British writer

four thousand words,

Two chapters in one.

...

When Doyle stabilized his Dao heart, the creation speed was still very fast.

A few days later, in the new issue of "The Shore Magazine", the first short story of Holmes' new series "The Return" was published--

"Empty House".

Because there was no prior announcement, readers were caught off guard.

But even so, the sales of "Seaside Magazine" still skyrocketed, and the "Scotlander" was completely suppressed when it lost Lu Shi.

On the same day, Lu Shi completed "The Hobbit".

Compared with the original work, he only modified the text, so that "The Hobbit" no longer looks like a fairy tale,

There is almost no adjustment to the content of the story, because there will be the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy as the highlight,

If the front is changed beyond recognition, it is inevitable that there will be various mistakes in the back.

Lu Shi put down the pen in his hand,

"Complete!"

The manuscript is typed out with a typewriter, but it is more convenient to use paper and pen for proofreading.

Natsume Soseki next to him just finished reading "The Empty House".

He put down the "Beach Magazine" in his hand, and when he looked at Lu, his eyes were full of awe,

"Lu, you really..."

I couldn't find the right wording for a while.

Lu Shi stretched his waist,

"how?"

Natsume Soseki shook his head, but did not respond.

He witnessed Lu Shi's creative process all the way, and naturally read "The Hobbit\

,"Therefore, he really wanted to say that Lu Shi was a terrifying monster, but saying that seemed to overestimate the monster and insult Lu Shi, so he couldn't say it in the end.

Why do monsters compare with Lu Shi?

Still kidding!

Lu Shi asked, "What do you think of this "The Hobbit"?"

This question needs to be answered carefully.

Natsume Soseki couldn't help thinking,

After a long time, he said: "Lu, even someone like me who doesn't read fantasy novels very much knows that what you write is extraordinary. And, look at the hook you left at the end, is this novel a preview? ?”

The word "forecast" is very spiritual.

Lu Shi laughed loudly: "To be precise, this should be called a prequel."

Natsume Soseki suddenly realized,

"Yes, it should be a prequel. I think the world view of your novel is extremely grand, almost reaching the limit of human imagination... No, that's not right..."

Lu Shi said along the way: "Human imagination has no boundaries."

Natsume Soseki said solemnly: "But human writing has boundaries. Lu, you can put the grand fantasy world into writing, which is what I admire the most. But I am a little worried that the follow-up works of "The Hobbit" should be very difficult. Control it?"

Of course it is difficult to manage.

Tolkien is a dignified Oxford professor of linguistics,

Even so, the Lord of the Rings trilogy took several years to write.

Lu Shi said: "No matter what, let's take a look at the effect of the serialization of "The Hobbit". What if it can't compare with those ghost stories of Professor James?"

Natsume Soseki muttered: "If those experts and scholars in Cambridge disregard justice and insist that your "The Hobbit" is not good, then I can only think that their skin is thicker than the city wall... thicker than the corner of the city wall."

Natsume Soseki, who has always been very serious, is rarely humorous.

Lu Shi was taken aback for a moment, then laughed loudly,

"Okay, okay, let's go to Mr. Cooper."

The two packed up their things and boarded the carriage to Fleet Street.

On the way, I could hear various discussions about Holmes,

"Have you read today's "Seaside Magazine"? Holmes is back! Holmes is back!"

"He came back quietly, which is in line with Holmes' character."

"Hahaha, I think it fits Dr. Doyle's character."

"Do you feel that "The Empty House" is purer than "The Hound of the Baskervilles", more like... like... um..."

"More like Sherlock Holmes!"

"right!"

...

All kinds of discussions are endless.

Natsume Soseki raised his eyebrows, and said in a low voice, "Isn't that right ~ "The Hound of the Baskervilles" looks kind of...huh..."

It's that old-fashioned question about "borrowing" again.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"Don't mention that."

There is no evidence for rumors and rumors, and talking too much will only increase troubles.

Natsume Soseki was recently writing "I Am a Cat". Knowing the author's mentality, he couldn't help but secretly said "Sensation your private horse race", and then said: "If my book is called a reference by others, I'm afraid I will not feel good."

This is empathy with Doyle.

Lu Shi remembered that before the time travel, the hasty conclusion of "I Am a Cat" seemed to be due to being plagiarized, so he couldn't help laughing.

There are so many coincidences in the world.

Natsume Soseki said: "However, I always feel that there is something wrong with Dr. Doyle publishing the book at this time."

