plot, the criticism will split right down the middle between 'dragging on' and 'no plot.'"
Then he added, in a biting tone:
"How about you just hand me the pen? Seems like you're not ready to write and don't even have a clear draft."
"Alright... compress the five years."
Ling Li said in a calm voice, his eyes half-closed, like someone seeing something he didn't want to say out loud.
Then he added, waving his hand:
"The readers won't put up with all that bleakness... and neither will he."
Bai Ren smile
d mockingly and added:
"I don't want to look like the villain when I do that thing."
Zhou Ji laughed, muttering:
"Alright then... you bunch of clowns."