On the second floor of the newly built Library Tower at the Knowledge and Practice Institute, He An sat upright with both hands on his knees, studying an Ancient Score with focused attention. There was a distinctive rhythm to each breath he drew. Several years of military life had stripped away his youthful awkwardness, leaving him increasingly mature and composed.
Fan Dazhi sat stiffly upright with his belly thrust out. The moment the Academy Head turned away to pour tea, he collapsed into his chair like a heap of mud, then hastily straightened again when he saw the Academy Head about to turn back.
After more than a year in the military, Fan Dazhi had not slimmed down at all. Instead, he had grown another size larger. Apart from darker skin and the fuzz sprouting above his lip, he seemed little changed.
Wei Zhilin's three strands of long beard hung down over his chest. A keen light moved behind his half-lidded phoenix eyes, reflecting the flickering candle on his desk. He gently stroked the Green Jade Paperweight as he listened to He An recount the war in the northwest. His silkworm brows suddenly twitched. Beneath the paperweight lay a secret letter he had just received.
Then Fang Yizhi recounted their investigation of the Secret Passage in Qin Prefecture. Wei Zhilin's long beard stirred without a breeze, and he tapped the Green Jade Paperweight with a bent finger. Each crisp sound secretly accorded with the circulation cycle of the Knowledge and Practice Heart Method.
When he reached the part about Feng Chun and He An risking their lives to cover the retreat, and Feng Chun detonating himself to wound the enemy, the window lattice suddenly trembled. Cheng Zi Ya was storming up the steps in the courtyard, his powerful primordial energy