star calendar 6298, on the Star Skiff, Qingyun Grotto-Heaven.
The rain pattered down, and pedestrians hurried along the bustling streets, stopping in front of the Academy that shared its name with the Grotto-Heaven.
Many starships also veered off their routes, docking in Qingyun School's massive starship parking lot.
The dismissal bell rang precisely on time.
Qi Zhimu put down his textbook and looked around at the dozens of young faces below the podium.
"Class dismissed, students."
"Goodbye, Teacher!" A chorus of neat, childish voices rang out in the classroom.
Regardless of whether they had been sound asleep or listening attentively, for these ten-something-year-olds, class dismissal and going home were always happy occasions.
Most children quickly left the classroom, with only a few taking their time.
When most people had left, they gathered one after another in front of the podium, gazing expectantly at Qi Zhimu, their young faces filled with curiosity.
A quarter of an hour later, these studious children finally packed up their schoolwork and waved to Qi Zhimu.
"See you tomorrow, Teacher~~"
"See you tomorrow."
Before long, only three people remained in the classroom.
Besides Qi Zhimu, there were two students on duty.
He didn't pay them any mind, walking directly out of the classroom towards his office.
Unexpectedly, two unfamiliar figures were waiting at the door, looking somewhat curious and a little puzzled.
The moment they saw Qi Zhimu, all the emotions on their faces turned into politeness and respect.
"Teacher, long time no see."
The visitors were two young girls, appearing to be around twenty years old, with similar features, but completely different eye colors, one red and one grey.
Both had rather rare silver-blue hair, one shoulder-length, the other waist-length, tied into neat ponytails.
Both held umbrellas, and a small portion of their clothes was damp from the rain.
Observing the girls' greatly changed appearance and demeanor, Qi Zhimu searched his Remembrance for a moment, then asked in an uncertain tone,
"You are... Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold, aren't you?"
"After a few years, I didn't expect Teacher to still recognize us, even with our greatly changed looks." A sparkle flashed in Sleeping Snow's red eyes, and she smiled brightly.
"You've come to see me, so you must have something to discuss. Come in and talk."
Qi Zhimu pushed the door open, motioned for the sisters to sit wherever they liked, put down his lesson plans, and brewed tea for them.
"No need to be so polite, Teacher, you shouldn't!" Clear Cold quickly waved her hand upon seeing this.
"Guests are guests." Qi Zhimu smiled indifferently.
After serving the tea, Qi Zhimu sat in front of the two sisters, his fingers intertwined.
"Do you two sisters need my help with something? I imagine it's not ordinary schoolwork."
Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold exchanged glances, both showing hesitant expressions.
After a long moment, Sleeping Snow, as the elder sister, finally spoke.
"...Teacher, we've passed our coming-of-age exams, and also passed the Cloud Knights' enlistment assessment, and joined the army."
"Hmm, and then?"
"Our assessment scores broke records, and General Teng Xiao happened to be in the camp, so we had the honor of meeting him."
"..."
Hearing the words 'General Teng Xiao', Qi Zhimu pretty much guessed the sisters' purpose in coming here.
His smile, however, didn't change, and he said lightly:
"General Teng Xiao saw your files and knew that you happened to be my former students, so he had you bring a letter and a message, right?"
This... The sisters' expressions froze simultaneously, surprised that he had guessed correctly, and even more curious about the hidden meaning.
At first, they didn't understand General Teng Xiao's intention.
Why would he ask them to seek out an Academy teacher... for tutelage?
Actually, they still didn't understand.
This 'tutelage' was not that 'tutelage'; the General wanted them to learn martial arts from Teacher Qi Zhimu, not culture.
The letter was a letter of introduction, and the message was a question.
"Go back. The Cloud Knights have thorough training. I am merely a teacher with a few superficial bits of knowledge. How can I possibly teach you martial arts?"
"Furthermore—please convey my answer to General Teng Xiao: Thank you for your kindness, but Zhimu must respectfully decline."
Hearing Qi Zhimu's words, the sisters' faces showed troubled expressions.
The refusal arrived before they could even speak, which was unusually difficult to deal with.
Even if they were young, they now knew that Qi Zhimu and the General had an extraordinary relationship.
"Teacher, the General gave us a... top-level mission order..." Clear Cold said weakly.
"..."
Qi Zhimu was silenced by these words, his gaze lowering slightly.
The sisters, whose attention had been fixed on his face, felt their hearts tighten.
The Teacher in their Remembrance, though not often smiling, had always been gentle with students and had never loudly reprimanded anyone.
The air pressure in the office seemed to subtly drop, and neither Sleeping Snow nor Clear Cold dared to breathe loudly.
At a certain moment, they sensed a fleeting anger from Qi Zhimu.
It lasted too briefly, like an illusion, making them unsure.
But the low pressure was undeniably real.
"Give me the letter."
"...Ah? Oh!"
Sleeping Snow snapped back to attention and respectfully presented the letter with both hands.
Qi Zhimu opened it in front of them and took out the letter inside.
"To the esteemed Teacher Qi Zhimu, greetings upon reading this letter:
These two soldiers possess extraordinary talents; after a year of diligent training, they can be of great use.
Within Azure City, none surpass your swordsmanship. I wish for you to impart your art to these two for a period of one year.
Teng Xiao respectfully bows.
On the 21st of the first month."
Qi Zhimu shook his head helplessly.
Direct conversation was fine, but when it came to writing letters, this guy liked to avoid modern language... "You two go back first and deliver a message to General Teng Xiao for me. Tell him:'See you at the old spot tonight.'"
"Yes, Teacher."
Although they didn't get a specific answer, Qi Zhimu's tone suggested there were other hidden circumstances that needed to be discussed with the General.
Sleeping Snow and Clear Cold bowed respectfully and quickly departed.
Qi Zhimu sat motionless, many past scenes drifting through his mind.
All past events coalesced into a light sigh.
Time to go home.
By this time, not many people were left in the Teachers' Building. Occasionally, when they met someone, Qi Zhimu would return their greetings.
Evidently, he had good rapport at Qingyun School.
Outside the building, the rain grew heavier, and occasionally, one could hear people who had forgotten their umbrellas complaining about the Diheng Department in the distance.
The Star Skiff was a massive starship sailing through the universe, and its Grotto-Heaven could clearly maintain the most comfortable simulated climate. Why then waste jade message computing power and big data to simulate a seasonal climate cycle?
Hearing these complaints, Qi Zhimu secretly chuckled.
Theoretically, doing so could indeed gain a lot of public support.
But this was not conducive to survival, especially in these turbulent times.
People still needed to adapt to natural changes.
Arriving downstairs, just as he took out his umbrella from his spatial jade message, he saw a somewhat familiar back standing at the foot of the stairs.
He looked at the pouring rain outside, occasionally scratching his head in frustration, and occasionally checking the time.
Qi Zhimu's curiosity was piqued, and he walked towards him.
"Why would you, a great merchant, come to Qingyun personally to deliver teaching equipment?"
Yu Huai turned his head to look, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"Old Qi! You haven't left yet. Do you have time to help me out? I'll treat you to a meal later!"
"What happened?"
"Alas, the weather in Zhenshan Grotto-Heaven is even worse than Qingyun today, with strong winds and heavy rain. Hui Yu had a traffic accident when picking up her daughter from school; the starship almost crashed."
"How are your wife and little Jingliu?"