Chapter 134: Zhen Zhibing and Yin Zhiping

The epidemic alert in Hefei had long been lifted, and Zhang Tan could finally roam the city with peace of mind.

Upon receiving an invitation from the Anhui Writers Association, he agreed without much hesitation. Although such an association might seem useless, holding a title within it was, after all, a form of prestige.

Li Yan drove Zhang Tan to the Anhui Writers Association. She had spent less time working at the Literary Publishing House this year; since Zhang Tan was earning well, her own income had increased, and she no longer needed the part-time work to make ends meet. However, to facilitate cooperation with the publishing house, she had not yet resigned, and the publisher also valued this existing connection. After all, the rights to Zhang Tan’s books were not easy to secure.

The Anhui Writers Association operated alongside municipal-level branches. Zhang Tan would first join the Hefei Writers Association, and then, upon review by the association’s presidium at the end of the year, he would be admitted to the Anhui Writers Association. The members of the presidium were mostly editors-in-chief of literary magazines or officials from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, people rarely seen in daily life.

The person receiving Zhang Tan was Xu Hui, the current Vice Chairman of the Hefei Writers Association. Xu Hui was a judge for the Mao Dun Literature Prize, an executive deputy editor-in-chief for the Anhui Federation of Literary and Art Circles’ *Great Era Literature* magazine, a member of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and an author of numerous award-winning works. Although he was the Vice Chairman of the Hefei Writers Association, he was not a Hefei local, but a native of Bengbu.

Generally speaking, the people in the writers association were a group of traditional literary workers—novelists, essayists, poets, and literary critics—who looked down upon authors of popular fiction like *wuxia*. Especially since Zhang Tan was just a young man who had barely cut his teeth, his success naturally invited jealousy.

However, once someone became famous, it was a different story. After all, the association was filled with those who lacked real talent but had managed to sneak in to pad their resumes; even the presidium had its fair share of such windbags, and everyone was long accustomed to turning a blind eye.

Because Zhang Tan’s *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* had become a sensation across the country and Southeast Asia, in terms of fame, no one in the Anhui Writers Association could compare to him. Even if traditional writers disdained *wuxia* novels, they had no choice but to suppress their jealousy and send an invitation.

Therefore, when meeting Zhang Tan, Xu Hui was superficially polite, though his eyes were actually cast askance with unconcealed resentment. "So you’re Zhang Tan, quite young indeed. Fill out this application form, verify your details, and once it passes the review process, you’ll be a member of the association."

Zhang Tan took the form. "Understood."

Xu Hui said nonchalantly, "Once the form is filled out, it should be approved in about three to five days. As for the provincial association, Chairman Yan Zhen thinks quite highly of you; inviting you to join was his idea. However, there are a few vice chairmen who oppose admitting you to the provincial association right now, arguing that you still need to further cultivate your literary depth."

Zhang Tan could sense the other man's condescension and indignation. However, he didn't care in the least. Joining the association was merely for the sake of posturing; bearing the title of an association member made one feel like a part of the mainstream cultural circle. While it was a bit shallow, wasn't a person's reputation built upon one such title after another? When others heard "member of the writers association," they would think, "Oh, that’s impressive—a writer, a man of letters!" His aura as an artist would then instantly inflate.

So, Zhang Tan ignored Xu Hui’s attitude. He didn't care that the man looked down on him; he was no longer young, and he had long outgrown the "do not bully the young and poor" stage of adolescent angst. While the association was a non-governmental organization, it was a government-recognized literary body under the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, possessing the eligibility to join the political consultative conference. It wasn't someone's private club; the prestige of the association was a form of collective industry recognition. If there was an opportunity to join, Zhang Tan would take it. He wouldn't lose anything; at worst, the association would collect some membership fees, and the rest would just be chatting and attending work meetings.

It was a zero-loss situation for him.

In fact, seeing Xu Hui’s contempt actually gave Zhang Tan a slight sense of satisfaction. No matter how displeased the man was, or how many people opposed him, he still had to come and invite Zhang Tan to join. Once a person achieved enough fame, they no longer needed to worry about the opinions of others.

