4,000 words,

2-in-1 chapter.

……

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

A few days later, in the new issue of Seaside Magazine, Holmes's new series "The Return" released the first short story -

"The Empty House".

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

But even so, the sales of "Seaside Magazine" still soared, and the "Scotsman", which lost its land time, was completely overwhelmed.

And on the same day, Lu Shi completed "The Hobbit".

Compared to the original, he only modified the text to make "The Hobbit" no longer feel like a fairy tale,

The content of the story has hardly been adjusted, because there is also the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy as the main event.

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,

"Done!"

The manuscript is typed out on a typewriter, but proofreading is still more convenient with paper and pen.

Natsume Soseki next to him just finished reading "Empty House",

He put down the "Seaside Magazine" in his hand and looked at Lu Shi, his eyes were full of awe,

"Lu, you really ......"

For a while, I couldn't find the right wording.

Lu Shi stretched,

"How?"

Natsume Soseki shook his head and didn't say anything.

He witnessed Lu Shi's creative process throughout the whole process, and naturally read "The Hobbit",

Therefore, he really wanted to say that Lu Shi was a terrifying monster, but it seemed that he looked down on the monster and insulted Lu Shi in that way, so he couldn't say it in the end.

Why do monsters compare to Lu Shi?

Still no kidding!

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

This is a question that needs to be answered carefully.

Natsume Soseki couldn't help but ponder,

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

The word "forenotice" is used very spiritually,

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

Natsume Soseki suddenly realized,

"Yes, yes, it should be a prequel. I feel that the worldview of your novel is extremely grand, almost reaching the boundaries of human imagination...... No, that's not right......"

Lu Shi said in line with the words: "Human imagination has no boundaries. ”

Natsume Soseki said solemnly: "But human writing has boundaries. Lu, being able to put the grand fantasy world into writing is what I admire the most. But I'm a little worried that the follow-up to "The Hobbit" should be difficult to navigate, right? ”

Of course it's hard to navigate.

Tolkien is a professor of linguistics at Oxford.

Even so, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was written for several years.

Lu Shi said: "No matter what, let's take a look at the effect of the serialization of "The Hobbit" first, what if it can't compare to 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 cheeks are worse than the city walls...... Thicker than the bend of the city wall. ”

Natsume Soseki, who has always been very serious, has a rare sense of humor.

Lu Shi was stunned for a moment, and then laughed,

"Alright, let's go find Mr. Cooper."

The two of them packed their things and got into the carriage bound for Fleet Street.

On the way, you can hear all kinds of discussions about Sherlock Holmes,

"Did you read Seaside Magazine today? Sherlock Holmes is back! Sherlock Holmes is back! ”

"Coming back quietly, it's in line with Holmes's character."

"Hahaha, I think it's in line with Dr. Doyle's character."

"Do you feel that 'The Empty House' is more pure than 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'...... Like ...... Hmmm......"

"More like Sherlock Holmes!"

"Yes!"

……

There was a lot of discussion.

Natsume Soseki raised his eyebrows and whispered, "That's not what you said~ "The Hound of the Baskervilles" has a kind of ...... no matter how you look at it Humph......"

It's the same old question about "borrowing" again.

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"Don't mention that."

There is no evidence for chasing after the wind and shadows, and talking too much will only increase the trouble.

Natsume Soseki was working on "I Am a Cat" recently, and knowing the author's mentality, he couldn't help but secretly say "Sensational your private Marseille", and then said: "If the book I wrote is said to be used as a reference by others, I'm afraid I won't feel good." ”

This is empathy with Doyle.

Lu Shi remembered that before the crossing, the hasty ending of "I Am a Cat" seemed to be because it was copied, and he couldn't help but want to laugh.

There are so many coincidences in the world.

Natsume Soseki said, "However, when Dr. Doyle sent out the book at this point in time, I always felt that something was wrong. ”

Lu Shi said "um".

