Chapter 266 Where to Go (Part 1)

"Good morning, Chu Hengkong," Qingxia said with a smile.

Chu Hengkong opened his eyes and brushed away the orange-red hair in front of his eyes. He stood up and looked around, confirming that this was his bedroom and that the door and windows were still locked.

Qingxia stood obediently by the bed, letting him reach out and pinch her cheek: "Tell me the truth, how did you get in today?"

"Don't ask about the girl's secrets la la la la ~"

Chu Hengkong increased his strength and pulled harder, and Qingxia began to cry fakely: "If you pinch me again, I'll turn into a mochi."

Qingxia typed the emoji "QAQ" on her combat uniform, and he reluctantly let go. After leveling up to level 4, this girl was a true enchantment. Her face was incredibly beautiful, and her tearful expression was so devastating that it would soften even a steely heart.

Even if you know she's pretending, what can you do? Being beautiful, to a certain extent, allows you to do whatever you want.

"Qingxia, be careful not to wear too beautiful clothes in the future. It's not good for the people around you." Chu Hengkong sighed.

"Yeah, I'll wear it just for you to see!" Qingxia raised her hand.

"That's not what I meant."

"I'll change it in front of you."

"This has nothing to do with the original topic! Don't take off your clothes while we're talking!" Chu Hengkong had a headache. "You made me forget what you were here for."

Qingxia conjured up a wrinkled storybook and said with anticipation, "I want to hear the final chapter!"

Chu Hengkong knocked his head and thought, no wonder this girl was making trouble so early in the morning.

Last night, I talked about Jiang Wei's victory over the Wei army by abandoning his food supply, leaving the last button untouched. This morning, I'll tell you another part, and the "first story" that Qingxia has been thinking about will be finished.

They had made a promise in the Despair Wilderness, and neither of them had forgotten it since their return. Qingxia had been eagerly waiting since the second day they arrived in Huilong City. Chu Hengkong hurriedly reviewed the day on his phone, and then spent an hour or two every day teaching the girl about the Three Kingdoms.

Fortunately, he had the text saved on his phone, so he could finally fill in the gaps in his story without having to rip Peter off Paul. In theory, he could just give Qingxia the phone to read, but since he'd agreed to "tell," he had to be a good storyteller. It would be pointless to break his promise to a young girl.

Fander followed Gulibo to the library early in the morning. Chu Hengkong's small room was unusually quiet. He took two loaves of bread from the refrigerator, heated them up, and ate while he talked.

He had a vague impression of the story at the end of the Three Kingdoms period; frankly, he hadn't really read it since the Prime Minister's death. So, while he was recounting it, he had to constantly check his phone, his head rubbing against Qingxia's.

“…The affairs of the world are endless, and the fate of heaven is boundless and cannot be escaped.

The three-way division has become a dream, and future generations will only complain in vain."

Chu Hengkong knocked his phone like a gavel and took a sip of water to moisten his throat. "The story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms ends here. The whole book is finished."

He was a little worried about Qingxia's mood. After all, he had never seen many children who didn't feel melancholy after reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Qingxia blinked and lowered her head in disappointment.

"It turns out that General Lu didn't resurrect..."

"Is this the first thing you said after hearing it?! It's been so long since White Gate Tower, and you're still thinking about Lu Bu?!"

Qingxia was indignant: "And Lü Bu isn't even mentioned in the final poem! Even Li Jue and Guo Si are mentioned!"

"Well, after all..." Chu Hengkong paused, "Well, I also think Lu Bu should be mentioned. He is an important character after all."

"Right! It's not fair~ It's not fair~"

Qingxia fell hard on the sofa and sighed faintly: "I didn't expect it to end like this."

"It's surprising that Shu didn't win."

"Not really. Emperor Liu's power was never comparable to Prime Minister Cao's. From the beginning, I thought Cao Cao would unify the world... but in the end, all the heroes died, and Sima Yi had the last laugh. On the one hand, it seemed exaggerated, but on the other hand, it seemed very realistic." Qingxia said, "Is this also true in real history?"

Chu Hengkong shrugged. "The general trend is the same. The three families all came under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, and the Sima family gained control of the country. The Jin Dynasty only lasted for a little over 150 years before it came to an end, and a new era of chaos followed."

"I see..."

Qingxia stopped talking, dangling her feet back and forth, glancing out the window. A small bird was perched on a treetop, pecking at its feathers before taking flight. Her gaze followed the bird, drifting high into the sky.

"It's a strange feeling."

"how?"

"I used to love this story so much," Qingxia said. "I loved every character in the book. Just imagining their interactions and battles was a joy. But after hearing the true ending, I felt like... I didn't like the story that much anymore."

Qingxia held the wrinkled storybook, thoughtfully saying, "But this is the true face of the story. So, what I like is not "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and its characters, but my own fantasy?"

"You can use a simple method to distinguish them." Chu Hengkong said, "If I tell you about the Three Kingdoms again now, will you still listen?"

