Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

"It's nothing serious, just a superficial injury, but we're still arguing about who should be held responsible."

Yu Huai's face was full of worry as he held Qi Zhimu's shoulder and said urgently:

"You have a good relationship with the instructors at Qingyun School, could you vouch for me and sign for this batch of equipment first?"

"Instructor" is a common term used at Xianzhou Academy; it is essentially the school's principal.

"Is the instructor not here?" Qi Zhimu asked.

"The Star Chariot is delayed and will not be back for another quarter of an hour."

"Okay, give me the document."

Yu Huai quickly took out the handover documents.

Qi Zhimu signed his name on it and took a spatial jade tablet from Yu Huai.

"Thanks, brother!" Yu Huai, concerned for his wife and daughter, rushed into the rain.

In principle, as a school teacher, Qi Zhimu was not qualified to sign for teaching materials on behalf of the instructors.

However, he had once saved the life of Instructor Qingyun, and given the emergency situation, the latter wouldn't say anything.

More than half an hour later, the instructor finally returned to Qingyun.

Upon learning that Qi Zhimu had signed for the package on her behalf, she thanked him profusely.

After handing over the spatial jade, Qi Zhimu opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain to reach the docking area, where he boarded his private starship and went home.

"Zhimu, you're back."

"Okay, I'll cook." Qi Zhimu took off his shoes and placed the wet umbrella into the bracket in the entryway.

"No need. General Teng Xiao came by not long ago and brought some of Zhiwei Shengyuan's signature dishes," Qiu Zhiyan waved her hand.

Qi Zhimu paused, his gaze turning to his mother with a somewhat inexplicable expression.

"The general didn't say anything." Qiu Zhiyan knew what he was thinking.

"understood."

At the dinner table, the mother and son, as usual, ate in hushed tones and said little.

only……

Just as there is no mother who doesn't understand her own child, there is no child who doesn't understand their own mother.

"Mother, just say what you have to say."

Since he returned home, his mother's hesitant gaze has never left him.

Qi Zhimu knew exactly what he wanted to say.

Qiu Zhiyan gradually stopped chewing her food, put down her bowl and chopsticks, and remained silent.

After a long while, she finally raised her gaze and met Qi Zhimu's eyes.

"...Child, have you resented your mother all these years?"

The people of the Immortal Ship are a long-lived species and do not age.

Qi Zhimu looked at his mother's face, which had remained unchanged for hundreds of years, and shook his head without hesitation.

"Never before."

"..."

Reading the respect and sincerity in Qi Zhimu's eyes, Qiu Zhiyan felt increasingly bitter, and countless words stuck in her throat.

The more sensible her children were, the more guilty she felt.

"My mother is doing this for my own good, and I understand that deeply, so there's no need to overthink it."

"But your mother broke your wings; you could have achieved so much more..."

"Alright, Mom."

Qi Zhimu got up and went to his mother's side, gently pulling her into his arms.

"It's not that I didn't have a rebellious phase. If I had insisted on going my own way back then, I wouldn't have listened to you."

Feeling the warmth from her son's embrace, Qiu Zhiyan closed her eyes and let out a silent sigh.

"The Qi family has been like this for generations, but because of my selfish desires, you have gone down a different path. I have failed the ancestors of the Qi family."

"I'm overthinking again. The meaning and future of the living should never be defined by the dead."

Qi Zhimu hugged his mother tightly and said gently:

"Let bygones be bygones. We never live for past honors. My sister taught me this more than once."

"Your sister is just worried about you..." Qiu Zhiyan's eyes were slightly red.

Back then, Qi Zhimu worked so hard that not only her mother, but even her older sister, were worried about her.

Recently, Qiu Zhiyan has been frequently reminiscing about the past.

Those vividly remembered scenes kept replaying in my mind like a dream.

It's all based on the real past.

The generations-long bloody war between the Immortal Boat people and the brutal and prosperous people has always been a disadvantage for the Immortal Boat people.

To kill a Bu Liren, it often takes the combined efforts of two or even three people.

Only the Cloud Cavalry and even the Sword Master and General possess the ability to fight against a hundred men and to form an army by themselves.

Even so, faced with an endless horrific atrocity even more overwhelming than the tides, it would be difficult for anyone to persevere indefinitely.

What makes us human is that we have limits.

She witnessed the tragic deaths of all her comrades, none of whom could return home.

