Dan Heng picked up a pen and paper, spread the test paper and workbook out on the table, and continued explaining Zero's wrong answers.
This was one of the assignments from the academy.
The teachers believed that compared to memorizing by rote or endlessly doing practice questions, students would remember things better if they learned the material first and then explained it to someone else.
This time, it was history.
Looking at Zero's eyes, which looked focused but were actually slowly losing focus, Dan Heng couldn't help sighing to himself.
Five adults.
Not a single reliable one.
Still... this wasn't really their fault.
Even if it were Dan Heng after graduating from the academy, he wouldn't be reading textbooks or studying practice questions either.
Dan Heng quickly finished explaining the wrong answers and turned to pack up his things.
Zero looked confused.
"Hm? Aren't there any other assignments?"
Thinking about the adult's pride, Dan Heng calmly put away the unfinished history homework and shook his head.
Zero stood up, took out a large bag of snacks he had prepared earlier, and placed it in front of Dan Heng.
"Wait a little longer. Once Yingxing finishes up, he'll come pick you up."
Dan Heng didn't have any hope.
Forget coming to pick him up... Once Yingxing got busy, he even forgot to eat.
How could he possibly remember him?
Without saying anything, Dan Heng opened a bottle of yogurt.
He waited and waited.
While watching Zero play with the cats, he tore open snack packages.
After eating three small bread rolls in a row, the attendants finished arranging the fresh flowers Zero had ordered, and Jingliu, who had been at the Cloud Knights' camp, returned home.
Jingliu was surprised to see Dan Heng.
She walked over, put the paper bag in her hand on the table, then asked with concern, "Where's Yingxing?"
Dan Heng's cheeks were puffed out.
He chewed a few times, swallowed the food, then replied, "He's probably busy."
Jingliu immediately frowned and took out her jade abacus to contact Yingxing in the group chat.
[Yingxing: ...]
[It's over! I forgot Dan Heng again!]
[A surgery came up at the last minute. I can't leave...]
[Baiheng: ...Honestly. I'll go pick him up.]
———
A moment later, Zero came over carrying the orange cat.
Dan Heng looked down and noticed another five or six cats around Zero's feet.
They were all different colors, and each one looked excellent.
One of them jumped onto Dan Heng's lap on its own and exposed its belly to him.
Dan Heng's expression softened.
Putting away her jade abacus, Jingliu said helplessly, "Yingxing had something come up. Baiheng will come pick you up later."
Dan Heng nodded slightly and lowered his head to keep petting the cat.
He heard Zero ask Jingliu, "Did you notice anything different?"
Jingliu answered with a faint smile, "I noticed you bought me flowers again."
After thinking for a moment, she asked, "I've never seen this flower before. Is it a new variety?"
Zero put down the orange cat, took her hand instead, and said gently, "Yes. It's called Fairy's Kiss."
"Pretty, isn't it?"
Dan Heng automatically blocked out their conversation and focused on playing with the cat.
After an unknown amount of time, Baiheng arrived.
The Foxian woman's bangs were messy, looking like she'd rushed all the way here.
She didn't even have time to greet Jingliu and Zero properly.
She only nodded hurriedly before waving.
"Let's go, Dan Heng."
Dan Heng picked up the cat, put it on the ground, then slung on his backpack and picked up the big bag of snacks Zero had given him.
Before stepping out the door, he caught a glimpse of Jingliu smiling as she gently touched Zero's cheek.
Baiheng led Dan Heng onto a starskiff.
Turning around, she saw him holding his backpack tightly against his chest as though facing a great enemy.
She puffed out her cheeks and pretended to be angry.
"That's going too far."
Dan Heng pressed his lips together and listed every starskiff Baiheng had wrecked while taking him to and from school, along with the details of each accident.
Baiheng immediately gave up arguing, looked straight ahead, and started the starskiff.
"Sit tight."
Relying on her excellent driving skills, the Foxian cut the travel time in half.
She led Dan Heng through Yingxing's residence with practiced ease, even chatting with the patrolling guards along the way.
