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THE TRUTH BEHIND GENERAL JING YUAN'S GLAIVE! AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LIEUTENANT YANQING ★ (NOT CLICKBAIT) 

#GeneralJingYuan #LieutenantYanqing #HighCloudQuintet

Ahem. Our wonderful readers will have to forgive us for the flashy title of this article. Still, as you all know, we here at Luofu Unsolved are committed to discovering the truth behind all mysteries in the Xianzhou Luofu, big or small! Our friendly rival Miss Guinaifen's Ghostbuster blog received quite the attention recently, and we couldn't help but notice that a major chunk of General Jing Yuan's loyalist fans decided to move over to the dark side switch ships and leave behind our blog due to the lack of content related to their fave. We'd like to inform you all that our team here at Luofu Unsolved takes this very seriously and we are dedicated to cracking mysteries while catering to ALL our readers so worry not! We are back with a special column focusing on a peculiar mystery surrounding our favorite General. 

While everyone knows that Arbiter-General Jing Yuan wields a formidable version of the Devastator Glaive, (which weighs around 13,500 catties) few are aware of its mysterious origins and the craftsman behind this weapon. We have recently been blessed with the opportunity to interview General Jing Yuan's retainer, Lieutenant Yanqing himself, who has agreed to satisfy our curiosity on the matter and also graciously let us have exclusive rights over this special. Glory to the Cloud Knights! 

Now without further ado, all fans of General Jing Yuan gather around and get ready to discover the secret behind our General's trusty weapon. (Spoiler Alert: There's more than meets the eye!) The transcript of the exclusive interview is attached below: 

Correspondent: Good morning, Lieutenant Yanqing, our greatest thanks for this rare opportunity and your willingness not to transfer the broadcasting rights over to any other reporter, especially Miss Guinaifen! 

Yanqing: That’s only because you promised to tell me what sword-fighting style her “swallowing the sword” technique belongs to…

Correspondent: I will, I will, Lieutenant, as soon as you answer some simple questions for us~

Yanqing: Hmph, I'm about to be late to my sword-buying appointment at the Artisanship Commission. I only agreed to this because you threatened to publish false–

Correspondent: Haha, so our Lieutenant has a sense of humor I see! Okay, we'll keep this brief as you wish. Now since you already brought up the topic of swords, we'd like to ask if you know—who crafted the almighty General Jing Yuan's Devastator Glaive? 

Yanqing: That's what you wanted to ask? It was…the Furnace Master of the Artisanship Commission at the time. I don't know much else.

Correspondent: Did the General never mention anything about this person to you? We heard, albeit from unreliable sources, that this person may have a connection with the legendary High Cloud Quintet. 

Yanqing: I wouldn't know. The General has not disclosed anything like that to me and even if he did, I would never betray his trust!

Correspondent: Of course, I don't mean to suggest otherwise, Lieutenant. Our readers are just huge sword fanatics, you see and wish to know more details about the origin of this weapon. Perhaps you can relate with them since we know that Mr. Yanqing too has an avid hobby of collecting swords and quite good taste, might I add! We also know that you're fond of naming your swords and forging a deeper connection with them, perhaps? It's very admirable!

Yanqing: Oh…thank you! I didn't know there were other people interested in that hobby. Well, I've seen a lot of swords while expanding my collection but nothing comes close to the General's glaive. It is the most sophisticated piece of weaponry I have laid my eyes on. From the aesthetics to the functionality, it is one of a kind. 

Correspondent: Indeed, the craftsmanship is worthy of high praise and it is a weapon befitting our esteemed General. However, the question that arises is how is it that it remains in top-notch condition after all these years? General Jing Yuan has been using this glaive ever since his very ascension to the Seat of Divine Foresight! One cannot help but wonder how it is that the same sword has lasted him for so long…If I understand correctly, the Cloud Knights all routinely get their Devastator Glaives replaced with the help of the Artisanship Commission, right? 

Yanqing: Yes, but the General's glaive is different. It has been crafted with shards of the Reignbow Arbiter’s Lux Arrow. I've studied many such specimens to add to my collection but none can rival this glaive. And of course, it has lasted this long! The General takes great care of his belongings. He personally polishes the glaive every night. He…says it's too heavy for the average person. 

Correspondent: I see, I see! You're quite passionate while talking about swords and the General, we love to see it! So you say that the General himself takes exceptional care of this sword. But in all these years, has it not rusted the slightest bit? A part broken off here, any wear and tear there? After all, it's common knowledge that even General Teng Xiao used multiple greatswords throughout his career. And the rest of the Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance have dedicated fan pages that study all their newest weapons, especially anything crafted by General Huaiyan, Master of the Zhuming’s galaxy-famous Artisanship Commission! It seems that General Jing Yuan has no intentions of parting with his beloved Devastator Glaive though.

Yanqing: I don't know about all that but the General does value all the weapons he got from that time. As you may know, the original versions of the standard Devastator Glaive which all the Cloud Knights wield are on display in his office and again, he does all the maintenance work himself. He doesn’t let me or even Chief Guard Yutie at the Seat of Divine Foresight help him. I'd really love for one of those glaives to be in my collection but the General will not allow it. [deep sigh]

Correspondent: Wow, it almost seems that for General Jing Yuan, there is a sentimental value attached to the glaives crafted by this Furnace Master almost 721 Star Calendar years ago…

Yanqing: Have you got what you wanted now? 

Correspondent: Last question! You've been ever so kind to help us so far, Lieutenant, but you'll have to pardon us for one more intrusion. You wouldn't have happened to hear the General mention someone called “Yingxing” before, would you? 

Yanqing: Huh? No, I've never heard that name before. 

Correspondent: Alright, that is a wrap! The mystery surrounding the General's mighty Devastator Glaive just grows larger and larger every day but Mr. Yanqing has shed light on quite a few important facts today. We thank you again for your distinguished presence and will leave you to your swords now! Hope that our spirited Cloud Knight Lieutenant here finds a sword to his liking, much like General Jing Yuan has~

Note: This is the entire transcript of our exclusive interview with Lieutenant Yanqing. Although the Lieutenant denied ever hearing of “Yingxing”, this person once used to hold the title of Furnace Master of the Artisanship Commission, and he was also a member of the High Cloud Quintet. Although the name and his picture have been wiped from the Luofu records, several unofficial annals record that he crafted the sword belonging to the previous Sword Champion of the Luofu as well. The nature of the relationship between this craftsman and our General is unknown but it’s a free world after all…We’ll leave it to your imagination~ Hope General Jing Yuan's fans are sated for now. Subscribe to Luofu Unsolved for more juicy updates!

PS: For obvious reasons, we cannot reveal the secret behind Miss Guinaifen’s “sword swallowing technique” but we sincerely caution all our readers to NOT try it at home!

Top Comments:

[+15488, -98] I'm taking this as an absolute win as a HCQ stan 

–Wow you're all desperate for new content and it shows…[+8583, -239]

–Just let them go man, do you rly remember something from when you were just a 100 years old? You're all just blinded by the nostalgia. Yeah, we saw the HCQ as we grew up but cmon I don't think even the General rmrs anymore [+5939, -698]

[+17351, -0] General Jing Yuan looks super hot wielding that glaive. He carries 7000 kgs (translating for all the Outworlders, ur welcome) like it's nothing…

–wtf does he eat???? [+4769, -18]

–And when he summons the Lightning Lord and electricity courses through that giant glaive as it cuts an arc in the sky…Foxian here…I'm going to make a butterfly immersia about it and edit an epic song over it. Who's interested? [+4033, -4]

[+83, -70] Little Gui outsold lol. Stop taking her name just for clicks. She creates true performance art and isn't a third-rate tabloid like you. Watch as I mass-report your stupid blog. 

[+11390, -34] My uncle used to work in the Artisanship Commission. He heard about this legendary Yingxing from his colleague who said that he was once the greatest talent in all of Luofu when it came to craftsmanship. Apparently, he completed the Great Smelting Furnace ritual when he was quite young (even by the standards of short-life species.) He was the youngest person ever to obtain the title of Furnace Master.

–Oh I know this lore, I read it in a HCQ trivia book before it got banned. Yingxing was a migrant from Xianzhou Zhuming (rumored to originally be an Outworlder.) It is said that he had an arrogant personality and from a young age, his creations rivaled those of the AC's Master Artisans who were all way older than him. Prob made loads of enemies. But you have to give it to him man, those weapons he crafted are all simply exquisite. I’m joining the AC this year and wish I could learn from him too. Bro was a short-life species so he must have already died ages ago tho...[+5846, -39] 

[+9130, -684] a xianzhou native and a short-life species? oh, they were doomed right from the beginning, weren't they…you just gotta ship them. #jingxing #meant2be #angst4life 

–Dude, you sound ridiculous. How about this: I’ll give you 50 strales to book an appointment with the Alchemy Commission to heal your brain. [+400, -75] 

[+7367, -1] Who else wants General Jing Yuan to stab them with his glaive, it can't just be me, right? 

Yanqing never ends up reading the finished article or giving the matter any further thought until he's back at the Seat of Divine Foresight a few days later. He’s done running errands and has completed his sword practice for the day and all there’s left to do is report to the General. 

The sun is still high up in the sky and Yanqing considers his options. 

It's a pleasant day outside, with the delve welcoming another warm spring and he thinks going on a walk later might not be so bad. Maybe he could even go and feed the fish at the nearby pond along with the General. Or play a game of starchess or two, even though he suspects that the General mostly lets him win by using deceptive means. 

One day, he’ll surely be able to beat him fair and square!  

He greets Chief Guard Yutie at the door as he enters, who informs him that the General has had a long meeting with the Six Charioteers today. Oh. Bad timing. The General must be feeling more drowsy than usual. Better not to disturb him just yet…

Well, he'll just report in quickly and then leave him to rest, Yanqing decides. 

The Seat of Divine Foresight is the same as always. The regular staff is busy working on some documents while Chief Counselor Qingzu is talking heatedly on her jade abacus with some unlucky fellow and Yanqing avoids her gaze entirely as he sidesteps to the General's chamber. (He's learned the hard way that it's best to stay away; Ms. Qingzu gets quite scary when she's mad.)

