[Act One: Little Magpie]

[The adults say you must become a brave.]

[Holding the sharpest sword in the village, running fastest in the wild, flying highest at the cliff's edge, undergoing countless training and sweat, finally defeating the evil Demon King.]

[But he doesn't want to be a brave; he just wants to be a little magpie on the roadside.]

[He climbs the mountain rocks singing, sketches in the fields, rows a boat to gather the wind, paints on stones… The adults criticize him for being idle, unable to become a brave, and eventually falling into mediocrity.]

["But in life, oneself is the most important," he says, "If I can't be the fastest runner, I can just keep moving forward. If I can't fly the highest, it's fine as long as I don't fall into the abyss. The world must allow ordinary people like me to exist, right?"]

[The adults look at him disapprovingly, as if life is a machine in their eyes. Reading, martial arts, competing to become the brave, marrying, having children, passing on to the next generation of brave... each step must be connected like gears, one misstep will lead to falling into an abyss.]

[But he chuckled, "I'll leave the limelight for others, I just want to cheer the braves from behind, what do you expect from a little magpie? Magpies only eat wheat, they can't beat tigers or lions."]

...

Su Ming'an opened his eyes.

He found himself in a white expanse, with nothing around him, only endless blankness.

"Where is this?" Clutching the feather pen, he walked forward: "Where did the feather pen bring me..."

He quickly realized something was wrong, his height...

He looked down to see slightly curled golden long hair draped on his shoulders, wearing clean white long clothes and pants, his height about 1.4 meters.

He opened a mirror, in it reflected a child's face of indistinguishable gender, golden slightly curly long hair, bright blue eyes, immature features.

... how did he become a child?

At this moment, in this white space, a person walked towards him.

That person had flowing purple long hair, with golden eyes as intense as the scorching sun. His hair was slightly messy, yet naturally curly, like a creation of spring and warm winds. He wore a wine red vest and ivory long robe, embroidered with musical notes and birds' patterns, several manuscripts carelessly stuffed in his waist bag with ink spots peeking out, carrying a small golden lyra.

His age was similar to Su Ming'an's at this time, about eleven or twelve years old.

"... Sique?" Su Ming'an was surprised.

This purple-haired boy seemed to be Sique as a child.

Why would Su Ming'an want to rewrite the story of the Daylight Floating City and see Sique as a child?

The purple-haired boy stopped in front of Su Ming'an, but his gaze passed through him as if not seeing him, then sat down and started speaking to the air:

"... Good morning, today's sun is nice, the wheat ears are ripe, I can smell the fragrance of baked bread from the village."

"Many children have grown up; Uncle Hante is training them. They always run around the mountain top for several laps, sweating heavily. While I just lean on the treetop, watching them train, occasionally writing a poem."

"Of course, idleness is unavoidable, Granny Martha who sells soy sauce says I'm useless, Hunter Laman scolds me for being idle, Teacher Peir advises me to go to school, says if I don't train with kids of my age, I'll never leave the village, become a respected warrior, and will live a mundane life."

"However, they are all amazing; they have tiger-like people who can knock down big trees with a punch, and semi-elves with superb archery... They are strong from birth and will surely become remarkable adults."

Su Ming'an reached out to touch Little Sique but realized there was an invisible barrier between them.

In this white space, he could see Little Sique, but Little Sique couldn't see him.

Little Sique mumbled to himself, drawing on the manuscript.

"Sometimes, I am confused... Does not becoming a brave mean a lifetime without value? Are we purely living just to survive? Or are we alive to earn others' respect or achieve social significance?" Though small in age, he was pondering such questions:

"Well, if it's really for these reasons, among the hundreds of billions of individuals in Luowasha, 99% are dispensable; even if their social significance is erased and they disappear from this world, it wouldn't cause any ripple."

"When meeting basic material conditions and the continuation of body functions, and if personal inclination doesn't emphasize others' respect and social recognition, life becomes a journey without the need to chase or achieve anything."

"It's okay not to be brave, let those who wish to pursue it do so... I just want to write poetry."

Little Sique changed his sitting posture and continued his writing on the manuscript.

Su Ming'an walked over to look, Little Sique was drawing, it was a... food chain.

...

[Act Two: Food Chain]

[Little Magpie once felt many things in Luowasha were unreasonable.]

[Like the food chain.]

[The strongest tiger warrior in the village couldn't even break the shielded feathers of a Celestial Clan infant after a lifetime of training. While a Celestial Clan infant could crush them into meat pies with just a finger.]

[For some, the finish line is just another's starting line... no, they can't even reach the starting line.]

[Yesterday, the youth Opa from the village told him that even though only in his teens, Opa felt his beast life was coming to an end, with only about one hour of a day truly being his own. The rest of the time was spent on training, socializing, working... The last time he felt joy had been a long time ago, doing nothing only brought fatigue. Opa felt like a copy of others, seeing his future through those around him.]

[Life is a rotten game, and 95% are merely roadside NPCs.]

[He advised Opa, "Then draw on the treetop like me." Opa shook his head, saying it was wasting life.]

[So he asked Opa, "Then are you utilizing your life by doing this?]

[Opa was confused, saying, "No, but I don't know what to do, it seems like this is my only path left. If I rest, I'll lose my place in the blacksmith's shop, my life will be even more painful, I won't even afford to marry. If I don't do it, there are others who will."]

[Pain, and more pain.]

[Most people in the village seemed to hover between these two emotions.]

[He vaguely felt something was wrong, the food chain shouldn't exist, the differences between races were too vast, too vast. But he didn't know how to change it.]

[He asked the adults, they all said, "Children just need to practice well to become a warrior in the future. Don't bother with other things. Only obedient children get candies."]

...

"If only the food chain could disappear," Little Sique stared at the food chain on the manuscript, setting it down.

