Yingxing looked at the gift box beside him. It was over two meters long.
It was the gift he had prepared for Jing Yuan.
Over the past two years, Jing Yuan had poured everything into his studies. Last year, after months of intense review, he passed more than twenty exams.
This year, he studied history until his head spun and finally passed another twenty-plus history exams, graduating from the academy as he had wished.
Ten days later would be Jing Yuan's coming-of-age ceremony.
It was also Zero's birthday.
A long time ago, Yingxing had already drawn the design for Jing Yuan's battle saber.
Unfortunately, things rarely went as planned. After many setbacks and delays, he had only just finished forging Jing Yuan's weapon today.
Jingliu's Sword weighed a full three thousand pounds.
On the day she became Sword Champion, Yingxing carried Jingliu's Sword to the training ground and threw it into the ground with one hand.
The sword was five chi long. After it landed, only the hilt remained above the ground.
Jing Yuan's battle saber weighed more than twice as much as Jingliu's Sword.
Yingxing couldn't help thinking... he was the "Master Craftsman" capable of forging divine weapons!
How could he possibly be that easy to bully?
Besides, this was the Xianzhou.
Yingxing tactfully reminded his master.
[Yingxing: Master, I'm on the Xianzhou.]
The other side stayed silent for quite a while before sending him several criminal cases. Every victim was male.
Yingxing thought to himself, 'You've really gone through a lot, haven't you?'
'You even went out of your way to collect major criminal cases from other star systems!'
'Do you still think I'm a child?'
He continued typing.
[Yingxing: Don't worry, Master. I won't run around.]
After thinking it over, Yingxing opened the gift box, took a picture of the battle saber, and sent it over. Along with the photo, he carefully explained just how heavy it was.
This thing weighed 7000 Kilograms.
After talking about the battle saber, he naturally brought up Jingliu's three-thousand-pound Sword.
After a long conversation, Yingxing finally managed to put his master's mind at ease.
Then the topic suddenly changed.
His master told him to forge a weapon for Zero.
Yingxing sighed helplessly. Just as he was about to refuse, another message arrived.
[Master: I gave him a dagger.]
Daggers were small, easy to hide, and convenient to carry. They were only used in close combat or special situations like assassination.
His master had forged this dagger personally. It was a priceless treasure that couldn't be measured in patrol credits.
It could be given to a Xianzhou general.
It could also be given to a shadow guard skilled in close combat.
But it absolutely couldn't be given to Zero.
Enemies would never get close to the "Father of the Xianzhou."
Zero had no need to assassinate anyone.
His master had given Zero a weapon he would never use.
It wasn't a proper gift.
His master was worried no one would protect him on the Luofu...
So he deliberately left Zero's real weapon for Yingxing to forge.
If anything ever happened in the future, Zero might even be able to help him.
Yingxing suddenly remembered what Zero had said at Starskiff Haven.
"Yingxing, your master treats you very well."
Had Zero understood his master's intentions from the beginning?
Was that why he had praised him in front of his master?
Yingxing's fingertips trembled slightly as he typed again.
[Yingxing: Okay.]
Master Ying, who had been busy for a long time, decided to get back to work.
He began reading the books Dan Feng had bought about Zero, hoping to find something useful.
After several books, Yingxing realized that Zero simply used whatever he got. He didn't have any particular preference for a certain kind of weapon.
He picked up his jade communicator and logged into the Xianzhou forum.
The children of the "Father of the Xianzhou" would definitely know the answer.
After searching for a while, Yingxing found a poll started by a Xianzhou resident.
The topic was guessing Zero's preferred weapon.
He clicked into it.
A weapon he had never even considered had crushed every other option with ninety-nine percent of the votes.
Yingxing looked even more confused.
'A whip?'
'Why a whip?
Completely puzzled, he scrolled down.
[Father is obviously best suited to a whip, ahhhhhhh!]
[I know exactly what you mean, sob sob sob]
[No, what are you people even thinking about?! That's way too disrespectful!]
His instincts told him to close the thread.
He immediately exited the forum and couldn't help wondering.
'What exactly do you people understand?'
'I'd better ask Jingliu.'
Yingxing started a voice call.
"Between a saber, sword, spear, and whip, which do you think Zero likes?"