As expected, the General is currently busy dozing soundly at his desk. An energetic bunch of finches hop all over him and fight for crumbs at the table, with one even nestled right on top of his head, peeking out from his hair. It’s not a new sight by any means; the little birds always gravitate towards the General for some reason. In return, the General seems to favor them too. 

It's a languid day yet the pile of paperwork towers ever the same over the General's desk. Patiently waiting for him to wake up, Yanqing opens up his jade abacus to answer some messages and admire the countless pictures of his brand-new swords that he took recently. 

His newest purchase has put him in a good mood, even though it made quite the dent in his savings. He'd been trying to save up and exercise restraint for a while now but the twin blades he procured from the Artisanship Commission a couple of days ago (one to wield and one for his collection) were well worth the price, crafted with a style that is totally suited to his preferences. He’s already brainstorming what kind of scabbard to commission for them when the pointy hilt of one of the Devastator Glaives on the wall opposite catches his eye. 

Of course, nothing comes close to the craftsmanship of this golden era.

Although the current standard Devastator Glaives of the Cloud Knights are based on this exact design, Yanqing still holds a great fascination for all the weapons in the General’s display. The very first blades of this generation of Cloud Knights. He can tell with a glance that they're as sharp as ever. 

It technically shouldn't be this way. In the Xianzhou Alliance, the principle of technological advancement takes precedence over everything else and all sorts of weapons and their crafting methods get refined constantly, to the point that designs frequently become obsolete. Yanqing doesn't think he has a sword older than 200 years in his own collection. The Artisanship Commission never remains in stasis for too long. However, nothing can hold a candle to the General's glaive, so superior in craftsmanship that it has lasted well over seven centuries. 

He suppresses a sigh and thinks back to all the questions that the overly enthusiastic reporter had asked him a few days ago. Yanqing is no stranger to questions about the General’s private life and usually, he completely ignores anyone asking him something like that so brazenly, but that clever woman had clearly known that he had a weak spot when it came to talking about swords.

He can only hope that the General won’t mind too much and this instance won't come to bite him back later when he begs the General for his monthly allowance.… 

Hmm, but now that he thinks about it, the questions that she had asked him that day mirror some of his own. 

Yanqing casts his mind back to all the times the General refused his help in polishing his glaive and the displays in his office. The reason? It can't be related to his inexperience since he boasts a sizable sword collection of his own and the General knows he truly treasures those swords and is becoming an expert when it comes to their upkeep, not to mention that he’s a regular patron of the Artisanship Commission! Also, it's not just him, he doesn't let anyone touch his glaive. 

Hmm….

He's engrossed in thought, staring intently at the wall in front of him covered from top to bottom in those weapons to even notice that Jing Yuan has woken up from his nap and has been observing him silently for the past few minutes.  

“What happened for you to look so lost in thought?” 

“Ah–Apologies, General! I got distracted for a moment.” Yanqing immediately turns towards the General, who is looking at him with a curious expression. 

“Is something the matter, Yanqing?”

Jing Yuan’s voice is warm, like it often is when Yanqing is being stubborn about something and insists that he can handle it on his own. However, the General will always coax him into confiding all his troubles, no matter how frivolous. Yanqing cannot help but deflate his shoulders slightly at that tone. He hates making the General worry about him. 

There really is a lot on his mind right now. Many questions cross his mind, about the Devastator Glaive and its elusive maker. He is curious, and he cannot lie and say that it's nothing because the General is too perceptive for that. Luckily, he is saved from answering the moment he opens his mouth. 

"Jing Yuan, those Preceptors called again. Same thing again. I believe we'll need to hold a meeting with those fools soon. I'd like to discuss the matter of the Alchemy Commission with you.” 

“It can wait. I'll call you in later, Qingzu.” 

Well, no such luck today. Ms. Qingzu simply nods and leaves the chamber. The General gestures to Yutie next and the Cloud Knights at the door and all the Divine Foresight staff disperse at once. It's only him and the General here now. 

“Speak freely, Yanqing.” Jing Yuan looks directly at him, expectantly. 

There's no use hiding it any longer. 

“General, I know you told me to forget everything I saw that day, but I just can't help but wonder…the significance of these weapons you keep here. And your Devastator Glaive too…they were all crafted by that person, right?”

A beat of silence. 

“I didn't expect you to be thinking about this. Yes, they were.” Jing Yuan's expression softens all of a sudden and Yanqing doesn't know how else to describe it, but the General looks…sad. He hates that expression on him. He hates that damned Stellaron Hunter even more for being the cause of it, even though he doesn't know what exactly happened between the two of them. 

The day that those old friends had reunited at Scalegorge Waterscape not long ago had been wrought with way too much tension. Yanqing had watched as the General's old master Jingliu, who previously held the title of the Sword Champion of the Luofu, and that Stellaron Hunter known as Blade had kept talking about the past and even traded blows with each other. With that atmosphere, it was hard to imagine they all used to be friends at some point. 

Dan Heng had simply said that he planned to return to the Astral Express. Yanqing had noticed how the General had been the quietest amongst the four of them but had also looked the most anguished. 

And yet he had already put into motion his plan to send Jingliu to the Yuque instead of the Xuling. True to his title, he'd probably predicted what she and that blond coffin-carrying merchant had sought to do and done every bit of his duty to protect the Luofu. Still, seeing him so distraught that day had been an unprecedented sight for Yanqing. 

“Do you…miss your friends?” 

The General seems to give it some thought before answering. 

“Hm, I wonder, who wouldn't? But not as much as everyone seems to think. It's been a long while, after all. As you’ve already seen, we've all gone our separate ways.” 

“...I don't think it ended well. When you told me to take Grandmaster around for a tour of the Luofu along with Dan Heng that day, we went to Stargazer Navalia and I helped her conduct the soul-soothing ceremony for someone called ‘Baiheng.’ That's the same Foxian pilot who wrote that book you once gave me right, General, the one called Views of the Universe from a Starskiff? I…heard what happened to her in the end. She didn’t deserve any of that.” 

“Indeed. Her end was too cruel of a fate. But I wanted to share her learnings with you.” 

“I enjoyed reading that travelogue, General! I hope she's at peace now, wherever she is.” 

“I hope so, too.” The General's voice is gentle and his gaze seems far away, as if he's reminiscing about something in the past.

Up until this moment, Yanqing had sort of pretended that none of it had ever happened because the General had told him to forget about everything he saw that day. Dan Heng had said that it was because the General wanted to protect him.

Yanqing does not want to be protected from these complicated emotions just because he is not yet of age. He may be a child but he still wants to be someone the General can rely on. Maybe it is for the same reason that he works twice as hard as any of the other Cloud Knight recruits his age and jumps at every opportunity to prove himself. He wants to become someone worthy of the General's trust in him.

He wants to become just like the General, who took the difficult path and ended up becoming a legendary hero of the Xianzhou.

Not only that, he has always wanted to learn more about the General's past and his time in the High Cloud Quintet, but he has never once touched those stories or butterfly immersias about the General’s life, always wanting to hear from the General himself. 

Although the General gave him Baiheng's records of various foreign places to read and even described the prowess of the previous Sword Champion—which struck a desire in Yanqing to win that title for himself—he has never really mentioned the other two members of the Quintet. Dan Heng is not the High Elder that the General once knew, but at least they seem to be on good terms now, seeing as even his exile has been revoked. 

Blade, however, remains a complete enigma. 

He is the craftsman responsible for the General's glaive and all the weapons that he still carefully preserves to this day. He is also the criminal wanted for committing the Ten Unpardonable Sins of the Xianzhou Alliance, along with numerous other atrocities across the galaxy, with an enormous bounty issued by the IPC stuck to his forehead.

Just who is he, really? 

Yanqing has a lot of questions and the General doesn't seem to be deflecting them as usual. Maybe he knows that it was only until so long that he could keep Yanqing’s curiosity and concern at bay. Whatever the reason, he is determined to get to the bottom of it today. 

“Next, we went to the Artisanship Commission and I couldn't help but overhear their conversation about the previous Furnace Master. That Yingxing…he sounds too arrogant! I remember Miss Baiheng's travelogue about her trip to the Zhuming mentioned a young artisan called Yingxing too. He's the same Blade?” 

Jing Yuan does not reply.   

“Then…well, what happened next at Scalegorge Waterscape was much too confusing for me…all I know is that Miss Baiheng tragically died in battle and Imbibitor Lunae and this Yingxing attempted to bring her back to life using the power of the Abundance which drove everyone apart and Grandmaster ended up becoming mara-struck. All of them turned into enemies of the Xianzhou overnight.”

Yanqing is almost panting by the time he finishes speaking. 

“That’s more or less it, don’t worry about such bygone matters anymore,” Jing Yuan sighs. “It's indeed hard to see all your old friends fighting each other. Yanqing needs to be careful in the future as well. You never know what might happen.” His voice remains level as ever, even though his expression is inscrutable. 

“Don't worry about me, General!” Although Yanqing wondered at times if he would ever fall out with his close friends in the Cloud Knights the way the General's friends did, he doesn’t think anything that catastrophic would happen to him. He'll always choose the General over any friends, anyway. He may not have any family of his own but his earliest memory was that of the General, and he would always honor it—remain loyal to him, first and foremost.  

Suddenly he feels even more frustrated at that Stellaron Hunter. What was his relationship with the General? Hadn’t the General told Yanqing to watch him carefully in the Shackling Prison? What had he done for the General to change his mind and let him escape on purpose? Why had the General trusted a criminal like him?

More importantly, why did the General still keep all these weapons and still use the glaive forged by him?

Every time Blade showed up on the Luofu since then, Yanqing had fought against him but Blade had been able to read his next moves without exerting any effort. At his current level, he was no match for him. It was truly humbling. And here Yanqing was, praising the weapons crafted by that very person! It was just too annoying. 

“Then what about that Stellaron Hunter? He's the one who started this whole mess by suddenly turning up on the Luofu. You let him escape from the Shackling Prison too, General! And you still use the glaive crafted by him and don't let anyone else touch the weapons he made…why?”

Jing Yuan chuckles at the petulance in Yanqing's voice. 

