Chapter 805: Heart Image

Chapter 805: The Inner Image

“Where exactly are we going?”

Li Huowang, shackled and manacled, walked down the bright corridor under the guidance of a nurse, following Yi Donglai.

Yi Donglai didn’t even turn his head to answer. “A good place. You’ll know when you get there.”

It had been some time since he’d entered the facility, and Li Huowang’s short hair had grown long enough to nearly obscure his eyes.

Peering through his bangs, Li Huowang covertly glanced at the back of Yi Donglai’s head. “What kind of Fate Keeper is this guy?”

“He must be one of ours, right? But if he really is one of us, why hasn’t he helped me escape?”

Under Li Huowang’s wild speculations, they came to a stop in front of a therapy room.

Nurses guarded the entrance, and Li Huowang followed Yi Donglai inside.

The place was extremely minimalist—just a few stools, a sand tray, and a cabinet filled with various tiny objects.

“Wait, a sand tray?”

Li Huowang looked toward a square table about the size of a mahjong table, its sides blocked by blue wooden panels, with yellow fine sand inside.

He looked at the table, then ran over to the cabinet, where he saw an array of miniature models scaled down to perfection.

Looking at those tiny figures, animals, trees, flowers, boats, flying machines, stones, and monsters, a flicker of understanding crossed his face.

“Ahh… I see now. You want to play a box garden game with me, don’t you? You want me to arrange items in the sandbox to reveal my inner world without reservation?”

“You’re quite perceptive, Li Huowang. Since you already know so much, I won’t explain further. Go ahead.” Yi Donglai pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked Li Huowang’s handcuffs.

Rubbing his wrists, Li Huowang glared at Yi Donglai. “You trust me that much? Don’t you fear that lunatic might go berserk and kill you?”

“Li Huowang, still joking around? You’re not in a hurry at all, are you? Do you know your mother called me yesterday? She cried so bitterly.”

Seeing Li Huowang’s expression gradually darken and his fists clenching in place, Yi Donglai sat down on the other side of the sand tray.

“You’ve been here before, so I won’t waste words. If you want to leave sooner, cooperate with treatment. There’s no other way.”

Yi Donglai tapped the edge of the sand tray with a pen and placed a small plastic figure in the center.

“If this were you, what would you do next? Try not to think too hard. Just follow your heart.”

Li Huowang stared at the nail-sized plastic figure with a complex expression. After a moment of contemplation, he walked over to the cabinet and returned with a pile of models.

Li Huowang picked up the figure and studied it for a while before placing it back in the center of the tray. Then he began arranging various models within the sand tray.

As Li Huowang continued placing things, Yi Donglai frowned slightly. “This person’s inner image is strange... Why are these figures clustered together like this? What does it mean for their upper bodies to be buried in the sand?”

When Li Huowang stopped, Yi Donglai looked at the completed sand tray and was momentarily speechless.

Li Huowang used mostly monster models, but none of them stood on their feet. Some were upside-down or tangled together. Whatever was strange, it was strange. And the sand tray itself had been dug into a deep funnel shape.

“These things… do they have something to do with you?” Yi Donglai pointed to the figure hiding at the edge.

Li Huowang shook his head, saying nothing.

Yi Donglai looked at Li Huowang before slowly extending his right hand to grasp the figure representing him, gently hovering it above the monsters, as if about to toss the little figure into the gap surrounded by the creatures.

At the same time, he kept a close eye on Li Huowang’s expression, trying to detect anything unusual.

After several rounds of this, Yi Donglai noticed Li Huowang slowly raising his head, looking at him strangely. “Are you sick? I’ve finished the sand tray. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back now.”

“Don’t rush. We’ve just begun,” Yi Donglai handed the figure back to Li Huowang, took everything out of the tray, and smoothed the sand again. “Come on, continue. Let’s see what you want to make of it.”

Li Huowang exhaled softly and started arranging again.

This time, it was almost the same as before, except the figure representing Li Huowang moved slightly closer to an upside-down monster.

“If…” Yi Donglai pressed his finger against the figure’s back and slowly pushed it forward until it was in front of the monster. “If it were like this, would it be better?”

“If you say it’s better, then it’s better. Shall we continue?”

“Continue.”

The figure representing Li Huowang was once again placed in his hands.

Once the third tray was arranged, the figure was buried in the sand, with two monsters beside it.