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

If Daoer didn't think about it, no one would believe it.

The corners of Lu Shi's mouth are hooked,

"It must have something to do with that bet."

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

Otherwise, it really doesn't explain why Doyle was in such a hurry to publish "The Homecoming" immediately after "The Hound of the Baskervilles".

You know, even when the production is as high as land, I was originally going to take a break after the end of "No One Survives".

Later, because of Wilde's death, he owed Cooper a favor, and decided to write another long story in return.

Natsume Soseki sighed: "I was caught between Dr. Doyle and Professor James, ...... back and forth."

Lu Shi chuckled,

"Left and right are males."

The two talked for a while, and the carriage came to Fleet Street and stopped at the door 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 Sherlock Holmes is here...... Hmmm......"

Cooper paused, his gaze swept around,

"Go in."

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

Inside the house, all kinds of newspapers and magazines were piled up, all turned to a certain page, and various marks were made with pencils or circles or dots.

Lu Shi roughly read a few articles,

Coward? Could the "great" Lu be frightened by goblins? 》

"Sherlock Holmes Returns, No One Responds"

"Short-lived! Lu or the shortest-lived novelist

……

As far as these titles are concerned, they are proper porcelain marketing in modern times, and they exude a foul smell of rice circles.

Lu Shi couldn't help but be speechless for a while,

He stepped forward, picked up one and flipped through it, chuckling out loud from time to time.

Cooper glared at him fiercely,

"You're still laughing!?"

Lu Shi spread his hands and said: "They have to put aside the facts, 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, the one, "Short-lived! Lu or the shortest-lived novelist", people only say that you have a short life as a novelist, and the two identities of poet and playwright are not mentioned. ”

Part of the fact is also the truth,

Even in 1901, the press was very good at playing this hand.

(Well, it's already 1901.) ）

Cooper was curious,

"Lu, to be honest, do you have something to do with Professor James? How do I feel that the magazines published by Cambridge University are a little off? ”

Lu Shi smiled,

"It's just a small bet."

He recounted the previous events, and brushed over some details that were inconvenient for Cooper to know.

Cooper's face darkened,

"You...... You ......"

After saying several "you" words, he threw out a sentence: "You are really TM awesome!" ”

Lu Shi nodded,

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

That sounds outrageous.

Cooper didn't bother to answer, turned the subject to Sherlock Holmes again, and said, "I now know why Dr. Doyle is in a hurry to send the book, it's trying to kill you." ”

He slapped Lu Shi's shoulder,

"Have you read the "Empty House"?"

Lu Shi nodded,

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

Natsume Soseki wondered, "Are you serious?" Lu, that "Empty House" can't compare with your work at all! ”

Cooper said, "Hey, hey! You're not going to lose your fighting spirit by having to deal with James and Doyle at the same time, are you? It's not like you! ”

The two spoke almost at the same time.

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

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

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

There was an embarrassment in the house,

“……”

“……”

“……”

Eerily quiet.

Lu Shi said: "Forget it, I'll answer Natsume first." You think "The Empty House" is boring because the trickery of "The Empty House" is silly, it seems to fool the reader, right? ”

Natsume Soseki nodded repeatedly.

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

In other words, it's a locked room killing.

And when Doyle cracked this secret room, he used a powerful means of flying bricks, that is, the sharpshooter,

Colonel Moran, who was part of the 1st Engineer Regiment in Bangalore, loaded a flowering bullet in an airsoft gun and fired a shot at the window at the front of the room, giving the deceased a big brain hole.

As for how the door was locked......

Of course, it was locked by the deceased himself.

Reading this conclusion, Natsume Soseki almost threw out the "Seaside Magazine",

This is a hammer's chamber, huh?

What a waste of brain cells!

