My mind was heavy when I came out of the cave chamber and made my way back through the garden. The same swords that had been hanging on my belt for a month suddenly felt heavy, and I couldn't stop glancing at them, half-expecting that they would unsheath themselves at any moment and drink someone's blood … Or my blood.
I shivered despite the midday summer sun. After Bai Ye saved me from Chu Xi's spiritual pet, he had warned me not to let Twin Stars get in contact with poison and not to kill too much with them. I hadn't read too much into those warnings back then, but after seeing the vision, I began to understand that the reason for those precautions was because Twin Stars had a natural thirst for blood.
"Qing-er, what's wrong?"
To all my dear readers: I want to share something a bit emotional with you. Earlier this week, I found another book on Webnovel that is a heavy rewrite of mine, with loads of my sentences reworded and scenes reshuffled. Some chapters are even line-by-line paraphrasings. I've heard before that this is a common issue on Webnovel these days, but to see it happen to myself barely two months after starting my first book... affects me tremendously.
I hope all of you can tell from my writing that I put a lot of effort into this book. This is a story that I've had in my head for years, and I'm so thrilled to have the chance to write it down and share it with all of you. I love my characters, and I love the words that flow forward in my mind to paint their world and their journey. It breaks my heart to see someone else take it all with a few modifications and try to pass it off as their own.
In case any of you come across this book in the future -- you'll know it if you do, because of how closely everything matches mine starting from the very first line of chapter one -- I hope you will choose not to support it. And to the person who's been "borrowing" my book: I don't want to name who you are quite yet, but I'll remind you that rewriting a story with paraphrased sentences doesn't make it yours. As authors, we should take pride in our original creations, so please stop reading my book and write something on your own.
Thank you all for reading this. I'm sorry if this long note isn't what you expected, but I'm only a human with feelings, and I appreciate you letting me share them with you. As always, please remember that I am deeply thankful for all the love you've shown me along the way. I recognize the names of everyone who have commented and voted for me, and I know there are more of you out there quietly following my updates. I can't say enough how grateful I am to have you.