It has been three months since I arrived at Qinglong Academy.
Each day has been filled with training, reflection, and understanding.
Yet in all that time—not once have I stepped outside the academy gates.
The outside world feels like a vague shadow, distant and unreachable.
That morning, as sunlight began to peek through the lingering mist, Feng Lu gazed up at the sky, his face marked by boredom.
"Three months... and we're like birds in a cage."
"How long can we keep living like this?"
He walked over to Yushan, the famously cold and quiet instructor, and asked:
"Instructor Yushan, are we… allowed to go out? Just for a short while, to walk beyond the academy?"
Yushan slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Feng Lu for a moment, then turned his gaze toward the other students gathering nearby.
"Do all of you want to go outside?" he asked flatly.
Some students looked uncertain, but others—especially those from remote villages—clearly longed to see the world beyond the walls.
Li Yuan said nothing, but in his heart, he too felt… it was time to see what lay beyond the academy's high walls.
A short while later, they gathered in front of the academy gates.
Yushan stood before them and said:
"You may go. But only until sundown."
"Don't cause trouble. Don't reveal your strength. You are hidden weapons, and hidden weapons do not walk while shouting."
The great gates slowly opened, and sunlight spilled onto the narrow path leading to the nearest village.
Their journey was calm. Birds chirped softly. The wind gently rustled the wild leaves along the roadside. The village at the foot of the mountain looked simple—wooden houses, rice fields, and people living their quiet, ordinary lives.
To Li Yuan, it was a reminder of the village he once called home.
"This place is peaceful..." he murmured.
"But peace… never lasts long."
Feng Lu ate dumplings at an old food stall, while Bei Zhang helped an elderly woman lift a sack of grain.
They laughed and chatted with the villagers… as if they had forgotten they were being trained to kill.
But as the sun began to set and they returned to the academy, hidden between the laughter and joy was a quiet, lingering feeling:
"This world… is fragile."
And within Li Yuan's heart, a single resolve continued to grow:
I want to be strong… not just to protect myself.
But so I can protect this world.