Yi Donglai seemed to sense something and began scribbling notes with a ballpoint pen. “Don’t look at me. Keep going. As long as I don’t tell you to stop, keep arranging.”

As Li Huowang continued placing the figures, the little figure sometimes darted into the vortex, sometimes to the corner of the tray. The two monsters continued chasing it.

By the twelfth tray, the figure was placed atop the monster's head.

“Keep going. Don’t stop,” Yi Donglai handed the figure back to him.

But this time, Li Huowang placed the figure on the wooden board at the edge of the tray, facing himself.

“Hm? What does that mean?”

“It means I’m done playing!” Li Huowang slammed his fist into the tray, shattering the monster model and sending the figure on the edge tumbling to the ground.

“Yi Donglai, are you enjoying making me suffer? To show your inner world, you only need one tray!”

“Things are static, people are dynamic. Everyone uses them differently.”

Hearing this, Li Huowang suppressed his irritation and sat back down to reassemble the sand tray.

“If you’re tired, let’s stop today. You can go back now. It’s time for dinner.”

Upon hearing this, Li Huowang turned and headed toward the door.

Just as he was about to leave, he paused. “Yi Donglai, I’ll cooperate with all your treatments from now on, but there’s one condition. If my mom calls again, tell her I’m recovering well and will be discharged soon.”

(End of Chapter)

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**Temporary Notice**

I’ve caught a cold and my head hurts badly. I’ll take a break for a bit.

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**Body entering stage two**

No more dizziness, but full-body aches and severe nasal congestion. Blisters on the lips, but everything is improving. This definitely won’t delay Yuanzi’s side story.

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**Update Resumption Notice**

Starting tomorrow, updates resume.

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**Entering the World (Zhuge Yuan Side Story – Happy Birthday, Zhuge Yuan)**

“Cough! Cough cough! Sìláng, Sìláng! Zhuge Yuán!” Seeing his distracted disciple finally snap out of it, the master’s anger flared, his beard trembling with rage.

“What did I just say?”

“Speak with the wise, rely on knowledge; speak with the knowledgeable, rely on eloquence; speak with the eloquent, rely on conciseness; speak with the noble, rely on status; speak with the wealthy, rely on grandeur; speak with the poor, rely on benefit; speak with the lowly, rely on humility; speak with the brave, rely on courage; speak with the foolish, rely on sharpness.”

Seeing the master’s face turn purple with barely contained fury, the young man stifled a smile and sat back down.

Seeing that he hadn’t learned a lesson, the master sighed softly. “Sìláng, though you are intelligent, don’t become arrogant. If you wish to become a top scholar, you must not neglect your studies. Simply memorizing isn’t enough—you must understand the meaning behind the words.”

“Yes, student understands.”

When the master turned his back, Zhuge Yuan immediately made a grotesque face toward his retreating figure, prompting his fellow students to burst into laughter.

"Hmm?" The master raised his ruler and spun around, instantly causing all the students to sit up straight, afraid to show any defiance.

When afternoon classes ended, Zhuge Yuan walked home with his classmates, chatting about the master's antics and joking and scolding each other along the way.

As they passed several intersections, the crowd around Zhuge Yuan gradually thinned out until he reached the entrance to his small courtyard alone.

He pulled out his key and opened the gate, stepping inside. Seeing that the water jar still had water, he began preparing his dinner.

The entire courtyard was not large; it was perhaps just a dozen paces in size front to back, left to right. Except for a white wax spear placed in the corner of the wall, there was nothing else.

When the smoke from the kitchen chimney dissipated and dusk approached, Zhuge Yuan adjusted the wick of an oil lamp inside the small room with a fastener, making the dimly lit space suddenly much brighter.

Zhuge Yuan took out a storybook forbidden by the master, eating while reading it with great interest.

Suddenly, Zhuge Yuan sensed someone in the room. He looked up and found himself face-to-face with a wrinkled, smiling old woman’s face. She held a cane in one hand and wore a embroidered headband on her head—clearly dressed like a rural grandmother.

Seeing Zhuge looking at her, the black cat old lady glanced at the only dish on the table. "Why are you eating turnips again today? That won't do."

She extended her sharp fingernails and scratched the water in the dish before putting them into her mouth full of sharp teeth and sucked. "No oil at all? You child."

