Zero stopped smiling, slowly set down the wine cup in his hand, and glanced at Dan Feng.
The others froze for a moment, then carefully thought over what Dan Feng had said.
Everyone present had long since prepared themselves to sacrifice their lives for the Xianzhou the moment they headed to the front lines.
Their safe return to the Luofu wasn't just because of their own outstanding abilities, it also relied on the efforts of their superiors and countless Cloud Knights.
They had seen life and death too many times, and each had their own understanding of it.
Some believed that dying as a warrior was an honor. Others still couldn't accept the loss of their comrades.
So what exactly… is death?
To healers who save lives, death means the moment the heartbeat stops, breathing ceases, and the body's functions shut down completely.
For those who knew the deceased, death is when they receive the obituary, attend the funeral, offer a white flower, listen to the stories of the person's life, and sigh with emotion in their hearts.
After seeing them off on their final journey, that person is completely gone.
After the funeral, outsiders no longer mention the deceased. Only their closest loved ones continue to remember them, as if death had never come.
As time passes, even those loved ones gradually pass away. From then on, no one remembers the deceased anymore, and only then are they truly, completely dead.
Dan Feng said, "When you think of me, I live once more because of you."
Death is not the end of life. As long as someone remembers the dead, they have not truly died.
They live on in people's memories, never aging, never dying.
Those words are very comforting to the loved ones left behind.
Yingxing gave a thumbs-up. "Not bad, Dan Feng. That epitaph is great, it's mine now."
Baiheng shook her head, seeing straight through it.
"The moment you hear that, you know there's no way Dan Feng came up with it himself!"
As a foxian, she knew her friend well. Given the Dragon Lord's personality… how could he possibly think of something so gentle and comforting?
Dan Feng had his pride. If he really had to write an epitaph… it would probably be mocking someone.
Anyway, she refused to believe those words came from him.
Dan Feng folded his arms, casually swept a glance at Zero, then nodded to confirm Baiheng's guess.
"I didn't come up with it. Those words… were written by the former Marshal."
Zero, "..."
He picked up his wine cup and took a sip, using it to hide his expression.
Zero was utterly baffled. 'Dan Feng is… acting up again?'
Was it because they'd started talking about life and death? But the Vidyadhara reincarnated again and again, how could they be said to truly die?
Zero didn't understand Dan Feng's thinking, but he did know one thing, if he did understand him, his own mental state would probably be even worse.
So he stopped thinking about it. He turned his gaze to the wine pot, filled his own cup, then noticed Jingliu's empty cup out of the corner of his eye and poured her one as well.
Jing Yuan was completely stunned when he heard this.
He had read many records. The former Marshal pieced together from those words was a godlike figure overflowing with martial valor.
Someone like that… could he really say something so gentle?
Jing Yuan hesitated. "Are you sure? It really came from the former Marshal?"
Dan Feng nodded slightly. "Yes. More precisely, it came from the former Marshal's will."
He continued, "In the only will he made public, those words were the very last thing he left behind."
Jingliu, who had been quietly listening, finally spoke.
"To leave words like that in a will… he must have been a very gentle person."
Dan Feng, "..."
If the former Marshal weren't sitting right here, Dan Feng definitely would have argued back.
Rather than gentle… it was more accurate to say the man understood his subordinates too well.
The former Marshal left his final order in his will, demanding that all information related to him be erased, and then, at the very end, told them, "When you think of me, I live once more because of you."
But… if someone erased all traces of themselves from the world, how could others remember them? Who could possibly remember them? Naturally, only his subordinates.
He had foreseen his own death early on. While still alive, he prepared everything in advance, slowly fading from the sight of the Xianzhou people, leaving only his subordinates aware of his achievements.
To minimize the impact of his death, he deliberately wrote words completely against his usual style into his will, just to comfort them.
The Imbibitor Lunae of that generation, who attended the funeral, had once pondered the deeper meaning of that sentence, trying to figure out what kind of feelings the former Marshal had when he wrote it.
No matter how long he thought about it, he never found an answer.
Fortunately, Dan Feng now had the chance to ask that question out loud, while chatting idly with his friends.
Before long, Yingxing challenged Jingliu to a spar. Jingliu gladly accepted. The two stood up, each grabbed a sword at random, and found an open space. Baiheng and Jing Yuan, both holding Jade, followed along to watch the fun.
Once they were alone, Dan Feng finally voiced the doubt in his heart.