However, he felt he should pay a visit to Chairman Yan Zhen to express his gratitude. Everyone likes to be flattered, and since the chairman had shown him favor, it was only right to visit in person.

"It’s filled out. What’s next?"

"You’ve left your contact information, right? Good. You can go back and wait for notification. We don't have much to do at the association, but the Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles will soon be organizing a charity donation drive for disaster relief. We’ll notify you when it’s time to attend," Xu Hui said, taking the form.

"A charity donation?"

"Yes, organized from the top down. Coming is optional, no pressure. But it would be best if you could make it. Donating a bit from your royalties is a way of giving back to society, right?"

Zhang Tan nodded. "Yes, it’s only right. Notify me when the time comes, and I will definitely be there."

...

Matters at the association went smoothly. Within half an hour, the basic procedures were completed, and he was just waiting for the review to become an official member.

After leaving the association, Zhang Tan went to the Literary Publishing House, which was currently proofreading the manuscript. He wanted to see if there were any areas that needed revision. In reality, this version of *The Return of the Condor Heroes* had deviated significantly from the original.

The main issue was that messy business between Little Dragon Maiden and Yin Zhiping. In the original, the author, Jin Yong, had written Little Dragon Maiden with such ethereal, goddess-like qualities—some even say she was based on his own daughter—that having her defiled by the Quanzhen Taoist Yin Zhiping felt like a betrayal. Countless readers, upon reaching that part, had wanted to grab a knife and hack the author into eighteen pieces. Zhang Tan remembered having that same feeling back then, a sense of stifled, burning rage. It could be said that the charm of *The Return of the Condor Heroes* was ruined by that single, steaming pile of garbage. Yang Guo was arguably the most frustrated protagonist; not only did he lose an arm, but he also discovered that his beloved "Auntie" was no longer "original."

A man could endure a lot, but this was too much!

So, while writing *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, Zhang Tan made a major change. He deleted that segment of "garbage." He replaced the defilement with other conflicts to keep the plot moving.

Actually, when planning the outline, Zhang Tan had hesitated for a moment. In *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, he had changed Yin Zhiping's name to Zhen Zhiping, laying the groundwork to copy the original plot of *The Return of the Condor Heroes*. Yin Zhiping was a real historical figure, the sixth-generation patriarch of the Quanzhen sect, and writing nonsense about him would invite backlash from the Taoist community—which was why Jin Yong had changed the name to Zhen Zhiping in the first place.

Whether it was Yin Zhiping or Zhen Zhiping, though he was furious when he first read the book, he had to admit that the Little Dragon Maiden segment was a classic; no other novel dared to pull such a stunt. Besides, it had been over a decade since he first read it, and that anger had long dissipated. In fact, seeing the new version of *The Return of the Condor Heroes* where the "dumpling" Little Dragon Maiden was defiled, Zhang Tan, like many netizens, felt that Zhen Zhiping had actually gotten the short end of the stick.

Copying the original would have been easy and would have made for a big headline. But after thinking it over, he decided to abandon that plot point. He was writing a *wuxia* novel; his goal, aside from making money and gaining fame, was to let everyone enjoy the classics without feeling disgusted. Moreover, he had heard that when Jin Yong wrote it that way, he had invited a massive amount of abuse and caused quite a stir. With Jin Yong's level of fame, it had caused such a massive wave; Zhang Tan couldn't imagine the storm it would create if he wrote it himself. What if someone sent him razor blades, or a reader, in a fit of rage, caused a scene of bloodshed? That would be a tragedy.

So, for the sake of his own safety, Zhang Tan decided not to write it. There were many ways to create plot conflict; there was no need to choose the most despicable one.

"I’m writing a 'feel-good' story, not a 'cuckold' drama!"

...

*The Return of the Condor Heroes* consisted of forty chapters and one million words. The Anhui Literary Publishing House planned to release it in six volumes. Compared to the rushed version of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, this time, the publisher was going for a high-quality route. The paper and binding were to be of the best quality, typos and awkward sentences were being meticulously corrected, and they were even hiring someone to draw numerous illustrations to enhance the visual experience.

The illustration phase was something Zhang Tan needed to oversee personally.