"Third Great-grandmother, it's fine, I'm used to it," Zhuge Yuan quickly stood up, smiled warmly, and helped her sit down on a stool. "Third Great-grandmother, please sit first, let me make you some tea."

"No need to trouble yourself, I'll be leaving soon." Third Great-grandmother reached into her sleeve and pulled out a bowl of fragrant meat in front of Zhuge Yuan.

The meat smelled delicious and looked freshly cooked, still steaming.

"That lazy daughter-in-law made this, knowing full well this is a 'hot' food, I can't eat it, yet she insisted. Do you think she wants me to die?"

"I thought you might not have had much meat lately, so I brought some over."

Zhuge Yuan stared at the lamb stew thrust into his hands. "Third Great-grandmother, everything you touch becomes a 'hot' food! This can't be eaten, that can't be eaten. You're probably going to have to drink dew."

Seeing Third Great-grandmother raise her cane, Zhuge Yuan quickly apologized with a smile.

"You eat it, I'm leaving. My grandson will come get the bowl at noon."

After seeing Third Great-grandmother to the door, Zhuge Yuan sat back down and continued eating his dinner.

The lamb stew was specially prepared to remove its gamey taste, tender and smooth, richly flavored without being greasy.

Just as he enjoyed the feast, the tightly closed courtyard gate suddenly swung open under a gust of wind carrying paper money.

The piercing sound of trumpets rang out, followed by white soul banners floating from left to right, accompanied by mournful funeral cries.

Zhuge Yuan tilted his head to watch this spectacle, picking up a piece of lamb and chewing it. "Yu Hua, Ming Ke, your noses are really keen. Why did you come to my house for a meal and bring ghosts to scare people?"

The white soul banners on the wall quickly descended, revealing two grinning faces above.

"Look at what you said! We didn't come for food—we're here to drink with you!" Both men waved a pot of yellow wine in their left hands.

Upon seeing the lamb on the table, they sat down with a thud. "Hey! What a coincidence! We even have a side dish!"

Since they attended the same private school, the two didn’t hesitate to be casual with Zhuge Yuan. They fetched three bowls and a pair of chopsticks from the kitchen and started pouring wine. "Si Lang, do you know how to play knucklebones?"

"No," Zhuge Yuan gathered up the storybook on the table.

"It doesn't matter, we'll teach you. Playing knucklebones is simple. We call out a number, then each of us shows a number with our hands, and guess what number we showed. If one of us calls out a number that matches the sum of both hands, that person wins! Then the loser drinks! How simple is that?"

Zhuge Yuan looked at his classmate with a slightly helpless expression. "How did you learn these things so quickly? It couldn't be your father who taught you, could it?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Now follow me and learn to sing: 'One Dragon,' 'Two Families,' 'Three Brothers,' 'Four Happinesses,' 'Five Champions,' 'Six Six Six'..."

With a plate of turnips and a bowl of lamb, the two began playing knucklebones.

Not long after finishing a pot of yellow wine, Zhuge Yuan, already slightly tipsy, found the wine jug empty.

His cheeks flushed red, he lifted the empty jug and poured it into his mouth.

Watching the last drop fall into his mouth, Zhuge Yuan put it down reluctantly. "I say, the rules for knucklebones should be changed. The winner should drink instead."

Hearing this, Ding Yu Hua laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Let you win? You're too clever for your own good!"

Seeing his classmate lick the lamb bowl greedily, Zhuge Yuan spoke. "Alright, Ming Ke, enough cleaning. Stop licking. This is Third Great-grandmother's bowl. If you crack it, I won't know how to explain."

Hearing this, Ming Ke finally set the bowl down, pouting slightly. "Not satisfying at all. Didn't drink to satisfaction, didn't eat to satisfaction."

Ding Yu Hua's eyes twinkled, a smirk forming. "Si Lang, come with me, I have an idea."

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan shook his head. "What's your latest scheme? Don't you fear eating spicy stir-fried meat? Forget it, we've eaten and drunk, let's go back."

"Hey, look at your cowardice! Just wait and see, I'll be back soon." Saying that, Ding Yu Hua and Ming Ke stood up and walked outside.

Zhuge Yuan shook his head helplessly and picked up the book again.

But after reading a few breaths, he looked toward where his classmates had gone, eventually deciding to follow them out of concern for potential trouble.