“Mm, you have many troubles, don't you? You almost remind me of myself from back then…” The General does not offer him any further explanation and just ruffles his hair as he stands up. 

A couple of strides later and he's at the farthest end of the Seat of Divine Foresight, the wall where the Xianzhou’s space-folding technology has been suspended, showing them a real-time view of the galaxies the vessel is passing by. 

With his face hidden from view, Jing Yuan gazes out into the stars. 

It's hard to tell what he's thinking, like usual.  

Only when Yanqing is finally ready to admit defeat and thinks that the matter of “the secret behind the General's glaive” is an impossible mystery to resolve after all, does the General speak again, this time in an indecipherable tone. 

“As for my glaive, it is precious to me. Maybe when you grow up in the future, I'll give it to you. For now, though, I just…do not wish to part with it.”

Jing Yuan supposes there is something to be said about how among all the memories amassed over his long life, the time he first met "that person" will always remain unforgettable.

He closes his eyes and sees a peculiar shade of aster blue he'd recognize anywhere. Opens them to see a blur of falling ginkgo leaves in a storm of yellow, slipping from his fingers and scattering all over his backyard. All the flowers are in full bloom. He hears the birds chirp playfully as sunshine rains down upon him in the likeness of a warm spring.

The Luofu had embraced a warm spring and one of the hottest summers on record that year too, several Star Calendar cycles ago, as if in welcome. 

Sometimes it feels like it was one of those pivotal moments that split your life into two distinct parts: Before and After. An event that shapes your existence. For some, it's calamity and disaster; for others, a remarkable victory; and for most yet, it’s nothing extraordinary—a predictable life story. Jing Yuan thinks he belongs more to the latter category, unlike the dramatized versions of him you’d find in the countless plays about the legendary High Cloud Quintet that remains a hot topic aboard the Xianzhou ships.

Of the multiple plays, butterfly immersias, and even elegies written about him and his friends, most read like works of fiction, but it's to be expected and he can’t fault the authors: no one knows the plain old truth and he surely has no intention of sharing it with them. 

Though Jing Yuan has experienced his fair share of life’s tragedies and successes, the true turning point in his life was something that happened in his childhood and was as mundane as meeting another person. 

Long-life species have to be cautious about which memories to keep and which to discard, it is the very root of their mara, after all. “If something brings you pain, cast it away at once. If something brings you joy, cling to it with all your might.” This is the mantra most Xianzhou natives live by. 

Jing Yuan doesn’t know if there's any truth in the saying, but for someone like him, the boundaries between the two have been blurred beyond distinction for as long as he can remember, anyway. 

“Bittersweet” perhaps, as someone more poetic than him would say in one of these hackneyed plays. A bittersweet ending for the legendary heroes of the Xianzhou Alliance! Read to learn more about the shocking Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae! 

He wishes he could summarize it so neatly, too. 

Alas. He looks up to watch the falling leaves. 

Mara has a curious way of creeping up on you, he knows. He wonders what mara will look like on him, what imprint these ginkgo leaves will leave behind on his soul as they finally stick to his old living shell. Like a childlike wish, he dares to hope to see that shade of blue once again—if only in his dreams—but it is a silly thought, even for him, and soon extinguished. 

Now then, of these conflicting memories, what deserves remembrance, and what is better off forgotten? 

He doesn't know. 

What he does know is that he cannot forget some things, no matter the price. The Devastator Glaive called "Starfall Reverie" is a solid reminder in his hand and tangible proof of those seventy-odd years he can't even begin to forget. 

In the end, it's all the same, he guesses. A finch lands on his shoulder and makes its home in his hair. Jing Yuan pets it with the gentlest of fingertips. 

If given the choice, Jing Yuan would sooner forget everything else in his long life than the time he spent with that craftsman called Yingxing. 

Year 7321 Star Calendar

Now that he thinks about it, the “Before” of Jing Yuan's life was quite unremarkable. He was only a kid at the time, the true definition of a “little brat,” as his superiors in the Cloud Knights put it. Those were the days when his greatest joys consisted of skipping training to attend opera performances and triumphing over those old masters during starchess matches at the Exalting Sanctum every evening. 

His academy days were even more nondescript in comparison. He doesn’t remember any subjects that piqued his interest, nor did any faces become familiar while growing up. Life used to be dull, but then he veered onto the path of becoming a Cloud Knight, going against his parents’ wishes of sticking to a peaceful career at the Realm-Keeping Commission just how most generations of his family did. 

Everyone knew that the Cloud Knights were thrust onto the front lines from a tender age, where myriad dangers loomed and victory was not often guaranteed. Xianzhou natives may not die of old age but death bloomed evergreen on the battlefield. And if you didn't die, the trauma left behind was guaranteed to make you succumb to your mara sooner rather than later. It was a fact of life.

Still, he would much rather walk the dangerous road. The thought of doing the same thing day after day was so unappealing to him that he never once considered taking the entrance exam for the Realm-Keeping Commission, even though a long lifespan meant that you could try your hand at almost everything. 

Simply becoming a Cloud Knight was not enough, either. He hated patrolling the streets of the Luofu or guarding shipments at the dock and always yearned for more excitement in his job. Despite being frequently described by his superiors as a lazy child who often caused them headaches, he was well aware that they were equally amazed by his sharp wit. He resolved conflicts using his brains rather than brawn, which quickly earned him a reputation, even from a very young age.

After barely a year of training at home, he was soon dispatched off to foreign worlds to combat the abominations. His strategies frequently helped the Cloud Knights secure massive victories. One notable instance was the encounter with Puppeteer Jellyfish on an oceanic planet, where Jing Yuan quickly realized that his comrades’ consciousness had been hijacked and the Navis Astriger they were aboard was being turned into a hivemind. 

Despite being a young kid at the time, he devised an efficient rescue plan that led to a "bloodless victory," immediately propelling him to fame. Upon his return to the Luofu, he even caught the attention of the Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance.

With it, he got himself a promotion, a raise, and a Master. 

–

Jingliu was a warrior high up the ranks of the Cloud Knights who had cultivated peerless skill with the sword. He'd heard about her before. Jingliu, the indomitable knight, the strength of whose sword was equivalent to an entire army. 

She was interested in personally teaching him swordplay, even though none of the articles or hearsay about him ever mentioned his prowess in battle. He didn’t know what potential she saw in him.

With his wooden sword knocked from his hand, he asked his new Shifu why she chose the sword over the thousand other weapons capable of killing an enemy or even the Zhuming’s colossal mecha warships that could destroy entire planets with their huge artillery. His Master, a cold and frosty lady, had the ghost of a smile on her face as she responded that it was like asking a poet why they wrote poems. There were many ways to express oneself, she said, but this was the only way for her.

Jing Yuan wondered then if he'd ever find his own way like her, a weapon to use as a medium of self-expression. He doesn't think he'll ever take his martial aptitude that seriously. Better not tell Jingliu…

Ever since that day, he has been training under his Master on the Luofu. Even though she has an uptight personality, she treats him fairly and doesn't seem to mind that his skills are below par. He’s been on several expeditions with her now and although they cannot be considered close by any means, he has come to learn a few things about her. 

Jingliu is a survivor of the Cangcheng disaster, which means she is around a thousand years old, rare even for Xianzhou natives. She is cold and reserved and rarely ever laughs at his attempts to lighten the mood. She never speaks of her past and has no friends among the Cloud Knights. He begins to believe that his Master truly is a "peerless" existence before he sees her genuinely smile for the first time. 

It happens during a mission when they encounter a Foxian woman with purple hair, whose personality is the exact opposite of his Master's. Baiheng, he learns, is a sharpshooter pilot from the Yaoqing who can talk a mile a minute and always has a bubbling stream of trivia ready to fill up any conversation. Even while conversing with his taciturn Master, Baiheng's lively chatter brings a rare smile to Jingliu's face, and Jing Yuan can't help but be awed at the sight. 

“So, he’s your disciple? This kid doesn’t even reach my waist, hahaha! How adorable!” 

“Hello, Miss.” 

Jing Yuan politely introduces himself but Baiheng just slings a hand across his shoulders and reaches over to pinch his cheeks. 

“Nice to finally meet you, Xiao Yuan. I’ve heard so much about you from Jingliu!” 

He looks at his Master, who says nothing. 

And so, he finds out that his Master isn’t an emotionless person, after all.

–

He discovers that Baiheng used to be a Nameless, journeying freely across the galaxy before she returned to the Xianzhou fleet and became a pilot, just like the rest of her family back home on the Yaoqing. Sometimes, Jing Yuan wishes he could do that too. Being a Galaxy Ranger doesn't sound too bad either, based on all the tales he's heard from Baiheng.

He finds out that her dynamic personality permeates into her driving skills as well; somehow she has managed to crash more starskiffs than anyone else in her entire department combined. He witnesses it firsthand the time she crashes a skiff because she's too excited seeing Jingliu and him waiting for her at the Starskiff Haven dock. It's a miracle she gets out unharmed without a single scratch on her but Jing Yuan would later learn that her luck has always been better than the average person’s. Maybe that's the reason she's still employed with the Sky-Faring Commission. 

Baiheng is someone who is fun to be around; he enjoys her rambling and doesn't mind her coddling him every chance she gets. More importantly, his Master's personality becomes significantly more tolerable and lenient whenever she is around, allowing Jing Yuan to savor the joys of slacking off once more as the two of them are absorbed in their own little world.  

Baiheng constantly travels from place to place on her missions, but Jingliu always makes it a point to receive her at Starskiff Haven whenever she returns, be it after months or years. Each time she comes back, she brings back lots of interesting tales about her travels, along with a plethora of snacks, souvenirs, and specialty wines that Jing Yuan's not allowed to touch. These reunions are always pleasant, just like the very first time he met her. Thus, he tags along with his Master every time Baiheng's starskiff lands (or crashes) back at the Luofu.

–

The artificial sun is beginning to set over the false sky of the delve by the time Jing Yuan makes his way over to the Starskiff Jetty, ambling unhurriedly behind Jingliu.  

