Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 180: Volume 2 Summary and 4-Day Hiatus Notice

The theme of this volume is the meeting and parting in the jianghu. Ding Songyan meets people one after another, only for them to depart in turn. There is both "When kindred souls chance to meet, I drink to you" and "All banquets under heaven must come to an end."

This is also one of my rare volumes without a clear main plot. Of course, strictly speaking, it does have one. It simply is not obvious.

I handled it this way for several reasons.

First, I have written too many stories in which every volume ends with a major event or climax. Structurally, extending a central plot through the volume and bringing it together at the end is certainly a classic technique. But after writing that kind of story so many times, I wanted to try something new. Naturally, I would not use a new technique merely for novelty. It had to suit the atmosphere and theme I wanted for this volume.

Second, beginning with Lord of Mysteries, several of my books in succession have leaned toward crises and apocalyptic threats. They were wound too tightly. I suddenly wanted my protagonist to have a life, with plenty of gentler stretches during at least the first half of the book, such as small daily moments, relaxation, and comfort. That fits perfectly with the "meeting" half of the theme. With a clear main plot, such material might occupy only the first third. After that, the pace would accelerate as the plot advanced, rolling faster and faster until the conclusion. So I simply removed the obvious main plot and used a collection of smaller incidents and sudden events instead.

Third, the great crisis in the previous volume brought a great opportunity. I wanted Second Bull Ding[1. Chinese readers’ nickname for Ding Songyan.] to settle down and consolidate his gains. Only after an entire volume of training, reflection, study, and innovation would his ability in contests and lethal combat feel convincing when he leaves the mountain in the next volume. After all, I want the first half of the next volume to evoke the feeling of a godlike swordsman.

Fourth, I believe writing something with a genuinely Eastern character must differ at its core from writing western fantasy or an apocalypse. This includes its mood and imagery. In this volume alone, I casually drew on numerous lines of poetry about parting from friends because the pictures they portray are so timeless. Before beginning the book, I had already decided upon this volume’s mood. One person after another gathers around Second Bull Ding, some close friends and others newly met. Everyone drinks together on snowy nights and speaks freely about the future amid warmth and celebration. Then, for different reasons, they leave Second Bull Din one after another, until he alone remains before a snowy scene that was once so lively.

For this purpose, I deliberately adapted two lines of verse: "Where can the splendor of days past be found? Tonight, the falling snow descends as before." I used the first as the Chapter title. When I reached the ending, however, I felt a plain description was enough. Adding the second would have been pretentious, so I left it out.

Such a slow pace inevitably has drawbacks. Its quietness and slowness may not be friendly to readers following each Chapter release, but I still wanted to write it. If reading the volume in one sitting, or someday reading the completed novel from beginning to end, gives someone the leisurely comfort of turning pages in the afternoon sunlight and occasionally sipping a drink, then I will have achieved my goal.

As I just mentioned, although there is no obvious main plot, there is a subtle one: growth and change. Boss Ding becomes Second Bull Ding, while Senior Sister becomes the Candleheart Sword.

The two form a contrasting pair: a bright and cheerful young woman who eagerly serves justice and protects the poor and weak, yet is too rigid and inflexible; and a successful man in his thirties who is clever and calculating, socially polished and mature, partial in his actions, somewhat smarmy, and possessed of a distinctly paternal air. They influence each other while also being shaped by the people, events, and environment around them, changing little by little.

Without those changes, having Boss Ding act from pure passion, repay kindness and enmity without restraint, and wander about performing chivalrous deeds would feel deeply unnatural. I think he would instead develop into a version of Amon without avatars, unconcerned with his methods but broadly aligned with the righteous side.

This also deepens Second Bull Ding’s ties to the world, allowing him to move gradually beyond his condescending, gamer-like attitude, become part of it, and develop genuine feelings.

That is why Senior Sister receives the treatment of a female lead in this volume, both in narrative importance and characterization.

But as the saying goes, old habits die hard. This is especially true for Boss Ding, a successful man in his thirties who endured hardship and low points, then climbed out through his own efforts. Without a tremendous emotional shock, his change resembles striving to emulate the virtuous. He is inspired and influenced, altering somewhat at his core, but not too much.

