"I'm back again."

Little Si Que walked over, wearing a scarf today, perhaps because it's already winter outside: "Today I thought of the first climax of the story. The brave protagonist ventured into the Inner City, where a malicious antagonist tried to harm them but ended up being cut into six pieces by mechanics..."

"Your story is interesting, but how can I communicate with you?" Su Ming'an felt himself move but couldn't touch Little Si Que. There was always a thin shield between them.

...

Then, Little Si Que would come again.

"The protagonist investigated the sticky substance on the wall, but it was actually a trap in the Inner City. However, the clever protagonist won't fall for it..." Little Si Que wore short sleeves today; outside, it seemed to be hot summer again.

"Wow, it sounds good, I love listening to it." Su Ming'an felt himself speaking, still in a weak voice.

...

Then, Little Si Que would still come.

"Later, the protagonist entered the Inner City, where there was a giant Colosseum! He met the mechanical Mother Goddess there..." Little Si Que described, his clothing always changing, and he was growing taller.

He was growing up.

It was a change visible to the naked eye.

...

The intervals of Little Si Que's arrivals became longer, from a few days to dozens of days, to several months... Sometimes he walked hurriedly, with wheat ears clinging to him.

"I helped Granny Martha harvest wheat today; she is getting older, so I helped her with some work." Little Si Que patted the wheat ears on his body; he looked about thirteen or fourteen, already a teenager:

"No need to be a strong warrior, helping Granny harvest wheat is good, right? The strong children have all left the village, but someone must stay to take care of Granny."

Little Si Que could always see things that other children his age couldn't. The meaning of life, the ignored elderly, touching poetry, afternoon sunshine...

His perspective was poetic and romantic; even the farm work despised by children seemed like golden waves dancing in the wind, brewing a poem in his eyes.

However, Su Ming'an had already faintly noticed something odd about Little Si Que. Maybe Little Si Que helped Granny Martha harvest wheat not because he felt sympathy, but because he wanted to... gain inspiration for creation.

Little Si Que took out the draft paper, his purple long hair tied into a ponytail, hanging behind him. He still wore a wine-red vest and beige robe in the style of a minstrel.

"...So, today I thought of a scene about harvesting wheat..." Little Si Que indeed said such words.

Then, it was another arrival.

Little Si Que came again and again; the story became more and more perfect, the plot more and more smooth, but something seemed to be missing...

...

[Act Four · Female Protagonist]

[He was fourteen years old, and the village no longer took care of his meals and living.]

[But it's okay; how much could a magpie eat? Eating wheat ears could sustain him. His material needs were extremely minimal; all he needed was a pen for his soul to live abundantly.]

[On this day, a significant person came to the village, said to be from the Royal City, and all the villagers went to welcome him. But not him, as he slept soundly on the tree.]

[This significant person had long emerald green hair, handsome looks, about thirty years old, and wanted to see him by name.]

[The villagers fearfully brought the significant person to the tree.]

["Kid, is your name Si Que?" The significant person said.]

["What's up?" He still lay on the treetop.]

["I will offer you substantial funding; the condition is merely becoming your Guardian until you turn eighteen. My name is Qiao, will you agree?"]

["Alright, give the funds to the villagers, and you can't restrict me from doing anything," he said.]

["Ok."]

[He didn't care why this significant person sought him; perhaps it was some prophecy somewhere. People always liked various void-like prophecies, most of which wouldn't come true. This person probably just wanted to invest.]

[With the help of the funds, the village children used better swords, Granny Martha no longer needed to labor on the farm, and Opa could finally choose a new life...]

[Everyone was extremely grateful to him, while he continued to sit at the table, writing his stories that no one read.]

[Until Qiao was willing to read his story. After finishing, Qiao showed a look of amazement:]

["Your story is very interesting; it's one of the best stories I've seen... Your spirituality exceeds my expectations. But have you thought of including a local from the Floating City in this story? I mean, this character's appearance can help the reader empathize better with the helplessness and pain of Floating City's people."]

[Qiao's words were like a thunderclap. He never thought Qiao's ideas would align so much with his own; his voice grew a bit excited: "You think like me! I thought long ago, from the very start, I envisioned a female protagonist. She is from Floating City, her father passed away, she is bullied, and was sold to the Inner City. But on the way, the male protagonist's team saved her..."]

[In discussions with Qiao, he finally fully nailed down the image and plot of this female protagonist.]

[He began to like Qiao. Who wouldn't like a muse who provides inspiration?]