He bites back a yawn. Today has been much too tiring. Master made him practice so many tricky maneuvers that he's sure his arm is going to fall off or at the very least remain sore for the entire week. He's sure the hack-and-slash movements of the blade are imprinted onto his very eyelids now. 

The only silver lining is that his evening is free from further practice. He's simply looking forward to the treats Baiheng will bring for him this time around from the Zhuming and the dinner that they'll have soon. Hmm…the night market at Aurum Alley sounds tempting. It's a hot evening but combating heat with spice is the way to go for real warriors! 

Soon enough, Jingliu slightly lifts her head towards the sky. 

“Baiheng-jiejie!” He waves as he sees her starskiff closing in. Then he thinks maybe it wasn't such a good idea as she lifts her hand from the navigation panel to wave back at him enthusiastically. Huh…her silhouette seems larger tonight. Is this another one of the tricks she's learned? Jing Yuan squints a little as he realizes that there's another person with her. 

In a few seconds, her starskiff lands in a flash, as safely as she can manage it, and Jing Yuan watches as a young boy in the vermilion red uniform of the Artisanship Commission stumbles out, clutching the railing for support, no doubt seeing stars. He looks to be only a few years older than him. 

He vaguely remembers now: his Master had mentioned that Baiheng would be bringing over a young craftsman the next time she returned. Apparently, this was a boy Baiheng had become familiar with on the Zhuming when she’d gone there as part of a Yaoqing delegation some years ago. Later, Jingliu had met him as well when she was sent there on some official mission, right before the time she took Jing Yuan in as a student. It was rare enough that his tight-lipped Master had mentioned someone other than Baiheng, so Jing Yuan had wanted to know who he was. He learned that this craftsman was actually a disciple of Master Huaiyan of the Zhuming so he must be pretty talented. However, his curiosity didn’t extend beyond that and he'd easily forgotten that today was supposed to be the day of this person’s arrival. 

Baiheng follows the boy out and laughs a little as she slings an arm over his shoulders and nudges him onto the platform, towards where Jing Yuan and Jingliu are waiting. 

“I’m back! The two of you, look who I brought along, meet Yingxing! Well Jingliu’s already met him once but it's the first time the kids meet~” 

Yingxing bows elegantly in their direction but seems slightly tense, hesitant to say anything. Or perhaps it's just motion sickness. Baiheng then gently presses a hand to his head and whispers something in his ear, at which he relaxes and looks up again. 

“It's good to see you again, Miss,” he addresses Jingliu and then turns to Jing Yuan. 

“Hello, nice to meet you.” 

His voice is steady yet a little bashful. Jing Yuan is willing to bet it's because of how intimidating his Master always appears.

Surprisingly however, Jingliu actually cracks a smile. Before Jing Yuan can respond to the greeting, his Master cuts in. 

“Hah, I remember he wasn't this meek on the Zhuming, boasting about all sorts of things. I thought you'd rub off on him even more in all this time,” she says, shooting Baiheng a pointed glance. 

Baiheng laughs along, “Nothing wrong with that! He's just a tad shy. And you know he has good reason to boast!” 

“He's finally grown taller than my sword. Taller than this little brat, too,” Jingliu gestures at Jing Yuan standing next to her. 

Yingxing looks at him once again and Jing Yuan suddenly finds himself at a loss for words. He clears his throat but can't think of anything to say. Yingxing's gaze only lingers for a few moments before darting off to the side but it is strangely intense. 

His eyes are a peculiar shade of blue Jing Yuan can't quite place and his dark hair is twisted into an elegant half-knot that falls to his waist, and now that he's standing up straight, he has a posture so perfect that not a single strand seems out of place. Despite the undoubtedly long and tumultuous journey from the Zhuming with Baiheng as his pilot, Yingxing's robes look impeccably pressed and the only things he carries with him are some well-worn scrolls, pressed tightly to his chest. In contrast, Jing Yuan, who has been practicing since morning, knows his own hair and uniform probably do not quite paint the same tidy picture. 

He is…handsome, to say the least. Not that Jing Yuan will ever admit such a thing out loud.  

“A-Yuan, why do you look so shy? It’s not like you. C'mon, greet your new friend! Or should I say your fellow disciple?” 

“What?” At this, Jing Yuan immediately whips his neck around to look at his Master.  

“What, Jingliu, you didn't tell him?”

“I forgot.” Jingliu merely waves a flippant hand at Baiheng before grabbing her suitcase and stalking off towards a quieter spot, away from the bustling crowd enveloping them. Baiheng grumbles a little before scurrying after her, beckoning the two of them to follow along. 

It is a busy evening like always in Starskiff Haven and the light dims as the sun finally sets in the sky. Thankfully, a cooler breeze starts to blow. The starskiffs take off and land every few seconds and create a complicated web of patterns in the strip of sky above them. The Jade Gate is luminescent as ever behind the railing they're walking along and Jing Yuan notices Yingxing taking in the sights, eyes lingering on the architectural marvel. The Luofu truly is beautiful at night. 

“A-Yuan, Yingxing has come to learn at the Luofu’s Artisanship Commission and will soon craft weapons for the Cloud Knights. While he works, Jingliu has agreed to teach him some basic swordsmanship that can help with his job,” Baiheng explains. 

Yingxing bows again, this time facing Jingliu. “Thank you, Shifu!” 

“Yes, just wait till you see how talented Little Yingxing is…though the Luofu isn't the Zhuming by any means, just know that his talent truly knows no bounds! I can bet he's going to become the most famous craftsman in the entire Alliance and craft weapons that everyone will remember for ages to come, haha~”

Yingxing seems used to hearing her extravagant praise and only ducks his head down in embarrassment. 

“Don’t you need to report to the Palace of Astrum now? Once again, the Helm-Master will complain to me about how you can always be found gossiping about your missions instead of actually reporting them on time,” Jingliu remarks dryly. 

“Hehe, I’m going, I'm going…but you know what? Jingliu, come with me, we can share a drink later!” Baiheng winks at her. Jingliu sighs, long-suffering but doesn’t slacken her grip on Baiheng's suitcase either. Till date, Jing Yuan has yet to see his Master ever deny Baiheng anything, a weakness he's always willing to put to good use. 

Next, Baiheng turns to them with a smile and rubs her palms together. 

“As for you kids…A-Yuan, this is Xiao Yingxing's first time on the Luofu. I've already got the paperwork for the Realm-Keeping Commission done in advance but can you please take him to the Artisanship Commission and help him get settled in? Show him around the delves too, if you can. I promise your weekend will be off,” she cajoles.

“Of co—”

“Jing Yuan, show him around and eat with him tonight,” Jingliu orders. 

“Yes Master, of course jiejie,” he nods obediently. The fact that his Master didn't object to this proposed little vacation is already a rare victory he is determined to savor and if keeping a handsome stranger company is the price, so be it. He will make the most out of it, like always. 

“Good kid! Xingxing, just stick close to A-Yuan okay?”

Yingxing nods. 

Before they leave, Baiheng ruffles Yingxing’s hair and pats Jing Yuan on the back, (carefully avoiding his sore arm like she somehow knows what happened today) and pulls them ever so slightly closer to each other. Jingliu only clicks her heel in impatience. 

“We'll be on our way now. Remember to get along well!”

–

And then, it was just them. 

Jing Yuan still remembers the moment so clearly, even though he has had hundreds of years to wash down the memory with. Despite it all, as though hiding at the end of all time, was the young boy named Yingxing who had been ever so prickly even from that very first meeting.  

I have a map. I don't want to trouble you. I'll take my leave first. 

Jing Yuan laughs a little as he remembers the way Yingxing had dumped his timid persona so unceremoniously in those first few words to him, and had marched off towards the exit all by himself, without even sparing him a second glance.

He remembers being a little dumbstruck back then. 

Brat as he may be, Jing Yuan was still polite and believed in niceties, a concept alien to Yingxing for anyone other than Baiheng, apparently. 

He'd been about to introduce himself just then, maybe even throw in a small bow as a gesture of acknowledging each other as comrades in arms who would soon suffer Jingliu's wrath together. He was also thinking of what meal to treat him since it was Yingxing's first time aboard the Luofu. Maybe he could even get him to try mung-bean soda for the first time! 

Jing Yuan laughs. As if it would ever be that easy. 

A newcomer on the Luofu, a talented artisan whose reputation preceded him, who came bearing a sharp attitude towards everyone and everything around him, he was simply Jing Yuan's favorite game of starchess waiting to happen. 

Jing Yuan wonders whether that initial interaction (or lack thereof) set the tone for the rest of those short-lived years they spent together. 

An advance and retreat, a push and pull, a back and forth that Jing Yuan set out on, right from his juvenile years. A game that he never grew tired of playing. 

Like a hurried chess piece on the board, Jing Yuan chases after the boy clad in red while Yingxing tries his very best to ignore him and walks away faster. 

“Wait for me!” 

“You're going the wrong way!” 

“You have longer legs, it's not fair!”

Yingxing acts like he can't hear him at all and he only gets some weird stares from the passing crowd until, due to some very clever maneuvering on Jing Yuan’s part, they are set to board the same civilian starskiff to the Artisanship Commission delve.

Jing Yuan remembers gloating with pure glee. 

He is greeted with a creased forehead in return. Tightly pinched brows and a taut jaw. Jing Yuan wonders for a second whether Yingxing is purposely trying to make this so gratifying for him. Aloof as he tries to appear, his face betrays all his emotions!

This is going to be fun. 

“Didn’t you hear what Master and Baiheng-jiejie said? I have to make sure that you get settled in. You may not know this now but our Master is quite strict. I can’t possibly disobey her instructions,” Jing Yuan says sagely as he takes the seat opposite him. 

Yingxing sighs and carefully unfurls one of the many scrolls he is carrying.

“I'll tell them that you did your job. Now can you please leave?”

“Although I'm flattered you'd do something like that for me, lying is never a very wise strategy. I don’t want either of us to end up in trouble.” 

Yingxing reads the text slowly as if committing it to his memory and pays him no mind. His posture while sitting down is straight as well, and he only has to crane his head down slightly to look at the document. 

“What are you reading? Is it interesting? I bet I'll be better company. You really wound me, Shixiong.” 

