When Sleeping Snow returned home, she happened to see Jingliu setting dishes on the table.
"Senior Sleeping Snow."
"Congratulations on your triumph. I... I'm not even ten years older than you, there's no need to address me as'senior'."
Having lived on Yaoqing for over a decade, Sleeping Snow occasionally still conversed in the colloquial style of Azure City out of habit.
Yaoqing was different from Azure City. Influenced by its close cooperation with the Interstellar Peace Corporation, its spoken language style was the closest to modern vernacular among all the Xianzhou.
"Understood, Senior Sleeping Snow." Jingliu nodded.
"..."
Sleeping Snow felt helpless. She glanced left and right, and seeing neither Lord Zhimu nor Clear Cold, she knew what they were doing.
Just as she thought this, the two emerged from around the corridor corner, one after the other.
Seeing her younger sister's smiling face, and the tender, grateful gaze she directed at Lord Zhimu's retreating figure, the outcome was self-evident.
"Thank you for always taking care of my younger sister, Lord Zhimu."
"It's better to be timely than early. Let's eat." Lord Zhimu didn't dwell on such formalities.
The sincerity and loyalty Sleeping Snow displayed were far more deeply felt than her verbal thanks.
At the dinner table, Jingliu's peripheral vision involuntarily stole glances at Clear Cold.
Even in loose, casual loungewear, Clear Cold's full, alluring curves could not be concealed.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes were bright and spirited; she was radiant.
It was as if she had been nourished by something not long ago.
Detailed knowledge about 'that' aspect, which she had searched for via jade message, floated through Jingliu's mind, making her feel a little sour.
But she could still comfort herself that it was nothing.
Eating in silence had always been their unspoken agreement.
Only after everyone had put down their chopsticks did Jingliu speak.
"Master, I've accepted a mission. I'll be continuing my patrol tomorrow. This time it's quite far, over eighty light-years from Yaoqing Xianzhou."
Lord Zhimu's gaze fell upon Jingliu's face. After observing her carefully for a moment, a phrase spontaneously arose in his mind.
—A young daughter in the family has grown up.
Jingliu was certainly not his daughter, but ever since he took her as a disciple, he had always raised her as a descendant of the Qi Family.
Now, she was no longer the frail girl who, when facing Abominations, could only await death and had to rely on others for rescue.
Although she started late, she persevered through hellish training, exchanging countless efforts and sweat for rapid progress.
Looking back at the Qi Family's history, she could absolutely be described as outstanding.
But how many equally outstanding descendants of the Qi Family had died young?
While there were cases of complete triumph in small and medium-scale battles, there had never been one in large-scale expeditions.
'Large-scale' was a very broad term, yet a few points remained constant:
People who ate together today might be gone tomorrow.
New recruits praised today might be gone tomorrow.
Officers who argued with their adjutants or peers today might be gone tomorrow.
The Troops who encouraged each other and fought alongside you today might still be gone tomorrow.
A large-scale battle, by its very nature, must be tens, or even hundreds, of times larger than a medium-scale one. The cruelty within it, even after countless personal experiences, would always bring new realizations.
It was never witnessing life and death that numbed emotions, but parting.
"You don't need to report everything to me. As long as you don't overexert yourself, you can go kill Abominations whenever you want."
Lord Zhimu suppressed the complex thoughts in his heart, his tone as usual.
After saying this, he realized he had become selfish. The fear that had begun to fester deep within him after his mother showed signs of the mara affliction resurfaced at this moment.
He... was afraid of losing this one disciple, whom he had raised as a successor.
When did it start to become like this...?
He had thought there was nothing left to lose since his mother's death and the fall of Azure City.
Lord Zhimu was silent.
Jingliu didn't mind her Master's flat tone. Instead, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched her lips: "Understood, Master."
As long as you don't overexert yourself—weren't those five words a sign of concern?
It was enough.
It didn't matter if there was no place for her in her Master's heart for tenderness, as long as there was a place for concern.
As for anything else, she wouldn't ask for it now... Time flew like a white steed.
In a blink, it was star calendar 6318.
Jingliu had already participated in forty-nine medium-scale expeditionary battles, only one short of the requirement Lord Zhimu had set years ago.
As for completing all training programs in a single day, that was no longer an issue for her.
At the various military ports of Yaoqing, the roar of expeditionary fleets taking off and landing was ceaseless, day and night.
Jingliu, clad in Yaoqing's standard light combat armor, stood on the observation deck of Zhen-class Port-88.
Her ice-colored long hair gently swayed with the airflow of the ascending and descending starships, her face long stripped of its youthful innocence, now etched with the sharpness honed by years of battle.
"Reporting, Captain, resupply is 97% complete." Her adjutant's voice came through the communicator.
"All personnel board the ship, await orders." Jingliu commanded.
Over the years, her military achievements were remarkable, and she had been promoted to Captain of the Troop's 1753rd Frontline Detachment.
This time, the target was several Abominations of Abundance nests in a certain star system.
Five thousand Cloud Knights detachment captains, each leading their own team, totaling over five million Troops, were dispatched to suppress them.
Intelligence indicated that the Abominations' activity there had been unusually high recently, showing a tendency to spread.
The mission was rated medium-to-high difficulty, and the Divination Commission's simulation results showed a certain level of risk.
She had seen similar assessment results many times.
Unsurprisingly, this outcome would be no different.
When the time came, the General Captain ordered the departure.
The magnificent fleet of battlecruisers detached from the port, left the Yaoqing realm gate, and disappeared into the vast star sea.
For the next six months, the battle reports received every three days were mostly positive.
While Jingliu was on her distant expedition, Lord Zhimu was also busy, leading the Cloud Knights army to completely eradicate hundreds of Abominations of Abundance species.
Unbeknownst to him, most of the hundreds of thousands of surviving Cloud Knights from Azure City had come under his direct command.
Such prominent military achievements led to the widespread circulation of Lord Zhimu's deeds in recent years, both among the common people of Yaoqing and within the Cloud Knights, which numbered in the hundreds of millions.
Many asserted that he was destined to assume the position of Cloud Knight Sword Master.
Unfortunately, they said it every year, and every year they were wrong.
The position of Sword Master remained vacant, and the General simply did not bestow the command upon Lord Zhimu, which was perplexing.
"Welcome Lord Zhimu and your army back in triumph!!!"
Above the military port, countless battlecruisers streaked across the sky, and the thunderous cheers of the staff below echoed through the clouds.
Returning to the Cloud Knights' main camp, the Grotto-Heaven, Lord Zhimu, holding his helmet, solemnly saluted General Wind of Evil along with the entire army.
"General, I have not failed in my mission."
"Thank you for bringing good news, but... I have bad news for you."
"Please speak."
"As you were returning to Yaoqing, a team engaged in a medium-scale battle sent out a distress signal... Jingliu is among them."
At these words, Lord Zhimu's eyes instantly sharpened.
Visit my Patreon to read up to 127 chapters ahead and enjoy daily updates:
patreon.com/02Fanworks