Leyu arrived on the third floor of the Guard Department teaching building and found the "Luminous Stone Alchemy and Mentor's Office". He knocked gently, and Zhu Yan's voice came from behind the door: "Come in yourself."

Leyu pushed the door open, greeted by swirling white smoke. Zhu Yan's office was large, with tightly packed, neatly arranged bookshelves on both sides. The floor was spotless, the trash can empty, the ashtray clean, yet the desk really did have documents on it.

Although the arrangement was rigid and monotonous, the office did not seem morbidly dull: on the desk was a vividly sculpted dragon paperweight, a grand painting of Brilliant Nation hung on the wall, wind chime arrays adorned the curtains, the white walls were covered with hundreds of origami cranes, and dozens of glass bottles filled with colorful little stars lined the cabinet, which was full of various trophies and medals, shining brilliantly.

The office had a small balcony, where Zhu Yan, dressed in a black coat, was sitting on a chair he had moved to the balcony, with a brazier in front of him, throwing yellow paper money into the fire.

"Sit down, I'll be done soon," the old man said. "Come in and close the door."

In front of Zhu Yan, Leyu didn't dare to play tricks, so he sat obediently on the guest chair—he noticed Zhu Yan's own chair was pure wood, but the guest chairs all had cushions.

This formed a stark contrast to Cha Huan, who didn't even provide chairs for guests.

After a while, Zhu Yan finished using his paper money and closed the small balcony door. Leyu pondered and said, "If it were the principal burning paper money, I'd definitely think he was ahead of his time."

Zhu Yan glanced at him and sat down, saying, "Is Cha Huan dying again?"

Truly a man whom students dub 'the inevitable future author of The Cha Huan Chronicles,' as soon as Leyu probed, Zhu Yan accurately grasped Leyu's underlying message. Moreover, the choice of "again" was a masterstroke.

This world, of course, also has customs like burning paper money. Sending blessings and sustenance to the dead is a typical emblem of civilization, and the Brilliant people have a special fondness for fire—they regard themselves as descendants of the sun, and fire is the sun's external manifestation. In many regions' traditional perceptions, fire is the bridge connecting life and death.

In ancient Brilliant times, cremation was a privilege for the elite, turning into ashes was the nobility longed-for burial—paupers didn't qualify for cremation—because roasting a human to well-done required a lot of firewood, and chopping wood was laborious. Poor folks couldn't afford to waste on burning people, and burying them in a pit seemed much eco-friendlier and economical.

Leyu wasn't in a rush to relay information, curiously asked, "Who are you burning paper money for?"

"Li Shijie," Zhu Yan replied. "A student you don't know."

"..." Leyu also couldn't claim familiarity.

Even though it had been a long time since Leyu had heard the name, as soon as Zhu Yan mentioned it, he immediately recalled. People never forget their firsts—the first man to die in front of Leyu was Li Shijie.

It was precisely his death that made Leyu realize just how dangerous his own Statistical Department Director was. However, later proof revealed that Leyu had still underestimated that man.

"Are you interested in talking to me about him?" Leyu asked.

"There's not much to say," Zhu Yan replied. "Li Shijie was just a somewhat clever student. At the Imperial Academy, he wasn't very attentive in class, yet his grades remained above the median. He spent all his energy on combat techniques, joined some dubious clubs, and also liked smoking... Hmph, there are plenty of such students at the Imperial Academy, who don't take the bright path, yet insist on practicing martial arts to satisfy their hot-blooded selves."

"But he was lucky. At that time, the prior Emperor hadn't passed away yet, and the Imperial Academy held martial arts competitions annually. In his third year, by luck, he came first in the competition and was awarded the Sun Medal by the Imperial Family, graduating as an outstanding graduate."

"You can't just be lucky getting first in such a competition," Leyu laughed.

"But if he'd tried a little harder, he could have graduated as head student with the Sun Medal," Zhu Yan was noticeably dissatisfied. "Back then, the principal graduated with such honors; Li Shijie obviously had the chance... Hmph."

"Afterward, he didn't stay in Yanjing; he chose to serve in the Chenfeng District. Later, I heard news of his death."

Zhu Yan glanced at the balcony: "Today is his birthday."

Leyu was silent for a moment, then asked: "Was he a very important student to you?"

Zhu Yan said nothing, extending his hand to point behind Leyu. Following his finger, Leyu saw a medal placed in the cabinet. The medal, gold and round, under the sunlight outside the window, was like a brilliant sun.

"That's the Sun Medal he won."

Leyu nodded thoughtfully, glancing around: "So, these decorations... were all given by your students?"

No wonder he felt such a sense of incongruity upon entering; these decor items were manly, cute, passionate, and healing, the only decorations fitting Zhu Yan's style might be 'the ashless ashtray' and 'the trashless trash can'."

