Chapter 19: The Interview

Shen Yan’s commissioning editor is named Li Yuqiu. He is a great admirer of Gu Long and specifically arranged for Gu Long’s *Sword Spirit and Literary Fragrance* to be serialized in the martial arts edition of their publication.

*Sword Spirit and Literary Fragrance* is not particularly good. Gu Long’s early martial arts novels had not yet developed his signature style; he was still imitating writers like Jin Yong and Wolong Sheng. In truth, *Sword Spirit and Literary Fragrance* is much the same as his first novel, *The Sky Sword*. The person who wrote it is entirely different from the great martial arts author who would later create *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword*. There is no resemblance in temperament, talent, sensibility, moral character, or breadth of vision. Many believe Gu Long only wrote the opening and hired a ghostwriter to finish the rest.

In fact, among Gu Long’s early works, only *Fragrant Sword and Cold Rain* is worth reading; it is part of his "Jianghu Masterpieces" series. Gu Long’s unique style began to emerge with 1964’s *Wulin Waishi*, gradually improved, and reached full maturity in 1968 with *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword*. During this period, his works began serializing in Hong Kong’s *Wuxia World*, the most authoritative magazine for martial arts literature, which boasted a massive circulation across Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and even the Asia-Pacific and Western regions. *Wulin Waishi*, *Handsome Siblings*, *The Legend of Chu Liuxiang*, and *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword* were all created during this time.

As an aside, the *Lu Xiaofeng* series originated from a request by Jin Yong. It felt as though Gu Long took the task too seriously, which made him feel somewhat constrained. At the time, Jin Yong had retired from writing and wanted Gu Long to succeed him in serializing martial arts novels for *Ming Pao*, leading Gu Long to create the *Lu Xiaofeng* series.

Returning to the present, after reading *Lotus Casebook*, Li Yuqiu was very excited. He had been looking for a writer with Gu Long’s style to follow the Jin Yong-esque *Kunlun*. *Lotus Casebook* clearly drew inspiration from Gu Long’s detective-style martial arts, with character settings referencing *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword*. During the serialization of *Kunlun*, the *Martial Arts Edition* had been so popular that it was hard to find a copy, with sales reaching 760,000 copies a month. Could *Lotus Casebook* have a chance to hit new heights? He was eager to learn more about the author, "Fried Husky," so he decided to conduct the interview in person.

Upon arriving at the Huairou Film and Television City, he made a phone call, found a restaurant, and by noon, Shen Yan arrived. Li Yuqiu knew Shen Yan was young—Shen Yan had mentioned he was 21—but he had not expected this man to be so incredibly handsome. Standing before Li Yuqiu, Shen Yan held his back straight, with broad shoulders and balanced proportions. He possessed the beauty of a gentleman as described by the ancients: dignified and grace-filled, with a tall and sturdy frame.

"Like Ji Kang, with the elegance of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix; like a solitary pine, one cannot help but sigh in admiration!" Upon first sight, this line describing the beauty of Ji Kang from the *Book of Jin: Biography of Ji Kang* came to Li Yuqiu’s mind.

Shen Yan greeted him first: "Are you Editor Li?"

"...Are you Fried Husky?"

"Yes."

"...Please, sit down!" Li Yuqiu gestured for him to sit, then exclaimed, "You are truly handsome!"

Shen Yan smiled: "Many people say that."

"Are you an actor?"

Shen Yan thought for a moment and said, "Not yet, I’m just a background actor attached to a crew."

"...Aren't crew-attached actors still actors?"

"I’m afraid you’ll ask me what roles I’ve played. In truth, I’ve only played background boards. I had a few small roles in Director Zhang Li’s *The Road to Awakening*..."

"*The Road to Awakening*?"

"It should air this summer. It stars Sun Honglei and Huang Zhizhong."

Hearing this, Li Yuqiu recalled something: "Then you didn't go to college?"

Shen Yan nodded: "No. After graduating high school, I followed my uncle to film sets. Because of my looks, the directors gave me a few roles, and so I became an actor. Editor Li, let’s order."

"Right..." They ordered three dishes: Di San Xian, a large plate of chicken, and vinegar-glazed cabbage.

"No alcohol, I have scenes this afternoon!"

"...You're already writing novels, yet you still work as a crew-attached actor?"

"This is my job."

Li Yuqiu asked, puzzled: "Will you continue working as a crew-attached actor in the future?"

"It depends... actually, being an actor is quite fun!"

"What is the difference between a crew-attached actor and an extra?"

"Being attached to a crew means you follow one production. Generally, the crew provides food and lodging, and you have to be ready whenever called. The salary is paid monthly."

"How much do you make a month?"

"Four or five thousand, I suppose..."

After chatting about Shen Yan’s career for about twenty minutes, the food arrived, and Li Yuqiu got to the point: "What made you decide to write martial arts?"

"I enjoy it. And I felt that many so-called masters were just writing the same old things, so I decided to try it myself!"

"Masters were just writing the same old things? What do you mean?"

