Dan Feng said on his own, "You once said that we're very alike."
"But we're different."
'When you were the "Marshal of the Xianzhou"...'
'What was there that you truly wanted to do, from the bottom of your heart, as Zero?'
'Almost nothing.'
'You devoted the little bit of personal desire you had to Jingliu, us, and your subordinates.'
'You treated your unrelated subordinates, the current Marshal, and the people of the Xianzhou like your own children, and exhausted yourself for them.'
'Even now, you have no children related to you by blood.'
'Was it because you had no energy left for your own children?'
'Or because you didn't want them to repeat your path?'
'Or... because you wanted Jing Yuan to smoothly take over as Marshal of the Xianzhou?'
Dan Feng didn't know.
Compared to those guesses, he would rather believe Zero simply didn't like children.
He would rather believe it was a choice Zero made of his own free will, instead of another sacrifice forced by the Xianzhou after it had drained him completely.
Dan Feng looked up at Zero.
'You are human.'
'Not a god sitting high above for others to worship.'
'As long as you're human, you'll have flaws.'
'You can feel joy, anger, sadness, and happiness.'
'You can make mistakes.'
'You can hesitate...'
'From now on, live for yourself.'
After a while, Dan Feng smiled.
"You... should give him a name."
They both knew the "him" Dan Feng referred to was his reincarnation.
Zero hesitated.
"...Are you sure?"
Dan Feng froze.
Zero and Jingliu had no children, but they raised many animals together.
The health management team hired for Zero by the current Marshal no longer spent all their time looking after only Zero and Jingliu.
Besides common pets like cats, dogs, and hamsters, Zero somehow got several capybaras and specially settled them in the pond in the courtyard.
As time passed, the two of them became experts at delivering baby animals and saving newborns.
When everyone saw an orange cat named "Prosperous Fortune" and a golden retriever called "Piggy Cat," they realized that Zero was terrible at naming things.
He simply said, "Isn't it funny?"
"Who would guess Prosperous Fortune is a cat, and Piggy Cat is a dog?"
Dan Feng pulled himself back to the present, thought for a moment, and said, "Dan Heng. How about that?"
"'Heng,' as in the everlasting alliance between the Vidyadhara and the Xianzhou..."
Zero slowly shook his head.
"Wrong."
Dan Feng suddenly understood.
'That's right.'
'Wrong.'
'I should live for myself too.'
Dan Feng smiled softly.
"Then... let it mean that the friendship between you and me will never change."
"I owe you two promises."
"Let my reincarnation fulfill them in my place."
He smiled and said goodbye to Zero.
Next came Yingxing.
Dan Feng's eyes first fell on his friend's dragon horns, then on the pointed ears partly hidden beneath his black hair.
He lost himself in thought.
His lips moved again and again, but no words came out.
Yingxing quietly waited.
He waited a long time before Dan Feng finally said, "...Yingxing, I'm sorry."
Dan Feng's voice was so soft it seemed a breeze could blow it away.
Yingxing was confused.
"Why are you saying that?"
"What did you do wrong?"
When Dan Feng stayed silent, Yingxing thought for a moment before continuing, "Fine, let's say you really did do something wrong..."
He looked straight at Dan Feng and said seriously, "I still wouldn't blame you."
Dan Feng suddenly turned his head away to avoid his gaze.
"I went against your wishes."
"I turned you into a long-life species."
Anyone who suddenly changed races would naturally have some feelings about it.
There was no way Yingxing didn't care at all.
But unlike other people, once his emotions passed...
He simply stopped caring and went back to sitting at his desk drawing blueprints.
Yingxing couldn't help complaining to himself.
He had already been a long-life species for hundreds of years...
'What?'
'Did Dan Feng want to turn him back into a short-life species now?'
Dan Feng continued, "I separated part of my power and let you inherit my connections in the Alchemy Commission."
Yingxing didn't care.
Medical school was difficult for most students.
But who was he?
He was Yingxing.
Was there anything in this world he couldn't overcome?
Before he could answer, Dan Feng frowned and sighed.
"I could only leave you one district's worth of property."
Yingxing, "..."
'Do you think one district is a small amount?'
This isn't some random planet's district.
This is the Xianzhou.
This is the Luofu.
No matter how many emotions Yingxing had been feeling, that single sentence wiped them all away.