Lu Shi said "hmm".

"The Empty House" was supposed to be published in January 1903, but now it is two full years ahead of schedule,

If it was said that Er had no small thoughts, no one would believe it.

The corners of Lu Shi's mouth curled up,

"It should be related to that bet."

Natsume Soseki nodded in agreement, apparently thinking the same way.

Otherwise, it really cannot explain why Doyle was so anxious to publish "The Return" immediately after "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

You know, even when the production is as high as Lu, I was originally planning to take a break after the end of "There Were None".

Later, because of Wilde's death, he owed editor-in-chief Cooper a favor, so he decided to write another novel in return.

Natsume Soseki sighed: "Being flanked by Doctor Doyle and Professor James..."

Lu Shi chuckled,

"Left and right are male."

The two chatted for a while, and the carriage came to Fleet Street and stopped at the gate of the office of The Scotsman.

Lu Shi jumped out of the carriage first.

Unexpectedly, Cooper was waiting at the door,

He rushed up quickly, and said to Lu Shi: "You are here, do you know that Holmes is now... um..."

Cooper stopped talking and glanced around,

"Go ahead to the house."

He introduced Lu Shi and Natsume Soseki into the editor's office.

Inside the house, various newspapers and magazines piled up like a mountain, all of which were opened on a certain page, with various marks made with pencils or circles or dots.

Lu Shi roughly read a few articles,

"coward? Could the "great" Lu be frightened by ghosts? "

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and No Fighter"

"Flash in the Pan! Lu or the shortest-lived novelist"

...

As far as these titles are concerned, it is a proper marketing of Pengci in modern times, exuding the stench of rice circles.

Lu Shi couldn't help being speechless for a while,

He took a step forward, casually picked up an article to read, and chuckled from time to time.

Cooper gave him a sharp look.

"dare you laugh!?"

Lu Shi spread his hands and said, "They insist on setting aside the facts and saying that I am exhausted, and I can't help it."

Natsume Soseki on the side interjected: "Actually, they didn't put aside the facts. For example, in that article, "A Flash in the Pan! Lu Or the Shortest-Lived Novelist", they only said that you were short-lived as a novelist, poet, Both identities of the playwright are not mentioned."

Some facts are also facts,

Even in 1901, the media was very good at playing this game.

(Well, it's already 1901.)

cooper curious,

"Lu, tell the truth, do you have something with Professor James? Why do I feel that the direction of the magazines published by Cambridge University is a bit wrong?"

Lu Shi chuckled,

"It's just a small bet."

He recounted the previous events, briefly mentioning some details that were inconvenient for Cooper to know.

Cooper's face darkened,

"you you……"

After saying the word "you" several times, he threw out a sentence: "You are so awesome!"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Well, I also think I'm pretty awesome."

This sounds outrageous.

Cooper was too lazy to continue, and turned the topic to Holmes again, and said, "Now I know why Dr. Doyle is in a hurry to publish the book. It's trying to kill you."

He punched Lu Shi's shoulder,

"Have you read the "Empty House"?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Well, I saw it. I think it's a very good work."

Natsume Soseki asked suspiciously: "Are you serious? Lu, that "Empty House" is completely incomparable with your work!"

Cooper said: "Hey! You don't lose your fighting spirit because you have to deal with James and Doyle at the same time? This is not like you!"

The two spoke almost simultaneously.

Lu Shi looked at the two of them and asked, "Who shall I answer first?"

Cooper and Natsume Soseki pointed at each other at the same time,

After that, the two froze, and said in unison: "Then answer me first."

The house is full of embarrassment,

"..."

"..."

"..."

It was eerily quiet.

Lu Shi said: "Forget it, I'll answer Natsume first. You think "The Empty House" is boring because the tricks in "The Empty House" are silly, as if they are fooling the readers, right?"

Natsume Soseki nodded repeatedly.

In The Empty House, the deceased is killed in a locked room,

In other words, it was a murder in a locked room.

When Doyle cracked the secret room, he used a powerful method of flying bricks, that is, the sharpshooter,

Colonel Moran, who was originally from the 1st Bangalore Engineer Regiment, put a bullet in his air gun and fired at the window on the front of the room, giving the dead a big brain hole.

As for how the door was locked...

Of course the dead man locked it himself.

After reading this conclusion, Natsume Soseki almost threw out "Seaside Magazine\

,"Is this a hammer chamber?

What a waste of brain cells!

