The first batch of answers to the last collection of questions have arrived. Before we read Tang Qi`s answers, I ( Mi GU) will first answer questions that have been asked very frequently.
Credit: Tencent, Eternal Love of Dream
1. Is “White Sunset Tears”(白暮泪), a story circulating on the web written by Tang Qi?
A: No, No , No. It is important to dispel this rumour by refuting three times.
Tang Qi’s Three Lives Three Worlds series of works only includes the finished work of [ Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms ] (Bai Qian & Ye Hua), [ Pillow Book ] (Feng Jiu & Dong Hua), the in-progress work of [ Lotus Step ] (Cheng Yu & Lian Song), to be completed work of [ Bodhi Fate ] (Mo Yuan & Shao Wan), as well as the unnamed planned works on the list featuring Xie Gu Chou & Xiang Yun, Xie Hua Lou & Yan Chi Wu.
2. Who is Mo Yuan’s CP?
A: Master’s CP is Shao Wan, the demon tribe’s ancestor. Their story is called [ Bodhi Fate ]. Tang Qi has not formally started work on it. At present, there is only the old 5,000 word manuscript first released in 2013. I will issue the 5,000 word manuscript to the public channel in the next few days.
3. Does Dong Hua and Miao Luo have any emotional entanglements?
A: No, No, No. It is important to reject this notion three times.
To absorb the Three Poisons Impurity from billions of mortal worlds, Dong Hua went into seclusion and created the Miao Yi Hui Ming Realm to act as a vessel to draw and contain the Impurity. Miao Luo is a monster created by the metamorphosis of the Three Poisons Impurity within the Miao Yi Hui Ming Realm. As the god who created the Miao Yi Hui Ming Realm, destroying Miao Luo and purifying the Three Poisons Impurity is his responsibility.
Now that we have addressed the above three questions, the following section will be Tang Qi’s expert answers.
Q1. When Mother Qi (Tang Qi) writes about the journey of immortals towards nothingness and about their worries and fears, and to possess the grit to persistently pursue their heart and destiny, do you really believe in it yourself?
In a few later books you wrote, it seems like every page seems to fuel my imagination of beautiful scenes that linger in my mind making me revisit those scenes countless times.
Such beautiful scenes that generate such shockingly strong feelings can only be invoked by the most secular of all people who have abundant sentiments and longing.
Every main character seems to be the most godly of all gods affected by worldliness, so I am braving a guess that you prefer this worldliness over nothingness.
It’s just that the mortal world does not have the irregular happenings that the Immortal world has, thus enabling mortals to better demonstrate their longing and emotions?
A: There are times when I can be quite naive, and it happens while I am writing those words. Those things are what I truly believe in.
I have no idea what the real immortal world is like. Everything is from my imagination as I am the most secular of all people, and have the most emotions and sentimental feelings, so the immortal world I create along with the characters are perhaps just like me.
I have never thought about whether I really like this secular mortal world, I just feel that as a human learning through experiencing this mortal world, there are times of pain and there are times of happiness.
To me, the charm of the secular mortal world is not because it could be more beautiful, more enriching or to further allow you and me to release the deep longing in our hearts, but that it is very real. This sense of reality needs each one of us to understand it on our own terms by experiencing it, by grasping it, by embracing opportunities and by conquering the bad in our lives.
Lastly, this kind of reality contributes to an essential spark within ourselves. In my opinion, this is exactly what the siren call of the secular mortal world is for me.
Q2. I would like to ask if Sister Qi (Tang Qi) has times where she gets writer’s block? (Perhaps great gods won’t ever encounter writer’s block!) What sort of books do you like to read? Do you have any hobbies? How did you get your pen name, Tang Qi (Gong Zi)? Thank you Sister Qi! Love you!
A: Yes, I do get writer’s block. I feel that most writers will get bottlenecked at times. I read any type of books, I have a bookshelf right next to my bed and will read whichever book I grab before I sleep.
Q3. I have gathered a few questions that I would like officially addressed:
1. What is Bai Gun Gun’s original form? Is it a red stone?
A: A silver nine-tailed fox.
2. After Xiao Bai and Di Jun were both injured in the starlight ward, how were they cured? How long did it take for them to recover?