His expression became extremely complicated.
"Honestly..."
"I kind of want to punch you."
Dan Feng laughed quietly.
"Wait."
"When you become his guardian, you'll be able to hit him."
After a pause, he added, "Oh, hitting children is illegal in the Alliance."
"You'd better take him off the Xianzhou."
"Wait until you're on a vacation planet before doing it."
Yingxing's mouth twitched.
"...You're really ruthless toward your own reincarnation."
Dan Feng didn't care and continued giving instructions.
"If you ever meet Matthias..."
"Don't talk to him about Zero."
"And definitely don't mention that Zero transferred money to you..."
Although Yingxing had no idea why, he carefully remembered every word Dan Feng said.
As Dan Feng's face grew paler, a Vidyadhara suddenly appeared and politely asked Yingxing to leave.
Yingxing instinctively looked at Dan Feng.
Seeing his friend nod, he wanted to smile at him as their final goodbye.
But his face twitched uncontrollably, leaving him with a strange, twisted expression.
In the end, Yingxing simply turned around and waved.
"I'm leaving."
Behind him came Dan Feng's smiling reply.
"Yingxing, goodbye."
The next day, the Vidyadhara held a farewell ceremony specially for Imbibitor Lunae Dan Feng.
Following his old preferences, they filled Scalegorge Waterscape with his favorite flowers and invited his friends, colleagues, and subordinates.
The Dragon Elders, who had always been bitter enemies with him, cried loudly in front of everyone, looking as though they wished they could die in his place.
Yingxing watched coldly.
Were they sincere?
Or were they pretending?
It didn't matter anymore.
If it weren't for Dan Feng...
Neither he nor his friends would waste time watching the Dragon Elders act.
After the ceremony, Yingxing ran into over a dozen strangers dressed in matching clothes.
They had come on Dan Feng's request.
The person in charge led him into a tea room they had reserved.
The others quickly spread out, making sure no one could overhear the conversation.
The manager showed Yingxing a long string of numbers.
Yingxing asked, "What's this?"
"An ID number?"
The manager smiled.
"Your savings."
Yingxing, "..."
The manager then took out a thick stack of documents.
"These are your properties. Please have a look."
Yingxing stared in shock.
'So I'm the rich one?!'
'Wait.'
'Didn't Dan Feng say...'
'That whole district's worth of property was for both me and Dan Heng?'
'Why did I get all of it?'
The manager continued, "You are Lord Dan Heng's guardian."
"You don't need to worry about his food, clothing, housing, education, health management, or anything else."
"You only need to attend the academy interview as his guardian when he enters school, and accompany him in a series of parent-child activities."
After listening for a while, Yingxing finally realized that the Dan Heng they were talking about was Dan Feng's reincarnation.
"What if I fail the interview..."
The manager replied, "There's no need to worry."
"You won't have to pay those expenses."
"Lord Dan Feng instructed us to deduct them directly from Lord Dan Heng's allowance."
Yingxing couldn't help complaining to himself.
'How much money did Dan Feng spend every day...'
'He only gave Dan Heng one hundred thousand a day, and now he was going to deduct from that too?'
Yingxing asked, "Can I ask how much it would cost?"
"Please don't worry."
"Even if both you and Lord Dan Heng fail the academy's three evaluations..."
"Even if Lord Dan Heng skips school every day..."
"Even if he misses every exam..."
"Even if he fails every subject..."
As he spoke, the manager wrote a number on a sheet of paper.
Ten seconds later, he held it up with a smile.
"It only takes a tiny amount of credit points to solve."
Yingxing, "..."
'How many digits is that?'
Before he could read it clearly, the manager took the paper back.
The biggest number Yingxing knew was one hundred million.
But...
What unit was that?
He wanted to keep asking.
Before speaking, he suddenly remembered all the conversation tricks Dan Feng had taught him and awkwardly copied them in his mind.
When something is rare, don't call it expensive.
Call it hard to come by.
Then saying "unusual" shouldn't be a problem, right?
Yingxing stiffly said, "This school..."
"...is certainly unusual."
The manager smiled and nodded.
"That's right."
"It's the academy on the Luofu with the fewest Vidyadhara students."
"That's exactly why Lord Dan Feng chose it."
"He didn't want the clan interfering with or influencing Lord Dan Heng."