Ding Yu Hua and Ming Ke walked ahead, and Zhuge Yuan followed behind, walking until they reached the edge of the village.

Seeing the house beside them, Zhuge Yuan's heart jumped. Could it be that this guy actually had the nerve to steal cured meat from the master's house?

Thinking this possibility, Zhuge Yuan hurried forward to stop him.

But when he got close, he saw them lying motionless against the wall. Zhuge Yuan reacted quickly, stopping too, following their gaze. In the distance, among the bamboo groves, something seemed to roll.

Under moonlight, Zhuge Yuan finally made out what it was—a trio of large black clay jars adorned with upside-down blessings.

When they lined up neatly at the village entrance, three heads wearing watermelon caps slowly emerged from the jars.

These heads were pale, with small cherry lips and rosy cheeks. Where eyes should have been, there were only two dark holes.

"What exactly are these..." As Zhuge Yuan widened his eyes, trying to guess what they were, he saw the three heads suddenly tilt, turning their black holes toward him simultaneously.

"Go! You go first! Go get the master!" Zhuge Yuan blocked his classmates with a serious expression.

Zhuge Yuan hadn't finished speaking when the three heads quickly retracted into the jars and rolled toward them.

Just as the three things were about to reach Zhuge Yuan, the master descended from the sky with his hands behind his back, stepping on one of the jars with one foot, crushing the red blessing paper into pieces.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he sent the other two jars crashing into the wall, turning them into charcoal-like strokes.

The previously dire situation was effortlessly resolved by the master.

Zhuge Yuan's eyes gleamed with admiration. "Master, I want to learn this! This is incredibly powerful!"

With a sharp "slap," the master, who had somehow produced a ruler from nowhere, struck the three heads hard. "You smell of alcohol! What are you doing at this hour?"

Covering his head in pain, Zhuge Yuan didn't retreat but stepped forward again. "Master, teach me this! I never knew you could do such magic!"

"Study hard! Becoming a top scholar is the proper path. Don't waste time thinking of nonsense!"

The master turned away with a stern face and walked back to his courtyard.

"Master, don't say that! Look, if that had happened earlier, what good would all my books do?"

"Hmph! Stop arguing. Reading is to understand principles! If you can't even read a word, no amount of magic will lead you in the right direction."

"But why understand principles?"

"To cultivate oneself."

"But why cultivate oneself?"

"To become a person! To establish virtue, ambition, and speech!"

Finishing the last word, the master turned sharply, staring at Zhuge Yuan with a snake-like glare, disappointment flashing in his eyes.

Feeling his classmate tug him from behind, Zhuge Yuan reluctantly took a half-step back and fell silent.

Yet this time, the Master did not leave. “Sìláng, haven’t you always believed yourself wiser than others? How about we place a wager?”

“Wager?” Zhuge Yuan’s face showed a flicker of surprise.

“You said that reading countless books would be useless when facing the situation just now—but you are mistaken. It is useful.”

“Therein lies Zhang Liang’s strategy, therein lies the ladder over the wall. There are many methods; if you can find one, I will bestow upon you all my arts without reserve.”

“Really?” Zhuge Yuan’s eyes lit up instantly.

“A gentleman’s word is as binding as four horses cannot catch!” The Master said, then pulled out a brush and quickly sketched on the wall near the black clay jar.

In mere moments, the Master reached out and plucked a black clay jar bound in an iron cage directly before Zhuge Yuan. “Six days hence, if you can find a way to make this thing retreat, you win.”

The Master departed, leaving Zhuge Yuan, Ding Yuhua, Lu Mingke, and others to stare at the jar within its cage.

A fellow student nearby couldn’t help but mock him. “Bet with the Master, you really are something. Whether you win or lose, you’re doomed either way.”

“No way, the Master isn’t that stingy.” Zhuge Yuan, now intrigued, hurried off to the private school, lantern in hand, searching through books for solutions.

At first, Zhuge Yuan thought he had found a method, trying it repeatedly on the jar. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing worked—had it not been for the iron cage, it would have already hurled itself at him.

To gain the Master’s techniques, Zhuge Yuan neglected sleep and meals, drowning himself entirely in books. Within a few days, his face grew pale and drawn.

Carrying a new book, Zhuge Yuan staggered toward the cage, full of joy.