Jingliu fell silent for a moment before asking,
"...A whip?"
Yingxing scratched his head.
"Yeah. The people on the forum said it's the weapon that suits him best."
Jingliu replied, "...I'll ask him."
She ended the call and looked toward her husband, who was sitting at his desk.
He was wearing gold-rimmed glasses with a chain.
Their home was so large that once, Jingliu lost her jade communicator inside it. She and Zero searched for half a system hour before finally finding it.
Zero spent most of his time at the newly built research institute on the Luofu.
The institute was thousands, even tens of thousands of times larger than their home, and he had lost several pairs of glasses there.
So Jingliu had replaced them with a pair that came with a chain.
Zero frowned deeply, resting his chin on his left hand while holding a pen in his right.
Even through the lenses, Jingliu could see the slightly blank look in his eyes.
Their eyes met.
Zero's brows relaxed, and he opened his arms toward her.
She walked over, naturally sat on his lap, and wrapped an arm around his neck.
Zero hugged her tightly, buried his face against her neck, and complained in a muffled voice, "I don't want to write reports."
The cold metal chain brushed against her neck, while his warm breath rested on her shoulder.
Jingliu's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Zero pulled back slightly. His eyes still carried the dazed look left behind by endless knowledge.
Jingliu's heart softened.
No one else ever got to see this expression.
She instinctively reached out and took off his glasses.
Zero blinked slowly, pushed the books aside, and lifted Jingliu onto the desk.
Smiling, he said, "Now I won't bump into you."
———
Three system hours later, Yingxing received a message.
[Zero: Help me modify something. It'll arrive in about half an hour.]
Yingxing waited patiently for another half system hour.
A servant assigned to him by Dan Feng came running into his workshop carrying a gift bag.
Yingxing took out the gift box.
The moment he noticed a mark in one corner, he froze.
It was his master's personal mark.
He looked again and again. After confirming he hadn't mistaken it, he immediately called Zero.
"Are you sure you didn't send the wrong thing?"
Zero replied, "No."
Yingxing's eyes widened.
"You want me to modify... my master's dagger?"
Zero asked back, "What? You don't think you can surpass him?"
Yingxing answered without thinking, "Of course I can."
The moment those words left his mouth, he hesitated.
Zero immediately sensed the change in his mood.
"In my eyes, Huaiyan's work has no flaws."
"I just... want a special gift."
"For example... a piece created together by master and disciple?"
Yingxing felt a mix of emotions.
He had never imagined he would one day work together with his master in this way.
After a while, he said, "You might have to wait a long time."
Zero smiled.
"Take your time. I'm not in a hurry."
Yingxing said goodbye, ended the call, and returned to his workbench.
He put on his gloves, opened the gift box, and carefully took out the dagger.
The craftsman turned it over again and again, staring without blinking. Every now and then, he let out a sigh of admiration.
He admired his master's clever design and incredible skill, yet couldn't help feeling puzzled.
His master must be very busy now.
After Gratitude Day, he'd ask him about it.
Yingxing simply took off the glove on his right hand, picked up a pen and paper, and wrote down everything on his mind.
He only stopped when a servant reminded him it was time to eat.
He studied the dagger all the way until Gratitude Day.
After Dan Feng took him out for lunch, the two arrived at Jing Yuan's academy.
They sat in the auditorium. Yingxing barely managed to pull his thoughts away from the dagger long enough to look around and noticed Jingliu and Zero had also arrived.
Only Baiheng and Jing Yuan were missing.
Yingxing asked, "Where are Baiheng and Jing Yuan?"
Dan Feng answered, "Baiheng's friend was supposed to be the photographer for today's graduation ceremony, but something came up, so she took over. Jing Yuan is changing clothes."
He paused. Remembering that Yingxing wasn't from the Xianzhou and didn't know much about its academies, he added, "This morning was the capping ceremony in traditional Xianzhou clothing, which is also the coming-of-age ceremony. Parents usually attend with the students."
"We'll accompany Jing Yuan to the graduation ceremony and the dance after he changes into formal clothes."
Yingxing found it rather interesting.
"There's even a dance? Back then, we only had the capping ceremony. We never even left Zhuming during our field studies."
Dan Feng thought for a moment.
"Field studies... We went to a vacation planet."
