At the chen hour, sunlight slanted into the room, warming the steps outside the door until they were faintly hot.
The teacher entered at an unhurried pace, neatly dressed, his collar fastened tight.
Jin Si sat in the last row and habitually swept the room with Thermal Sensing. The teacher's temperature was noticeably high, and the stifling heat had brought fine beads of sweat to his temples. His topknot in particular radiated heat that would not dissipate. Just looking at someone dressed like that on such a hot day was uncomfortable.
The teacher's gaze swept over the seats, and he was a little surprised to see the young Daoist novice at the back.
It was not because the boy had disappeared for over three months, but because his appearance and height seemed unchanged from when he had first enrolled: thin and small. The other children shot up like sprouting stalks, yet he alone never seemed to grow.
A large head perched atop his slight frame. He was very quiet.
The teacher said nothing, merely assuming he suffered from some ailment. He withdrew his gaze, opened his book, and began the lesson as usual.
Clear voices reciting lessons rang through the village school as the sun climbed higher outside.
The room was hot and stuffy, smelling of aged timber mingled with ink.
The long stretch of rainy days had been chilly, yet the moment the rain stopped, the heat had become enough to send everyone nodding off.
Jin Si raised his eyelids a little, taking his gaze off the page to look at the blue sky outside. It was clean and clear, without a single cloud. There was no wind, and the leaves hanging by the window had not stirred once.
As his mind wandered, he suddenly caught sight of a