"I want to hear it!" Qingxia raised her hand. "I want to hear about shooting the halberd at the gate, the three heroes fighting Lü Bu, Zhao Zilong single-handedly saving his lord, and Zhuge Liang burning down Red Cliff!"

"You still lit it." Chu Hengkong slapped her hard. "It seems that you still like this story because you are still passionate about it."

"But I don't like this ending."

"I don't like it either. I think among readers of popular literature, few truly enjoy the ending of Three Families Returning to Jin," Chu Hengkong said. "However, liking a story doesn't mean you have to like every paragraph. You can love one paragraph and judge others you don't like. That's the attitude of a proper reader."

Qingxia pondered for a while: "But can this kind of attitude with 'impurities' be considered love?"

"Unreserved love and indiscriminate hatred are both terrible emotions." Chu Hengkong rubbed her head. "People's concepts are always different. Even things created by oneself are bound to have flaws, let alone the creations of others thousands of years ago.

If someone says he loves everything about another person, then he must be deliberately ignoring the aspects that make him unhappy. This is deceiving others and himself. I think you are familiar with this style.

Qing Xia realized: "Just like a high-level lust demon."

Forced obedience, the love ingrained in the blood, and the unshakable class society built on this foundation. This monotonous enthusiasm can be said to be a symbol of the hedonistic demon's outsider status.

"It's not uncommon to find people who are close to heretics in their thinking," Chu Hengkong said. "Well, now that the first story is over, what do you want to hear next? Don't rush to answer. I'll give you two choices."

Chu Hengkong held up two fingers. "The first one is about Monkey King and Tang Monk on their quest for Buddhist scriptures. There were a lot of laughter and joy along the way, as well as some innuendos aimed at the chaotic situation at the time. But in the end, they succeeded and everyone was happy. That's your favorite happy ending."

"Secondly, there are the infatuated men and women in the Grand View Garden, who play chess, music, calligraphy, and painting, and discuss love affairs. There's an endless supply of witty remarks and famous poems, but the final outcome may not be to your liking."

"Which one do you want to choose?"

“Hmm…”

Qingxia hugged her arms tightly, thinking hard, and a hair that was standing high on her head suddenly drooped down.

"I want to hear about Sun Wukong's rampage in Heaven, but I'm also interested in Jia Baoyu's ending. But if I only listen to stories I like, I'll become a monotonous person, right? So, should I go listen to the story of the Grand View Garden?"

Chu Hengkong smiled but said nothing. Qingxia thought for a while and raised her hands in protest: "Chu Hengkong, you are so mean. I don't want to choose! Can't I listen to both?"

"Of course." Chu Hengkong said, "This is the correct answer."

"?"

"Reading is different from life. It's not a one-time choice. You have the freedom to decide what to read first and what to read later, what you want to read and what you don't want to read. If you're forced by a sense of responsibility to read something you're not interested in, you won't find happiness. But if you take the initiative to read unfamiliar stories, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised." Chu Hengkong put away his phone. "Stay away from 'should' and 'must'. Don't become a boring adult."

Qingxia nodded: "Chu Hengkong is like a teacher..."

"You're too childish."

“How do you choose your stories now?”

"I've also started to actively choose stories that I like, but it's gradually become boring." Chu Hengkong shrugged. "Like me, an old man, I used to pick out a few books to read over and over again, and I wasn't interested in the rest. That makes me a boring old man."

"In that case, you should read more books while you can."

Qingxia muttered to herself, then suddenly stood up: "I'm going out!"

"Where are you going?"

"Go and supervise whether the children are studying well." Qingxia turned around, "I can give you a ride, come along~."

As she turned, her lower body stretched like plasticine, sprouting two devilish hooves. White hair grew rapidly, hardening into bone armor. Qingxia's head hit the ceiling, and in the blink of an eye, she had transformed into a centaur, smiling down at Chu Hengkong.

"It's only been a few days and I'm not used to your appearance anymore."

"I actually think it's more natural now~" Qingxia jumped up and down, "When you walk long distances, you have to walk on all fours."

Four hooves clattered, leaving two tracks of tread on the gravel road. Qingxia walked beside Chu Hengkong in small steps. Twice as tall as her companions, she looked like a small orange-red tree. The citizens of Huilong City cast awe-inspiring glances at her, whispering to each other from a distance.

Most people believe that this remarkable centaur is the inspector's tamed mount, a few firmly believe that this is the inspector's new girlfriend, and some people swear that Inspector Chu had an affair with a horse when he was out adventuring, and this female centaur is the fruit of their love.

Chu Hengkong silently activated a chain of misfortunes, cursing the liar with a small curse that would make him step in dog poop. He patted Qingxia's horse and said, "Becoming a particle 4 is really convenient."

"This is my talent. It's not that easy to transform ordinary flying wings." Qingxia was very proud.

(End of this chapter)