"...I felt it wasn't decisive enough. I’ve always felt that Guo Jing should have accepted Genghis Khan’s proposal and become the King of Song! In fact, Guo Jing was the most legitimate member of Genghis Khan’s Golden Family. He grew up following Genghis Khan; Mongolian was his native language, and the vast grasslands were where he was raised. Guo Jing was a genuine Mongolian noble with several ten-thousand-man squads under his command—he was essentially Mukhali. His title as the 'Golden Bow Prince Consort' was merely a reward for his military achievements against Jamukha. Guo Jing was a ten-thousand-man commander first, and a Prince Consort second. After conquering Samarkand, even if he didn't want to be the King of Song, the ten-thousand-man commanders under him would have forced him to. Not just them, but the Quanzhen Sect and Lu Youjiao of the Beggar Sect would have forced him too. Regardless of whose interests were at stake, Guo Jing had no turning back."

Li Yuqiu gave a wry smile: "...If you really wrote it like that, it wouldn't be respectful of history!"

"Exactly, respect for history... so, the martial arts I write jump out of history!"

"But without history... there is no sense of gravitas!"

"That’s why I don't like Jin Yong. I think martial arts should just be martial arts. I prefer *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword*..."

"Do you know that the protagonist of *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword* was originally intended to be A'fei?"

"I know," Shen Yan nodded. "I’ve read a lot of materials. Mr. Gu Long originally planned to write a sequel to *Wulin Waishi*. A'fei was the illegitimate son of the great hero Shen Lang and Bai Feifei. I heard that when he was writing *Sentimental Swordsman*, he drew inspiration from *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, wanting to mold Li Xunhuan into a character like Guo Jing, and A'fei into Yang Guo... He never expected Li Xunhuan would become so popular!"

That’s not all. A'fei’s experiences were actually quite similar to Gu Long’s own. The most brilliant part of *Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword* is A'fei claiming he killed the Plum Blossom Bandit, while "martial arts seniors" like Tian Qi and Zhao Zhengyi slandered him. The setup of these characters is very clever; they claim to be great seniors, yet their martial arts are not actually high. Gu Long once said, "Among Taiwanese martial arts writers, the only one I was ever obsessed with was Sima Ling." This was because, in his early days, Gu Long had to ghostwrite for these seniors! He looked down on many of these so-called seniors, yet he still had to ghostwrite for them, letting them take credit for his work—though, laughably, once he became famous, he had others ghostwrite for him too.

Gu Long’s personality was the type that was friendly and amiable on the surface, but deeply perceptive within. In reality, he treated people like Wolong Sheng and Zhuge Qingyun with politeness, helping them ghostwrite and tending to their card games to blend into their circle, all while writing characters like Tian Qi and Zhao Zhengyi to expose the true faces of the "seniors" in that very circle.

Li Yuqiu nodded: "*Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword* is truly well-written. I still remember the opening passage: 'The cold wind is like a knife, the earth like a cutting board, viewing all living things as fish and meat; the snow flies for ten thousand miles, treating the heavens as a furnace to melt all things into silver.'"

"The opening of *The Jade Dagger*, describing the spring scenery in Jiangnan, is also superb... 'In the third month of late spring, the grass grows in Jiangnan and the orioles fly in confusion. A spring breeze, carrying the fragrance of peach blossoms, blows across the earth, as gentle as a lover’s breath. The green water ripples in the spring breeze, and a pair of swallows fly out from the peach blossom grove, landing on the vermilion railing of a small bridge, whispering softly, though no one knows what they are saying...'"

The two talked for over an hour. As they were about to settle the bill, Li Yuqiu suddenly remembered: "What is your take on what Bu Feiyan said a while ago about 'revolutionizing' Jin Yong?"

Ah, that must have been the year before last. At the awards ceremony for the 3rd Jin Gu Legend and Huang Yi Martial Arts Literature Award held in Beijing, the third-place winner Bu Feiyan declared: "It is time for us to transcend the orthodox and classic 'Jin, Gu, Wen, Liang, Huang'—it is time for us to talk about revolution!" This statement was later summarized by the media as "Bu Feiyan wants to 'revolutionize' Jin Yong!"

Shen Yan waved his hand: "She is a PhD student from Peking University’s Department of Chinese Language and Literature; I wouldn't dare discuss my views."

"Just chat casually."

Shen Yan thought for a moment and said: "I feel it’s like the ending of *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, where a bunch of nobodies are clamoring for a Mount Hua competition..."

"Then, among the works in the *Martial Arts Edition*, which one do you like the most?"

"I like Yang Xubai’s *Waving the Spear*, Ma Ge’s *Gleanings of the Jianghu*, and Sheng Yan’s *Paintings of the Three Capitals*..." After a moment of thought, Shen Yan added: "However, I rarely read martial arts novels now. I generally read web novels, things like *Zhu Xian*, *Back to the Ming Dynasty as a Prince*, or *A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality*..."

"Ah? You read web novels?"

"I write web novels myself, under the title *The First Order*. Help me promote it, it’s serializing on Qidian..."