He tilted his head, starting to play the lyra nearby.

Though Little Sique couldn't see Su Ming'an, Su Ming'an sat beside Little Sique, separated by a thin barrier, resting against his purple hair.

"Alright, let's not talk about philosophy. I wrote a poem, but no one in the village wants to listen... I'll play it here." Little Sique's fingers began to pluck.

The fingers of a child just over ten years old were small, yet played extremely smoothly.

Su Ming'an heard freedom, wheat ears, windmills, and the sea in the music.

They sat quietly as the music flowed like a stream. In the music, Little Si Que's voice also flowed like a creek:

"I've been thinking about a fairy tale these days... about you."

Su Ming'an was startled and turned his head to look, but Little Si Que's gaze remained fixed on the void.

...Was Little Si Que talking to him? But Little Si Que clearly couldn't see him.

"It's a story about a groom and a bride," Little Si Que mused to himself:

"The story takes place in a floating city where people live with numbness."

"People consider learning, working, getting married, and having children as necessary parts of life. So I wonder, if I took away the last part, what would they become?"

"Thus, in my conception, a virus entered the Floating City, and people lost the ability to reproduce."

"So, people established an Inner City and an Outer City for survival, ordering those from the Outer City to supply children."

"Next, what I conceived was..."

Saying this, Little Si Que suddenly raised his head, as if he heard something.

But what Su Ming'an saw was still a blank space, nothing but white.

"Uncle Laman from the village is calling me, probably to persuade me to train again... Really, no matter how many years the magpies train, they can't beat a tiger child of seven or eight. It's better to play to each race's strengths, but he just doesn't understand."

"I'll come again next time."

Little Si Que stood up, and his figure quickly disappeared.

In the blank space, only Su Ming'an was left alone.

Su Ming'an picked up the feather pen, and the moment he picked it up, he saw lines of text appearing in the air.

...

[Uncle Laman from the village called Little Si Que away; they need to properly educate this child who refuses to train.]

[Five days later, Little Si Que will come back again.]

...

Su Ming'an picked up the feather pen and tentatively wrote afterward—

...

[Five days later.]

...

Su Ming'an only wrote these three words.

Then, he felt the flow of time around him... Little Si Que's figure returned. His clothes had changed, suggesting five days had passed.

"Good morning, I'm back again—these five days weren't noteworthy, let's continue our conversation from last time." Si Que sat down, and his satchel contained more draft papers.

"I've had new ideas... I want to add elements of 'competition' to the story; mere virus contamination is too dull." Once he talked about the story, Little Si Que's eyes seemed to light up, making others feel the enthusiasm and love emanating from him, as though he were floating within an endless inspiration:

"I want to add the identities of 'groom' and 'bride'."

"A group of travelers from outside the Daylight Floating City accidentally stepped into this city; they can reproduce, which thrills the city's inhabitants."

"Some of these travelers obtained the identity of 'groom', while others obtained the identity of 'bride'."

"After the 'groom' receives the 'bride's' approval, he'll be crowned by those longing for descendants. Meanwhile, the 'bride's' task is to kill the 'groom'; they refuse to become mere reproduction machines, endlessly controlled."

"As for how to logically integrate this setup, I'm still considering..."

After this, Little Si Que would always come over to share his new ideas and describe the story's progression.

He often sat here for a while before being called away by the village adults, then returning after a few days. Like a child whose phone is repeatedly taken away, he can only occasionally play with it.

...

[Act Three · Nobody's Poem]

[He began attempting creation.]

[Creation brings happiness. On the hillside, by the edge of lonely woods, he always writes stories.]

[Villagers repeatedly urged him to train; after his refusal, they belittled him as worthless, using him as a disobedient example, advising other children against playing with him.]

["What is he trying? Writing stories? Oh, my goodness, what can he write? Only the city nobles have the leisure to write stories; art is a wealthy person's hobby. Does he think anyone will read what he writes?" A rather acerbic voice arose, though it quickly vanished. Villagers wouldn't reproach a child harshly; he simply "took the wrong path." Once he realized his writings were rubbish, he'd soon, like obedient peers, start training, sword fighting, vying to become a warrior, working diligently, getting married, having children, heading towards a bright and glorious future.]

[He conceived his first story and already decided its title: "White Veil in the Floating City."]

[However, no one in the village was interested in understanding his story—it was seen as unproductive.]

[He wandered the village all day for inspiration and returned to his house at dusk, talking to himself, conceiving stories.]

...

"Today, the wheat ears ripened again, and Granny Martha gifted me some wheat to eat. Though she often nags me, she's a good person..." Su Ming'an looked up; Little Si Que had come again today, chewing on wheat, which seemed fitting for a magpie.

Little Si Que sat down and continued sharing his story: "Oh, and today, I was considering the design for the 'bride'. I want to set one 'bride' as someone who likes eating wheat..."

Su Ming'an's body was that of a blond, blue-eyed child, and Su Ming'an was simply in possession, barely influencing the body apart from using the feather pen to accelerate time.

Thus, whenever Little Si Que came by, Su Ming'an's body occasionally spoke.

Su Ming'an felt his mouth open, emitting a weak voice: "Little magpie, your clothes seem more disheveled today. Are some naughty older kids bullying you?"

"Then, a 'groom' gave her wheat, trying to bribe her..." Little Si Que kept recounting the story.

"How can I reach you and accompany you to the village?" This body spoke.

In this boundless white space, Su Ming'an could only see Little Si Que, but Little Si Que always lowered his head, talking to himself, unable to see him.

Little Si Que would leave after sharing his ideas. His next visit might be in several days, or tens of days later.

Su Ming'an continuously used the feather pen to hasten the passage of time, wanting to understand the relationship between his possessed body and Little Si Que.

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