Teaching Language and Instruction

Teaching Language and Instruction

It was soon the fifth day of the third month.

Yu Mingyang wore a spotless student's robe, carried a bamboo book case, and followed a flat, winding mountain path toward Eastern Terrace high within Taiyang Academy.

Eastern Terrace was a high ground second only to the main hall within the Academy. Three broad-doored wooden schoolhouses had been built atop it, and it was also where the Academy taught certain unique fields of knowledge.

Yu Mingyang's specialized study was the Peace Mountain Native Tongue. It was one of the few specializations that required graduates to obey the Metropolitan Hall's assignments, for all his tuition had been paid on his behalf by the Protectorate Office.

If nothing unexpected happened, after several years of study at the Academy, he would be dispatched by the Protectorate Office to one of the native tribes near the Peace Mountains as a resident envoy, responsible for overseeing trade and maintaining relations between a tribe and the Protectorate Office.

He had prepared himself for that, yet he had never imagined that only a few days after entering the Academy, he would be transferred here to learn another native language he had never even heard of.

As it concerned his future, he felt deeply uneasy, uncertain whether this would prove good or bad for him.

After ascending Eastern Terrace, he followed a stone path embraced by blooming flowers until he reached the schoolhouse. Two rows of Academy guards stood there, every one of them armed with guns and spears.

The moment they saw him approach, someone came forward to inspect his documents and name card. Only after another round of rigorous questioning was he allowed inside.

Yu Mingyang stepped onto the stairs and saw a spacious entrance divided by five pillars before him. At an assistant's gesture, he first changed his shoes outside, then entered.

Once inside, he discovered that the building had an unusual structure. There were no supporting pillars in the hall; it was broad, bright, and open, and through it he could directly see the majestic snow-clad peaks of Peace Mountain beyond.

Walking across the smooth floor, polished nearly bright enough to serve as a mirror, he felt as though he stood level with the clouds, and even his mood became considerably lighter.

Six rows of low desks had been arranged across the schoolhouse, three horizontal and three vertical. The gaps between them were just wide enough for one person to pass through. Beside each desk sat a censer, a hand warmer, and a bamboo rack for belongings.

At this time, he saw that a slender young girl was already seated there. Though the teacher had yet to arrive, her small frame remained perfectly straight.

Not daring to be discourteous, he went before her, clasped his hands, and bowed. "Greetings, young lady. Student Yu Mingyang."

The girl rose as well and gave him a formal curtsy. "Greetings, young sir. Student An Chuer."

Only then did Yu Mingyang notice the faint gold in her pupils. It was not hard to tell that she possessed An people blood.

Yet his expression did not change, because most people who studied native languages were of mixed blood. A Celestial Xia person like him was, instead, a rarer sight.

He looked around, chose a seat somewhat farther back, arranged all his belongings, and quietly waited for the teacher's arrival.

Before long, noise began to rise outside. Young men and women gradually entered the schoolhouse, all of them quite courteous as they greeted and saluted one another.

The once-empty schoolhouse gained no small measure of liveliness with the arrival of these students.

A short, chubby little boy sat down beside Yu Mingyang. His face was rosy, his skin fair, and he looked soft and pink like a ball of dough. Upon seeing Yu Mingyang, he grinned and clasped his hands. "Duan Neng."

Yu Mingyang returned the gesture. "Yu Mingyang."

Duan Neng said, "Brother Yu, what was your specialization before you came here?"

Yu Mingyang replied, "An language."

Duan Neng's eyes widened. "Impressive, Brother Yu."

Yu Mingyang froze. It was the first time anyone had praised him so highly. Modestly, he said, "It is only a minor path."

"No, no, no." Duan Neng leaned over, patted his shoulder, and winked at him. "Brother Yu, I'll have to rely on you from now on."

Yu Mingyang hurriedly said, "Brother Duan, you flatter me."

Just then, everyone heard a rapid clatter of footsteps, followed by the sight of a delicate-featured girl with slightly golden eyes charging inside.

She was petite, yet she walked with fierce momentum. She wore traditional Celestial Xia ladies' attire, an ornament hanging from her forehead and silk gloves covering her hands. Someone suddenly called out to stop her, and she impatiently removed the short blade at her waist and tossed it to someone outside before heading toward the desks.

Ignoring everyone around her, she went straight to the front and sat down.

