Chapter 63: A Simple Thought
To his astonishment, she happened to be in the self-reflection room as well. The scene felt almost dreamlike to him; yet, the silhouette, the cascading hair, and the enchanting contours of her profile all served as reminders that this was indeed reality.
"Why are you here too?" The girl turned her head, her expression a blend of curiosity and innocent charm upon seeing Lin Xi enter.
"I dozed off during toxicology class and was reading a letter from home," Lin Xi replied, shaking his head to regain his composure as he glanced sheepishly at Gao Yanan. "What about you? What brings you here?"
Gao Yanan furrowed her brow, a hint of frustration in her demeanor. "My situation is even worse; my hands and feet were too quick and careless... Before Teacher Sun had even finished explaining the preparation methods in the pharmacology class, I had already tossed three types of herbs into the cauldron."
"Have you always been so careless?" Lin Xi couldn't help but chuckle, her expression easing his earlier tension as he naturally took a seat beside her on a bamboo mat.
Gao Yanan nodded earnestly, unaware of the other hidden emotions swirling within Lin Xi. She simply perceived him as a humble boy from Lulin Town, chosen for greatness, without a hint of arrogance, which endeared him to her. Yet, she was oblivious to the fact that her own clumsiness contradicted her usual demeanor; under normal circumstances, she would never converse so freely with someone she had only met a few times.
However, she did slightly conceal a truth: her hastiness stemmed from her understanding of how to concoct the potion.
"Mistakes are not to be feared; what is truly daunting is the absence of an opportunity to correct them."
As Lin Xi settled down, he caught sight of a line of calligraphy on the artwork before him. The bold characters, though not particularly aesthetically pleasing, carried a weight of meaning that sent a shiver through him, causing the smile on his lips to gradually fade.
"I hear this was personally written by Director Zhang," Gao Yanan noted, observing the shift in Lin Xi's expression as she gazed at the artwork, her eyes reflecting profound respect.
"Uncle... It seems this is a habit of yours as a teacher. The academy has indeed benefited from your considerable efforts," Lin Xi mused silently, his thoughts lingering on the words before him.
Just then, a girl from the medicinal herb department, clad in a gray robe, entered the self-reflection room. She was petite and delicate, her face streaked with tears, appearing utterly pitiful.
"Jiang Yuer, what brings you to this self-reflection room?" Gao Yanan turned, her expression perplexed as she regarded the sorrowful girl. Jiang Yuer had always been one of the most obedient students in the medicinal herb department, showing utmost respect to her instructors and taking her studies seriously. How could she have angered a teacher?
Curiosity piqued, Jiang Yuer's response only deepened the sense of despair and sorrow: "I didn't pay attention to the heat, and ended up producing a thick cloud of smoke. Unfortunately, the teacher was right beside me... I ended up blackening the teacher's face..."
"Ha!" Lin Xi and Gao Yanan couldn't suppress their laughter.
Instantly, Jiang Yuer felt as though the world had turned bleak; the more she thought about it, the more she feared that the teacher would hold a grudge against her, her shoulders shaking with sorrowful sobs.
After attempting to offer comfort, Gao Yanan noticed that Jiang Yuer's distress and grievances were insurmountable. She cast a worried glance at Lin Xi and whispered in his ear, "What should we do? She wasn't this upset when she arrived, and now I've made her feel worse. I can't help but feel inexplicably guilty."
Feeling the gentle fragrance of Gao Yanan's breath, Lin Xi's heart raced uncontrollably as he recalled the methods he had used to cheer up his younger sister back in Lulin Town. He stiffly refrained from turning to face Gao Yanan but suggested, "How about I tell you both a joke?"
"Once, there was a patient with a few issues, who sat outside a shop holding an umbrella. Many doctors tried to help him, but he ignored them all. Then, a particularly renowned doctor arrived, thinking that to treat him, he must first understand him. So, the doctor sat beside him with an umbrella of his own. A month later... the patient finally spoke, hesitantly looking at the doctor and asking, 'Are you a mushroom as well?'"
Although Jiang Yuer continued to sob, Lin Xi's storytelling captivated both her and Gao Yanan. Upon hearing the final line, she couldn't help but burst into laughter, momentarily pausing her tears.
Feeling embarrassed by the mix of laughter and tears, the petite girl kept her head down, unable to raise it. Gao Yanan, too, chuckled, and as she watched Jiang Yuer transition from tears to laughter, her heart swelled with joy. She gazed at Lin Xi's clean, sincere face, unable to shake the thought that this boy from the Stopping War Department was indeed quite exceptional.
