The Fourth Wall - Epilogue & Author's Note

Epilogue

He flew upwards, borne by the winds. Rising ever faster as it carried him up into the sky, drawing from the world around him. Sideways and up, towards a mountain peak as he pulled immortal chi into him. At first, near the ground, near the taotei, it had been sparse.

As he ascended, it grew denser. From one part in a million perhaps to one in a hundred thousand. 

Rather than searching for a black grain of rice in a grain silo, he now only needed to pull it from a wago. At the tallest peak - not so tall, like Mount Tai but tall enough for his sakes - he landed to rest. Though flying cost him little of his true chi, though he had not lost the ability to utilize mortal wind chi, it was still easier to land and cultivate and heal.

Still easier to sit and remember her face.

Wu Ying could still remember the look in her eyes, the final goodbye. He knew she never expected to see him again, not in this life. Perhaps not ever. Her own journey was fraught, her own progress stalled. She had traded her advancement for his, her time and opportunities to aid him.

He would have explained, repromised her that he would come back. That he would not abandon her. Stayed longer to comfort her till she understood.

If not for the other thing he had sensed.

It came now, swimming through the clouds. Descending slowly, bringing with it a wash of heavenly and immortal chi together with each moment. Sinuous body slithered through the heavens, small wings along its long, lengthy form flapping as it came to a stop before him.

“Greetings, cousin,” the elder dragon murmured. “Congratulations on your ascension. Now, come. The Jade Emperor awaits.”

Author's Note

Well, here we are. The end of another series, the end of Long Wu Ying’s journey through the Middle Kingdom and his ascension to the heavens. When I first started writing A Thousand Li, I wanted to incorporate aspects of old-school wuxia thematic elements as well as more modern xianxia cultivation tropes and a small discussion of Daoism. 

It has not been the smoothest of rides. For some people, the tropes utilized have not been what they expected, the journey different. I can say with absolute certainty, that many of the beats were plotted out many years ago, from the very start.

I always knew he’d make a mistake in where he walked, I always knew what his final dao would be. In fact, the series title hinted at it from the very beginning as I played with the saying of a thousand li. Better to travel a thousand li than read a thousand books. Which is really a bastardisation of the original saying, which speaks of traveling ten thousand li and reading ten thousand books to better oneself.

In many ways, Wu Ying did that too.

Yet, while I understood the beats of the story, the themes I wanted to incorporate – the journey itself held many pitfalls and surprises for me. The ending I wrote in case I died was very different. Yang Mu made herself known much more in this book, and the bittersweet their parting brought was unexpected.

Appropriate, for what I set out to do.

Wu Ying and his friend’s story is not entirely over. While Wu Ying might no longer step into the Middle Kingdom as much, his story – and the A Thousand Li universe – is not over. However, the next series will be somewhat different, more epic fantasy than progression fantasy. 

Celestial wars, dragons and petty immortal bureaucrats abound along with wars across realms and more. There’s plans for another twelve books, the ending and each arc already charted in my mind. It’ll be one heck of a ride.

I hope you join me. 

~ Tao