Ten minutes later, Baiheng brought Dan Heng to the courtyard that belonged to him.
The Foxian rubbed his head.
"Don't wait for Yingxing. Go to bed early."
Holding both shoulder straps of his backpack, Dan Heng silently watched Baiheng leave.
Avoiding the patrolling attendants, he went to Yingxing's courtyard, walked past the extremely plain rock garden, and entered Yingxing's room.
Dan Heng sat at the table and finished an entire workbook.
The attendants tried several times to persuade him, but he refused to move an inch.
He was determined to wait for Yingxing.
If Dan Heng wouldn't sleep, the attendants couldn't sleep either.
They had no choice but to wait with him.
Close to two in the morning, Yingxing finally returned home.
He said in disbelief, "Dan Heng?"
Yingxing immediately dismissed the attendants and urged them to go to bed.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
Yingxing asked softly, "What's wrong?"
After a moment of silence, Dan Heng said, "...I don't want to go to school."
Yingxing understood.
So this was teenage rebellion.
"Then I'll ask for a few days off for you?"
Dan Heng shook his head.
"This isn't about taking a few days off."
The two fell silent.
Yingxing suddenly asked, "...Do you want to take a leave of absence?"
Dan Heng didn't give a direct answer.
Seeing this, Yingxing became anxious.
"How can that be?"
"You're almost fifteen."
"You'll graduate in just a few more years. At a time like this... how can you take a leave of absence?"
After saying it, Yingxing suddenly realized he had lost control of his emotions.
He steadied himself, deliberately slowed his tone, and tried to comfort Dan Heng.
"Is it the Vidyadhara elders? Or... your classmates?"
"Don't pay attention to either their praise or their insults."
"When I took part in the Hundred Forge competition, those people gave me nothing but defective materials and junk..."
"What did that change?"
"In the end, I still became the Hundred Forge."
Dan Heng froze, forgetting what he had been about to say.
'What does that mean?'
'Isn't Yingxing originally a Vidyadhara?'
'He was... a short-life species?'
Yingxing rubbed his head and urged him to sleep.
"It's too late. I'll ask for leave for you tomorrow morning. Go back to the academy in the afternoon."
Dan Heng nodded.
If his guess was right... Yingxing would never agree.
The next day, before the teacher called attendance, he arrived in the classroom on time and made it to the first history lesson.
In the history of the Xianzhou, and even the entire universe, it was impossible to avoid talking about the "Father of the Xianzhou."
And when it came to the Xianzhou history textbook...
You couldn't avoid mentioning the ten-thousand-word essay written by one of the Father of the Xianzhou's subordinates.
The Alliance had even created a separate course just for it.
The history teacher was experienced.
Knowing that the dry classical writing would probably make everyone sleepy, he told a few interesting stories during class.
"It is said that this general was the most timid general under the Father..."
The drowsy students immediately woke up.
They widened their eyes and carefully looked at the huge, intimidating man displayed in the projection.
"He doesn't look timid at all."
"With just one punch, this general would grab my collar and beg me not to die..."
Dan Heng split his attention between taking notes and thinking about who to ask.
Who should he confirm it with?
The first person he ruled out was Zero.
Who then?
Jingliu?
The Sword Champion probably hadn't written anything herself for hundreds of years.
Even her reports were handled by her subordinates.
Since Jingliu couldn't help Dan Heng with his schoolwork, she had taken another approach and practiced ball games with him.
Thinking back on that day, Dan Heng only had one thought.
Jingliu truly deserved the title of Sword Champion.
Luckily he dodged quickly.
If the ball had hit him...
Someone would have carried him straight to the Alchemy Commission.
Then Baiheng?
The Foxian acted too quickly.
The moment he told her, Yingxing would probably know right after.
That left only one choice...
The Luofu's General, Jing Yuan.
Like Zero, Jing Yuan always wanted to touch Dan Heng's dragon horns and tail whenever they met.
Even though he was busy with official work, he still made time to see Dan Heng.
Sometimes Jing Yuan would even appear at the academy gates after school, bringing him snacks and drinks.