Viewed from this angle, the plot involving Master becomes clearer. The consort selection is the hidden thread, while the subtle main plot culminates in the Chapters "A Selfish Thought" and "Farewell." They examine conscience and portray the characters’ emotional shock and change. I said this development would take at least four or five Chapters, and it took exactly five.

Of course I knew that repeatedly explaining the logic behind this matter would annoy people. For those willing to listen and capable of following the reasoning, once or twice was enough. Those unwilling to listen or understand would remain unmoved no matter how much was said. Letting it fade quietly would have been best. So why did I keep writing about it?

Ding Songyan’s repeated attempts to justify himself express his inner hesitation, struggle, and conflict. The analysis and reassurance offered by others, especially Senior Sister, challenge and influence him.

That is why I passed quickly over the scene where he brought the head to honor Master instead of treating it as a triumphant highlight. Boss Ding was in the wrong emotional state, one that conflicted with such a scene.

The repeated presentation and tension between both sides ultimately leads Second Bull Ding to confront human selfishness directly and surrender the right to examine and judge this matter to Senior Sister. For someone accustomed to endless calculation and cautious action, this is unprecedented.

For readers following each Chapter release, this section may not have worked very well. It raised their emotions, repeatedly revisited the pain, and denied them release. Posting the whole sequence at once would probably have helped considerably. But age makes everything harder. I can no longer write five Chapters a day as I did when I was young. While writing Lord of Mysteries, even three Chapters on occasion posed little problem. Now, two Chapters in a day nearly kill me. I do keep a stockpile, but only around two Chapters. Without one, I become anxious very easily, which noticeably harms the quality of my writing. After weighing both sides, I chose to proceed slowly.

I was not anxious in the past. But having no stockpile while maintaining a fixed daily update schedule, needing to request leave whenever I fell short, and occasionally adding bonus Chapters gradually made me more and more anxious. My mental state improved only after I built a stockpile, rested one day each week, and gave myself some room to maneuver. Often, I did not truly rest even when posting only one Chapter on the weekend. If I had spent my rest time struggling through a block earlier in the week, I used the reduced weekend schedule to laboriously replenish my stockpile.

I originally intended to restore single-Chapter weekend updates only after finishing Volume 3 and beginning Volume 4. But after updating continuously for almost three months and then reaching my child’s summer vacation, I realized I truly could not keep going at this pace. I am two years older than when I wrote the previous book, after all. Time spares no one. So beginning with Volume 3, weekend updates will return to one Chapter a day.

I originally intended to foreshadow Master’s incident earlier. During the Mid-Autumn family banquet, the conversation would suddenly turn to Master’s youth. This would establish her recklessness while also introducing the deathmatch and Bai Huan. Presenting two matters together effectively divides the reader’s attention and prevents the important one from standing out. It is a technique I often use.

The Huangliang Sect incident was also meant to contrast with the Bai Huan affair. After they returned to the mountain, a conversation between Senior Sister and Master should have introduced it.

But after repeatedly reconsidering it, I abandoned both opportunities. At the time, I wanted the final scene to arrive abruptly and without warning, trapping Boss Ding so deeply that he could not prepare multiple contingencies. I also wanted readers to follow the protagonist’s inner struggle. In hindsight, this was handled incorrectly. Excessive abruptness instead left people irritated, unable to accept the development or immerse themselves in it.

If I revise the novel in the future, I will move part of Bai Huan’s history to after the Huangliang Sect incident.

Everyone should now understand the hidden thread I mentioned in the previous volume summary: the consort selection. Many events in this volume laid the groundwork for it, and it will become the theme of Volume 3.

Volume 3: The Han Emperor, Fond of Beauty, Longing for One Who Could Topple a Kingdom.

Epigraph: Storms from Eight Directions Converge upon the Central Plains

The transition from this volume’s emotional tone and relaxed pace to "Storms from Eight Directions Converge upon the Central Plains" will naturally take time. The opening portion of the next volume will therefore still contain plenty of daily life. The pace will accelerate gradually as each gear tightens into place.

I originally planned to take my customary three and a half days off and resume updates on Sunday. But after finishing the final Chapter, I developed a fever that afternoon and became exhausted and drowsy. I do not know whether it is an ordinary cold or influenza. The fever is not high yet, and I will test myself later. Truly, this illness is so considerate that it did not interfere with my work at all. Therefore, I am requesting one additional day of rest to recover. Updates will resume next Monday at 12:30 p.m (UTC+8).

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