Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 341 You son of a bitch!
Thales' eyes lit up.

Seran.

slave.

He survived.

escaped.

"That's it."

Hicksor chuckled softly and shrugged: "That was my encounter with Thran. It wasn't long, but it left a deep impression."

"I hope this helps you."

Thales paused slightly, a sense of disappointment washing over him as if he'd heard a story but there was no follow-up: "That's all?"

His response was the old crow's slick smile.

"anything else?"

Thales, still puzzled, hurriedly asked, "Where did she come from? Where is she from? And where did she go next?"

"And how did you get involved with my father and the Star Kingdom?"

Hicks coughed lightly, interrupting Thales's barrage of questions.

“I would be happy to describe to you my impressions of your mother, Thales.”

"If my drawing skills are good enough, I can even draw a sketch for you."

“But I’m afraid that’s all I know. I don’t know her identity before she was a slave, nor can I tell what her background is,” Hicks said with regret, gesturing slightly to the surroundings. “And now is not a good time for us to sit down and talk about the past.”

Faced with Hixser's apologetic and helpless smile, Thales was speechless for a moment.

Hexer sighed, stroking his cane, an inscrutable emotion welling up behind his monocle.

"As for Grevo's matter, all I can say is that I'm really sorry," he said in a hoarse voice, "Take care of yourself."

Thales seemed to wake from a dream; the surprise he had just received was instantly dispelled by the threat before him.

The prince paused for a long while.

"Do not."

“I’m the one who should apologize,” Thales forced a smile. “You took a huge risk to save me. If Valhalla knew…”

“Don’t worry about me, child,” Hixer shook his head. “My channels are perfectly normal and won’t arouse suspicion—Putila is worried about his missing prince, and as his teacher, I’m asking an old friend for information out of courtesy… At least, the Hall of Heroes, which is preoccupied with its own problems, won’t suspect anything in the short term.”

Thales fell silent.

“But I’m still very sorry, I couldn’t see you out,” Hixer said sadly, her voice tinged with unease. “I suggest you hide around here for the night, and then we can think about it again…”

Thales forced an awkward smile.

"Anyway, thank you, sir."

He looked around at the devastation, and the earth-shattering battle in the Shield Zone flashed through his mind.

Try not to think about the bleak future.

Thales pursed his lips, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I...I'll find a way out myself."

When Grivell refused to help him, Thales was indeed disappointed and apprehensive.

After all, facing the heavily fortified Dragon Sky City and the relentless pursuit of the Meteorite...

but……

Hicksser has done enough for him.

He has no right to ask for more.

Heathcliff silently watched the prince's forced smile, without saying a word.

“Of course,” Hixer gave a slightly bitter smile, but for some reason, Thales felt there was an unreadable meaning hidden in his eyes: “Of course you can, then I will…”

The old man didn't say anything more. He bowed apologetically, leaned on his cane, and turned around.

She walked towards Kevin, who was waiting impatiently in the distance.

Thales watched his retreating figure from afar, when suddenly something came to mind.

"last question."

Thales' words made Hexer stop in his tracks.

"Do you remember our first lesson?"

Thales rubbed his hands together, as if that could ward off the chill of the night: "The limits of domination."

Hexer paused noticeably, then turned completely to face Thales.

"of course."

Thales glanced again at the desolate surroundings, then looked at the elderly Hicksser and said, "At the end of that day, you told us that all our speculations and conclusions from the lesson were wrong."

The prince took a deep breath, stepped forward, and looked intently into Hixser's eyes: "I thought you were going to tell us that history can be interpreted in many ways... but..."

"In the second lesson, even though we had all done a lot of homework, I could tell that you were not satisfied with our answers."

Heathcliff watched him silently, without saying a word.

Thales raised an eyebrow at him: "Why?"

What is your answer?

In the distance, a carriage was being pulled by a tired horse that let out a listless neigh.

Under the cover of night, a hunched old man and a proud young man stood silently facing each other in a corner resembling ruins.

The old crow laughed.

"You know, I originally planned to talk about this much later, or when we graduated and classes stopped, or even just leave it to you to figure out for yourselves..."

The old man paused slightly: "But given your current situation..."

Thales continued to stare intently at him.

“Alright,” Hicksor smiled helplessly, like an old man who could no longer tolerate his child’s annoyance, “Why, why was our discussion the other day all wrong…”

"Because times have changed."

Thales frowned.