Soon, a splash of child’s urine was poured onto the jar. Other than slightly dampening the seal, nothing else happened.

“This book must contain falsehoods,” Zhuge Yuan muttered, throwing it to the ground in dejection.

But glancing toward the Master’s residence, he quickly picked it up again. “He only said to look in books—could there really be a solution? Could the Master be deceiving me?”

Laughter echoed from nearby, and Zhuge Yuan waved his book at them, half-angry, half-defeated. “Come to laugh at me, yet won’t even lend a hand.”

“That won’t do. This is between the Master and you—we dare not interfere.”

“Sìláng, if you truly beat the Master, I’ll take you as my adoptive brother!”

Zhuge Yuan was not one to give up easily. He threw himself wholeheartedly into the task, unaware that night was slowly falling.

He brought all his books beside the cage, reading and testing as he went. Fortunately, the moon was large tonight, so there was no need to light oil lamps.

Time passed indeterminately. When Zhuge Yuan rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched, the world around him had gone silent, leaving him alone.

“These bastards, they won’t even help,” Zhuge Yuan sighed helplessly, preparing to continue his search. Only three days remained.

Just then, Zhuge Yuan sensed something amiss. Frowning, he looked around once more.

Suddenly, he noticed the black clay jar that the Master had flung against the wall was gone.

Soon, he spotted faint mud marks left by the jar rolling away from the village.

“Gone?” As Zhuge Yuan considered what to do next, a new commotion came from the bamboo grove in the distance.

Zhuge Yuan widened his eyes and saw the jar slowly rolling back along the trail it had left behind.

It didn’t just return—it brought something with it: a line of yellow paper figures, their feet barely touching the ground, each holding white lanterns!

Each figure’s left eye bore the characters “Shi Luo,” while their right eye bore “Kai Jing.”

These figures floated gently forward, walking past Zhuge Yuan.

As they passed one by one, brushing past the cage that had trapped the jar, the cage began to fade until it vanished completely, freeing the jar inside.

The returned jar didn’t run wildly—it simply followed the figures, heading toward a house nearby.

“That place… that looks like… the Master’s courtyard?” Zhuge Yuan suddenly realized something and rushed over anxiously.

But just as he neared the gate, all the walls of the yard suddenly collapsed outward with a crash, revealing a beast—large head, small body, long antennae, sharp teeth, and a length of over ten feet—standing inside.

Its mouth, as wide as a door, opened and shut, devouring a paper figure into blood and flesh.

Three white lanterns crashed onto its mane, and flames erupted into the sky.

Under the firelight, everything around began to change—the figures’ faces no longer pale but flushed with life, and the beast started growing horns, transforming into something even more terrifying.

Just as the monstrous creature lunged at another figure, Zhuge Yuan dashed in and tackled it down, saving the figure.

When the beast turned to chase other figures, Zhuge Yuan helped the fallen figure to its feet. “Why have you come here?”

“To exorcise the demon! In recent years, the southern county has suffered drought. Rumors say a malevolent spirit is wreaking havoc! As members of the Celestial Observing Bureau, we must act in Heaven’s name!”

As he spoke, the figure became increasingly lifelike before Zhuge Yuan.

“Drought isn’t the Master’s concern! You should go to the Dragon King Temple! Go now! The Master is angry!”

The figure shook its head. “I don’t care—I only listen to my master. Once he begins his ritual, he’ll surely subdue this beast.”

As soon as those words were spoken, two black clay jars leapt into the air and exploded, casting triangular flags and a red net over the beast.

Zhuge Yuan stared in disbelief, muttering, “But... the Master is Lingxi…”

In the next moment, the vast red net burst into ash, and a roar so immense shook the stalactites above that shadows trembled in fear.

“Where is your master?” Zhuge Yuan grabbed the figure and ran toward a taller one.

The figure, eyes filled with hatred, continued performing the ritual, seemingly unwilling to stop until the goal was met. A row of tiny paper figures rose under its wooden sword.

“Stop! If you keep going, everyone here will die!” Zhuge Yuan rushed to him.

“Heh! If I stop, I won’t die? Look at what devours people!” The figure’s ritual quickened, the two characters in its eyes glowing.

“You won’t die! Listen to me! You definitely won’t die! And you can’t win! There’s more than just the Master in the cave!”