Of course, Lu Shi knew what Natsume Soseki was thinking, and explained: "The reason why I say "The Empty House" is well written is because it is an extremely successful work as the return of Sherlock Holmes. Think about the reunion of Watson and Holmes , what did Watson say?"

Cooper on the side said: "Don't think about it, I have "Seaside Magazine."

As he spoke, he read the original text:

"

‘Holmes, I cannot believe my eyes. God! There are so many people in the world, only you will be standing in my study. '

"

Lu Shi asked again: "What about the description of Holmes' appearance?"

Cooper continued:

"

'Holmes was completely wrapped up in a long and shabby bookseller's overcoat, and all that was left to be seen were his pile of white hair and the old books lying on the table. He looked leaner and alerter than ever, but there was a tinge of pallor in his eagle face that made me see that he had been living irregularly lately. '

"

Read no further.

Lu Shi's meaning was very clear. As a fan of Sherlock Holmes, how could he not empathize with these two paragraphs?

Natsume Soseki understands,

"That said, there is another very important point. Colonel Moran, the villain of "The Empty House", appeared frequently in the previous work, and he was the murderer in the first short story of "The Return", full of feelings."

Lu Shi nodded,

"Yes, feelings! You hit the point. That's why I say "The Empty House" is a very good work."

For fans, the return of Sherlock Holmes only needs to bring emotion. Excellent tricks and wonderful adventures are just indifferent additions.

I have to admit that Doyle has grasped the reader's heart.

But Lu Shi was not afraid,

He took out the manuscript of "The Hobbit" and handed it to Cooper: "Please read it, my respected editor-in-chief."

Cooper smiled wryly,

"What 'respected editor-in-chief', don't make fun of me."

He took the manuscript and began to read it.

Soon, his eyes widened, and he said incoherently, "This is...uh...how could...why..."

Lu Shi coughed lightly,

"Mr. Cooper, you should read it first."

The shock on Cooper's face turned serious, and he began to read The Hobbit word for word.

This novel is not very long, but at any rate it will take a few hours,

When Cooper finished reading, the sun was about to set, and the afterglow of the setting sun dispelled the fog that shrouded London all the year round, leaving bright red spots on the sparkling river of the Fleet.

"Huh~~~~"

Cooper let out a long breath,

His expression is like being there, following the protagonist in the book through that grotesque adventure.

Lu Shi asked, "How is it?"

Cooper has not completely withdrawn from the story in the book, his eyes are a little confused,

He wondered, "What do you ask me?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Yeah, you should give me a review after reading it, right?"

Cooper said helplessly, "Am I worthy?"

Natsume Soseki on the side nodded frantically,

He felt the same way Cooper did when he had just finished reading The Hobbit.

Lu Shi said, "This... shouldn't be the case, right?"

Cooper was speechless,

"Lu, you still don't know what kind of world you have built. Let me ask you a question, what is the difference between a hobbit and a dwarf?"

It's a question of worldview,

Of course, Lu Shi knew everything by heart, and immediately replied: "The dwarves were created by Aoli, the god of craftsmen of the earth at the beginning of the creation of the world, because he couldn't wait for Iluvita's firstborn children to appear..."

Cooper stopped immediately,

"Stop it! See how many new concepts you're talking about in that sentence?"

"this……"

Lu Shi knew what the other party wanted to say.

The world created by Tolkien is so complete and real that ordinary people are not qualified to judge.

Lu Shi said, "Then let me change the question. Mr. Cooper, do you think this book is interesting?"

Cooper nodded.

"Of course! Of course it's interesting! I can't wait to read the follow-up story now. Look at the end of your book, there should be more to come, right?"

Lu Shi smiled,

"Mr. Cooper, I can now answer your question."

This endless sentence made Cooper a little confused,

"Question? What's the problem?"

Lu Shi said: "Didn't you ask me just now, 'You won't lose your fighting spirit because you have to deal with James and Doyle at the same time, right?', this "The Hobbit" is my answer."

Cooper couldn't help being speechless, thinking that Lu Shi is really awesome.

He said: "This "The Hobbit" is used to deal with Professor James, and Doyle... well... by the way, you said before that you were writing a detective novel called... called... what Is there a suspicious case?"

Lu Shi said: "The Mysterious Case of Roger. I have already handed over the manuscript to the Royal Publishing Bureau."

Cooper couldn't help laughing,

"You are shooting left and right."

Lu Shi couldn't do anything about people taking the initiative to find him.

He can only lie flat,

"Well, let them serve together."

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