Hexer put his hands back on his cane, tried his best to straighten his hunched back, and coughed softly.

The old man suddenly became serious: "Let me clarify first, Thales. What we were doing back then was this: analyzing and discussing events from more than a decade ago, deducing the development and trajectory of people and events at that time, and trying to draw conclusions that are as true and useful as possible, conclusions that can be learned from us today..."

Thales nodded slightly.

But Hicksher abruptly changed the subject, a rare sharpness flashing in his eyes: "But the problem is, times have changed."

"time?"

A question arose in Thales's mind: "You mean..."

Hicksser raised a hand and pressed down on his question:
“World, little teacher—our world is complex and ever-changing.”

Seemingly to save time, Hixser did not give him another chance to interrupt:
"Time marches on, and eras change—people may see that over thousands of years, the iron hooves of mankind have forged boundless prosperity, powerful empires have ended the division of power among kings, the Church of the Bright God has purified the treacherous hearts of men, and surging waves have overturned the decay of the imperial court. The division of the Church has recreated a world of gods, and the final war, which is closest to us, has determined the overall situation today."

Hicksser's eyes flickered: "But many people also overlook the fact that thousands of years ago, merchants on earth had only just become accustomed to bartering, farmers could only harvest crops with iron and fire, people didn't even know how to tame ravens, communication between city-states relied solely on messengers, and the courts of many kingdoms today look like gatherings of barbarians."

"Hundreds of years ago, Eternal Oil and Crystal were still hidden deep in the sea and underground, and Magic Guns had not yet appeared in this world. The teachings of the Bright God spread across the continent without question, and our ships could only pray for favorable weather and hope that the trade winds would carry them to distant lands..."

Thales lowered his head, silently pondering the course of history in this world.

Hexer tapped his cane lightly, slightly lost in thought.

"But that's not all. Every year, every month, every day, every minute, every second, every part of the world is changing. It's not just the politics of lords, not just the money of merchants, not just the grain of farmers—some changes are so subtle that they are imperceptible or even unrecognizable, while others are connected to changes in other things and bring about changes in the final outcome."

Hixser spoke earnestly, his eyes serious, and even Thales unconsciously straightened up in the cold wind:

"But it is precisely these seemingly insignificant changes that, along with the progress of history, are crucial, making it difficult for those of us who try to summarize patterns, learn from experience, uncover the truth, and deduce causes and effects."

"When many people talk about history, learn from history, or compare history, they easily overlook these changes—even if it's only for eighteen years. Only after experiencing failure do they have the energy to look back and find the existence of these changes: Emperor Comoros laid the foundation for the ancient empire, King Kessel VI re-established the final empire, and King Tormund established the Star Kingdom. They are often compared, but these three faced a completely different world, the same group of people, and the same situation."

At this point, Hicks coughed slightly: "We can't just focus on what we care about, Thales. Every piece of history, every case, has too many factors that determine it, too many to be easily overlooked, and these factors change too quickly to be grasped."

"So, when that day came, when we confidently and smugly concluded that there were 'limits to domination'..."

Hicksor sighed deeply, filled with emotion, seemingly not expecting the other to understand: "We are merely standing in the present moment, where time flows and circumstances change drastically, looking back at a yesterday where time stands still, a yesterday that is vastly different from the present."

"We are arrogant and always think that there is nothing new under the sun, but in fact, everything under the sun is new."

Thales's eyes flickered.

“What we’ve learned from history—” the prince blurted out unconsciously, “is that we’ve learned nothing from history.”

Heathcliff, who was sighing, suddenly brightened up.

"Well……"

“A thought-provoking paradox, an interesting nested logic,” the old crow pondered the meaning of the sentence: “'Having learned nothing'... Hmm, I can sense that it’s not just about the superficial meaning of 'repeating mistakes'.”

Thales snapped out of his daze and breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course it isn't."

"Did you come up with this yourself?" Hickser's eyes showed approval and admiration.

"certainly……"

Meeting the old crow's probing gaze, Thales's voice immediately deflated as he opened his mouth: "Of course not."

He said awkwardly, "It was someone else who said it—some great man who is no longer alive, whose last name was Hegel, if I remember correctly."

Hicksser laughed.

“Very well, I guess not—my classes need sincerity and introspection, and the last thing I need is pride and vanity.”

"so……"

Thales tentatively asked, "What are you going to tell us about the first lesson...?"