Yu Mingyang carefully glanced outside the classroom, only to find more than ten tall attendants standing there. They had clearly come with that girl.

After a moment's thought, he realized that the girl obviously had An people blood, yet could walk about Taiyang Academy with guards in tow. There seemed to be only one such family in the Protectorate Office...

At this thought, his heart gave a jolt. He immediately looked away, not daring to stare any longer.

When Duan Neng saw the girl appear, however, he grimaced, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, and muttered, "Why is she here too?"

The sound of shattered jade suddenly rang out from outside, and an assistant immediately called, "Silence. The teacher has arrived."

All the students ceased talking, rose from their seats, and stood solemnly at attention, respectfully awaiting their teacher.

Zhang Yu entered the schoolhouse from the teachers' passage with slow, powerful steps and came to a halt at the instructor's place. With one glance, he saw nineteen students below. The number was not large, but from their bearing and demeanor, it was clear they came from differing backgrounds and held statuses of varying heights.

He had long known that those who came to study this language either possessed exceptional talent themselves or had tremendous backing and wished to secure a share of the benefits here.

When the students saw Zhang Yu, they could not help staring blankly. They had assumed that the one teaching them a native language today would be some rather elderly pedant, but this teacher was utterly unlike anything they had imagined. He looked like an immortal stepped out of a painting, his bearing as high and remote as the clouds, awe-inspiring and impossible to meet directly. Wherever his gaze fell, their hearts leaped, and they unconsciously lowered their heads.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yu suddenly sensed that apart from the students here and the attendants outside, there was another person's presence nearby.

With a turn of thought, he understood at once, but said nothing more. Looking down at the hall, he said, "My name is Zhang Yu. I have come here to teach Ironclaw Tongue. Gentlemen and young ladies, you may take your seats."

The students all clasped their hands and bowed. "Thank you, Teacher." Then they sat down together.

Zhang Yu spread his wide sleeves and took his proper seat at the instructor's place.

He moved aside the teaching ruler and picked up the roster beneath it. It contained the appearances and names of the students present, but after looking it over, he found only eighteen people listed—one was missing.

After comparing them, he immediately knew that the absent name belonged to the girl seated in the front. The attendants outside must have been brought by her. Though no one had stated it openly beforehand, her clothing and retinue were enough for him to guess her identity.

But since she had entered his schoolhouse, she had to follow his rules. That was also authority granted to him by the Academy.

His gaze shifted to the girl. She had been studying him, but when his eyes suddenly swept over her, she gave a start and hastily lowered her head. Feeling that she had appeared too weak, however, she at once straightened her chest and lifted her chin, glaring back at him defiantly.

Zhang Yu ignored her little thoughts and asked evenly, "Young lady, what is your name?"

Why should I tell you? The words circled once in the girl's heart, but aloud, she obediently answered, "Yang Ying."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, checked the roster, and called out the names of the remaining students one by one. Each student answered as they were called.

He also discovered an "acquaintance" among them. The girl he had met at the Cultural Proclamation Hall last time was here as well. The name written in the roster was An Chuer.

After calling every name, he had gained a rough understanding of each person's character from their responses.

He set down the roster and first read out the schoolhouse regulations, along with the rules everyone had to observe during his instruction.

Only after explaining all this did he formally begin the lesson.

"Before learning Ironclaw Tongue, you must first understand the gods of the Steel Claw Tribe. Over the next three days, I will begin with this tribe's myths and legends."

He did not start with this in order to deliberately slow the pace. The emergence of native gods was often closely tied to the living environment of their ancestors, and understanding myths and legends was likewise understanding the changes in their history.

During the earlier Scholastic Inquiry, why had Qiu Xueling first asked how heaven, earth, and humanity communicated in the Steel Claw Tribe, rather than asking something else?

Because he had been asking about the origin. Only in this way could one learn the cultural foundation of the Steel Claw Tribe.

Given enough samples, he could even use this to roughly infer the environment in which these natives had first lived, their general methods of production and daily life, and the transformations they had undergone.

Yang Ying said proudly, "We Celestial Xia people never rely on gods. We rely on ourselves!"

"That's right! What are gods worth? Skin them and make Divine Robes!"

"Exactly! Why should we learn their language? They should learn ours!"

People below immediately began shouting along with her.

Zhang Yu nodded. "Well said. You have ambition."