Yingxing finally looks up at that and meets his eyes. Their automated starskiff takes off into the sky at that exact moment too. Jing Yuan remembers the strong wind whipping against his hair and the aster blue eyes of the boy sitting in front of him. The air smelled of ozone, perhaps there was a summer storm brewing in one of the delves they were passing by. 

Yingxing's appearance is still unruffled as he suddenly spits out a question.

“Are you a Xianzhou native?” 

Jing Yuan blinks. 

“What, do I not look like one? Well, many people do mistake me for a Foxian at first glance hehe, but yes, I’m a Xianzhou native. I'm still growing up but it's only a few years until I match your—”

“No, I mean, you don’t have to address me with honorifics. The training is only for a few months anyway and I’m, well, a short-life species.”  

The way he says it seems…odd. Jing Yuan would only discover later just how much resentment Yingxing held for this particular term. 

“What does that have to do with anything though? You’re still a senior to me. I heard that you were Master Huaiyan's disciple, no less.”

Yingxing sighs again, looking outside now. 

“I'm going to die before you. My lifetime will likely just be a speck in your vast memory. I don't have the time that you do but I need to accomplish a lot of things here on the Luofu. So, let's not waste each other's time with frivolities.” 

Wow. 

He certainly doesn't mince his words, does he?  

Jing Yuan remembers thinking that maybe this was the challenge he was searching for all along. If he became a Galaxy Ranger or a Nameless or even a Realm-Keeping Officer, maybe they never would've met on that fateful day. 

Surely, his life will no longer be boring now. 

“Don't be such a downer. We're about to become companions soon, Shixiong,” he grins cheekily, watching how Yingxing's expression morphs into a poorly concealed scowl. “I wouldn't call that a frivolity,” he adds. 

“Companions? Says who? Ridiculous. Is there something wrong with your brain?” 

“You're mean, Shixiong. Even meaner than Master. She always calls me a little brat but I only ever have everyone's best interests in mind. And this is our first meeting, how can you doubt me already? It's such a tragedy.” 

“Yeah, a brat is what you are,” Yingxing mutters under his breath as if he can't help it. 

“What was that?” 

“Nothing. Stop bothering me now.” Yingxing turns to his scroll again but Jing Yuan notices that the sharp line of his shoulders has slumped and he seems a touch more relaxed than before. 

“Okay. Just let me know what you want to have for dinner, Shixiong. Do you like spicy food? I know a good place.” 

“I'm not eating with you…and stop calling me that.”

Jing Yuan laughs as he stretches his arms over his head, then groans in pain as his sore arm is put under pressure. Jingliu truly is one brutal woman. 

Yingxing spares him a brief glance. 

“Did you not stretch properly,” he starts, before cutting himself short and turning back to the scroll as if he’d rather not entertain any further conversation. How amusing. 

“Were you saying something?”

“No.”

“Ahh, it hurts so much…” Jing Yuan clutches his arm, not wanting to let even a small chance at victory pass him by. 

“I’m in painnnn…” Jing Yuan cries in a pitiful voice. “Why did I have to run after you…I think I dislocated my shoulder, Shixiong.” 

“And who told you to do that?” Yingxing sneers. 

“Ahhhh…”

Their starskiff begins its descent into the delve and the entrance foyer of the Artisanship Commission greets them soon enough. While getting off the skiff, Jing Yuan pretends to stumble and hides a smile in his sleeve as Yingxing hurriedly catches him by the collar. A few scrolls fall from his elbow and roll to the ground. 

“Did you hurt your arms or legs, you fool!” Yingxing bursts out at him and a few Artisanship Commission apprentices passing by shoot them curious glances. 

“Sorry, Shixiong, I lost my balance,” he smiles sheepishly and fastens his hold on Yingxing to steady himself. “I'm not usually this clumsy, I swear.”

“Hard to believe,” Yingxing scoffs as he shakes him off. He begins to gather all his scrolls and Jing Yuan tries to help him before his hands are shooed away. 

“Give them to me. You can go now,” Yingxing declares in a voice that brooks no argument. 

“That's no fun, Shixiong…I even came all the way to escort you.” 

“That’s called stalking,” Yingxing mutters under his breath, or something similar. It seems like he's itching to go to the furnaces and start working as soon as possible. The Artisanship Commission is an intricate floating maze of paths and forges which Jing Yuan is not all that familiar with but Yingxing fits right in with his red uniform and looks very focused as he makes his way over to the counter. 

Jing Yuan is tempted to follow him inside but thinks better of it.  

There will always be opportunities in the future. 

“Good night, Shixiong!”

Yingxing turns back and nods once, his attention still on the registration desk. 

“If you need any help, call me. I put my number in your jade abacus when you dropped it earlier~” Jing Yuan says and rushes off, laughing to himself when he spots Yingxing's bewildered expression. 

He's finally starting to have some fun. 

–

Yingxing wakes up exactly at five every morning. It's a routine he's established ever since he joined the Xianzhou Zhuming's Artisanship Commission. 

Wake up, get ready, and he’d be off to the Flamedisk Forge Palace. Back in the Zhuming, he would sometimes get so lost in his smithing that he would forget to eat his meals and would sleep at the forge. After multiple reminders from Master Huaiyan, he's learned to strike a balance between his working and personal hours, not that he has many social events to attend. In his free time, he would usually peruse the books on weaponry he's borrowed from Huaiyan's collection and work on the drafts of his blueprints. His schedule is much the same on the Luofu.

It's been a few months since Yingxing arrived here. 

He's still settling in terms of his hectic duties and it's as smooth sailing a start as he could hope for. It's slightly hard to adjust to all the systems here when he's so used to working in the Flamedisk Forge Palace under Huaiyan's guidance but he has no doubt that he'll adapt well to the Creation Furnace too. He has to. 

His goal remains the same, after all. 

To make weapons for the Cloud Knights. 

He'll do anything it takes to reach there.

It becomes apparent early on that the masters in the Luofu's Artisanship Commission do not hold a favorable attitude toward short-life species like him, but that's to be expected. It must be the same all across the entire Xianzhou fleet. He wasn't expecting a warm welcome anyway but it's still slighting, being tasked with menial time-consuming work when they don't even know what he's capable of yet. 

He'll show these celestial old fools soon enough.

And then, there is his sword training. The only time free from working on tinkering stuff, he saves for learning from his new Master.

Jingliu is truly a force to be reckoned with. She always treats training like it is a real battle and the intensity yet effortlessness of her moves is not lost on him. The Zhuming didn't really have much of a strong military wing like the Luofu Cloud Knights so he's never been exposed to many strong warriors, much less someone of Jingliu's calibre. He can finally understand why she's called the Transcendent Flash. 

In the beginning, he just sits and watches her and Jing Yuan spar, watches her guide him around a particular move, the pair moving in quick flashes across the huge grass field reserved for their practice in the Ever-Hunt Plains. 

“As clouds that cover the heavens, will the Knights protect the Xianzhou! A Cloud Knight must never let slip their weapon, not let slacken their form.” 

“Yes, Master!” 

Yingxing's eyes have a laser focus on her blade. 

He studies how it moves, faster than lightning, how she wields it to attack, advance, and parry. He calculates the weight, and the air resistance and thinks of possible ways to optimize it. It is more challenging than he could ever imagine.  

The sword seems near perfect as the user herself but there has to be something only he can do to improve it, even though it seems impossible right now. 

On other days, Jingliu spars with him and it's pure insanity to wield a sword against her, even though he can tell that she's holding back, by a lot. 

He slowly learns the basic moves over the course of a few weeks and that is when Jingliu leaves him to practice with Jing Yuan, who is more skilled with his glaive but has lesser finesse with a sword, putting them at almost the same skill level. 

He learns that sword fights are really fun when you actually stand a chance to win. 

It's exhilarating to hold something that he crafted himself and use it to dodge and attack in the intricate dance Jingliu taught him. 

Days pass by in quick succession. 

The only real problem he encounters on the Luofu so far is something…unusual. 

The only thing that Yingxing hadn't accounted for before coming to the Luofu is a chronic headache slowly worming its way into his brain, better known as the little brat called Jing Yuan.

The kid is obstinate, to say the least.

On the days that they have practice together, Jing Yuan enthusiastically begs him to spar with him until Yingxing runs out of strength and has to sit down to catch his breath. 

On the days that they don't, Jing Yuan can be found in the Artisanship Commission delve looking for him, begging to practice together.  

It's not the idea of sparring itself that Yingxing is averse to. 

Jing Yuan has pretty good form for someone his age and is advancing at a highly unusual speed. Observing the moves of someone less polished than Jingliu is important for Yingxing too, since he wants to design a weapon that all Cloud Knights can wield. 

The problem is that Jing Yuan acts like a demon afterward, making all sorts of ridiculous bets and promises, for example, whoever loses has to do anything the other wants and has to write the winner's name on his forehead, has to buy the other food and all sorts of ridiculous dares. Yingxing doesn't know how a Cloud Knight recruit can be this far removed from the law. 

He's far too cunning. Always on his best behavior around his Master and Baiheng, so nobody ever takes Yingxing's complaints seriously. 

Yingxing consistently loses their first few matches but wins back a few times too, taking Jing Yuan by surprise. 

Since then, it's as if Yingxing has become the sole motivation for his training. He trains twice as hard and barely skips any practice sessions and begs Yingxing to keep sparring with him even when their time is up. 

He talks more than necessary, too. 

“Shixiong, you're breathing so hard. Tired already? Let's take a break now~” 

“Shixiong, your hair is undone. Want me to help?” 

“Shixiong, let me use your sword, you take mine.” 

It's an endless stream of incessant chatter from him and Yingxing doesn't know how to deal with it. 

No amount of resistance gets Jing Yuan to stop either way. It's like his special talent is pushing all of Yingxing's buttons. 

Yingxing is not a person suited to much interaction but Jing Yuan makes it so that he just can't avoid it. 

Still, he's the only person that Yingxing can talk to here. The other craftsmen at the Artisanship Commission whisper about him being cold and arrogant but Yingxing does not care enough to refute. 

There is simply no time. 