Hexer tapped his cane lightly, returning to his previous position.

"Secondly, as people far removed from that era, any judgment we make about the past is pale and superficial compared to the true events of that time."

The old crow frowned, seemingly quite troubled.

"Since we cannot reconstruct the events of that time, we have lost too many bases for judgment—we judge his actions based on the intentions and interests of those in power, but did King Nunn really think that way? We appeal to the positions and actions of the lords, but what else did the earls do, and in what order? We attribute Exter's setbacks to the untamed nature of the conquered lands, but what were the true actions of the people of the Stars? Could there be crucial historical facts that we have overlooked?"

Hixser's voice was filled with endless emotion:
"Attempting to simplify the interpretation and judgment of history by ignoring the details and narratives of historical processes under the pretext of 'grasping the essence' is quite dangerous in any sense."

“If we overlook or misjudge even one detail, the deviation between our judgment and the true history will be enormous. And if we use this as a basis, the error between the conclusions and rules we summarize on this basis and the actual situation will be even more disastrous.”

"The world is interconnected and boundless, with every part indispensable, yet we can only glimpse a part of it. What does this mean?"

The old crow chuckled and shook his head: "An ancient proverb says: A small difference can lead to a huge error."

"Just as the ancient elves warned young archers: If you don't miss, you don't miss at all; if you do miss, you miss a mile."

Thales was stunned.

He remembered something.

“Not only that,” Thales muttered to himself, “there’s also endogeneity and collinearity, interactions, sample contamination, multi-level biases, causal inferences, and when you extend individual behavior to the collective level…”

Hixer was bewildered by the string of unfamiliar words, and he frowned:

"what?"

Thales then realized what was happening and quickly shook his head, saying, "It's nothing, just talking to myself."

Hicks gave him a strange look and continued:
"Therefore, when on that day, after what we thought were rigorous and well-founded but were actually biased and full of errors and conjectures, we easily made a judgment about what happened eighteen years ago and hastily attributed it to 'the limits of domination'—even if it sounds somewhat reasonable, even if we can convince ourselves with it, it is absolutely far from the truth we want, and it can never fit into our future history to serve today: eighteen years is enough to change a lot of things, and we are not omniscient or omnipotent."

Hicksser stretched out his cane, making an unpleasant noise as it scraped across the uneven ground, and said somberly, “So, whenever we try to learn from history, we find that the mirror is not flat, and the images it reflects are always distorted, blurry, and unusable.”

Hexer let out a deep breath.

"Remember, Thales, even the most renowned scholars at Dragon Kiss Academy must approach history, the world, and humanity with utmost care, humility, and caution in dealing with the gap between perception and reality."

Thales frowned as he looked at the old man in front of him, without saying a word.

Hicksher chuckled sarcastically: "And take that day as an example. In our daily lives, most of the conclusions that are drawn up with self-righteous arguments and stated with absolute certainty, such as 'the empire died because of this and that,' 'what made a certain kingdom prosperous,' and 'without this thing, there would be no that thing,' are more or less savage and childish naiveté."

Hixer tapped his forehead and then pointed to Thales, who had a serious expression on his face.

“Your mind works very fast, Thales, and I’m sure your eloquence has brought you many advantages, but sometimes you need to stop, think more, and speak less—wise men are rarely eloquent.”

Thales remained silent, standing still and listening to Heathcliff's words.

"Humility," Hicksser emphasized earnestly.
“Thales, humility, that’s what you should really learn from the first lesson.”

Hicksor's calm words suddenly turned sharp: "Instead of drawing conclusions from my bunch of seemingly open and reasonable but actually deliberately leading nonsense questions, and through my carefully crafted and intentionally indoctrinated ideas, and then believing them to be your own thoughts—that's how humility is often lost."

Thales nodded slowly, looking preoccupied.

As if recalling the past, Hicksher sighed, “Learning is when a person is most likely to lose humility and become arrogant: when your empty brain is suddenly filled with something, in the excitement of self-elevation, you often rarely care whether what fills your brain is a pile of dung or... often the two look almost the same.”

Fill your brain with...

Thinking of this, Thales had a sudden thought and raised his eyes.

"Speaking of which, I remembered something..."

The prince asked hesitantly, in a questioning tone, "In the first lesson, teacher, do you remember the book you used to refute us, 'The History of the Northern Frontier'?"

Hicksser raised an eyebrow.

He coughed slightly.