"This academy will provide Lord Dan Heng with the best environment to grow up in and expose him to different cultures..."
Yingxing listened with complete focus.
Halfway through, he even asked for paper and a pen to write down all the academy's requirements.
The manager gently reminded him, "You can start preparing when Lord Dan Heng turns three."
Yingxing let out a huge sigh of relief.
Right.
There's still plenty of time.
If nothing else, he could always have Zero do it.
A simple interview.
Zero would definitely pass.
Or Jing Yuan could take his place.
The academy was on the Luofu.
Surely they'd give the Luofu General some face.
The manager then discussed future investment plans and other financial matters.
Yingxing repeated everything Dan Feng had told him word for word.
During the discussion, he tried to leave all the attendants Dan Feng had left him to Dan Heng instead.
The manager said, "They've served Lord Dan Feng all this time."
"Now that the High Elder has entered reincarnation, if you don't want them either..."
"How are they supposed to spend the next few hundred years?"
"Stay guarding Scalegorge Waterscape forever?"
"Please let them stay with you."
Yingxing had no choice but to agree.
He put the huge fortune his friend had left behind out of his mind.
He continued drawing blueprints as usual and spent his spare time treating patients at the Alchemy Commission.
Officially, the short-life species Yingxing had already been transferred away from the Luofu and died of old age on the Xianzhou Xuling.
As "Master Craftsman," the short-life Yingxing was exceptionally buried in the Forest of Ultimate Loyalty.
Together with his friends, he was remembered as one of the High-Cloud Quintet and written into Xianzhou textbooks.
The one with the longest section in those books was Imbibitor Lunae Dan Feng.
Dan Feng was a fearless warrior, a healer who saved lives, and the High Elder who carried on his people's bloodline.
His name and achievements once spread across the universe.
Yingxing and the others would sometimes joke with one another.
"Dan Feng gets the longest introduction in the textbooks."
"Jingliu, work harder."
As for Zero...
He appeared in almost every textbook.
They automatically left him out of the comparison.
Jingliu smiled.
"You'd be better off hoping our Luofu General can catch up."
Jing Yuan gave an awkward laugh and said nothing.
After their brief gathering, everyone returned to their own work.
Since there were still long-life species in the Artisanship Commission who remembered his face, Yingxing didn't go back there.
He continued working in the Vidyadhara workshop, writing down questions from time to time before asking his master.
When he had free time, he read medical books.
After receiving permission from the new head of the Alchemy Commission, he began following doctors around to learn.
Yingxing no longer remembered how many medical books he had read or how many patients he had treated.
By the time everyone had completely forgotten what the young short-life Yingxing looked like, he appeared at the Alchemy Commission more and more often.
Gradually, he had his own consultation room.
He became the only doctor in the Luofu Alchemy Commission who had never received a single bad review.
Most patients were reasonable.
The few who weren't usually gave up causing trouble after seeing the muscles still visible beneath his loose robes.
If they didn't trust Yingxing's medical skills...
He also knew a little about fighting.
One day, Yingxing finally completed the commission Zero had given him.
Zero had sent over a short dagger made by their master, leaving Yingxing unsure where to begin.
He tore up countless blueprints before finally deciding to make only slight changes to the blade and handle.
After revising it over and over, he was still dissatisfied.
He kept working until now before finally sending the finished blueprint to his master in Zhuming.
He waited and waited.
Eventually, his master replied.
Master, "Mm."
Yingxing immediately canceled all his Alchemy Commission shifts and locked himself inside the workshop for a full month.
After finishing the dagger, he took a picture and sent it to his master.
Master, "Still missing one thing."
Yingxing looked it over again and again but couldn't figure it out.
After hesitating for a long time, he forced himself to ask.
Yingxing, "Master, forgive me for being slow. What exactly is missing?"
Master, "Blockhead."
Some craftsmen left their own mark after finishing a work.
His master always left the same mark on the weapon's gift box.
Yingxing, on the other hand, usually carved a hidden mark based on the owner's name or preferences.
He looked at the message on the screen, then at the gift box on the table.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
His master's meaning couldn't have been clearer.
This was no different from the worst student taking first authorship on the advisor's paper.
Yingxing held the dagger in both hands, unable to decide.
This was his master's weapon.
But...
This was also his master's recognition.