As a short-life species, his lifespan is only around 100 years, if he's lucky. That's nothing compared to the Xianzhou natives who can hone their skill for hundreds of years. He has no time to waste. 

He has only one goal, to defeat the abominations, the borisin, using the weapons that he crafts. 

He tries to focus solely on his work but Jing Yuan follows him to the Artisanship Commission and everywhere else he goes, under the guise of how his Master and Baiheng had asked him to look after him. That was ages ago. If anything, it's Yingxing looking after Jing Yuan and trying to get him to stop with his nonsensical ways. He is the one who has to lecture him about waking up early and not skipping classes (the ones which Yingxing does not have to attend), and to stop bullying those poor people at starchess in the Exalting Sanctum. Jing Yuan simply does way too many things unbefitting of a Cloud Knight.

Yingxing thinks it's ironic that out of all the things that he's famous for, it's his tactical strength. 

Although he's heard a lot about his unorthodox strategies, he's never actually seen Jing Yuan in action before. He wonders what he'd look like when the stakes are high.   

Yingxing doesn't know that he'll find out firsthand just a few years later. 

–

A few weeks later, Jingliu arranges a different kind of exercise during their joint practice session. 

“Until now everything that I've taught you has been within the confines of this controlled environment, with no unknown variables. However, everything is unpredictable out on the battlefield. You never know which direction your opponent will strike from. Today, I will act as the enemy. Both of you have to dodge as many attacks as you can,” she declares. 

“You have to wear a blindfold. No talking is permitted. Make use of your other senses. Don't let me catch you off guard. I will not go easy on either of you.” 

Jingliu makes them wear blindfolds and then it is as if she has disappeared from the arena altogether. He can't even sense her footsteps. 

Jing Yuan has done this type of training previously so he isn't that phased and tries to calm down his breathing completely so he can hear the tell-tale signs of Jingliu's attack. 

However, he notices that the person behind him is breathing quite heavily. 

A minute or two later, Jing Yuan hears Yingxing audibly gasp. He feels the cool air rushing past him to where Yingxing is, the cold hilt of Jingliu's sword colliding with his body lightly. 

There is a muffled yelp and then Jingliu moves away again, unable to be traced. 

Yingxing doesn't seem to be in any pain since he quiets down immediately. Jingliu is probably only using a miniscule amount of her strength right now but she is still quite powerful nonetheless. 

Jing Yuan cannot think any further since he has to dodge and move in rapid succession as he senses a fast-paced attack aimed at him from multiple directions. 

Jingliu is faster than lightning and Jing Yuan almost twists his ankle while trying to dodge all her blows. He feels like prey being hunted for dinner. He listens to the whooshing sound her sword makes as it whizzes past his head, just barely missing his ear by a tiny sliver. 

He is so focused on trying to dodge perfectly that he doesn't notice that Yingxing has gone completely quiet and still behind him. 

As if possessed by a sudden impulse, Jing Yuan rips apart his blindfold and looks behind him, using his sword to attempt to parry Jingliu's slash at his arm. It ends up cutting his sleeve. 

Yingxing lies crouching on the ground with his arms pressed to his ears, shivering violently. He has not undone his blindfold and flinches at the slightest movement in the air. 

“Shixiong!” Jing Yuan rushes towards him. 

“Get up,” Jingliu orders immediately. 

Jing Yuan supports Yingxing's back and kneels next to him, gently unfastening the blindfold. Yingxing recoils from the touch as if he's been burned. His breathing does not improve. 

It is Jingliu who finally snaps him out of the stupor with a sharp tug at both his shoulders. 

Yingxing slowly opens his eyes and stares at the two of them, recognition flooding back into his irises. There are several beads of perspiration on his forehead despite the chilly morning. 

“This is a trauma response. You've been through war before?” Jingliu eyes him curiously. Jing Yuan remembers Baiheng explaining that Yingxing was originally an Outworlder but she did not mention where he came from or what his life used to be like before he came to the Zhuming. 

Yingxing takes a few deep breaths before responding. 

“Apologies, Shifu. It will never happen again,” his voice sounds as composed as ever. 

Jingliu stares expectantly at him for a few moments before turning away and sighing. Yingxing clearly does not want to talk about it. 

“You're dismissed for the day. Go rest. Jing Yuan, you can go for now but report back for evening practice.” 

“Yes, Master!” 

That day, Yingxing doesn't rush off to the Artisanship Commission like he usually does. He walks slowly and drinks in the surroundings for a long time, as if to reassure himself that he's no longer in any danger. Jing Yuan walks by his side. He doesn’t know what happened to Yingxing in the past but it looks like he has been through a lot already. 

“I know what you will ask,” Yingxing says quietly as he catches him staring. 

“I didn't even say anything yet,” Jing Yuan smiles, a little sheepishly. His gaze travels downward, taking note of Yingxing’s tightly clenched fists. 

“Don't say anything,” Yingxing says firmly. “It's none of your business. It's my problem and I'll deal with it accordingly.” 

The words are sharp but all Jing Yuan sees is the image of Yingxing curled up with fear in front of him. He knows now is not the time to talk about it. They are not that familiar with each other. He can only hope that this fact changes, with time. 

He has the startling realization that it is not just because he wants to sate his curiosity. For once, he actually wants to get closer to another person. 

“How can you say something so rude to your dear shidi?” Jing Yuan frowns and replies in a voice dripping with mock hurt. “I have a delicate heart, Shixiong, you need to be a bit more careful with me…” 

“Scram!” Yingxing shouts and Jing Yuan laughs, the knot in his chest slowly unfurling. 

Without realizing it, they have reached Aurum Alley via a long detour. As the sun sets, the lanterns soon turn on, one by one. The streets are packed with several tourists, all clamoring to sample the local Luofu cuisine. Jing Yuan is glad that he remembered to bring his wallet. 

“Alright, I won't ask. Actually, I’ll pretend I didn't see anything today. But in return, you have to eat with me tonight.” 

“I'll eat your head.” 

“Shixiong has good taste~” Jing Yuan winks at him. 

Yingxing glowers back but lets Jing Yuan lead him through the crowd and sits down at the table he picks without any complaints. 

The restaurant they've come to is small but lively and is one of Jing Yuan's absolute favorites. Their table is outside and a group of Outworlders are playing mellow music on foreign string instruments. The warm glow from the rows of lanterns above them and the faint song of the cicadas in the dying summer are all quite pleasant to behold. 

Jing Yuan orders the best food off the menu, not taking no for an answer when Yingxing tries to stop him from ordering so much.

“You better finish all of this.” 

“I’m famished, Shixiong, of course I will. So will you, when you realize just how tasty Luofu food is!” 

The first dish to arrive is their trademark crisped melon and diced chicken that Jing Yuan orders without fail each time that he’s here. Yingxing cautiously takes a bite and Jing Yuan pats himself on the back as he smiles at the stupefied expression taking over Yingxing's face. 

“I told you~” he sings. 

As all their dishes arrive, Jing Yuan slips some pieces of meat into Yingxing’s bowl when he isn’t looking. He could use the extra protein after such an exhausting day. 

They eat in comfortable silence and watch a group of Foxian children play tag nearby, laughing and chasing each other loudly. 

It is a long while before Jing Yuan speaks again. 

“Do you miss Baiheng-jiejie?” 

Jing Yuan isn't exactly expecting Yingxing to respond so he's surprised when he does. 

“Mm, a little,” he says, face softening. “It's funny that I've only met her a handful of times and still think that I can miss her,” he chuckles slightly, dabbing the oil from his lips with a napkin. 

“It's the same with me. That's the effect she tends to have on everyone. Even on our Shifu.” 

“They seem to be very close,” Yingxing remarks. This is the first time he's talked so much on a topic that isn't his work and Jing Yuan suddenly feels a deep sense of joy. It really is nice to share a meal with someone. Although Jing Yuan has had no problem making friends so far, he's never tethered himself to one spot long enough for any friendships to truly blossom.

Yingxing is different. Talking to him feels exhilarating yet comforting at the same time. Jing Yuan is never bored, yet he also never has to think too hard. It comes as easy as breathing to exist around him. 

“Yes, they're very close. Don't you think we'll be like them too in the future? Shixiong should also wait for me at Starskiff Haven like a faithful wife every time I return from a mi—I'm only kidding, put your chopsticks away—aaah not my cheek!” 

–

For the next few practice sessions, Yingxing sits by himself and watches the two of them spar again. 

He brings his sketchbook along and tries to etch into paper the wide strokes Jingliu makes every time she feints a blow and the way Jing Yuan carefully blocks his side using his blade. 

He's still a bit shaken up because of the exercise from earlier but he knows that this was bound to happen sooner or later. 

The borisin weapon nursery from where he escaped operated in much the same manner. Prisoners would be blindfolded, bound, and gagged, never knowing when they might be butchered to satiate a borisin's appetite or become a human subject for their brutal experiments. 

Although he’d confided in Baiheng that he had run away from such a planet, he'd never really told anyone the specifics of everything he saw there. Not to mention, the Foxians aboard the Zhuming strongly resembled the borisin so he'd unconsciously developed a fear of interacting with most people there. Baiheng was probably the only Foxian he'd ever talked to and she was much, much different from those abominations. 

She was warm and kind and for the first time in his life, Yingxing had felt like he could trust someone. 

Somehow, he got the same feeling when he shared a meal with Jing Yuan the other day. 

He'd never shared a meal with anyone before that night. It was a strange experience but definitely not unwelcome. Jing Yuan had fed him countless delicacies throughout the evening and Yingxing had gone to bed feeling content and warm.   

Speaking of, Jing Yuan does not look that well today. He is still practicing every move Jingliu teaches him diligently but there are dark bags under his eyes, as if he hadn’t managed to catch even a wink of sleep last night. 

Yingxing is slightly worried but doesn't think it is his place to comment. 

However, once practice ends, Jing Yuan immediately clings onto Yingxing’s shoulders all the way back to the Artisanship Commission and talks non-stop about this and that. Yingxing mentally scolds himself for even bothering to be concerned at all. Clearly, Jing Yuan has an inexhaustible supply of energy when it comes to pestering him. 