As Zhuge Yuan pointed, the remaining figures saw the eyes all around them, and despair crept into their gaze.

“We’ll fight these evil spirits to the death!” One figure, who had broken free, was held tightly by Zhuge Yuan.

“Everyone! Listen to me! I have a way to save you!” Zhuge Yuan snatched the weapon from the Taoist figure and shouted.

As all the figures gathered around Zhuge Yuan, the beast’s attention was drawn.

Its monstrous maw, stretching from the ceiling to the floor, charged forward with terrifying force.

As the jaws closed in to swallow everyone, Zhuge Yuan stepped in front of them, shouting, “Master! I’ve won!”

The mouth stopped, just inches from Zhuge Yuan’s face.

Zhuge Yuan exhaled deeply, walked to the others, collected their weapons and talismans, and said to the beast, “Master, you said I should find a way from books. I did!”

“What method?”

“To turn swords into jade, as you once taught! Such misunderstandings could be resolved with a few words—no need for such chaos.”

“You also said that anyone who only thinks in brute force is a fool! One should speak before striking!”

“And besides, Master, they weren’t here to capture you—they came to solve the drought. They just took the wrong path.”

Hearing Zhuge Yuan’s words, the great mouth slowly retracted into the darkness behind. The heavy tension in the air vanished.

Zhuge Yuan turned to the Taoists behind him. “You may go. Tell the county magistrate that the drought wasn’t caused by natural disaster, and you’ve been misled.”

The young Taoist, having narrowly escaped death, bowed deeply to Zhuge Yuan. “Thank you, kind sir. May I ask your name?”

“I’m no hero. My name is Zhuge Yuan.”

The young Taoist wanted to say more, but was dragged away by the elder, who knew well that Zhuge Yuan had saved their lives but chose to remain silent out of pride.

As Zhuge Yuan watched them disappear into the distance, the Master, hands behind his back, emerged from behind.

“Did you see? Those who don’t read but only practice magic end up like these people—wrong direction, and even if they hit their heads, they won’t find what they seek.”

"Remember this for the future: you may learn mystic arts, but not a single day of your books must ever be neglected."

Hearing these words, Zhuge Yuan's eyes instantly ignited with light. "Master, are you truly going to teach me mystic arts?"

"Mhm. Since you won't back down, then of course I shall teach you. However, I can only ever be your tutor of letters, not your mentor of crafts. I have an old friend, a mortal, who is far better suited to guide your life's profession. Go and seek him out."

Stunned by the decree, Zhuge Yuan froze, then slowly turned around to gaze upon the village where he had tarried for so long.

"Am I to leave?"

"You cannot bide here forever, and besides, the Great Qi triennial examinations are nigh; it is time you journeyed to sit for them. It is just as well to settle both matters together."

Zhuge Yuan had always known a day of departure would come, yet he had never imagined it would arrive so swiftly, leaving his heart a tangled mess of bittersweet emotions.

"Dawn breaks soon. Go and gather your things." A broad hand came down upon Zhuge Yuan's head, patting it with a gentle touch.

Zhuge Yuan had little to pack; a single cloth bundle comprised the entirety of his worldly possessions. By the time he reached the edge of the village, the sky had fully brightened, and the others were already there waiting for him.

Staring at his two-headed classmate, Zhuge Yuan could no longer hold back his tears, knowing that once they parted now, there was no telling when they might ever meet again.

For a fleeting moment, a wave of reluctance washed over him, tempting him to simply stay behind and remain by their side forever.

"What are you weeping for? Here are two flasks of yellow wine to keep you company on the road. It is more than enough for a solitary drinker." Ding Yuhua and Lu Mingke thrust the two vessels into his arms.

The others stepped forward in turn to offer their various parting gifts, which would have surely overwhelmed him had Great-Grandmother San not presented a bamboo basket at the very end to hold them all.

After bidding farewell to each of his dear friends and fellow villagers, Zhuge Yuan stepped into the bamboo grove, treading upon the dappled morning light filtering through the leaves as he made his way toward the main highway.

Just then, the master's voice drifted from behind him. "Silang! Never forget! How should a gentleman conduct himself while walking through this world?"

Zhuge Yuan's strides quickened. Wiping away his tears with fierce resolve, he began to sprint toward the next great frontier of his life.

"To establish virtue! To forge ambition! To write words of truth! To cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under heaven!"