He gritted his teeth and stopped hesitating.
Half a moment later, he slowly put down the carving knife.
At the end of the handle, he carved a fish.
Yingxing carefully placed the dagger back into the gift box.
Looking at his master's mark in the corner, he couldn't help laughing.
He and his master...
No.
The previous and current Master Craftsmen.
Across time and distance, they had completed this work together.
Yingxing took dozens of photos with his jade communicator before calling over an attendant and handing over the gift box.
"Deliver this to Zero's residence."
He watched the attendant leave.
Then the head of the Alchemy Commission sent him a message asking whether he was willing to accompany the Cloud Knights to the battlefield, along with the application forms and required documents.
Only experienced doctors recognized by everyone had the chance to go to the front lines.
Yingxing had never received this kind of message before.
Holding his breath, he submitted everything before the Six Commissions closed for the day.
Putting away his jade communicator, Yingxing walked to the top floor and looked toward the setting sun.
After thinking for a moment, he said to the attendant beside him, "...Prepare a bouquet."
"We're going to Scalegorge Waterscape."
The attendant's eyes immediately turned red.
He nodded repeatedly.
Once everything was ready, Yingxing went downstairs and saw dozens of skiffs.
Looking closer, half of them were carrying flowers.
Unable to stop smiling, he followed everyone to Scalegorge Waterscape.
Every day, Vidyadhara came to offer flowers to Dan Feng.
They had even formed a line themselves.
The line stretched farther than the eye could see.
With no other choice, Yingxing took one bouquet and walked toward Dan Feng's statue.
The area around it was already covered in flowers.
Yingxing struggled through the crowd until he reached a spot about five meters from the statue.
There was no room to move any closer.
Standing there, he looked at the statue from afar and told it one by one how everyone was doing.
"Zero and Jingliu are still the same."
"If either of them finds something interesting, they bring it home for the other."
After talking about his friends, he spoke about recent events.
"That Matthias you mentioned..."
"He dealt with the Plague Author's traces in Cangcheng."
"He was originally supposed to return to the Luofu to deal with the Ambrosial Arbor."
"But for some reason, he changed course and went to the Yaoqing."
Finally, Yingxing crouched down and made room among the many bouquets for his own.
He laughed quietly.
"Last time..."
"I came here as a representative of the Artisanship Commission."
"This time is different."
"I'm here for the Alchemy Commission."
"It'd be a lie to say I'm not nervous."
Looking up at the statue, he murmured, "I hope..."
"...everything goes well this time."
Perhaps Dan Feng really was watching over them.
Most of the doctors were never needed.
Only a small number followed the head physician around.
Yingxing volunteered to join them.
The soldiers he treated were hundreds or even thousands of times more badly injured than before.
One day, after finishing an emergency operation, Yingxing was a little slower than everyone else.
He stared blankly at the dried blood on his palm.
Only after someone reminded him did he hurriedly remove his gloves.
A hundred years later, Yingxing finally understood Dan Feng's intentions.
Dan Feng didn't want any of them to come to harm.
But the Vidyadhara would always reincarnate.
So Dan Feng had deliberately separated this portion of his power.
That way...
No one would have to leave.
Soon afterward, the Cloud Knights won a complete victory.
Yingxing heard that Jingliu had reached the peak of the sword.
He had stayed behind the front lines and hadn't witnessed it himself, so he asked the Cloud Knights who had been there.
Like everyone else on the Xianzhou, they started by praising the Reignbow Arbiter.
Yingxing patiently agreed a few times before finally piecing together Jingliu's sword strike from their scattered words.
For some reason, one person suddenly changed the topic to Jingliu's spouse.
Everyone fell into strange silence.
Their expressions became oddly complicated.
Yingxing immediately sensed something was wrong.
Just as he was about to say something, they changed the subject.
Soon afterward, the fleet gradually returned to the Luofu.
Jingliu had informed Jing Yuan in advance and arrived first at the private skiff harbor used only by the Luofu's highest officials.
She stepped off the ship and quickly walked outside.
A moment later, she saw Zero.
The smile on her face was brighter than the sun overhead.
She quickened her pace and ran toward him.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long."
Zero opened his arms and hugged her, deliberately dragging out his words.
"It's such a pity I didn't get to see Swordmaster Jingliu's sword with my own eyes..."