She saw her lover and family members die in a bloody hell, with mountains of corpses piled up at her feet.

That day, she also saw the future—

His last child will also follow in the footsteps of his predecessors, dying far from home.

"Ji-mu, do you remember what you caught during the birth test when you were a child?"

"...Sword." Qi Zhimu pursed his lips.

"Yes, among more than a dozen toys, you accurately picked out the only sword."

Qiu Zhiyan's face was filled with nostalgia.

"Your father was overjoyed and threw a three-day banquet to celebrate."

"The Qi family, regardless of whether they are men or women, have served in the military for generations. No matter what they catch in the custom of testing their sons, they will be promoted to the Cloud Cavalry Guard in the future, living up to the glory of their ancestors."

"But since the Qi family ancestor, no one has been able to be elected as the Immortal Boat General."

"You showed extraordinary talent in martial arts from a young age. Your father, and I in the past, all had high hopes for you..."

"But wars today are very different from those of thousands of years ago; they are far more brutal and devastating than ever before."

"I have already lost—"

"Don't say anymore, Mother..."

Qi Zhimu interrupted his mother's words, which were about to choke out, in a gentle tone.

"You never broke my wings; it was I who chose to leave the sky, that's all."

"If I want to fly back to the sky, I can do it anytime, but..."

"Parents shouldn't watch their children leave. I understand, I understand everything."

After many years, Qiu Zhiyan's eyes welled up with tears.

From childhood to adulthood, Zhimu never made her parents angry. She was well-behaved, sensible, and exceptionally talented, a typical role model for the neighborhood.

It's always the children who owe their parents something, but she felt she owed Qi Zhimu far too much.

It should be noted that Qi Zhimu was only ten years old at the time, and with a wooden sword, he defeated dozens of Cloud Cavalry Guards from the Cangcheng Immortal Ship under special circumstances.

Their future is limitless.

Unfortunately, 451 years ago, the Second Bountiful People's War broke out...

"Tomorrow is the anniversary of Father's and Sister's death. I have adjusted my schedule for tomorrow and will accompany you to school in the morning. Please get some rest."

Qi Zhimu patted his mother's shoulder and said softly.

Qiu Zhiyan nodded: "Hmm, judging from your tone, you're going out tonight?"

"Go see the general."

"...Be careful on the road."

"Of course, I love you, Mother."

"You brat, someone who's hundreds of years old is still so mushy..."

……

……

PS: Without a clearly defined timeline, the information remains difficult to verify.

The game seems to have a description stating that Jing Yuan was the longest-serving Luofu General, but during the Cangcheng Immortal Ship era, the previous Luofu General, Teng Xiao, already existed.

Teng Xiao was still alive until the sudden chaos, a period spanning a thousand years.

If the in-game text isn't contradicting each other, then it means that the general of Cangcheng is likely Teng Xiao, and that he is also one of the survivors.

After all… there was no description of the Cangcheng general in that bloody battle, but rather of Teng Xiao, the former general of Luofu, which was rather strange in itself.

It is speculated that the person originally in charge of Luofu was Marshal Hua.

The game text does not mention the Eight Heavenly Generals of the Emperor's Bow, and in the timeline where Cangcheng still exists, there are exactly seven immortal ships left.

Yuanqiao and Daiyu crashed before Lan was even born, so I personally believe there were only seven commanders from the beginning.

Another theory is that the Seven Heavenly Generals of the Emperor's Bow did not initially include the Marshal, but this seems unlikely.

Those who are interested can look up the relevant texts about Han Ya, Xue Yi, and Yin Yue. In addition, Xue Yi's voice lines to Yin Yue also present a rather contradictory timeline.

In short, any differences from the original work should be considered as secondary settings in fan fiction.

The secondary settings include the character's real name, such as "Lock Goose". There is no description of her real name in the game, and she was definitely not called Black Swan at the beginning.

Anyway, Hagi Huan has been betrayed many times in his previous book. He's not bothered by the many lice. If the planner is so capable, he can fill in the plot holes and continue to betray him.

In addition, I received some feedback from readers, so I'd like to briefly explain:

This book is not a traditional simulator-style book; the protagonist experiences each of his lifetimes in a real life.

He will have different experiences and backgrounds, which will determine his network of relationships, emotions, personality, and style of doing things.

If you occasionally feel that his character and behavior differ from his previous life, don't worry too much.

After all, each life is different, and it's impossible to live the same way in every lifetime.