Yingxing's eyes widened.
"What about Jing Yuan?"
Dan Feng spread his hands.
"You forgot? We were on the front lines at the time. Jing Yuan happened to miss the field study."
Yingxing shook his head with a sigh.
"That's really a pity."
The corner of Dan Feng's mouth twitched.
"At least stop smiling while you say that."
Just then, Jing Yuan walked over in a black suit.
He tugged at his tie.
"Does it look weird?"
The four of them all shook their heads.
Jing Yuan let out a long breath and sat beside Zero.
Zero looked him over for a moment.
"You're missing one accessory."
From somewhere, Zero produced a tie clip and reached over to put it on him.
Feeling a little awkward, Jing Yuan leaned back.
Zero chuckled.
"As the saying goes, once my student, my child for life."
"You call me Grandmaster."
"Round it up, and you're basically my son too."
Jing Yuan: "..."
He froze in place.
Zero took the chance to clip it onto his tie.
At that moment, Jing Yuan understood everything.
So this was how Zero helped people adjust their emotions.
He had made money through Zero and felt guilty, so he spent those patrol credits.
But Zero hadn't liked that.
To achieve his goal while helping Jing Yuan deal with his guilt, Zero had deliberately encouraged his master to spar with him.
This time, he had gone straight to becoming his father.
Jing Yuan muttered, "Zero... your mouth... that's really something."
Zero casually straightened his tie and patted him on the shoulder.
"Thanks for the compliment."
"All right. It's almost time. Go on."
Soon, the graduation ceremony ended.
Under the staff's guidance, everyone moved to the banquet hall.
The academy was crowded. No one had paid much attention to Yingxing in the auditorium, but after changing locations, there was a good chance his identity would be exposed.
Thinking of this, Dan Feng came up with what he considered a perfect solution.
Sponsor the academy dance and have everyone wear dragon horn headbands.
Unfortunately, the idea was rejected.
Their friends pointed out that people wore all kinds of outfits to graduation dances.
Yingxing's dragon horns really weren't anything unusual.
When they entered the hall, they saw not only students in all kinds of clothes, but Baiheng as well.
The Foxian had all kinds of cameras hanging from her body.
She struggled to raise a hand and gave Jing Yuan a thumbs-up.
"Jing Yuan, you look so handsome in that suit. I took tons of pictures of you..."
As soon as she finished speaking, Baiheng hurried off.
"All right, I have to get back to taking photos. See you tonight..."
Dan Feng promptly wrapped an arm around Yingxing and Jing Yuan's shoulders and led them toward the dessert table in the corner.
Watching the three leave, Zero chuckled before turning to Jingliu.
"Would you do me the honor of this dance?"
Jingliu raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know how to dance."
Zero kept his hand extended toward her.
"It's fine. I'll teach you."
Jingliu placed her hand in his, and the two stepped onto the dance floor.
She had never learned ballroom dancing before, but her reactions were fast enough that she stopped herself before stepping on Zero.
Remembering how ballroom dancing had been taught at the academy, she instinctively put away her smile and asked, "Which dance partner am I?"
Zero understood immediately.
He explained gently, "The third."
"The first two... were my mother and my daughter."
As everyone else drew closer to their partners with the music, Zero also held her hand and guided her closer.
"You know."
Lowering his eyes, he whispered into her ear, "I only have you."
Jingliu forced down the corners of her lips and looked at him deeply.
Her husband...
He only showed this side of himself to her.
They both knew the darkness inside the other. They had also seen the softness neither of them ever revealed to anyone else.
Jingliu understood at once.
She understood why the male leads in storybooks were so overbearing, and why they lost themselves the moment they saw the heroine.
After all, if you saw a little kitten lying on its back with its soft belly exposed, what would you do?
The kitten was only breathing, yet humans still couldn't help saying it was unbelievably adorable.
Countless thoughts crossed Jingliu's mind.
Since they were in public, she could only wait until the music paused before leading Zero off the dance floor.
They walked over to the dessert table where Dan Feng and the others were.
Dan Feng slowly set down the teacup he had brought himself.
Perhaps the graduation ceremony had brought back old memories. Zero and Jingliu began talking about the martial ceremony from several years ago.