A: Feng Jiu injured her immortal essence and will require a great deal of effort to nurse her back to health. With a combination of Zhe Yan’s elixirs and drinking Di Jun’s blood, repairing her immortal essence will take a few months. As for her lost cultivation, it will slowly restore as she continuously cultivates and drinks Di Jun’s blood. As for Di Jun, he just needs to sleep for 400 to 500 years to replenish his crimson golden blood to its fullest. But since he does not want to miss out on his honeymoon and Gun Gun’s childhood, he will need to go into seclusion for 3 to 5 months every year to nurse back his health, he will regain his blood over a 1,000 year period after that.
3. Bai Gun Gun does not have a formal name? If he has one, what would it be?
A: He will have one, but it is yet to be named.
4. Where will the three of them live the most in the future? How will their time be allocated between Qing Qiu, the Holy Blue Sea and Nine Heavens?
A: They will spend the most time at Tai Chen Palace, afterall Feng Jiu prefers to be close to her aunt’s family as the atmosphere is livelier. They will also spend around two to three months at the Holy Blue Sea and three to four months in Qingqiu every year.
5. How many children will Feng Jiu have aside from Gun Gun?
A: I have not given this much consideration. At the moment, I feel that they will have another little girl.
Q4. When will Si Ming have a significant other? It’s too cruel to leave him perpetually single.
A: Si Ming will not have a significant other, and neither will Zhong Lin.
Q5. So when all is said and done, between Dong Hua and Ye Hua, whose seniority is higher?
A: Dong Hua is more senior. Although Di Jun does not care about his face and will not mind calling Ye Hua “Uncle”, however, in light of Ye Hua’s respectful and well-mannered nature, the crown prince will not respond to it.
Q6. Sister Qi, is Feng Jiu still attending school? Won’t that mean she will have to study with Gun Gun? Who will Di Jun help with homework?
A: She is still attending school. One is a university student, the other is a primary school student. Gun Gun does not need Dong Hua’s help with homework.
Q7.
1. How did Dong Hua recover from the Qiu Shui poison and the wounds sustained from carving half his heart after the starlight ward events? Can the poison be eradicated? Will his heart grow back? Who healed Feng Jiu?
A: Dong Hua will recover once he spends enough time healing in seclusion. His heart will grow back. Zhe Yan combined Di Jun’s blood with his elixirs to heal Feng Jiu.
2. Will Dong Hua have a second fox cub? Who will purify the three toxins or do similar heroic deeds in the future, surely it won’t be Di Jun’s turn to fade? Will they live happily together forever?
A: There will be other fox cubs. I will not be writing Di Jun fading in the Three Lives Three World series in my lifetime. They can continue living happily together.
3. When will Brother Qi (Tang Qi) write Bodhi Fate? Will Mo Yuan get a happy ending? Will snippets of DongFeng’s happy life be written into Lotus step and Bodhi Fate? (I love DongFeng the most).
A: I will write Bodhi Fate after finishing Lotus Step. I will include cameos of DongFeng’s family of three in both books.
4. I have always imagined Gun Gun’s true form to be a nine-tailed fox shaped stone, I even found something similar to wear as an accessory. Can Brother Qi verify if I am correct?
A: Incorrect. He is a silver nine-tailed fox cub. While it is true that I have set up Di Jun as an immortal who emerged from a rock and he does like to wear purple robes, but… who said his true form is a rock? The sentence, “He is an immortal made of rock” is a metaphor, a reference to the rumour that his character is principled, upright and outstanding. It is not meant to imply that he is literally made out of rock.
Q8. I am curious about the relationship between the ancient immortals. It is not clear to me. Between Zhu Ti, Shao Wan, Dong Hua and Mo Yuan, is Zhu Ti the highest in seniority?
A: The immortals you speak of are all of the same generation. Dong Hua is the oldest, with the rest in the following order, Shaowan > Mo Yuan > Zhu Ti.
Q9. Between Bai Qian, Feng Jiu, Cheng Yu and Shao Wan, who is the most beautiful!!
