On Lake Glittering Star, the ship Chen Xu was on was a grand ship capable of carrying a thousand people.

There were three levels of structures on the deck, with two more layers beneath it.

In terms of shipbuilding craftsmanship, such a large ship was indeed extraordinary.

However, this world is essentially a mythical realm, where life on the upper and lower levels is quite segregated.

A ship of this scale would be considered the pinnacle of shipbuilding in an ordinary feudal society, but in the current Great Li Dynasty, it was merely an upscale passenger ship.

It was controlled by a certain water gang on Lake Glittering Star, transporting both passengers and cargo.

This also shows how developed the transportation between Qinglin Prefecture and Pingyang Prefecture was.

Previously, when Chen Xu was in Yunjiang Prefecture, he already thought Yunjiang was prosperous and bustling.

At least relative to Jichuan County, Yunjiang Prefecture was several times more bustling.

Yet this bustling Yunjiang was considered a remote place in the Seven Prefectures of the South.

Why is it considered remote?

Before having a point of comparison, it was hard to see the full picture, but now with a comparison, it becomes clear that Yunjiang Prefecture is truly remote and backward.

At least, grand ships like those on Lake Glittering Star could never be seen in Yunjiang Prefecture.

Furthermore, it is said that there are hundreds of islands on Lake Glittering Star, scattered like stars across the vast lake, each with a spiritual vein spring.

The islanders open spiritual fields on these islands, planting spiritual rice and spirit fruits.

On this vast Lake Glittering Star, they have formed a grand industry richer than a gold mine.

Of course, the so-called commoners are mostly tenant farmers for some large families, details that are not for outsiders to know.

Chen Xu, throughout his journey, has never ceased observing the outside world.

He would occasionally stay with locals around the Lingxi Mountain Range, showing concern for the people's welfare, yet the livelihoods of the people in Yunjiang Prefecture and Qinglin Prefecture are vastly different from those on Lake Glittering Star.

It turns out that this world is truly disconnected between different places and times.

Chen Xu has gained a broader perspective and anticipates seeing more magnificent aspects of the world.

He thought he had read many books, having fully absorbed Feng Yuanbai's collection.

But in reality, this is still far from enough.

No wonder the ancients said that reading ten thousand books is less than traveling ten thousand miles.

Sometimes Chen Xu feels detached from worldly concerns, but whenever he truly delves into the secular world, he finds that talking about transcending it is indeed too premature.

He has not truly engaged with the world yet, has not witnessed the heart of its splendor, so how can he speak of transcending it?

To talk of transcending the world without first engaging with it is merely childish talk.

In the ship's cabin, Chen Xu put down his brush, while the little hedgehog and little rat bantered—

Of course, it was mostly the little rat picking on Wei Yuan, with Wei Yuan usually giving in to the little rat.

Occasionally when retaliating, it was subtle, with the demeanor of a gentleman.

Though the two little demons bickered, both had restraint, never escalating to an actual fight.

As they chatted, seeing Chen Xu suddenly place his brush on the pen rack, Wei Yuan's eyes lit up, quickly saying:

"Brother Chen, why have you stopped writing? Did you run out of ink?

Brother Chen, let me help you grind the ink!"

With a quick leap, it jumped onto the desk in front of Chen Xu and, without another word, picked up the ink stick from the inkstone and ground it carefully.

The little rat, a step slower, was truly infuriated.

Both demons were competing to grind ink for Chen Xu.

Yet Wei Yuan, being much larger, ground ink both quickly and well; in ten attempts, the little rat could only succeed three or four times, even this because Wei Yuan intentionally let it.

Otherwise, it wouldn't succeed even once.

This truly infuriated the little rat!

With cheeks puffed and realizing it couldn't beat Wei Yuan, it immediately jumped in front of the freshly written pages, eyes sparkling with delight, saying:

"Wei Yuan, go ahead with your ink grinding, I'll feast my eyes on the scholar's new chapters first, squeak squeak squeak..."

Indeed, in the ship's cabin, Chen Xu was writing a storybook.

Not the previous "Chronicles of the Strange and Mysterious," but a true storybook.

In theory, Chen Xu shouldn't write storybooks at this point.

His peers were writing serious works like "Codex of Education" or "Water Classics of the Celestial South," and if Chen Xu only offered a storybook, wouldn't it invite ridicule?

Initially, when Chen Xu began writing storybooks, the two little demons were perplexed.

But as they delved into Chen Xu's storybook, they suddenly realized its uniqueness.

The first chapter tells of a young scion falsely accused and crippled by a stepmother, and unjustly accused of thievery—

The elements in it were overwhelming.

From bloodline strife, to the grudge of broken legs, to the ruin of reputation.

It also subtly revealed how the stepmother was unfaithful, the stepbrother not the father's son, yet this mother-son pair deceived the father completely, cherished above all, in a foolish and absurd drama.

Truth be told, this opening was somewhat cliché.

But the storybooks of this era lack such intense impact.

For stories like this, the second writer is a follower, the third an idiot... by the tenth or hundredth, they become mere clichés...

Yet the first writer could in some sense be considered a genius.

And Chen Xu didn't stop there.

He began by maximizing various grievances, then had the protagonist exiled to a farm, and faced ostracism from the people there.

While there were those who secretly sympathized with and aided the protagonist, generally people avoided the protagonist, fearing association.

Until, after a period, continuous droughts lowered river levels.

The farm people, struggling to fetch water, resorted to fetching it from the river tirelessly, day and night.

Sometimes, these farmers even fought with upstream farmers just to secure some water—

While there were those who secretly sympathized with and aided the protagonist, generally people avoided the protagonist, fearing association.

Until, after a period, continuous droughts lowered river levels.

The farm people, struggling to fetch water, resorted to fetching it from the river tirelessly, day and night.

Sometimes, these farmers even fought with upstream farmers just to secure some water—

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.