“I specifically went looking for this book, so, um…” Thales seemed a little embarrassed. He observed the old crow’s ambiguous smile and slowly began to speak:

"On the title page of that book, the author's name is written, that is..."

Thales waved his hand sheepishly: "Merry H. Hickser, from Dragon Kiss Academy."

Hicksor's pupils contracted slightly.

Thales looked at the original author with a helpless expression: "Is that... manure?"

A few seconds later, the old crow burst into a joyful laugh.

"Hahahahaha..."

The old man's laughter was unpleasant; it was indeed comparable to that of a crow.

But you could tell he was very happy.

Hixer laughed so hard he was almost out of breath. Leaning on his cane, he looked at Thales with a shake of his shoulders and laughed loudly: "You really, you actually went... hahaha..."

Thales shrugged helplessly and gave an awkward, fake smile.

Tracing the source of citations and checking publication information...aren't these basic qualities of a graduate student?

"so……"

Thales gave an awkward twitch of his lips, trying to end the conversation: "My thoughts have never been mine, but everyone else's?"

Hicksser's laughter stopped.

“Another interesting remark,” Hicksser paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Did you come up with this yourself?”

Thales shrugged. "I'd love to say no, but—this sentence? Yes."

"very good."

Hixser stopped smiling and looked at him with a serious and composed expression.

"And the only weapon that can guarantee your brain won't be immersed in excrement, Thales..."

Thales nodded respectfully, accepting his teacher's words:

“Humility.” Hixser smiled again.

But Thales then added, “But you’ve omitted one thing: reflection—looking inward.”

"Remember those class rules you told us: Before questioning something, it's best to ask yourself the same question first."

Thank you, Bourdieu.

Thales smiled inwardly.

Hixer's expression shifted slightly. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the boy before him once more.

“Not only, not only ‘before’, Thales.”

He said lightly.

"But that's an advanced course, an advanced option."

“Not everyone is qualified to go that far,” Hicksor blinked. “We’ll take it one step at a time: starting with humility.”

"Then we'll consider other things."

Thales smiled.

step by step.

Looking at the inexplicably interesting old man in front of him, and thinking about his own uncertain future, he suddenly felt a sense of melancholy.

Thales suddenly raised his index finger.

"gentlemen."

“I was thinking… although you told me that the first lesson is about ‘humility,’ ‘wise men are rarely eloquent,’ and things like that,” Thales squinted, “but then I thought about it again…”

The prince clicked his tongue, scrutinizing the old man before him with the look one would give a suspect: "Is it possible that the moment you turn around and return to Valhalla, you'll say to Little Slipper... to Selma..."

Hicksser looked puzzled.

Thales cleared his throat, slowed his speech, and imitated Hicksser's usual tone in a rough voice: "'Dear Miss Selma, you should know: the wise are not afraid of eloquence.'"

"'Madam, what you need is to confidently shove your opinions into other people's heads, even if it's a pile of dung...'"

Before Thales could finish speaking, Hexer burst into uncontrollable laughter.

He made an exaggerated gesture, tapping his cane on the ground repeatedly: "Hahahaha..."

Thales laughed too.

Under the moonlight, an old man and a young man, thousands of miles from home, faced each other and laughed heartily.

In the distance, Kevin, who was waiting with his head in his hands, let out another helpless yawn.

Finally, their laughter gradually subsided.

Thales closed his mouth.

Hixser also stopped smiling and looked at him calmly and serenely.

it's time.

Thales spoke instinctively.

But Hicksser was one step ahead of him.

“You know, your mother did tell me where she was going,” the old raven said calmly, which made Thales pause in surprise.

Hixser straightened up in the darkness and sighed deeply at the vast starry sky:
"On the eve of her departure, she stood alone with her back to us, facing the blood-red sunset over the vast desert, and said with a soft laugh..."

A strange sense of tension rose in Thales' heart.

He knew that what followed were that person's exact words.

Hicksser said calmly, "Now that I've finally escaped, I should definitely go and see a wider world... Maybe I can shake things up in this dull and boring world."

Thales was stunned.

Pry it open a little...

this……

boring and tedious...

“I believe she did it,” Hicks said softly, but his words traveled clearly through the quiet night to Thales’ ears:
"Or it will eventually be achieved."

A gentle breeze swept by, and through the hole in the wall behind, it emitted a long, mournful sound.