A: Before the awakening of the goddesses from the Era of Great Desolation, the publicly accepted consensus is Bai Qian, followed by Feng Jiu, followed by Xie Hua Lou. After Zhu Ti, Shao Wan and Xie Ming awaken, the beauty ranking chart will cease to exist in the 8 realms.
Q10. Sister Qi, with the complicated mess of seniority between Gun Gun and A-Li, how do they refer to each other?
A: If Gun Gun follows Feng Jiu’s side of the family, he would be referring to everyone in Qing Qiu as his senior. Di Jun is still senior regardless, it’s just like when an Emperor marries the Empress, you can’t be expecting the Empress’s father to call the Emperor simply as son-in-law.
Q11. When will Lotus step be released?? I am super looking forward to it. And is it possible to also publish a large pictorial of Ye Hua & Qian Qian, Feng Jiu & Di Jun, Lian Song & Cheng Yu and Xiao Yan & Hua Lou.
A: I will strive to complete the mortal arc of Lotus Step for release in the second half of this year, the immortal arc of Lotus Step next year and Bodhi Fate in the year after. The large pictorial you are talking about is probably not possible within the next 10 years, I still have Bodhi Fate and the two single novels of the Xie siblings waiting for me to write after all...
Q12. Sister Tang Qi, what does the Pillow Book mean? Is there any deeper meaning to it?
A: It means DongFeng is actually a bedtime story.
Q13. Sister Tang Qi, I have always wanted to know what happened to the tree created from the souls of Shen Ye and Aranya? Will they develop their own destiny later? They must have one, right? They suffered so much! Regardless of any future destiny, Shen Ye will never see Aranya ever again even after he reincarnates into another life. Just thinking about it makes me feel sad!
A: It’s possible… maybe? In the world of the living, the immortal road is thousands of years long, they should… be able to wait for a thread of destiny?
Q14. If Lotus Step is continued and finished into a book, will the public channel receive further chapter updates? Or do we have to wait till it’s published before we can read it?
A: This was explained to readers before the Lotus Step chapter updates were ceased. I have appended the explanation to this Q&A for everyone to read again, thank everyone for understanding.
Tang Qi’s statement regarding Lotus Step
Lotus Step consists of around 33,000 words where it currently stops. Thank you for accompanying me these few months while I tell my story. Everyone listened, sometimes we interact informally and it has been quite fascinating for me. I have enjoyed this experience and it has brought me plenty of joy.
I am sorry to stop the story updates here. The main reason is because I don’t have anymore manuscripts written in advance. Furthermore, I have been really busy with other things and don’t have much time to write. But once I am done with what’s on hand, I will immediately work to conclude the Mortal arc of Lotus Step. As I know many readers are waiting, I cannot and dare not, not set my heart on finishing the story, so I would like everyone not to worry.
Lotus Step is the third story in the Three Lives Three Worlds book series, it is a story with a large volume of words, I estimate the final word count to be at least 700,000 to 800,000 words, split into two parts: the Mortal arc volume and the Immortal arc volume. The Mortal arc still has 60,000 to 70,000 words to go before its conclusion. The Mortal arc will relatively be a complete story on its own, and I hope to have it published by the second half of this year so that I can present it to everyone.
In addition, readers have been lamenting over many years about how the Pillow Book ending at “Gun Gun, I am your Father Lord” was inhumane, and have been hoping for further outtakes.
After planning for a while, I think I can add a selection of outtakes from the Pillow Book into the published copy of Lotus Step to satisfy everyone’s wish.
Logically, the Pillow Book’s outtakes should have been added to the new edition of the book, but as I was too busy when the new edition was published, I could not find the time to write the outtakes. Thus, I can only make up for this regret in the Mortal arc volume of Lotus Step since it is the closest to publication. I hope everyone understands.
If there are no unexpected mishaps, I hope to publish the Immortal arc volume of Lotus Step in 2021 and present it to all my readers. At present, this is how I have organised Lotus Step’s publication. Any further news regarding the release of the book will be announced on my public channel, so please follow closely.
Lastly, I wish everyone an advanced Happy Lunar New Year. I hope everyone will take care of their health as this has not been a safe celebration of the new spring. I love you all! We will meet again when Lotus Step is published.