After being apart for so long, they wanted nothing more than to hold each other tightly.
Jingliu looked around.
After confirming no one else was nearby, she held his face and kissed him without missing.
A while later, they walked away hand in hand.
Zero quietly told her funny stories about taking care of their pets that day.
Jingliu smiled as she listened, her eyes fixed on his profile.
The next moment, her smile disappeared.
After countless battles, the Swordmaster was especially sensitive to being watched.
She turned first.
The Cloud Knight who met her gaze froze.
Even from dozens of meters away, the icy coldness in her eyes rooted him to the spot.
It felt as though if he took even one more step...
The Swordmaster would cut down anything standing in the way to protect the black-haired, amber-eyed man beside her.
The Cloud Knight forgot to breathe.
He suddenly remembered that he had to greet a superior officer.
The man beside the Swordmaster noticed him and tried to let go of her hand.
Jingliu instead intertwined their fingers even tighter.
Cold sweat covered the Cloud Knight's back as he forced out a greeting.
"...Lady Jingliu."
Jingliu gave a slight nod.
Still holding Zero's hand, she left the skiff harbor.
Only after they got home did she act.
She pushed him onto the sofa, looked down at him from above, and asked, "Why were you avoiding him just now?"
Zero wrapped his arms steadily around her waist.
"He's your subordinate."
Jingliu's heart softened.
Zero didn't need praise from others.
Nor did he care about their criticism.
From beginning to end, he had only been thinking about her.
Jingliu gently pinched his cheek.
"So what?"
"Were you worried I'd feel embarrassed?"
"I scared him."
"He won't make jokes about us."
"Besides..."
"We're husband and wife."
Jingliu bit her lower lip lightly.
"Let them talk."
After returning in victory, the Cloud Knights received their usual paid leave.
Jing Yuan was so busy that he even started hearing things.
He uncertainly asked his chief strategist, "Am I hearing things?"
"Why do I hear a cat meowing?"
The chief strategist calmly replied, "It's not your imagination."
"I hear it too."
The two looked toward the sound.
A purple-haired Foxian sat on top of the wall, holding a white little creature high above her head.
"Jing Yuan, look!"
The chief strategist held his forehead.
"Please stop climbing over walls."
"If the patrol catches you, you may be taken to the Ten Lords Commission."
Bai Heng stuck out her tongue and quickly jumped down.
Jing Yuan asked an incredibly silly question.
"What's that?"
Bai Heng shoved it into his hands.
"A cat."
Jing Yuan froze on the spot.
The white kitten lay in his hands.
Afraid he might accidentally squeeze too hard and hurt it, he carefully cradled it in his arms.
Bai Heng vividly explained everything in just a few sentences.
The Sky-Faring Commission had been carrying out its usual inspection when they met an outworld traveler carrying a baby animal without the proper paperwork.
Normally, there were only two choices.
Either complete the paperwork.
Or send the baby back.
In any case, it couldn't enter the Xianzhou without inspection.
Bai Heng happened to run into them and helped complete the paperwork.
As for what happened afterward...
She didn't even need to explain.
The two became friends, the traveler was extremely grateful, and insisted on giving her the baby animal.
Unable to refuse, Bai Heng paid three times the market price and bought it.
Patting her chest confidently, she said, "Don't worry, Jing Yuan."
"I already had it checked."
"It doesn't have any illnesses."
Jing Yuan looked hesitant.
The chief strategist immediately understood what he was thinking and deliberately said, "General, I've already paid for it on your behalf."
"In one system hour, the pet shop will deliver everything the kitten needs."
Jing Yuan rubbed the kitten's head and sighed.
"Well..."
"I guess I have no choice."
"I'll have to keep it."
He had a cat!
A cat of his own!
He finally didn't have to keep petting Zero's cats!
Overjoyed, Jing Yuan brought the kitten to meet his friends.
Zero glanced at it.
"A classmate of mine used to raise one."
"It'll eat a lot."
Jing Yuan thought to himself, 'It's just a tiny kitten. How much could it possibly eat?'
He waved a hand confidently.
"Let it eat as much as it wants."
"I can afford it."
Jing Yuan never imagined Zero would be right.
———
'It really did eat a lot!'
'Zero...'
'Was your classmate some kind of royal noble?!'
'Who keeps a lion?!'