“You're about to fall asleep on your feet and you still want to go inside with me?” Yingxing asks as they step inside the furnaces. Yingxing's work station is in the corner of the room. A couple of his classmates look up as they enter. 

The blue uniform of the Cloud Knights does not go unnoticed and several apprentices straighten up their posture as they stare at Jing Yuan in admiration. 

Yingxing wants to roll his eyes. That’s right, somehow this brat is kind of famous on the Luofu. 

Jing Yuan, in lieu of an answer to his question, merely plops himself down on the table. 

Without a trace of shame, he stares at Yingxing through barely opened eyes and adjusts his position to make himself more comfortable.

Yingxing tries not to let his face contort into a scowl but it is to no avail. 

“Get up. I've got work to do,” he mutters, clicking his tongue in impatience. 

“Mhm, I'm too comfortable here, Shixiong,” Jing Yuan drawls, stretching his legs like a large, lazy cat. His hands carelessly brush against the sketch that Yingxing had been painstakingly working on for the entire week.  

Yingxing picks up the nearest hammer and bangs it on the table twice, not caring to be gentle in the least. 

Jing Yuan jumps up high and cries out clutching his ears. “Shixiong!” He shrieks in an accusatory voice and Yingxing regrets all his life choices so far. 

“Shut up, you’re creating a ruckus,” he whispers, not wanting to lose even more face in front of everyone.  

“And whose fault is that! You’re crazy…my ears are bleeding…” 

He looks too much like a sopping wet cat at that moment. Red splotchy cheeks and tears in the corners of his eyes, probably from the lack of sleep. Yingxing can almost imagine a pair of fluffy ears drooping down sadly to finish the look. 

“Ah, you look so tired. Why don’t you go back to your quarters and sleep?” Yingxing changes tactics and suggests in as placatory a tone as he can manage at the moment, which is not much. 

“Don’t want to!” 

“…”

“Is he a Cloud Knight or a pampered little maiden,” Yingxing mutters under his breath. 

“I heard that! Shixiong is truly a bully,” he whines. Everyone in the room shoots Yingxing a dirty look. Wow. Do these dimwits really think a meagre craftsman like him is capable of bullying an extremely illustrious Cloud Knight, someone personally taken in by Jingliu as a disciple? 

Yingxing heaves a deep sigh and wonders what Aeon he ever offended to end up like this. 

–

A few days later, on an unremarkable evening, Jing Yuan falls sick. It has been a long time coming, what with all the sleepless nights he’s had recently. 

He probably needs to make a trip to the Alchemy Commission but he does not feel like it. 

Today has been another long day. 

During morning practice, Jingliu made him and Yingxing run twenty laps around the Ever-Hunt Plains practice grounds as punishment. Apparently they kept chattering too much while working on their drills and Jingliu finally had enough of it. She was in a bad mood already, what with Baiheng having departed on a new mission not long ago. 

It was technically his fault. 

Talking to Yingxing was incomparably fun and he found that he never grew tired of it. Yingxing was a haughty person by nature and Jing Yuan loved to annoy him into talking more to him. When teased enough, Yingxing couldn’t help but give in and argue back and today had been another such day. 

This morning, Yingxing was passionately explaining some complicated sword blueprints to Jingliu while Jing Yuan was made to warm up all alone. As a result, once he joined him, he'd pestered Yingxing with more than a hundred questions about his current work which the other mostly only answered because he loved talking about his designs. 

Yingxing’s eyes completely lit up whenever he would explain something particularly complex and Jing Yuan…

Liked this expression. Liked it a lot. 

Yingxing's features looked much less severe when he relaxed and talked about a subject that he liked. It was endlessly fascinating to observe. Jing Yuan couldn't help but goad him on with further questions and “but what ifs.”

He looked so young and full of hopes and dreams when he spoke like this about heaven knows what. Describing machine parts in detail and the various crafting styles and mould patterns involved in creating weapons using the Creation Furnace. A radiant glow seemed to envelop his face every time he talked so animatedly. 

It was getting harder and harder to look away. 

Yingxing was pretty. 

Really pretty. 

“Are you even listening to me?” 

“Of course I am.” 

“You've just been staring mindlessly at me all this time,” Yingxing glared at him. 

Definitely not mindlessly. There were enough wild thoughts racing in Jing Yuan’s head to keep him tossing and turning in bed, all night long. He could barely concentrate on his training without glancing at Yingxing every other minute and going red. 

Of course, he does not say anything of the sort out loud. 

“Shixiong, let's race. Who can reach that tree the fastest?” 

Without even waiting for a beat, Jing Yuan had already taken off. The biting cold morning breeze helped cool down his cheeks but then he heard the sound of Yingxing's boots crushing the grass under his feet and a tired voice yelling his name as he chased after him. Jing Yuan ran faster as if his life depended on it. 

Jingliu's icy frown greeted them soon after that. The punishment, the practice and the lack of sleep had him thoroughly worn out by the afternoon. 

Which brings him to his current predicament. 

He didn’t go to evening practice today. Nor did he go find Yingxing after his shift at the Artisanship Commission. 

He doesn't want to see him again because he knows it will only confirm his own suspicions. 

Jing Yuan has always been smart. He can put a name to this feeling in this heart without much effort. 

It's the part that comes later that scares him, just a little. 

His head hurts. 

–

Yingxing is in the middle of knee-high piles of work when a cycrane drops him a letter. It's just a piece of paper really.

Tell Jing Yuan to reach the training ground by 8:00 sharp. If he doesn't, you will join him in running 50 laps tomorrow morning. 

The handwriting is sharp and elegant and Yingxing holds back a string of curses as he crumples up the sheet in exasperation. 

He thought he'd been let off easy tonight when Jing Yuan didn't follow him back to the furnaces but he should've known. There is no way in hell that Jing Yuan will stop being a nuisance in his life. 

These last few weeks, Yingxing saw Jing Yuan more times than he saw anyone else, including even his peers at the Commission. The annoying brat would stick to him and pick useless fights all day long. He would bother him constantly and somehow Yingxing could never devise a way out of all his stupid schemes. 

He is tempted to ignore the letter altogether but his limbs are still sore from running all those laps in the morning. He sighs, resigns to his fate, and then wracks his brain hard. 

Where did Jing Yuan even go? Every second that he was not training or working, he could be found stuck to Yingxing’s back like a persistent leech. He has no idea where else he could be. After so many days of dumbly staring at him without any explanation, Yingxing wonders if Jing Yuan has suffered a fall to his head, after all. Maybe he’s even slipped and fallen into a ditch somewhere?

Yingxing remembers that Jing Yuan has a particularly nasty habit of going to play starchess at the Exalting Sanctum every now and then and humiliating whichever unlucky soul it is that has stumbled upon his table that day. At other times, he likes to spend his time frolicking around in ponds, lakes and the like, and even enjoys playing with the finches and butterflies that frequent such places. What a perplexing individual. It is too late in the day for any of those activities though. That means, he’s probably in his quarters. The whereabouts of which Yingxing does not have even the slightest inkling about. 

Yingxing stares vacantly at his hands for a few seconds like a fool before suddenly remembering that Jing Yuan had put his contact info into his jade abacus, on the very first day that they’d met, in fact. 

He never thought he’d actually have to call him one day. Life is truly humbling him in every single way here on the Luofu. 

–

Jing Yuan wakes up from his short and fitful nap to the sound of his jade abacus ringing.  

He picks up without checking who it is and is almost sure that he’s still dreaming when he hears the voice at the other end. 

"Jing Yuan?” 

“Sh-Shixiong…” he stammers, totally at a loss. 

“Are you feeling unwell?” Yingxing cuts straight to the chase. 

“I’m fine,” Jing Yuan tries to say but his voice is so scratchy that no one would believe him, much less his Yingxing-shixiong. 

“Could have fooled me,” comes the sarcastic reply as expected. “Master said you didn’t make it to practice and clearly, you're not here. You’re ill, aren’t you.”

“I’m okay! Really, Shixiong. Don’t worry about me. I’ll tell Master, you must be busy with work right now, I’m so sorry to disturb you—” 

“Hah, now you suddenly develop a conscience?” Yingxing snorts at the other end. “Send me your location. I’m coming over right now. Sit tight, A-Yuan,” he says pointedly and Jing Yuan wants to melt into his covers. 

Half an hour later, Yingxing really does show up at his residence as promised. Jing Yuan is currently living in the Cloud Knight barracks. The other recruits are not used to having a visitor this late and crowd around Yingxing before Jing Yuan drags him into his room and firmly shuts the door. 

Yingxing sits on the bed and begins digging through his satchel without preamble. He looks completely composed, painting a prim and proper picture, totally unlike the internal turmoil that Jing Yuan is going through at the moment. 

It’s evident that Yingxing left in a hurry. His clothes are still stained with oil and his hair is tied up in a loose bun yet he still manages to look effortlessly elegant and tidy, like always. 

Jing Yuan tries to clear his throat and then winces. “Sorry for making you come all the way here, Shixiong,” he croaks. 

“Don’t talk,” Yingxing chides, not looking up. 

“I have never bought medicine for long-life species before so I don’t know if I made a mistake,” he mutters. “Also bought some congee, have it while it’s still warm.” He carefully sets a steaming bowl on the table and then takes out several bundles of fine powders and pellets from a pharmacy bag. Jing Yuan’s brain suddenly short circuits. 

Jing Yuan would later blame this on his fever but unfortunately it’s just his stupid brain at fault. He tackles Yingxing into an embrace, taking him by surprise and unceremoniously knocking them both to the floor. They lie there in a crumpled heap and Yingxing groans in pain before kicking him off to the side. 

Yingxing curses at him in earnest then, quite colorfully, with his vocabulary getting richer and richer by the second. Jing Yuan finds that he is too busy smiling at him to think of a reply. 

–

In a few more months, Yingxing’s sword training would come to an end. Soon enough he would not have much time to spend outside of working on his designs. He and Jing Yuan would no longer study together under the same Master. Nonetheless, it was a lovely summer indeed.

–

The years pass by in a blur. Besides all his memories of Yingxing, there was only one other incident from his teen years that left an indelible impression on Jing Yuan. It happened when he was on a foreign expedition along with Jingliu. It was a treacherous mission yet General Teng Xiao had personally included his name in the roster. 

