Chapter 10

Dressed in a suit, the chief editor sat at his desk, his hands clasped together, and looked at me with his head slightly tilted. The other editors stood on either side, all looking at me with a mix of disbelief.

Kuang Heng had a vague sense of foreboding and forced a smile, saying, "Everyone's here?"

No one responded. After a moment, the chief editor said coolly, "Chief Kuang, you've hidden quite deeply."

A casual remark that lifted the veil on the recent series of troubles and the schemes and conspiracies behind them.

Kuang Heng looked puzzled and said, "Hidden? What do you mean, Chief Editor?"

"Chief Kuang, I've already told the chief editor what you said last night," a clear and pleasant voice came from behind. Without turning around, he knew who was speaking.

"You, you fell for it," Mi Hu walked up to Kuang Heng, her face devoid of the joy of exposing a traitor, instead showing a hint of melancholy and regret.

When Mi Hu appeared, Kuang Heng had already guessed the general course of events. Last night, he had subtly criticized some of Zhou Daoran's foolish decisions over the phone and hinted that he would resign soon.

Kuang Heng shook his head and smiled, "I was careless, tricked by a little girl like you."

Mi Hu lowered her head and said softly, "I'm sorry." She was, after all, a kind and innocent girl, and this was the first time she had deceived someone so harshly.

"It's fine, it's not your fault. You were just following orders," Kuang Heng said calmly, his gaze shifting to Zhou Daoran, "What will Chief Zhou do with me?"

Zhou Daoran looked at Kuang Heng and said, "You can still smile. I underestimated you."

Kuang Heng said, "Thank you. I can smile because I'm finally leaving this place that's like a chicken rib. To be honest, I made up my mind to leave the moment I stepped out of Beihetang, but I kept hoping and dragging it out until now."

"Can I ask who you're working for?"

Kuang Heng smiled proudly, "I won't work for anyone else. I work for myself."

"Yourself?" Zhou Daoran was surprised.

"Yes, myself. Otherwise, why would I give in so easily? I criticized you on the phone with Mi Hu, but that doesn't prove anything. You have no evidence, you can't do anything to me."

Zhou Daoran nodded, "You're right. Are you planning to start your own business?"

"Yes, I want to start my own business. Only then can I put all my ideas into practice."

"Your ideas, the proposals you gave me before?"

Kuang Heng laughed somewhat dejectedly, "Yes, those proposals, the ones I racked my brain to come up with. I thought about them while eating, walking, and even before sleeping, but the result? Rejected, rejected, always rejected."

Zhou Daoran sighed, "The headquarters..."

Kuang Heng interrupted, "I understand. The magazine has been on a downward trend for years, and the headquarters has plans to abandon it, leaving us to fend for ourselves. But as the leader of this magazine, can you say you have no responsibility?"

"I do have responsibility," Zhou Daoran's tone softened, "But you should know how difficult it is to change a magazine with such a long history. I believe you understand that."

"It's a matter of courage, in the end," Kuang Heng said pointedly, "I understand your concern. You're afraid that too radical changes will accelerate the magazine's decline, leading to our early unemployment."

"That's one reason," Zhou Daoran adjusted his posture, "If the magazine operates according to your proposals, it might not see results in two or three years. The headquarters' patience with our magazine is not that long. Most importantly, your proposals are like castles in the air, beautiful in theory but difficult to implement."

"Without trying, you're bound to fail."

"Without proper planning, you'll end up in a mess."

Kuang Heng stopped arguing and said, "We're not on the same page. What are you going to do, fire me?"

Zhou Daoran said, "You've contributed a lot to the magazine. I don't want to pursue this further. Resign on your own."

"Thank you." Kuang Heng pointed to his desk, indicating he was going to pack up and leave.

Zhou Daoran said, "Oh," and stood up, "I'm curious. You've decided to leave, so why did you cause all this trouble? It doesn't really benefit you. Your imagined opponent isn't 'Dajianghu.'"

"Two reasons. One, I wanted to stir up a conflict between 'Dajianghu' and 'Dingxiaoshuo' to disrupt the market and take advantage of the chaos. Second," Kuang Heng looked at Mi Hu, "I wanted to take a few people with me."

"Mi Hu?"

"Yes, she's the most talented editor I've seen. Besides her, there's an author."

"Gu Yongseng?" Mi Hu blurted out.

"Yes, Gu Yongseng. From my observations, he's the only young author with a chance to challenge Xue Muliang and Han Shuo's dominance in the bestseller charts. In three to five years, he will definitely have a place in the top three," Kuang Heng shook his head, "But you can't keep him, just like you couldn't keep Beihetang. I will continue to keep an eye on him and pursue him."

"So, when you saw his manuscript, your criticism was for this purpose?"

"Yes, when I saw those manuscripts, my real reaction was, 'This is a genius work.' If this author were under my guidance, Xue Muliang and Han Shuo would have to step aside."

"He doesn't need guidance," Mi Hu said softly, "He won't compare himself to them. If he does, no one can beat him."

Kuang Heng smiled, "We'll see."

"Don't poach authors from us, don't leak the magazine's internal secrets, and do a proper handover with Tang Nan and Qingyang. I sincerely wish you success in your new venture."

Zhou Daoran said this and turned to walk into his office. Another chief editor had resigned, and he would have to make personnel adjustments and find a new editor. Although Zhou Daoran was used to these issues, he couldn't help feeling sad. Farewells always evoke such emotions.

