[Scum Villain Fanfic] The Writing Adventures Of Liu Su Mian Hua

#17 : Publication

The seventy copies were a challenge to make and everyone put all their hard work into them. It took more time than expected. The next challenge was to smuggle all the seventy bulky books out of Cang Qiong Mountains and into Shuang Hu City to Chen MeiRong's store.

Xiuying managed to find a horse-drawn cart for this task. The cart was brought as close to Cang Qiong Mountains as possible without alerting any elders. Then, in the middle of the night, the books were carried down to the cart, placed on it, covered with an inconspicuous cloth and taken away. Xiuying manned the cart while Mingyan surveyed their route for danger or pursuers. Qiaohui and Chuntao also came along to protect the books.

"Shijie, isn't this exciting?" Chuntao asked after a long stretch of silence. "We are on a secret mission!" she whispered. Qiaohui smiled at her. "Mingyan Shijie will become famous! I can't wait to see people's reactions when they read the book." "Chuntao, you just copied what Mingyan Shijie wrote." said Xiuying from the front. "Why are you getting so exited?" "So what? She helped make these copies." Qiaohui spoke up. "She even helped with the illustrations. She has all the right to be excited." A wave of warmth surged through Chuntao's body. She looked at Qiaohui with unblinking eyes. When Qiaohui noticed her, she just couldn't look back and pulled her gaze away. Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure it could be heard by everyone in the cart. "Mingyan Shijie, are you excited?" Chuntao tried to act herself. "Of course!" said Mingyan. "But I am also worried about the readers' reactions. Will they like my book? Will they understand the story? And the worst of all," she let out a deep breath. "what if someone from Cang Qiong Mountains finds these books?"

Mingyan words brought a cold silence. Working to make the seventy copies without alerting their Shizun or any other elders was a huge task. Everyone had to be as quiet as mice while working. Also, working throughout the day and staying up till late at night was not helping anyone. They were all drained to the core. If all the hard work spent to make these books went to waste, it would be truly disheartening. "Don't worry Mingyan Shijie." Chuntao tried to cheer her up. "I'm sure everyone will like it. You just wait and watch, soon we will be told to make more copies of this book." Her words brought a smile on Mingyan's face. "I'll start working on the second volume then." she said while smiling at the passing darkness.

The market of Shuang Hu City looked like an abandoned place when they arrived. JiaYi and MeiRong were waiting for them. They helped unload the books and move them to the store room. "You can keep one copy from this." MeiRong said as she handed out one book to Mingyan. She then joined her hands and bowed deeply "Congratulations on your very first publication!" Mingyan was hit with a wave of emotion. She was happy that she had managed to complete such a huge task. Her tiny dream of helping to spread the truth had turned into reality. A tear trickled from her eye. She knelt on the ground and bowed deeply before all those who were present. "Thank you very much for all your help and support." she said. "Thank you for helping me make my dream a reality. I will forever be indebted to all of you." Qiaohui helped her up. "Shijie! You are giving us too much credit." she said. "You wrote the book. It was your idea." Xiuying chipped in. "And if Shijie wants to do something, we are all ready to help." Mingyan couldn't help but burst into tears. "I am really lucky to have met you all."

And then began the wait for readers' response.