Zhu Yan still didn't answer, only reached out and patted the small black notebook beside him: "This is my notebook for recording students' birth and death anniversaries."

"How many pages have you used?"

"Almost used up."

Le Yu was a bit taken aback: "So many?"

"When you live long enough, the number of dead people you'll remember naturally becomes this many." Zhu Yan said calmly, "It's not just Li Shijie. Every student I've taught is very important to me."

"Watching those innocent faces mature, watching them leave the Imperial Academy with heads held high, watching them pursue their ambitions, watching them sacrifice for their ideals, watching them succeed, watching them become heroes..."

The old man looked down at the dragon-shaped paperweight on the desk, seemingly recalling something, with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth: "As a teacher, the only thing I can do is to not forget them."

The office fell silent for a moment, and Le Yu suddenly noticed a gap: "Wait, I didn't see any gifts from students in the principal's office—I suppose that parrot wasn't a gift from a student?"

"The principal never accepts gifts from students," Zhu Yan said, "I remember the last time a student publicly gifted something to the principal, he directly replied, 'I didn't ask you for it, why are you giving it to me? But it's good you have this respect for the elderly. To satisfy you, I require you to be in the top ten of the entire grade in the final exams this semester. If you don't, it's disrespectful, and if you're not respectful, you'll be sorry.'

It truly is Cha Huan; if Cha Huan were dead, Le Yu guaranteed that on that day, many students would send clocks.

"But he did the right thing." Zhu Yan said, "So he remains the Cha Huan who hasn't graduated too long ago, while I'm already half a foot into the grave as Zhu Yan."

"All that is visible are memories; all that is thought of is the past; all that is seen are regrets. For people of our age, it's a cup of bittersweet poison."

Zhu Yan took out a metal cigarette case: "Do you mind?"

Le Yu: "As long as you're not afraid of a student suddenly bursting in."

Zhu Yan thought for a moment, then put the cigarette case away, saying, "Tell me, what trouble has Cha Huan caused now?"

Le Yu recounted the issue with the Blood Essence Stone, and Zhu Yan pondered for a moment: "So, the principal's soul mark is already in the enemy's hands, and they are suspected of possessing a Divine Weapon that manipulates souls... No wonder you're worried about the principal. What countermeasures do you have?"

"No matter how mysterious the Divine Weapon is, it's impossible to assassinate the principal from a thousand miles away. If they could do that, our considerations would be useless." Le Yu promptly said, "I hope you can persuade the principal to stay inside the Imperial Court these days, until we locate the Blood Essence Stone, or until the mastermind can't resist taking action. Of course, the most crucial thing is to stop the principal from attending tomorrow's Immortal Palace gathering and deepening the soul mark any further."

Zhu Yan nodded, and Le Yu immediately felt a bit relieved—according to Yan Yi, although Zhu Yan usually followed Cha Huan's commands, if he lost his temper, Cha Huan was almost guaranteed to submit instantly. Zhu Yan was the only one who could control Cha Huan, probably even more effectively than the Empress Dowager's words.

"Then why do you care for the principal?" Zhu Yan suddenly asked, "Replacing the principal should provide you plenty of room for maneuver, right?"

Le Yu froze, immediately retorting, "Of course, it's because I'm the vice principal now. If a new principal comes in, my position as vice principal would surely be gone. Although changing principals might not be a bad thing, since Cha Huan is willing to stand by my side now, why would I waste effort replacing him?"

Zhu Yan nodded again, then shook his head: "I'll stay at the Imperial Academy to watch the principal for the next few days, but I won't persuade him."

Le Yu was shocked: "Why?"

"Because he is doing the right thing." Zhu Yan said, "As long as he remains at the Imperial Academy, the National Relief Association won't target other students; conversely, once he leaves, the National Relief Association will target deceived teachers and students."

"But clearly, keeping him in the shadows, observing quietly, is the best option. What if the principal really gets killed–"

"Then the other teachers and students will be safe. The principal was right; the National Relief Association's target was never the teachers and students."

Le Yu shook his head: "But the principal clearly—"

"—has more capability, more value?" Zhu Yan smiled gently, "According to your logic, does someone with value get to sacrifice those of lower value to protect themselves?"

"That's not what I meant—"

"I understand your meaning," Zhu Yan said, "You want me and the principal to trust you, to believe you can solve this problem yourselves without the principal taking extra risks."

"But why don't you trust the principal, believe that he can solve this problem alone without needing you to take extra risks?"

Le Yu closed his mouth.

"Forgive an old man's stubbornness." Zhu Yan smiled, "We've been teaching at the Imperial Academy for decades and have never had the habit of letting students handle troubles. Maybe we've become arrogant, maybe rigid, but that's the wonder of years. It not only leaves deep marks on our faces but plants a well-weathered confidence in our hearts."

"Vice Principal Qin, if there's nothing else, please leave." Zhu Yan said, "I want to lock the door and have a smoke."

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