Hixser straightened his scarf, his expression solemn, and gave Thales a slight nod.

"Take care, young master."

Thales collected his thoughts and nodded solemnly in return.
"You too."

"gentlemen."

And so, Thales stood alone in the quiet night, listening to the sound of Heathcliff's cane slowly fade into the distance, watching the old man's hunched figure gradually disappear.

He listened as Hixter boarded the dilapidated, run-down truck that matched the Shield District perfectly, and quietly explained to Kevin why the boy hadn't come.

He watched from afar as the truck, clattering away under Kevin's whip and the disgruntled neighing of the rickety horse, never to return.

The prince greedily inhaled the cold air of the dead of night, only to find his lungs freezing.

Thales turned away helplessly, the problems he faced and the worries that filled his heart rushing back to him.

From now on, he is alone again.

Just like before.

Thales absentmindedly kicked away a half-sized boulder that had almost tripped him, looked at the corpses left by Grivell and then at the “spectacle” of the Shield Zone in front of him, and felt a headache coming on.

The entire Dragon Sky City is searching for him.

And it wasn't just Dragon City; it included Lumba, and lords and vassals like Earl of Risban and Earl of Nazel, as well as various other princes and vassals...

How to do?
Thales scratched his head in anguish.

Go back to that secret passage? Go find Putila?

Hiding in the shield zone and waiting for an opportunity?
But he lacked food and clothing...

"Hey! Kid!"

Thales looked up in surprise.

Under the moonlight, half of his anxious head was visible behind a broken wall to his left.

A gruff voice, straining to keep a low tone, said, "What are you daydreaming about? Come here..."

Thales was stunned.

He stared in astonishment at the person huddled in the corner: "You are...that...Greev?"

Snapped!
The person behind the corner angrily banged on the wall.

The familiar wheelchair slowly emerged from behind the wall.

Thales blinked, unable to figure out what was going on.

"Keep your voice down, you fucking!"

Griveaux, who had just stormed off in a huff, was now glaring at him angrily.

The veteran, who had lost both legs, looked embarrassed and impatient, glancing around warily every now and then: "And what the hell is your manners! Is that how you call me? 'That Griveo'?"

Thales ignored Grivell's anger.

He just stared blankly at the other person, scratching his head, trying to figure out what was going on:

"But why would you..."

Griveaux, in his wheelchair, interrupted him, his remaining eyes conveying the message, "I don't like you."

"Shut up!"

"follow me."

Go with...him?
Thales was taken aback again; he couldn't understand the logic behind the other person's actions.

"But you said you'd let me go and wouldn't take me to claim the reward..."

"Hey!" Griveaux made a threatening face like a wild beast: "I said, shut up!"

"With such a loud voice, you're practically waking up the Sky Queen!"

The old soldier wheeled the wheelchair to Thales, looked at the still-astonished prince, and gave a displeased snort: "Didn't you want to leave the city? Come with me obediently!"

Thales' eyes rolled around three times.

"Out of town?"

He gave a stiff smile, waved tentatively, and pointed in the direction Hixser had left: "But didn't you just reject the old raven..."

Impatient Griveaux's expression changed. He braced his left hand on the wheelchair, lifting it several inches higher, and raised his right fist at him!
Still shaken, Thales instinctively stepped back a distance, raising his hands to protect his chest: "Wait!"

Griveo's fist froze in mid-air.

"Damn it! Are you looking for a beating?"

The old soldier roared furiously, "Are we going to leave the city or not to save our lives?!"

Thales' ears rang loudly from the man's booming voice, and in his dizziness, he nodded subconsciously.
"Want...want...?"

In the awkward atmosphere, the two stared at each other, one furious and the other completely bewildered.

A few seconds later, Griveaux lowered his fist, let out a groan, and turned his wheelchair around.

"Come on, be a good boy!"

"Kid!" he scoffed dismissively.

Terrified, Thales then lowered his hands.

He shrugged, as if he had figured something out, and followed thoughtfully.

And so, amidst the sound of wheels crushing gravel, the shadows of a wheelchair and a boy slowly lengthened on the rough ground of the Shield Zone, moving forward side by side in the tranquil night sky.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
Thales slammed his right fist into his left palm three times.

“I understand.” Thales, walking down the road, carefully observed Grivell, whose expression was unpleasant, as if he were both aggrieved and angry.

The boy, as if he had made a new discovery, said with a hint of surprise in his voice, "You will still help me in the end, but you're just not willing to back down in front of the old crow..."