Q15. When will my Qian Qian add a new baby girl, one that can also participate in beauty pageants?
A: It might be a long time later.
Q16. How would you rank the following people in order of their martial prowess: Dong Hua, Mo Yuan, Shao Wan, Zhe Yan, Zhu Ti, Xie Ming, Bai Zhi, Bai Zhi’s wife (can I ask when you are giving her a name?), Qing Cang and Miao Luo?
A: Dong Hua = Mo Yuan > Shao Wan > Bai Zhi > Zhe Yan > Xie Ming > Bai Zhi’s wife > Qing Cang > Miao Luo. (To avoid revealing the plot of Lotus Step, Zhu Ti is not participating in the above ranking.)
Q17. This average question genius has arrived!
1. Will the Mortal arc volume of Lotus Step be stuck on the edge of a sword? When you say “the mortal arc volume is a relatively finished story”, does it refer to how we mortals will view it as complete? (Look at the way readers and writers have so little trust between them, don’t you feel guilty, Sister Qi?)
A: It will not… happen? It should be… complete? (I feel that my understanding of “will not” and “complete” should be the same as what you understand it to be.)
2. Will the remaining map for the Mortal arc volume of Lotus Step be placed into this year’s publication?
A: That map was too roughly drawn, if I don’t have time to create a more refined piece, then it won’t be going into the book.
3. Request: The extremely expensive and unaffordable side story - is the Lotus Step’s “Five Item Set” personally made by Lian Song for Cheng Yu?
A: Yes, it was made by himself, my Lian Song is always delightful and has good taste.
4. Is Bodhi Fate after Lotus Step? Our little Bodhi has been sidelined for many years.
A: Uh huh, it is Bodhi Fate. (If my life and work is smooth with no sign of storms, then it will definitely be Bodhi Fate)
5. In Cheng Yu’s dream, is the white phoenix feather hairpin in Shao Wan’s hair a gift from Mo Yuan? I want to know if this is a drop of sweetness between MoWan.
A: No, you read too much into it.
Q18. I have been waiting for my card to flip for almost a year, wah wah wah, can I ask why does our Dong Hua need to purify the Three Poisons Impurity even after Shao Wan and Mo Yuan have awakened? Hearing the news that he still might need to go into a deep sleep made me feel heartbroken. Our Feng Jiu cannot accompany him as she needs to raise her child. Tang Qi, you must feel that you can’t bear to let those two poor things lose the only smart man in their family for several hundred thousand years. Why can’t other people purify it?
A: This explanation can be found in the book. Let me sticky it here for you.
“Feng Jiu stood at the edge of the starlight ward. She felt the rustling of strong winds, rocking her into a desire to fall. When Zhong Lin mentioned about the Miao Yi Hui Ming realm, he had already explained that every immortal’s essence is different. The Three Poisons Impurity in the realm can only be ultimately purified by one type of immortal force. If other immortals use their power to disturb this force, it will only cause more trouble. Feng Jiu understood that she cannot help Dong Hua when it was time to purify the Three Poisons Impurity, the only thing she could help him with was in defeating the monster, Miao Luo.”
Translator's note: The author has mentioned in the other Q & A that she will never be writing Di Jun fade in her lifetime, so this means she will have to think of another way to purify the three poisons. The author has dropped hints that due to future plot development in the other books, she will not be able to write further about this at the moment.
Q19. Why does Feng Jiu still need to attend school even after becoming the Queen of Qing Qiu? What does she learn in school? How will she manage her subjects? Since she is now married to Dong Hua, how would she manage Qing Qiu if she lives in Tai Chen Palace? My questions seem to be a lot, hahaha.
A: In historical records, young kings will continue to receive further imperial tutelage even after ascending the throne, the same logic can be applied to Feng Jiu. If traffic and communication is good, it doesn’t matter where a CEO stays as he can still manage his company with no issues. Again, the same principle applies.
Q20. Is there any illness that Zhe Yan cannot cure? Where did Zhe Yan learn his awesome healing skills from? He is simply the earliest ancestor of the healing arts in the Three Lives Three World universe.
A: No. His healing arts are self taught.
Credit: Tang Qi, https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/PyZyuGqJ1thaJZj46EeXgw