Forge a path to success.

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.

The desolate wilderness has no schools, no books; the settlement serves as a training ground for warriors, and all intelligence from the outside world comes from "newcomers" like them. Growing up in such barren land makes it extremely difficult to develop an understanding of culture and books. Qingxia likely lacks any "appreciation" of literary works; she has seen too little to distinguish between different writing styles and narrative techniques. To her, these differences are perfectly natural; books are just that kind of thing, the world beyond the wilderness is like this, and not understanding them is 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.

The stories passed down through generations in a settlement are always more credible than those in books from the outside world. From Qingxia's perspective, her interpretation is flawless. But of course, the truth is not so. The manual's authentication text has already stated the ownership of the Holy Pillar Core; the true knight is someone else entirely.

Chu Hengkong had so much to say, yet he didn't know how to begin. Qingxia loved fabricated stories, received distorted teachings, and firmly believed in unreal dreams. Such a lifestyle was extremely morbid, but should he simply tell her that everything she believed in was wrong? Should he go and tell her that the world wasn't as she imagined?

This is by no means a good idea, especially in the current situation.

He concluded by saying, "Qingxia, have you considered what will happen after we win? What if we defeat Vansalar?"

"Hmm... First, I have to take responsibility and find a place to settle Grandpa and everyone else..." Qingxia crossed her arms. "Then, once the grudges are settled, I'll go out and explore my origins! I want to find the other knights and embark on an adventure to punish evil and promote good!"

As he listened to Qingxia's reverie, he was transported back to the morning when Huilong City opened. Back then, Ji Huaisu sat among the fine grass on the floating island, talking about her dreams of finding her origins, so much like the red-haired girl now. They both had such aspirations and longings, and you stood by, only willing to encourage them, unwilling to disturb them.

"That's good," Chu Hengkong said finally. "That's good."

He finished a basket of roasted dried insects (Qingxia didn't like insects) and promised her he would continue telling her stories when he had time. Then Chu Hengkong left the hut and headed towards the settlement center. The warriors were gathered around the training ground when the old man with rabbit ears returned and was giving them instructions.

"Silar." Chu Hengkong's voice was louder than he had imagined. "I have something to say!"

"I have something to say too!" Silar jogged over, his expression unusually tense and excited. "The legendary Battle Cabbage Fortress has appeared! Get ready, let's set off as soon as possible!"

(End of this chapter)