Griveaux's face stiffened.

"Shut up."

But Thales, absorbed in his new discovery, paid no attention to what the other man was saying. His eyes gleamed: "And Hixser, that old raven deliberately left me behind. He knew that. Hixser knew you would help me, so he..."

Griveaux's expression darkened further.

He gritted his teeth, his mouth twisted in a grimace, and his hand moved faster as he pushed the wheel forward:
"Shut up--"

Thales took two steps to catch up, overtaking the accelerating wheelchair, and turned to face the veteran.

“Wait a minute,” Thales’ eyes grew brighter, “You know that too, don’t you?”

"You know he knows you'll help me..."

As if his secret had been exposed, Griveaux took a deep breath in embarrassment and anger.

As he pushed the wheelchair, he pounded on the wheels in frustration.

"Shut up!"

Thales showed no sign of shutting up. He walked backwards, one hand on his chest, the other stroking his chin, looking both surprised and delighted: "So you both knew it, but... you were unwilling to say it for some reason..."

“Hickser, he knows you know he knows you'll help me…”

Unable to bear it any longer, Griveaux threw his head back and howled in agony:
"enough--"

The veteran stopped the car and interrupted Thales menacingly: "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Thales stopped talking and looked at Griveo with a puzzled expression.

“Yes, I know, and he knows too,” Griveaux said angrily, waving his hands sharply towards the sky.
"So what?"

He spat rudely, looking at Thales with displeasure: "I also know he knew all along that I knew he knew I would help you—"

Thales nodded solemnly, encouraging him with his eyes to continue.

"Damn, you're driving me crazy," Greaver stammered, his expression changing slightly. "Can't you just shut up?"

Thales blinked, a look of helplessness on his face.

“Of course,” the prince chuckled twice, scratching his head, “but what you’re saying might be…”

"You know, you also insulted my mother."

Greaver was immediately taken aback:
"What did you curse?"

Thales pointed into the distance, smiled awkwardly, and kindly reminded him, "Your words seem to have offended her? My mother, Seranze... well, you know her anyway."

Grivell paused for a few seconds, puzzled, before he realized what was happening.

The veteran angrily raised his finger, his face contorted in a menacing expression: "You fucking..."

“That’s the sentence,” Thales said with a soft cough.

At that moment, Griveaux's throat seemed to be choked by something, and he suddenly stopped.

He hesitated subconsciously, his expression subtle and changing several times.

But a second later, the veteran reverted to his usual harsh tone and pointed at Thales again:
"What the hell..."

However, under Thales' friendly gaze, Griveaux seemed to choke on something, his facial muscles twitching slightly.

"You he……"

The veteran's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't make a sound.

His fingers twirled in the air, as if he couldn't find a target.

A gentle breeze blew.

Thales shivered in the cold, but his smile remained.

"you……"

Finally, after hesitating for a few seconds, Drew Greaver, his face full of grief and indignation, threw a powerful punch!
boom!
He angrily pounded on his poor wheelchair.

"You fucking shut up right now!"

The story of Hicksser and his "History of the Northern Frontier" is indeed a historical fact.

A professor I know, Professor L, once told me about her personal experience: When Professor L was graduating with her doctorate, she submitted a paper to a top journal. One of the professors who reviewed it anonymously wrote back with comments that essentially said: "Your literature does not cite a certain authoritative work! This is a major deficiency in your research, so please make up for it quickly."

Professor L, who had just graduated with her doctorate, naturally accepted the anonymous professor's advice with trepidation, and then searched high and low for "that particular work." Strangely enough, despite it being an "authoritative work," she searched for years without success.

Finally, through persistent phone calls to numerous renowned publishers in the field, Professor L managed to locate information about "a certain book" in Cambridge. The publisher replied: "Oh, that book? It's with us, but—it's still in the proofreading stage and won't be published until next year!"

It won't be published until next year!
Teacher L, disheveled in the wind: There's one "MMP" I don't know...

Years later, through a chance encounter, Professor L discovered with a look of utter dismay that the professor who had anonymously reviewed her paper was the author of that unpublished "certain book."

Teacher L, disheveled in the wind: I have another "MMP" to say...

Wu Jian will never forget the utterly dejected expression on the face of Teacher L, who was always serious and upright, when he told this story.

May she be in good health—how could a great mind be bound by illness?

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(End of this chapter)