Chang'an Academy's faculty residences stood amid a lush green bamboo grove, their surroundings elegant and quiet.
The setting sun shone through a half-open window onto the room's simple, old-fashioned furniture, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow.
A document lay gently spread across the desk-a proposal to expand the outposts in the mountains.
Zhuo Qianren looked up at Zhang Ci, his voice carrying a measure of surprise and curiosity. "Did you come up with this?"
Zhang Ci, his prized pupil, stood beside him.
He shook his head slightly and explained, "No, Master."
"Xiaojun-our student Hong Chen-gave me the original draft."
"I've been recuperating at home these past few days. With nothing else to do, I made a few revisions."
Zhuo Qianren's brows drew together slightly. "Xiaojun came to the Academy?"
Zhang Ci waved a hand in denial. "No, Master. He gave me the draft in the mountains."
Zhuo Qianren was inwardly startled by this.
He slowly closed his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
The idea of expanding the mountain outposts in this proposal had actually taken shape before the Wolf Bandits' attack.
Zhang Ci asked tentatively, "Master, do you think Xiaojun might have anticipated the Wolf Bandits' attack?"
Zhuo Qianren opened his eyes and looked at Zhang Ci. Rubbing his temples, he pondered for a moment before saying, "If he foresaw that attack, his wisdom would border on the divine."
"The timing may have been a coincidence, but the foresight behind this judgment is real."
Zhang Ci nodded in agreement. "Yes, Master. If we had established a few more forward outposts in the mountains, allowing us to raise the alarm and react earlier, so many people wouldn't have been trapped there, and the casualties would have been far lower."
Zhuo Qianren walked to the window and gazed at the setting