When I typed the final words — “Fu Sheng Wu Yu: Supplementary Tale · Seven Nights · Complete” — at the very end of the document, I felt that another one of my dreams had come true.

The seven novellas collected here were actually born during the same period as the tree spirit stories. At the time, I was amusing myself with the idea of writing a series called “The Tree Spirit Tells Stories,” but for various reasons, these novellas never managed to form a proper series. They were published in scattered, intermittent installments across different magazines, and then faded into silence, lying in my folder like wandering souls with no home to return to.

I always felt I owed these “wandering souls” a home — the kind I had originally envisioned, where they would form a continuous, unified whole. Unfortunately, the opportunity never came.

That is, until Fu Sheng Wu Yu was born, and the Madam Boss opened her little shop Bu Ting. One day, it suddenly struck me that what I had originally imagined might finally be possible.

I pulled these seven stories out from the corners where they had been gathering dust, sorted and revised them one by one, and gradually shaped them into something more complete in the spirit of my original vision. Using the legend of a desert and seven nights, I threaded them into a cohesive and lively whole — a “wedding gift” to the newly married Madam Boss.

Heh — if you’ve read Fu Sheng Wu Yu, you’ll surely remember that near the end, the Madam Boss and Ao Chi stood everyone up and slipped away quietly to travel and marry in secret. The final frame froze on the deserts of Egypt. It was precisely this elopement that allowed this pair of newlyweds to vanish completely from the audience’s sight for an entire year. Between Fu Sheng Wu Yu and Fu Sheng Wu Yu II, there was a gap of one year — and the story of what happened to the Madam Boss and Ao Chi during that year, it turns out, had already existed all along. The world truly is a wondrous place.

This supplementary tale sits between the first and second volumes of Fu Sheng Wu Yu. Its completion adds another important piece to my Fu Sheng series as a whole. As the author, I am deeply gratified — and for all of you readers who have supported me throughout this journey, this supplementary tale also offers a single opportunity to discover more of my work from different periods all at once. It truly is a case of one stone, two birds. No wonder I’ve been cheering since the moment I finished writing it.

Like many of my readers, I am genuinely and deeply fond of that pair of treasures — the Madam Boss and Ao Chi. Of course, I also carry a profound affection for that little shop called Bu Ting and that motley, endearing crowd of demons. Sometimes I truly wish I could pour every good story in the world onto them. I know that’s impossible — but I will keep trying.

Compared to the main Fu Sheng stories, this supplementary tale contains only seven stories. Yet its spirit remains close to those of the main volumes. Reading it from start to finish, nestled between the two main volumes — whether as a thread that weaves them together or as an added embellishment — its sense of belonging surprised even me. With that, a weight lifted from my heart. And I do hope, of course, that readers will enjoy these seven nights of stories: to see what strange things the Madam Boss of the novels encountered during her honeymoon year, and to discover, in reality, what other kinds of stories Shaluo had once written.

I remember, not long ago, a friend of mine who teaches Chinese told me that one of her students had asked her: Teacher, what does “fu sheng” mean? She answered: Fu sheng means human life. The student said: Oh — I’m reading a book called Fu Sheng Wu Yu. When I heard that, I burst out laughing. What a delightful child.

But my friend’s answer did get right to the heart of it: fu sheng is human life.

Every story I write — whether its characters are demons or human beings — the prototypes behind them are the you, me, and everyone else who appear in the course of living. That habit of mine, I have no intention of changing.

After Bu Ting Dessert Shop closed its doors, the Madam Boss and her husband set off on their honeymoon journey. The latest news is that they have since returned to Wang Chuan and opened an inn, also called Bu Ting — and it remains as bustling and wonderfully chaotic as ever. From Fu Sheng Wu Yu to Fu Sheng Wu Yu: Supplementary Tale · Seven Nights, and onward to Fu Sheng Wu Yu II — the story of the Madam Boss and her husband, and all their demon friends, continues moving forward without pause.

Finally, I want to once again thank all of you readers for your warm and wholehearted support throughout. Thank you to every person who poured their effort into bringing this book to life. And allow me to also extend a thank-you to myself? (Please don’t throw your slippers at me — I’m already making my escape!)

Shaluo May 2012, Chengdu