In the afternoon, the sun blazed overhead.
An ordinary, battered carriage creaked and groaned as it rolled slowly into Burnt Stone City.
Minutes later, the carriage pulled up before a quiet residence in the West City District. A chubby youth jumped down from it. He looked to be around seventeen years old, dressed in a plain, durable brown robe, with a thick, copper-bound book hanging from his leather belt and a strapped wooden trunk—its edges frayed and faded—slung over his back.
Approaching the residence, he stood on tiptoe to peer past the iron fence into the courtyard, then took the ring knocker on the iron gate and tapped it.
Before long, an elderly servant came out at the sound and spotted the plump young man.
"Oh, it's Yelu! What brings you back?" He recognized the boy as one of Scholar Haide's former students.
"I heard Mr. Haide was preparing to take students again, so I rushed straight back."
"Who would have thought you'd be so well-informed this time, quiet as you usually are?" The old servant opened the iron gate and ushered Yelu inside. "Lord Haide is taking his afternoon nap right now. You'll probably have to wait a bit to see him. Go rest in the side hall for now."
"All right, thank you, Grandpa Manson." Yelu walked familiarly into the courtyard in front of the manor, then entered a small room off the side hall and sat down.
About an hour later, soft footsteps approached from inside. An old man with a long beard, clad in a dressing gown, entered the side hall. Not long after he sat down, a maid served him fresh, chilled tea.
"The moment I woke, Manson told me you were back." He pushed up the reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and scrutinized the young man before him.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Haide." Yelu first stood and bowed in apology before straightening to explain. "Over the past two years, my time in Valley City... didn't go well. Perhaps I simply couldn't adapt to the environment there, so I've come to beg you to let me return and continue my studies under you." Ashamed, Yelu spoke in a low voice.
"Good boy. You can tell me whatever troubles you. Why are you so stiff and uneasy today? Haha." Scholar Haide's chuckle put Yelu's nervous heart much at ease.
Toward this white-bearded elder of over eighty years, Yelu felt nothing but deep respect. Haide was not only his mentor, but had also cared for him greatly in everyday life; otherwise, coming from commoner origins, it would have been nearly impossible for him to pursue knowledge and become a scholar.
"After bidding you farewell, I took your letter of recommendation to Valley City to study under Scholar Halwin there..." He began recounting his experiences over the past two years.
"The atmosphere in Valley City is very different from Burnt Stone City. It's quite flashy and ostentatious, and everyone there is obsessed with various arts and fashions. I knew nothing about any of that and could never join their conversations." In that new environment, this student from the provinces had found it very difficult to fit in among his peers.
"Besides, most of them were descendants of nobility or came from prominent families, whereas I..." His voice faltered. Even without him spelling it out, Scholar Haide could easily guess the plight he had faced.
"It seems the fault was mine; I shouldn't have recommended that you go to Valley City back then." Haide shook his head slightly, stroking his beard as he spoke.
"Not at all. It was just my own lack of ability. Fitz, on the other hand, got along wonderfully with our peers there." Fitz was another student who had studied under Scholar Haide alongside Yelu two years ago.
"Everyone has their own temperament and traits; there's no need to compare yourself to others." Haide raised a hand slightly, gesturing for Yelu to take a seat. "I understand your situation well enough now. Don't let the past weigh on you any longer. For the foreseeable future, you may continue your studies here with me."
Hearing this, Yelu's eyes lit up. Holding back his inner joy, he nodded gratefully.
"Thank you, Teacher!"
"Heh, you're in luck, too," Haide said, stroking his beard as something came to mind. "In truth, I hadn't planned on taking students again. You know how old I am." He lifted the teacup before him and took a small sip. "However, Viscount Xuefeng made a personal request asking me to take in a student, and I thought that tutoring a single person alone wouldn't do any good. Spending time with peers—the mutual comparison, rivalry, socializing, friendship, and everything that comes with it—is indispensable to growing up. 'Without a mirror, how can one know one's own countenance?' That is precisely why one needs peers. By observing other youths their own age, they come to understand their strengths and what they excel at—whether it's eloquence, quick wit, or perhaps relative mediocrity. Only when you truly understand yourself can your life truly begin. So, I had word put out that I would be accepting young students once again." He set his cup down.
"If that's the case... did my return interfere with your original intention?" Yelu felt ashamed once more.
"Haha, there is no need to be so timid and walking on eggshells." Scholar Haide leaned back against the sofa, closing his eyes briefly to rest. "The student Lord Xuefeng specifically asked me to look after happens to be seventeen as well. She has traveled from far away, and is the daughter of the former Viscount Karen."
"Viscount Karen?" Yelu recalled something, his voice tinged with doubt.
"Your guess is correct. It's the Viscount Karen who was stripped of his title last year," Haide explained slowly. "In the Battle of the Windmill two years ago, the Raygas Principality suffered a crushing defeat, losing vast numbers of levied knights and soldiers. The Grand Duke was thoroughly enraged. As the commander, Viscount Karen could not escape blame; after the battle, he was stripped of his office and title, and remains imprisoned to this day in the water dungeons of White Cliff City. Had he not previously been in the capital's favor and accumulated a wide network of connections to plead on his behalf, he likely would have lost his life long ago. He himself will hardly ever walk out of that prison in his lifetime, but he has a daughter left outside—the very student I am to teach this time. As for why she isn't studying in White Cliff City, it is naturally because so many knights perished in the Battle of the Windmill, offending countless nobles. Burnt Stone City, on the other hand, lies in the remote southern reaches of the Raygas Principality and has little traffic with the central regions, so the fallout here is minimal. Two generations ago, a daughter of Viscount Xuefeng married into the Karen family—she was the grandmother of the current Viscount Karen—so there is a kinship between the two houses. Now, do you understand why Viscount Xuefeng went out of his way to plead with me to teach?" Scholar Haide opened his eyes.
"I understand." Yet even as he understood, another unease stirred within Yelu. He didn't know why his teacher was confiding so many closely guarded secrets to him.
"Heh, sooner or later you will deal with the nobility and their bizarre circle. Consider this an early exercise for you." Haide bluntly resolved the question in Yelu's mind. "The girl's name is Iona. They say she was once a celebrated high-society young lady in White Cliff City, courted and fawned over by many, but now her circumstances have plummeted. My colleagues in White Cliff City told me she isn't easy to get along with." Scholar Haide paused. "Going forward, she will be your fellow student. How do you plan to get along with her? You don't need to give me your answer now. I merely want you to start thinking and gradually find an approach that suits you. If your goal is to join the Candle Fortress School, you should understand that the finest path for a scholar is to assist great nobles in managing practical affairs, developing their territories, and resolving all manner of problems. In doing so, you gradually test and verify what you have learned, achieve the balance of the Three Phase Laws, and advance in rank. 'The road of pain cannot be evaded'—a maxim of the ancient sages. Take this as the trial I have set for you, Yelu."
"Yes, Teacher." Yelu bowed solemnly once more, his plump, honest face brimming with resolve.
Chapter 15