Lu Shi of course knew Natsume Soseki's thoughts, and explained: "The reason why I say that 'The Empty House' is well written is because it is an extremely successful work as the return of Sherlock Holmes. If you think about Watson and Holmes' reunion, what did Watson say? ”

Cooper, who was on the side, said, "Don't think about it, I have Seashore Magazine." ”

As he spoke, he read the original text:

“

'Sherlock Holmes, I couldn't believe my eyes. Oh, my God! There are so many people in the world, you alone will be standing in my study. ’

”

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

Cooper continued:

“

Sherlock Holmes was wrapped in a long, shabby coat worn by a book seller, and all that was visible was the pile of gray hair and the old books on the table. He seemed thinner and more alert than before, but with a hint of pale on his eagle-like face, I could tell that he had been living an irregular life for a while. ’

”

No need to read any further.

Lu Shi's meaning is very clear, as a fan of Sherlock Holmes, how can he not empathize with these two paragraphs?

Natsume Soseki knows,

"In this way, there is also a very important point, the villain of "The Empty House", Colonel Moran, appeared frequently in the previous work, and he was the murderer of the first short story of "The Return", and he was full of feelings."

Lu Shi nodded,

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

For fans, the return of Sherlock Holmes only needs to be emotional, and good trickery and wonderful adventures are just indifferent additions.

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

But Lu Shi is not afraid,

He took out the manuscript of The Hobbit and handed it to Cooper: "Please take a look, my esteemed editor-in-chief. ”

Cooper smiled wryly,

"What 'honorable editor-in-chief', don't be sarcastic about me."

He took the manuscript and began to read.

Soon, his eyes widened and he said incoherently, "This is ...... Not...... How could it be...... Why ......"

Lu Shi coughed lightly,

"Mr. Cooper, read it first."

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

This novel is not very long, but it will take hours at best.

By the time Cooper had finished reading, the sun was about to set, and the afterglow of the setting sun dispelled the fog that had enveloped London all year round, leaving a crimson spot on the sparkling waves of the Fleet River.

"Whew~~~~"

Cooper let out a long breath,

His expression, as if he was there, followed the protagonist of the book through that bizarre adventure.

Lu Shi asked, "How is it?" ”

Cooper hadn't completely withdrawn from the story in the book, and his eyes were a little confused,

He wondered, "How are you asking me?" ”

Lu Shi nodded,

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

Cooper said helplessly: "Am I worthy?" ”

Natsume Soseki on the side nodded frantically,

When he first finished reading The Hobbit, he had the same feelings as Cooper.

Lu Shi said: "This ...... Probably not, right? ”

Cooper was speechless,

"Lu, you don't know what kind of world you've built. So, let me ask you a question, what's the difference between a hobbit and a dwarf? ”

It's a question about worldview,

Of course, Lu Shi recoiled and immediately replied, "The dwarf was created by Olli, the god of the earth's craftsmen, at the beginning of the creation of the world, because he can't wait for the firstborn child of Iluvita to appear......"

Cooper immediately called a halt,

"Stop! Look at how many completely new concepts you say in this sentence? ”

"This ......"

Lu Shi knew what the other party wanted to say.

Tolkien's creation of the world is so complete and real that ordinary people are not qualified to judge.

Lu Shi said: "Then I'll ask a different question." Mr. Cooper, did you find this book interesting? ”

Cooper nodded,

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

Lu Shi smiled,

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

This sentence without a beginning or end made Cooper a little confused,

"Questions? What's the problem? ”

Lu Shi said: "Didn't you just ask me, '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 but be speechless, and said in his heart that Lu Shi was really good.

He said: "This 'The Hobbit' is used against Professor James, Nadoil...... Not...... By the way, you said earlier that you were writing a detective novel called ...... Call...... What's the mystery? ”

Lu Shi said: ""Roger's Mystery Case". I have already handed over the manuscript to the Royal Publishing Office. ”

Cooper couldn't help but laugh,

"You're shooting your bow left and right."

People took the initiative to find the door, but Lu Shi couldn't help it.

He can only lie flat,

"Well, let's get them together."