"Under pressure from above and people leaving below, who can understand the pressure I'm under as the chief editor?" Zhou Daoran said to himself with a bitter smile and then wrote an email to the headquarters.

Kuang Heng's position as chief editor was temporarily taken over by Tang Nan, with Qingyang assisting. Due to Kuang Heng's departure, the atmosphere in the 'Dajianghu' editorial department was heavy for several days. The only good news was that the first print run of 150,000 copies had sold out, and they needed to print an additional 100,000. The editors of 'Dajianghu' hadn't seen the word "reprint" in a long time.

Similarly, the students' long-awaited weekend had finally arrived. Liu Jingtong had to go to Mi Hu's house to pick up a laptop and deliver the outline for 'Seven Swords Descend from Mount Tian.' As soon as the school bell rang on Friday, Liu Jingtong packed up and left the classroom.

As a junior high school student in the graduating class, his eagerness for the weekend was quite blatant, but given his performance in the first diagnostic test, his enthusiasm for leaving school was not a sign of disinterest in studies but rather a balance between work and rest.

At the school gate on the weekend, there were more taxis than usual. Without even asking, drivers eagerly approached to offer rides. Liu Jingtong gave the address of the neighborhood where Mi Hu lived and chose the driver with the lowest fare.

On the way to Mi Hu's house, Liu Jingtong began organizing the outline for 'Seven Swords Descend from Mount Tian.' The outline was simply a summary of the entire story to present to editor Mi Hu.

Forty minutes later, the taxi stopped at a clean neighborhood. Liu Jingtong paid and got out, looking around. Just as he was about to register at the guardhouse, he heard a familiar voice call out, "Liu Jingtong." He turned to see Mi Hu carrying a cloth bag.

"Did you just come back from the market?"

"Of course, come and help me."

Liu Jingtong felt a strange sensation, as if he were a husband picking up his wife from the market.

"I'll make a few of my signature dishes today. Hey, why did you come empty-handed? Where's the outline?"

Liu Jingtong pointed to his head, "It's all in here."

Mi Hu rolled her eyes, "Show off."

As they walked, they arrived at Mi Hu's house. "It's a bit messy," Mi Hu said modestly, but Liu Jingtong didn't see any signs of mess.

"I'll go to the kitchen to prepare dinner. The computer is on the sofa. Write the outline properly."

"Yes, Editor."

Mi Hu smiled and turned to the kitchen.

Liu Jingtong looked around the house. The overall impression was cleanliness, followed by a sense of casualness and naturalness. In short, the layout of the room was very much to his taste.

"There's juice in the fridge. Help yourself," Mi Hu's voice came from the kitchen.

"Sure thing."

Liu Jingtong sat on the sofa, opened the computer, and saw a line of text moving back and forth on the screen: "It's a different world!"

Liu Jingtong smiled, clicked the mouse, and a Word document popped up. His smile turned into a laugh as he began to type: "Outline for 'Seven Swords Descend from Mount Tian':"

Time: Early Qing Dynasty

Main Characters: Ling Weifeng, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' the 'Heavenly Mountain Divine Light,' and the last disciple of Master Huiming.

Gui Zhongming, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' son of Shi Tiancheng, and later the founder of the Northern Branch of Wudang.

Mao Huanlian, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' daughter of Mao Pijiang, and later married to Gui Zhongming.

Yi Lanju, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' daughter of Yang Yunchong.

Zhang Huazhao, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' son of Zhang Huangyan, a third-generation disciple of the Zhongnan Sect, and later a disciple of Wudang.

Wu Qiongyao, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' daughter of Wu Yuanying, the last disciple of the White-Haired Demoness, and later married to Li Siyong.

Hama Ya, one of the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' the 'Red Scarf,' the leader of the various tribes in Xinjiang, and a disciple of the White-Haired Demoness.

Liu Yufang, the 'Cloud Brocade Sword,' daughter of Liu Jingyi, the new chief of the Heaven and Earth Society, and a childhood friend of Ling Weifeng.

Nalan Rongruo, son of Mingzhu, a famous poet.

Han Zhibang, the chief of the Heaven and Earth Society, who later passed the position to Liu Yufang.

...

Main Plot: In the early Qing Dynasty, the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian,' led by Ling Weifeng, and the anti-Qing revolutionaries fought against the Qing dynasty's tyranny. Later, the 'Seven Swords of Mount Tian' made their home on Mount Tian and frequently went down the mountain to uphold justice...

After writing this brief outline, Liu Jingtong read it over. The outline itself was fine, but the problem was that Mi Hu might not understand it at all. Additionally, Liu Jingtong thought of another matter. 'Seven Swords Descend from Mount Tian' explicitly mentioned the love story of the White-Haired Demoness Lian Nishang and Wudang's Zhuo Yihang, which gave him an idea for his next book:

The Legend of the White-Haired Demoness!

"Hey, Liu Jingtong, bring me a few eggs from the fridge," Mi Hu called out from the kitchen, busy with her cooking.

Liu Jingtong responded, got up, and brought the eggs to the kitchen. When he arrived, he saw Mi Hu wearing an apron, her hair tied up, and seriously flipping the pan. Her fair skin and delicate features gave her a unique charm in the kitchen.

"What are you cooking?" Liu Jingtong asked, leaning in to look.

"Did you bring the eggs?" Mi Hu turned to ask.

In that moment, their faces and lips almost touched, narrowly missing each other.

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