It had been over a month since he had last seen Jing Yuan.
Patiently waiting, Dan Heng finally ran into him one day after school.
This time, Jing Yuan had brought Qiongshi Bird Skewers.
Dan Heng accepted them and casually asked, "He used to be a short-life species, right?"
Jing Yuan wasn't surprised.
Even though Dan Heng was still young.
Even though he hadn't regained his memories from his dreams...
At the end of the day, he was still the Imbibitor Lunae.
Jing Yuan smiled.
"I thought you'd ask Zero."
Dan Heng lowered his head and kicked a small stone.
"With the way he talks, he can turn white into black."
Jing Yuan only smiled.
Yes.
Zero had a real problem with how he expressed things.
Something completely normal always sounded strange coming from him.
If it were Zero, he would definitely tell Dan Heng, "Because of Dan Feng, Yingxing completely lost the ability to reproduce."
A short-life species could originally have children normally.
Now that Yingxing had become a Vidyadhara, hadn't he indeed lost that ability?
Sometimes, Jing Yuan wondered whether Zero did it on purpose.
But then he thought about it.
With Zero's status, why would he need to choose every word carefully?
Was it a problem that he couldn't express himself well? No.
Was it a problem that he couldn't remember people's names? No.
Take his master, for example.
She didn't remember the names of the people she defeated either.
Jing Yuan pulled his thoughts back, took out his jade abacus, and transferred money to Dan Heng without another word.
Dan Heng looked confused and quietly complained, "Why do all of you like transferring money to me?"
Jing Yuan patted his shoulder.
Who could resist giving money to the spendthrift Imbibitor Lunae?
He certainly couldn't.
Jing Yuan said, "Just accept it. Otherwise we'll have to top up your meal card instead."
Following his words, Dan Heng remembered how much pocket money he had received this month.
If all of it were put onto his meal card, the cafeteria machine would automatically announce the remaining balance every time he paid.
Who would put over a million credits on a meal card?
Dan Heng immediately opened his jade abacus and accepted the credits.
Jing Yuan looked at the young man's face.
The boy still looked youthful.
But in a few more years...
For a moment, Jing Yuan couldn't tell who he was looking at.
Was he looking at Dan Heng, whom they had all raised together?
Or was he using that face, identical to the previous High Elder's, to look once more across time and life and death at the old friend who had fought beside them?
If it was the latter, then it was far too unfair to Dan Heng.
Jing Yuan forced a smile and patted the boy's shoulder.
"I still have work to do. I'll be going."
Dan Heng gave a quiet "Mm."
That afternoon after school, Yingxing appeared at the academy gate for the first time in a long while.
On the starskiff, he asked softly, "Did anything interesting happen at the academy today?"
After thinking for a moment, Dan Heng picked one interesting thing that had happened that month and told Yingxing about it.
Yingxing played along, laughing from time to time.
Dan Heng knew this was only temporary.
Just as he expected, after they returned home, Yingxing brought up yesterday's topic again.
"Dan Heng, we can take a break for a while and go... relax on a vacation planet together."
"But you can't take a leave of absence."
Dan Heng closed his eyes.
"I don't like this academy."
Yingxing believed he was a very open-minded guardian.
This time, he had already made a huge compromise.
Patiently, he said, "This is the academy Dan Feng chose as the best one for you."
"Only after graduating from this academy will you receive your credits in the future."
For some reason, Dan Heng's expression became even worse.
"I don't like this academy."
"I don't like credits."
"I don't like horse riding. I don't like fencing."
"I don't get to choose. I can't take the classes I actually like."
Yingxing had once been a short-life species.
He had wanted to spend every moment studying his craft and forging weapons.
As a child, he had never encountered, nor even heard of, the elective courses Dan Heng was talking about.
He had lived in poverty.
Living beyond his means and even paying to work had been completely normal.
No one could truly understand another person's experience.
So he couldn't understand Dan Heng.
In his eyes, Dan Heng never worried about food or clothing and lived a comfortable life.