Taking a sip of non-alcoholic champagne, Zero said regretfully,
"Jing Yuan invited me back then. It's a shame I missed it."
Jingliu lifted her chin slightly.
"There wasn't much worth watching."
"They were all defeated opponents."
Dan Feng: "..."
'Of course.'
'Who could compare with you?'
One sword strike was enough to defeat the enemy.
Some of his clansmen were still lying in bed because of her.
'Besides, what good would it have done if you two had met earlier?'
'Jingliu would definitely have ended up in prison!'
On Dan Feng's left sat Yingxing and Jing Yuan.
The two were bickering. If a child overheard what they were arguing about, they would probably think they were childish.
On his right sat Jingliu and Zero.
The two of them were remarkably alike.
Neither ever remembered the names of the people they had defeated.
Jingliu racked her brain, trying very hard to recall the details of the battles where she had completely crushed her opponents.
Zero happily played along, praising her from time to time.
Dan Feng endured it until the dance finally ended.
The arguing on his left stopped.
The boasting on his right stopped.
He let out a long sigh of relief.
Finally.
His ears could rest.
The group then headed to the restaurant Dan Feng had reserved in advance.
After winding through several corridors under the guidance of a waiter, they arrived at the best viewing seats.
The waiter had already arranged flowers and banners and placed the gifts the five of them had prepared for Jing Yuan.
Jing Yuan's mouth fell open.
His eyes were immediately drawn to the gift box that was nearly two meters long.
'That has to be the weapon Brother Yingxing forged for me!'
Seeing the stunned look on Jing Yuan's face, Yingxing couldn't help laughing.
"You've been rushing me for it for so long. What? Don't like it? Then I'll take it back."
He stepped forward, pretending to pick it up.
Jing Yuan rushed over in three quick steps and hugged the gift box first.
"No..."
Out of courtesy, he didn't open it immediately. Instead, he stared at it with burning eyes, as if trying to bore a hole through it.
Yingxing waved his hand.
"Come on. Since when do we care about formalities? Open it."
Jing Yuan took a deep breath and opened the gift box with trembling hands.
He looked at it again and again before slowly reaching out to touch the battle saber that belonged to him alone.
He looked up at them, still in a daze.
"I'm going to sleep holding it."
All five of them burst into laughter.
Pretending to be unhappy, Baiheng said, "That's unfair. Why aren't you opening my gift?"
Jing Yuan seemed to snap back to reality.
"Oh."
He obediently opened Baiheng's present.
Inside the box were three different cameras.
Baiheng cheered him on.
"Use them to record the scenery along your journey, our Galaxy Ranger!"
Jing Yuan set the cameras aside and opened the suitcase next to them.
On one side were a jade crown and a jade hairpin.
On the other were neatly arranged gemstone brooches in different colors.
Jingliu sighed.
"Jing Yuan, you've come of age today."
"You're an adult now."
"You must never become lazy."
Jing Yuan nodded obediently.
Then Zero said, "If you ever meet someone you like, you can give them one of these brooches."
"The brooch itself isn't worth much."
"But it's enough to let them begin a new life."
"I think... you understand what I mean."
After thinking for a moment, Jing Yuan replied, "If you leave someone enough patrol credits to waste away their entire life, causing them to become satisfied with the status quo and stop moving forward..."
"...then that gift can no longer be called a gift."
Neither Zero nor Hua had ever had a choice.
At this point, at least someone should.
He patted Jing Yuan on the shoulder and gave him his blessing.
"Do your best, Galaxy Ranger."
Dan Feng folded his arms and met Jing Yuan's gaze.
Using the same tone someone would use to discuss tonight's dinner, he said, "My gift is a ship."
"After we finish eating, I'll take you to Starskiff Haven."
Jing Yuan still looked dazed.
Just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly noticed the other four frantically signaling him with their eyes.
He immediately came to his senses and took a laurel wreath out of the bag placed on the chair at the head of the table.
Moving quickly before Zero could react, Jing Yuan placed the wreath on Zero's head.
He quietly explained the graduation custom they had found while searching schools across the universe.
"At the top schools across the universe, students who haven't graduated yet ask graduates for laurel leaves on graduation day, praying that they too will graduate successfully."
"So I'm giving the whole wreath to you."
"Happy birthday, Zero."