Lin Xi retrieved the letter from home once more, carefully perusing its contents.
At that moment, he imagined that many in the toxicology class were reveling in their own misfortunes, yet nothing could compare to the happiness of having the girl he admired by his side while quietly reading a heartfelt letter.
The letter's contents were trivial, filled with reminders to be cautious while venturing alone and reassurances that all was well at home... It even contained mundane details about a neighbor's new baby and someone building a new house. Yet, it was precisely these trivialities that warmed his heart.
Seven pages of paper bore three distinct handwriting styles, and he recognized that they belonged to three different people. He read slowly and attentively, turning to the final page. As he gazed at the slightly frail handwriting, a smile crept across his face.
"Brother, I always knew you were remarkable and would surely excel at the academy... But this also worries me; I wonder how long it will be until I see you again. Both Da Lin and Xiao Lin are growing well... But Mom said that soon they'll have to be set free. Keeping them in a cage isn't good for them. Brother, I dreamt of you again last night... When will you return?"
"Today, I received a letter from home... and I saw her again... Perhaps I should strive to turn my four five-star achievements into five, earning another credit? The Star General... Didn't Xu Shengmo say it was impossible for me to become a Star General? If I were to excel beyond anyone else, wouldn't that infuriate him?"
Lin Xi felt a sense of satisfaction and joy as he contemplated his simple aspirations: to grow stronger as quickly as possible... and to ensure that anyone who made him uncomfortable would feel the same in return.
...
Compared to his arrival at Qingluan Academy, Lin Xi had learned much that he had previously been unaware of: he discovered that the middle-aged man was a traveler like himself, that the Yunqin Empire was not as tranquil as it appeared, and that if he earned another credit, he would qualify as a junior Soul Master, making it easier to lift a hundred-pound stone ball and wield the black stone longbow without the current struggle.
Yet, he remained oblivious to the identity of the influential figure who had recommended him to Qingluan Academy, the one who had passed through Lulin Town in a carriage that fateful day.
He could not have known that on this sunny morning at Qingluan Academy, over two thousand four hundred miles to the south in Ruzhongling, dark clouds loomed, and rain fell incessantly.
The poised young woman who had questioned him earnestly in Lulin Town was now driving a carriage with newly replaced wheels, traversing the bumpy, muddy official road from the east towards Ruzhongling.
With half a day's journey remaining to reach Ruzhongling's city gates, the oppressive rain obscured even the outline of the city.
In the young woman's view, the only sign of life along the road was a teahouse with a makeshift awning at its entrance. Given the dreary weather, business was non-existent, and the shabby establishment without a sign was closed.
However, a luxurious carriage was parked beneath the awning. A round-faced, slightly plump official clad in a crimson official robe sat quietly on a damp, aged wooden bench alongside a scholarly figure in a blue robe resembling a steward. Upon seeing the carriage driven by the young woman, the official promptly rose, adjusting his attire with a respectful demeanor, disregarding the rain and mud outside the awning as he approached the carriage. The steward followed closely behind, opening an oiled paper umbrella to shield them both.
Noticing the mud staining his shoes and the hem of his official robe, the official felt a twinge of disgust. Yet, the thought of no longer having to walk in such conditions and wear such garments brought him relief, and a faint smile of tranquility appeared on his lips.
The carriage did not halt; the young woman driving seemed oblivious to the presence of the official and the steward. Their steps did not falter until they were fifty paces away from the carriage, at which point the official bent deeply and bowed, stating, "I am Li Qilong, here to respectfully welcome Your Highness. I never imagined I would have the honor of seeing the esteemed Princess in my lifetime."
The carriage came to a stop, the two old horses began to restlessly kick at the muddy ground, and a voice filled with sarcasm and disdain emerged from within: "Li Qilong, you think you can welcome me with just this few people?"
Li Qilong straightened up, peering through the rain curtain at the carriage mired in the muddy road, his respectful demeanor vanished, replaced by a hint of excitement: "All officials of the Yunqin Empire know that the esteemed Princess is a formidable practitioner, yet no one has witnessed just how powerful she truly is. Today, I wish to find out."
Underneath the dark clouds, the rain intensified. Among the trees lining the roadside, a group of silent figures clad in black, wielding long knives with black cloth covering their faces, emerged, their weapons glistening with raindrops that fell like mist.
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