Everything had been going according to Jing Yuan’s plans until the mara seized one of their own. 

Jing Yuan vividly remembers the flashes of fire, even hotter than the kilns back at the Artisanship Commission, and the twisted form of their comrade’s body. The unnatural growths had already begun and he’d grown taller than everyone else by a head in the span of a few minutes. The sounds of bones growing and cracking had been particularly chilling. 

So was the fact that this man now aimed his Devastator Glaive indiscriminately at all of them. Jing Yuan was familiar with him. Lao Wang was proficient at melee combat and had probably saved all their lives countless times over the course of this mission alone. 

“Master…he doesn’t recognize us,” Jing Yuan told Jingliu, feeling afraid for the first time in those four months. 

“So it is with the mara-struck,” Jingliu said in a voice devoid of inflection and moved quicker than lightning, already slashing her blade twice through Lao Wang’s torso before Jing Yuan even had the chance to react. 

He remembers distinctly the loud thud the fallen Knight’s body had made as it hit the ground. 

“To become stricken with mara is to be a long-life species. If I too become stricken in times hereafter, you must not hold back,” Jingliu instructed him, in the same stern tone she always used to tell him to correct his form during their practice sessions. 

Jing Yuan had the sudden urge to cry but weak things like tears had no place in a warrior’s playground. 

“Yes, master.” 

–

Jing Yuan stumbled upon the letters soon after…the incident. Baiheng didn’t stay on the Luofu much due to the nature of her job, but she used to live in the quarters assigned by the Sky-Faring Commission while she was here, and they’d called in Jingliu and Jing Yuan to take the deceased’s belongings so that they could ship them back to her ancestral home on the Yaoqing. 

Jingliu was a wraith of her past self and didn’t say a single word as she collected the bits and pieces remaining of her old friend. They found a stack of Baiheng’s manuscripts, some finished and some not, her huge collection of trinkets: keychains with colorful lace and ribbons tied to them, beaded bracelets, random toys, and wooden dolls from another planet, greeting cards and postcards with scripts on them they couldn’t even begin to decipher. 

The soft shawls and capes she used to love donning. The travelogue she was fond of writing, which contained a collection of recipes and glittering sights from various worlds. The diploma she received after graduating from the academy and becoming a fledgling pilot. 

She may not have spent a huge amount of time here, but this place looked lived in. A pang shot up Jing Yuan’s chest. This place screamed of Baiheng.  

They found the stack of letters in her bedside table drawer. There were so many of them, all carefully preserved. Jingliu was the sender of these correspondences, and she turned away as soon as she saw them. 

“Master, will you be taking these?” Jing Yuan asked her. 

Jingliu didn’t reply. The letters she’d written with all her heart only for them to find their way back to their sender so painfully…she couldn’t even bear to look at them.

Jing Yuan kept them for her. 

A year later, with memories of the Sedition still fresh in their minds, Jingliu fell to her mara. 

No sense of time, humanity waning, a serious case. You should leave, Jing Yuan. Jingliu is already—

Jing Yuan, the freshly anointed Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu, did his duty as her disciple just like how she’d told him to, all those years ago. 

“Farewell, Master. Your gift of instruction, I repay in this strike!” 

That night, he finally sat down to read. 

* 

To my dear friend, 

You made me promise to write more so here I am. Nothing interesting is happening here on the Luofu so I wonder why you want all the details, but I will oblige you anyway. I owe you for the peach blossom wine.  

Last week was that young craftsman's first proper sword lesson. He is still very arrogant, even on the field. Though he has little talent for the sword now, he watches my every move intently and makes observations I cannot completely understand. He talks in the technical jargon of those Artisanship Commission masters. He has got a long way to go in becoming a swordsman but that is clearly not what he is here for. He showed me a few blueprints of what he is working on and I have never seen anything like it, so I do not know yet if he is a fool or a visionary, but probably the latter, considering what you have seen of him in the Zhuming. 

Speaking of fools, Jing Yuan is doing well. That boy keeps improving steadily which is a relief but he is also becoming increasingly troublesome to deal with. He has taken a liking to the craftsman and follows him around everywhere. But I reckon you will be pleased to hear that. I do not know if they are “getting along” since the other one seems to ignore him majority of the time but on other occasions, they are constantly chattering back and forth until I admonish them. 

Who would have thought I would have to look over not one but two little brats. The things I do for you. 

Teng Xiao has told me to interrogate leads out of the criminals in the Shackling Prison and whatever I get out of them will be my next destination. It will be dangerous so you should stay away this time. If Jing Yuan's form improves, I will consider taking him along. The kid does come up with decent strategies, which we will surely need this time to win. 

I am doing fine. Remember to take care of your health. Sugar and wine do not count as food. It is going to be a long time till I see you again. Drive safely. 

Take care. 

*

To my dear friend,

I received your letter. It took me a long time to read since I was winding up the paperwork for that recent excursion but I am finally done now.

The mission was a success. Teng Xiao is pleased, especially with Jing Yuan's capability. You were right, it was bound to happen. We ran into some trouble at the tail end, perhaps you have already heard. An accomplished Cloud Knight from our regiment became mara-struck in the midst of battle. It is an inevitable fact of life for us long-lived people. Jing Yuan was shaken up at the sight but I have hopefully taught him not to waver ever again in the future. 

But I wanted to tell you something else. 

That brat Yingxing has crafted a weapon that none of the Masters in the Artisanship Commission could. It is a glaive, highly advanced design. I cannot describe it so you must come to see it in person. It is lighter than any previous design. It is all the Cloud Knights talk about these days. 

He is also designing a sword and even a bow. Maybe all that arrogance wasn’t for naught, I suppose. I will not even be surprised if he becomes the Furnace Master in a few years. You should come back soon to meet him. He asks about you, sometimes. He and Jing Yuan still argue all the time. No punishment can cure them. 

Also, I am planning to join that sword tournament, after all. You were right, it does not hurt to participate and it can be good practice for me. 

Things are much the same here. I hope your mission concludes smoothly. Remember your meals. Do not get drunk with your teammates. Drive safely. 

Take care. 

–

There were a lot of similar letters. It felt strange to see flashes of his own life described in just a few cursory words. It felt even stranger to know that this was all that remained of that time now. 

Jing Yuan read all night until he could probably recite the words by heart. 

–

To my dear friend,

You only left a couple of months ago so I do not want to be writing this letter so soon but I cannot help it. 

Do you remember how a few years ago we discussed how that proud craftsman would probably become the next Furnace Master of the Artisanship Commission? 

That time is already upon us. 

Completely unprecedented. He has bested all his superiors in the craft. His skill is light years ahead of everyone else, long-life species or not. Your diamond in the rough has proved his mettle. His final trial is in seven days’ time. It is bound to be more difficult than all the previous years combined. Jing Yuan and I haven’t heard from him in months now; he is way too busy. 

As expected, Jing Yuan is angry with me for dispatching him off to the Fanghu. The orders came from Teng Xiao himself. That brat is too immature to realize the kind of opportunities he is getting and how soon. All he complains about all day long is how he won’t be able to see his shixiong win. Truly ridiculous. 

If you can, do come back. Our new Furnace Master would want to see you. So do I, yes, I do admit it now, you win. Laugh at me if you want. 

Come home soon. Drive safely. 

Take care. 

*

If you asked Yingxing why he decided to craft weapons for all his friends, he'd likely not give you a straight answer. 

He doesn't know why either. 

He's the Furnace Master now, a title that many in the Artisanship Commission vy for, for years on end. The fact that a short-life species like him has completed the impossibly difficult Great Smelting Furnace ritual is the talk of the entire delve and beyond. To top it all off, he's only in his twenties. 

He's heard plenty of ridiculous rumors, ranging from how he's actually the secret illegitimate son of Master Huaiyan or that he's actually from a long line of Vidhyadhara craftsmen. The fact that the title could be bestowed upon someone like him is simply unheard of. 

Yingxing pays no mind to them. 

The ritual was designed to be as tough as possible for him, the other artisans wanting to challenge him with as many handicaps as they could come up with. In the end, all he gets to demonstrate his talent with are some defective products and waste collected from all over the Artisanship Commission. Everyone pitched in, wanting to see what he'd possibly make out of the discarded ingenium parts, which contained virtually no value. 

He could tell everyone was just looking forward to a spectacle, for him to be made the joke of the century. Yingxing does not protest against any of the rules. 

“Calm in heart, skilled in hand, observation keen, ingenuity engineered.” 

The motto of the Artisanship Commission rings in his head like a reminder. 

Thus, after working tirelessly for a day and a night, Yingxing crafts a giant lifelike mechanical lion out of heaps of useless scraps. It is an unbelievably impossible feat to achieve. The lion moves fluidly and stalks along playfully up and down the pavilion. The movements are so natural that several people tense up and hold their breaths, even though everyone saw him assembling the parts with his own hands. It suddenly lets out a mighty roar at all the spectators, giving the front rows quite an enormous scare. 

Yingxing has to bite back a smile at that. 

The lion seems to share some similar characteristics with a particular someone Yingxing is all too familiar with. It bares his fangs at the alarmed crowd but wraps its tail securely around Yingxing’s torso and even tries to lick his face with its metallic tongue. 

Although his shidi is currently on a mission far away on the Xianzhou Fanghu, Yingxing would be lying through his teeth if he said he did not miss his constant presence at his side. In the months leading up to the ritual, Yingxing barely had any time to go see him and could not even bid him goodbye before his trip. 

After a shell-shocked silence, the crowd finally erupts into roaring cheers. The old masters of the Commission are stone-faced but the younger apprentices and onlookers cannot believe their eyes at the marvel before them. Such immense talent! 

Yingxing is unmoved. His eyes only light up when he spots Baiheng cheering loudly for him in the stands, Jingliu beside her acknowledging him with a proud nod. He regards them both with a slight smile of his own but cannot help but wish there were someone else here, someone who would undoubtedly climb onto the stage and throw his arms around him. 

What he doesn’t know at this time is that he’ll only see Jing Yuan again after two more years.