With Dan Feng protecting him, the Vidyadhara wouldn't interfere with his upbringing.
Dan Heng's future was smooth.
The only thing he would ever have to worry about was schoolwork.
After graduation, he would receive one hundred thousand credits every day.
That enormous sum would be enough to build schools on other planets.
Yingxing's thoughts were in chaos as Dan Heng continued, "To be exact, I oppose every choice Dan Feng made."
Yingxing immediately lost all interest in continuing the conversation.
'What exactly were you opposing?'
'This academy?'
'Elective classes?'
'Or...'
'The power of the High Elder that Dan Feng left behind?'
'Or the guardian he chose?'
Yingxing forced himself to stop thinking.
How old was Dan Heng?
Why was he getting upset with a child who wasn't even fifteen?
Better have Zero come over.
Turning his back, Yingxing tried hard to keep his voice steady.
"I don't want to discuss these issues with you while I'm emotional."
"You..."
He let out a deep sigh.
"Get some rest."
Yingxing waited in the front courtyard while the attendants gathered around him.
The entire residence was brightly lit.
No one went to sleep.
The first to arrive was the person Dan Feng had appointed to manage his assets.
Then Zero arrived.
His expression was unpleasant.
Yingxing quickly stepped forward and said quietly, "Zero, sorry to trouble you..."
Zero waved a hand, asked what had happened, then looked at the manager standing by.
"What exactly did Dan Feng say back then? That he'd receive credits after graduating? Was there any time limit?"
The manager paused.
"Yes. He'll receive the credits after graduating. There's no time limit."
Zero liked word games and wanted to make sure he hadn't misunderstood, so he asked again.
"So whether he graduates at twenty or at eight hundred, as long as he graduates, he'll receive the credits, right?"
The manager nodded and confirmed it.
Zero began comforting Yingxing while offering a solution.
"It's a leave of absence, not dropping out."
"Don't worry. Besides, you and the rest of us are here to support him."
"He can slow down and experience the world."
"Later, the two of you apologize to each other, and that'll settle it."
Yingxing nodded repeatedly.
When he heard the last sentence, his eyes widened as he pointed at himself.
"Wait? I have to apologize too?"
Zero ignored him and asked the attendants, "All right. Where's Dan Heng?"
Lowering his head, one attendant stepped forward and said quietly, "Young Master Dan Heng locked himself inside the courtyard."
Zero: "..."
The scene felt strangely familiar.
Last time, it had been Jing Yuan refusing to eat.
This time, it was Dan Heng wanting to take a leave of absence.
Yingxing turned and urged the attendants.
"Quick, get a ladder."
Zero smiled.
"No need. Put it away."
Yingxing looked worried.
'With Zero's build... could he really handle this?'
"If you fall, how am I supposed to explain it to Jingliu?"
Zero kept smiling.
"What do you think, Yingxing of the Alchemy Commission?"
Yingxing suddenly understood.
Right.
He knew Cloud Hymn arts.
He really had been so angry with Dan Heng that he'd forgotten.
The group arrived.
The moment Yingxing looked away, Zero had already jumped onto the wall.
He shouted, "Zero, wait! Let them move the ladder over first!"
When he looked again, Zero was already gone.
Unable to hear what the two were saying inside the courtyard, Yingxing could only wait where he was.
Leaning against the wall, he finally saw the two come out.
Once the attendants had left in an orderly way, Dan Heng finally spoke, "I'm sorry."
"I don't hate you."
"I just... don't want to take elective classes."
Yingxing stepped forward and hugged the boy.
Unable to swallow his pride at first, he finally admitted everything he owed under Zero's gaze.
"...I'm sorry."
"From now on, I'll make more time to attend the academy's parent-child activities with you."
"Next week is your birthday. I'll definitely prepare a surprise for you."
A faint smile appeared on Dan Heng's face.
"You just have to show up."
Soon, on his birthday, he received a sheet of paper.
Holding it in his hands, it felt heavier than anything.
At the birthday party the five of them had prepared for him, Yingxing gave him an application for a leave of absence.