[That night, he sat at the table, took a deep breath, and picked up his pen.]

["Alright, appear in my story, female protagonist..."]

...

Su Ming'an raised his head; in the vast, empty world, the purple-haired youth walked towards him.

Every time Little Si Que came, he grew taller. He was only eleven or twelve when he first arrived; now he looked like a fourteen-year-old teenager.

Su Ming'an's voice also became clearer in this body... It was a girl's voice, crisp and pleasant.

He suddenly realized that the body he was possessing belonged to a girl. Earlier, she was too young to tell if she was male or female. But as time passed, her appearance and form became clearer and clearer.

This was Little Si Que's last visit, with a smile.

"Today, after discussing with Qiao, I've completed the entire story's conception." Little Si Que sat down, talking to himself as always: "I want to add a female protagonist to this story to make it more touching. In fact, from the very beginning, I initially envisioned the image of this female protagonist. Now, I've completely finalized this image."

Su Ming'an's gaze shook.

—He suddenly realized what he was possessing.

—He also suddenly understood... why he was always in the Pure White Space where there was nothing and no one could be seen except Little Si Que.

Little Si Que sat down, strumming the golden Lyra, humming softly.

His voice was beautiful, soothing, still like a stream:

"She had dazzling golden hair."

Su Ming'an lowered his head; the golden strands of his body's hair grew more radiant.

"She had blue eyes like the Heavenly Sea."

Su Ming'an opened the system mirror; the blue eyes of the girl in the mirror grew clearer.

"She is the story's female protagonist. She was born outside the city; her father passed away, she was bullied by neighbors, and nearly sold to the Inner City, yet she had a sincere heart."

"Her name is..."

...

"—Elisa."

...

A brilliant white light exuded.

At the moment Little Si Que bestowed the name, the white around Su Ming'an began to fade away—like paper melting.

His vision was no longer completely pure white; colorful scenes started to appear: amber tables and chairs, the softly swaying kerosene lamp, the windows' lattice, the bed spread with corn patterns...

Before him was a fourteen-year-old boy with lavender hair tied into a ponytail, golden eyes slightly dazed under the dim light. The boy held a pen, unfinished manuscript paper pressed beneath Su Ming'an.

Su Ming'an sat on the manuscript paper at the table, facing the boy, as if he had just emerged from the pages.

Their eyes met, the boy was astonished, and Su Ming'an blinked.

He finally understood what that pure white space he had been in was.

—It was blank paper.

When Little Si Que first began envisioning the blonde, blue-eyed girl, even though her background and plot were not yet determined, she was already breathing within the snow-white pages.

Every time Little Si Que sat at the desk to fill her character on the white page, in her vision, it was as if Little Si Que appeared in the pure white world, sitting down to talk to her.

Between them was a thin, insurmountable barrier... the manuscript paper.

—Little Si Que was outside the paper, she inside it.

Little Si Que could not see her within the paper, but she could see Little Si Que, who told her stories time and again.

When Little Si Que finally determined her character design and penned her name—she leapt to life within the paper and appeared before Little Si Que.

The characters from the pen were alive, breathing within the pages, only not appearing before the Creator because various elements had not yet been fulfilled. Should the Creator put down the pen and abandon creation, they within the paper would depart.

The light softly swayed, moonlight draping down, the boy stared at the blonde, blue-eyed girl who suddenly leapt off the paper and called out in astonishment:

"...Elisa?"

Little Si Que had never seen such a situation—the words from the pen had actually turned into reality.

Su Ming'an did not control the body, so the blonde, blue-eyed girl opened her own mouth: "I am not called Elisa, I have my own name, I am Siyi."

"Siyi, are you the life I have constituted?" Little Si Que asked.

"More or less. Your inspiration intersected with me in the vast stretch of time, hence I appeared before you," Siyi said.

"I never thought the tip of a pen could write something real... truly interesting." Little Si Que scribbled a few more strokes, inscribing the word: [Strawberry Crisp]on the paper.

He had wanted to eat this dessert for a long time; it is said only city folks can enjoy it.

Then, a few pieces of strawberry crisp appeared suddenly on the table, full and crisp.

"Would this be the world's first strawberry crisp written by a pen?" Little Si Que encountered such a magical thing, yet only felt amused, burying his face in his palms, chuckling lowly: "Interesting... the world is finally becoming interesting. The pen tip can actually write out real things, I've never heard of such before."