Yang Ying's face instantly filled with pride, but Zhang Yu's next words left her dumbfounded.

"Yang Ying interrupted without cause and disrupted classroom order. One demerit."

"I refuse to accept this!"

Yang Ying was furious. She dearly wanted to shout those words aloud, but having already suffered once, she remembered the lesson. She could only mutter resentfully in her heart, Why am I the only one?

Zhang Yu paid no attention to her petty emotions and began slowly recounting the origin myth of the Steel Claw Tribe.

In truth, the students present had heard countless tribal myths and legends from around the Peace Mountains. They were nothing more than creation, calamity, conflict, propagation, and salvation, followed by a series of half-human, half-divine heroes enduring trials and ordeals. Apart from some details, they were generally much the same.

Yet such things depended on who was telling them.

Zhang Yu possessed the technique of Verbal Resonance. His voice was immensely pleasing to hear, making even those complicated, awkward names of gods far less grating.

More than that, he turned an originally rather ordinary creation myth into something magnificent and stirring, enough to set the blood boiling. Without realizing it, the students were drawn into the scene. Not only them—even the attendants outside were captivated by it.

Only when the sound of shattered jade rang out beyond the room did they abruptly come back to themselves and realize the lesson had ended.

Everyone felt a lingering sense of incompleteness.

Zhang Yu said, "That will be all for today's lesson. Everything I spoke of today must be written out from memory when you return. See how much you retained, and hand it to me tomorrow, one by one."

Since he was teaching students, naturally he had to assign homework. That was also part of being responsible for them.

"What? There's homework too?"

Yang Ying slapped the desk and sprang to her feet, brows raised and eyes blazing.

Zhang Yu glanced at her and said evenly, "Sit down."

Yang Ying's face instantly flushed red. Her eyes widened, and she clenched her fists, huffing angrily twice before... sitting back down.

Several attendants stood outside, but kept their eyes fixed ahead as though they had heard nothing.

Zhang Yu said, "Class is over, so I will not record another demerit for you. Remember the rules. Do not offend again next time." With that, he loosened his sleeves, rose to his feet, and walked out.

He had only just left the schoolhouse when he heard urgent footsteps and heavy panting chasing after him. He stopped, turned back, and asked, "An Chuer, is something the matter?"

An Chuer ran up before him, first giving him a solemn bow, then handing over the umbrella she had been clutching. Gratefully, she said, "Teacher, do you remember? That day, you lent this student an umbrella. This student has always wanted to find a chance to return it."

Zhang Yu glanced at the umbrella. "It has not rained these past few days. Have you been carrying it with you the whole time?"

An Chuer nodded earnestly. "Yes. This student did not know where Teacher lived, so I thought that if I happened to meet Teacher one day, I could return the umbrella."

Zhang Yu took the umbrella. "I noticed just now that you were the most attentive student in the classroom."

Pleased by the praise, An Chuer answered seriously, "Teacher, this student will continue to work hard."

"Mm, very good. Remember to do your homework."

After leaving those words behind, Zhang Yu followed the slope down toward the base of the terrace.

Meanwhile, in an adjoining room separated from the schoolhouse by only one wall, a handsome young man emerged. He looked at Zhang Yu's retreating figure, smiled faintly, and descended the terrace in another direction.

He went all the way to a secluded residence southwest of the Academy. After greeting the assistant at the gate, he passed through without hindrance and entered a garden filled with rich fragrance.

Qiu Xueling was watering flowers there. Hearing his footsteps approach, he asked without turning around, "How was it?"

The young man stopped behind him, clasped his hands, and bowed. "Reporting to Teacher, Assistant Instructor Zhang's teaching was exceptional. While explaining the language, he also thoroughly analyzed the cultural origins behind it, making it very easy to understand."

Qiu Xueling said, "Very good."

The young man then asked, "Teacher, does this student need to recount today's lesson?"

Qiu Xueling waved a hand. "There is no need. My original plan was to find a way to extract the Steel Claw Tribe's language from him, then communicate with that tribe first, allowing us to cast him aside. But since he has now seized the initiative, everyone knows this language began being taught through him. There is no point in continuing that. You need only listen carefully. When formal relations with the Steel Claw Tribe begin, find a way to replace him."

The young man smiled. "Yes, Teacher. This student will do his best."

There are a few small places that need slight adjustments. Just one update today. Two updates will continue tomorrow. o(￣▽￣)d