Before Dead End was left unfinished, the original plan was to use it as a prequel introduction, first using the Covenant Law Illusionary Pen to detail the backstories of Wuyuan, Chixian County, White River, Death Rank, and Fen Chen, and ending with the death of 0206. Daoist Monkey was to be the sequel, focusing on the various schools of Reason and singing a different tune. It would have picked up from the death of 0206 in the prequel and led to the death of Zhou Yu, moving from the small world of Rain City to the vast world of the cosmos. Thus, one can see that the current Chao Yu Scroll was originally the opening of the old Daoist Monkey concept. Because Dead End was never completed, I thought long and hard about it and decided, ’Things being what they are, let’s let Zhou Yu live a little longer.’ And so, I postponed this critical juncture until the seventh volume. Although his life was extended for a time, his fate had to be sealed in the Chao Yu Scroll. The root cause of this lies in Luo Binhan’s character design; Zhou Yu had to die before Luo Binhan’s true nature and fundamental character could be revealed. This is the meaning behind the saying, "When one star rises, another must set."
In the early days of this story, to compensate for the absence of Dead End, I inserted interludes: the Chixian County arc to narrate the affairs of Chixian County, the Wish-granting volume to insert events concerning Death Rank and Wuyuan, and the Eternal Light volume to insert events concerning White River and the Dwarf Star Guest. Because of all this, even though Luo Binhan was the protagonist in name, most readers saw him as little more than a viewpoint character. At the time, I had no defense against this. But in the Chao Yu Scroll, I could finally showcase his true character. Therefore, I had to write it with heavy ink and bold strokes, disregarding structural tidiness or balanced pacing, striving to make this one volume’s impact overshadow the previous six. This was to show you, the readers, that this man is no ordinary side character, but truly the core of this work, with Li Li and Zhou Yu as the leads, and Jing Huang and Chen Youzhi (Ning Wei’Er) as the roots. As for the future middle and final parts of the story, although many important characters have yet to appear, none will ever be able to replace Binhan.
Among the characters written so far, Luo Binhan, Li Li, and Zhou Yu are in reality a single group. These three reflect and complement each other, serving as foils for one another. Any one of them could serve as the lead and core of the book, the heart and soul of the story. For this reason, when I talk about them with friends and family, I often jokingly call them "the three protagonists from Earth," or "the Three Chen Candidates." Although the Chao Yu Scroll’s title involves Zhou Yu, it is, in fact, the definitive story for Luo Binhan and Li Li. Their strengths have been fully expressed in the volume’s text, so I won’t elaborate further. As for their shortcomings, due to my personal favoritism and the limitations of space, I have often embellished the details or glossed over them with subtle writing, unable to bear criticizing them too harshly. But for the hidden flaws I couldn’t conceal, I often created another character as a reflection. For example, Yu Xiaorong and Hanna are the positive and negative reflections of Li Li; Cai Ji and Luo Jiayang are the positive and negative reflections of Luo Binhan; and Luo Jiaotian and Feng Chuxing can be seen as the positive and negative reflections of Zhou Yu. If readers wish to know Luo Binhan’s hidden faults, they can look at the character of Luo Jiayang. To understand Li Li’s heartlessness, they can look to Hanna. Although I used this device, it is ultimately just my own personal take. Now that the story is written, readers are free to make their own judgments about all the characters.
As a person, Luo Binhan’s virtue cannot compare to Zhou Yu’s, and his talent is even less than Li Li’s. The reason I chose him as the book’s core is that he has three great strengths: a talent for adaptability and clever speech, a passionate obsession with seeking truth, and the virtue of being self-aware of his faults without blowing up the school. I believe that while many people might possess one or two of these—a talent, an obsession, a virtue—those who truly have all three are few and far between. The thought of such a person is as ethereal and illusory as Immortals, Buddhas, fox spirits, and ghosts. No real prototype can be found in the world; he is purely a whimsical creation of a novelist. This is surely a case of me treasuring my own humble creation, but it is also the product of immense effort and passion. Having written his words and deeds for many years, it feels as if I’ve been accompanying a close friend, and I can’t help but feel a sense of favoritism and compassion. Furthermore, the immediate main plot of this book is closely related to the two characters Jing Huang and Chen Youzhi. The first part of the story is guided by Jing Huang, while the first half of the middle part will necessarily be guided by Chen Youzhi. Among the "Three Chen Candidates," only Luo Binhan has deep connections to both of them. The profound, hidden connection between Luo and Jing was largely explained in the first part of the story, with the ending of the Wish-granting volume dropping the biggest hints. It was, in fact, an inverted narrative of cause and effect, placing a scene intended for the final part much earlier. As for the connection between Luo and Chen, first, Luo Binhan’s temperament makes him the most suitable vessel to explore the central theme of "death." Second, it is plot-related and also a matter of a deep, hidden connection, which is why he is called a "Chen Candidate." The full details will become clear to readers in the future.
Across the seven volumes of my work, from "The Start of a Distant Nebula Dream" to "The Rain of Dawn and Dusk," the hidden plotline of Rain City has subtly foreshadowed the matter of Zhou being trapped and Chen emerging. But in terms of the present-day plot, the dividing line is the end of Luo Binhan’s mortal life and the beginning of his time as one chosen by the gods. It is a great epiphany and a major level-up! GWAH!
Childhood’s end! Wiping away a hero’s tears, I part from the scholar’s reclusive home. My thanks for this merciful tonsure beneath the lotus throne... HEE! YAH!
...At the end of the Chao Yu Scroll, there is a section where he sacrifices his body to the fire, casting himself into the tide and abandoning the shore. This is to signify his departure from home, never to return. Because I knew from the beginning that he would not return, I detailed his background in this volume, aiming to sculpt the origins of his personality and actions. The various bits of foreshadowing and planted clues were secondary. Flashy techniques are but superficial tricks; though they may provide some casual amusement, they are ultimately not worth mentioning in depth. Furthermore, because Dead End was discontinued, I have many reservations about writing the present-day story. I also recently learned that there are many younger readers among my audience. Therefore, whenever sensitive or adult matters are involved, I have mostly set the background in foreign countries or outside our borders, or have written about them obliquely and with a light touch, without going into great depth. Luo Binhan’s father is one such example. Although he is mentioned in the volume, he remains hidden and does not appear. This was, one, out of sympathy for Binhan, as I couldn’t bear to add another heavy stroke to his story. Two, the original concept was a bit too sensitive, and thinking about it now, there’s no benefit to writing it in detail. So I simplified and trimmed it, using only one or two incidents to hint at the origin of Luo Binhan’s inner turmoil. The same principle applies to the backstories of characters like Feng Chuxing, Cai Ji, and Li Li. This is because this story is, by and large, a novel of romantic fantasy that tells of wonders and oddities, narrates dreams, and celebrates scenery. It truly focuses on small pleasures like human drama, intriguing metaphysical concepts, and clever setups. It contains no grand truths or master plans, and it has even less to do with current world affairs—after all, an object like the Wishing Machine does not actually exist in this world. To try and preach philosophy based on such an illusory concept would be laughable. And I, the author, have little experience of the world, my knowledge is shallow, and my personal experience is even more lacking. I have only a minor talent for telling tall tales. If any readers feel they have gained something from my work, it must be because seeing something has moved their own heart. ’It is the mind that moves, not the banner.’ I can claim no credit for it.