"Perhaps the World Rules changed at some point, allowing the pen to produce real objects... who knows." Siyi said: "But, please maintain your childlike whimsicality and spirituality, perhaps this is the reason you can create all of this."

"Meaning don't let me become a dull adult?" Little Si Que said.

"Yes."

Seeing this scene, Su Ming'an couldn't help but recall a certain anime he and Yuanyuan once watched called 'Guardian Sweetheart'. In it, the concept was that only children have little elves, and without dreams growing up, they gradually disappear.

This point in time should be during the Second Epoch, when science was killed, and the concept of the Creator had just emerged. Sique may not be the first Creator, but likely among the earliest batch.

Sique had just gained the Genesis Power and could achieve "creating life", something even difficult for C-level Creators, which speaks volumes of his high spirituality.

Su Ming'an's feather pen lay in his backpack; he didn't take it out, as now was not the right time to revise.

He wanted to see exactly how Sique transformed from an adorable child into someone with love debts scattered everywhere.

Just wait...

...

[Act Five: The Gluttonous Monster]

[After Siyi's appearance, Little Si Que concealed her identity, merely saying she was his sister.]

[At night, Qiao came to Little Si Que's room, facing him.]

[The kerosene lamp lit up, and Qiao said: "You possess precious qualities—childlike whimsicality and the poise of an adult, enabling you to write excellent stories. But you must understand, everyone will eventually become a 'mature Brave', whether you wish to or not."]

["Why?" Little Si Que lifted the cup of black tea—something he had just written into existence, carrying an aroma of purple: "I just want to be a Magpie writing poems every day, very free, I don't want to bear any heavy responsibility."]

["Because everyone will face a monster," Qiao said:]

["It will appear around the age of sixteen or seventeen, gnaw away your golden precious heart, take away the candy in your jar, rob you of the joy sparked by a single paper star. You will be gnawed into a state of dullness and steadiness, rarely feeling excitement, exhaustion lasting throughout the day."]

["You will begin to feel your shoulders are very heavy... the monster has chewed away the colorful helium balloons on your shoulders, no longer able to lift you into the air."]

["You'll feel your feet grow heavier, bound by gravity, making you walk on the ground, troubled by relatives' illnesses, the weight of bread, and books along with Brave regulations piling on the table. Writing becomes a lost leisure, life will impose constraints on you."]

["When you feel utterly exhausted and put down the pen, that very moment, Siyi and all you've ever written will vanish."]

["You will no longer be her brother, nor the Brave who slays through brambles and thorns, and certainly not the mighty Demon King in the ancient castle. Perhaps after eighteen, we're all just the slime by the roadside."]

[Little Si Que seemed to have an epiphany: "Are you implying, make me a dull adult."]

[Qiao, however, shook his head: "No, adults are not dull. It's just that compared to children, they have to consider dull matters more. What I mean is... Sique, I'm not requiring you to train and become a Warrior, but you can't just lie in the treetops all day. You see, Granny Martha is very old, Uncle Laman can no longer hunt actively, while kids are starting to pick up hammers and guns, everyone's roles are changing."]

["The flames of war have been ignited, I heard a war called the 'War of Independence' is brewing lately."]

["To protect everyone, would you willing to transition from a 'child's' role to a reliable 'adult', and head to the Royal City with me? I can provide the villagers' shelter, allowing them to leave this dangerous village, otherwise one day the flames of war will surely reach here."]

["I don't require you to become a dull adult, Sique, your spirituality is enough for you to become a very interesting adult."]

[Little Si Que didn't oppose this suggestion, but rather than protecting everyone in the village, his agreement came from—he felt going to the Royal City was good adventure material.]

["Then, you must bid farewell to Siyi," Qiao said: "The story of 'The White Veil in Floating City' you wrote, cannot be taken into the Royal City. Siyi can only stay here."]

["Why?" Little Si Que did not understand.]

[Qiao said:]

["Because themes involving below-the-neck, reproductive topics between genders are too controversial and cannot pass censorship."]

["Therefore, you cannot take it to the Royal City, the World Tree would not like it."]

...

That night, Little Si Que heard many cries.

Not his own, nor Siyi's, perhaps from those not yet appeared characters on the white paper.

Merely due to reasons of "failing censorship", they could no longer appear.

...

[Act Six: White]

[He listened to the laughter on the white paper... until it gradually turned into crying.]

["So being the strongest Brave is of no use after all," the boy suddenly understood.]

[Because their enemy was never the Demon King.]

...

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