It's been two months since *
During these two months, I've hardly written any notes or chit-chat, and I haven't interacted much with everyone. This is mainly because I increasingly feel that the best—and the only proper—communication between an author and readers must happen within the novel itself. What I want to express, what I want to tell, is all in the stories I write. There's no need to say anything extra.
Hmm, getting back to this book, *Lord of the Mysteries*, I had roughly this idea: I wanted to recapture the kind of enjoyment I had when I first encountered web novels—that feeling of, "Oh, there's a world like this?" and "A world this amazing!"
Back then, every book brought me a different, bizarre, and uniquely interesting world, constantly opening my eyes, constantly immersing me without escape, constantly expanding my imagination. Of course, this was also because I had read very few similar novels before that.
So, when I felt I was ready—prepared in every way to independently construct a relatively novel world and an interesting and unique system—I started this book full of anxiety and courage.
The 22 pathways centered on the "Acting Method", 220 potions, and 220 different "Occupations" are the parts I most hope will interest everyone. In addition, there is the world that blends Cthulhu-style elements, SCP Foundation elements, the flavor of the First Industrial Revolution, and Steampunk sentiment.
I've read a lot of books and made a lot of settings, but I know that what I need most is to tell a good story, to tell it at a measured pace. This is also why I slowed the pace of the first volume extremely much and updated 410,000 words for free. I had to faithfully go through the plot, outline the characters, depict the world, without pursuing so-called climaxes, presenting the images I want to share with you all in my heart.
I thank the writing of *Martial Arts Master*, which allowed me to reach an appealing level in daily stories and gave me the ability and writing style to tell stories honestly.
In the past, I learned how to express myself—or rather, every writer and author instinctively knows how to express themselves. Now, I feel I have begun to learn restraint. Many times, I narrate without discussing; I only use actions, language, and expressions to convey emotions, without internal monologues. And sometimes I might not even use actions, language, or expressions, just describing coldly, like the "White Lead Factory" chapter. This is also the standard I hope to maintain in the key segments of *Lord of the Mysteries*.
The various structures of this book are probably the most thoroughly considered among my books. Foreshadowing, callbacks, and such—everyone, please look forward to it.
The above are the ideas and attempts I had for this book. I hope you like them. I hope you can support it with subscriptions, because I still need to eat, and I still need to buy clothes, skirts, bags, and a house for my wife.
I have always been a vulgar person, of that I have no doubt. At the same time, I am also a very lazy person with a flawed personality.
I once thought about organizing my fanbase, like other authors do. But, ugh, it's so annoying. So tiring. And then... nothing came of it.
I once thought about opening a Weibo account to gather popularity. But, ugh, so annoying, so tiring. And then... nothing came of it. I don't even know how long it's been since I last updated Weibo.
I set up a WeChat Official Account and tried to write some things. But, ugh, so annoying, so tiring. So now I only update it once in a long while.
I once tried to hire someone to help keep the official account active, but seeing the content others posted always made me feel awkward and embarrassed, so I called it off.
Sigh, now I want to make peace with myself. Admit it: you are a lazy person, you are a person with defective social skills, you are a thin-skinned person who cares too much about face, you are a person who doesn't like being disturbed by various trivial matters, you are a hopeless case.
Perhaps, the one thing I can do well and am willing to do well is just write novels, to tell the stories in my heart.
The above is my reconciliation with myself. No longer living awkwardly, no longer forcing myself to do things to gather popularity. The WeChat Official Account and such, I'll update it when I think of something, when I have content. If I don't think of it, so be it. Hmm, "reconciliation" is just a fancy way to put it. To be accurate, it should be "giving up on myself". *Manually inserts a wry smile here.*
The exchange is over. Early tomorrow morning, which is a few minutes past 12 o'clock tonight, I will update the VIP chapters. I'm asking for subscriptions and monthly tickets in advance. I will have a burst of chapters. Really, I have backlogs!
Hmm, at least five chapters, maybe even six!
(End of this chapter)