Zero raised a finger and pointed at Dan Feng's cup, signaling him to drink.
Dan Feng said nothing. He downed four or five cups in a row before finally getting the answer he wanted.
Zero looked in the direction where Jingliu and the others were.
Jingliu was relaxed, sparring effortlessly with Yingxing. Baiheng clapped enthusiastically, while Jing Yuan, holding the cat, had no choice but to clap by squeezing its little paws.
Zero propped his chin with one hand and turned his gaze to Dan Feng.
"What did it feel like? Probably the same as how you Vidyadhara feel when you return to the Scalegorge Waterscape."
Talking about the letter he'd written on the cruise ship back then, he unusually felt like saying more.
"That line you mentioned, it actually took me a lot of effort. I originally planned to write, 'When you think of me, I live for you once more.'"
Zero rarely paid attention to his wording.
Given his status and position, even if he said something wrong, no one would correct him.
On top of that, he rarely put on airs in front of his subordinates. Whether chatting or reviewing documents, his tone was always especially easygoing.
So when he wrote his will, he didn't deliberate much over the wording, and wrote that sentence almost unconsciously.
Considering the will's special nature, he had no choice but to revise it again and again. He spent the entire night rethinking it before finally coming up with the most appropriate and most comforting words.
Zero believed that after hearing them, his subordinates would not follow him into death.
He shared his thoughts with Dan Feng.
"But the word 'for'… felt a bit off. Living for you seems like it puts too much pressure on people. So in the end, I changed it to 'because.' Living because of you, it sounds a bit better, right?"
Dan Feng only nodded, saying nothing, and continued drinking in silence.
The Dragon Lord thought to himself that there probably would never be another superior like the Marshal in this world.
Who else would go to such lengths in their own will just to spare their subordinates pain?
Word by word, sentence by sentence…
That will must have been terribly hard for the Marshal to write.
After all, that man had unbelievably poor communication skills. To write that will, to write such comforting words… he probably used up eight lifetimes' worth of emotional intelligence.
Dan Feng picked up the wine pot and poured Zero another cup.
The more he spent time with the former Marshal, the more confused he became.
How could someone like this die? How could he be allowed to die?
Dan Feng said, "I've heard that the current Marshal possesses a treasure called 'Feather of Passing Dust,' which can alleviate the symptoms of mara in long-lived species."
Yubie and that Imbibitor Lunae who attended the funeral both believed the former Marshal, like other long-lived beings, would grow tired.
If that were truly the case… then why not use the 'Feather of Passing Dust' to erase his memories?
Dan Feng didn't ask the question out loud. He knew the other person would understand what he meant.
To his surprise, this time the former Marshal didn't answer. He remained silent.
Seeing this, Dan Feng could only continue drinking, hoping to exchange wine for answers.
Only after he emptied the entire pot, his body swaying and drunkenness surging, did Zero stare at him and suddenly sigh.
"Imbibitor Lunae… you're a lot like how I used to be."
Dan Feng, "..."
'The former Marshal said they were alike? In what way?'
Dan Feng couldn't tell if this was praise or an insult.
Before he could figure it out, the other man suddenly asked, without any lead-in, "Who are you? Dan Feng? Or the Vidyadhara Dragon Lord, Imbibitor Lunae?"
Dan Feng felt the question completely missed the point. Before he could press further, the other person stood up and walked toward Jingliu and the others.
Nearby, Jingliu had been sparring with Yingxing.
When she caught sight of Zero from the corner of her eye, she instantly knocked the sword from Yingxing's hand, set the sword she'd picked up earlier aside, then turned cleanly and walked straight toward Zero.
Yingxing, who hadn't even processed what happened before being instantly defeated, "..."
He had long known the gap between himself and his friend in swordsmanship.
Aside from his incredible arm strength and his ability to forge a three-thousand-pound Shattered Blade, at the end of the day, he was just a craftsman. Different professions entirely.
How could he ever compare to the Sword Champion? He knew Jingliu had been holding back, but still… wasn't this a bit too damaging to his pride?
Yingxing let out a long sigh and began looking around for the sword that had been knocked away.
Baiheng grabbed Jing Yuan, who was absorbed in petting the cat. One fox and one human moved to help Yingxing, deliberately leaving space for Zero and Jingliu.
Jingliu stood beside Zero. Watching the trio searching around, she finally noticed that Dan Feng wasn't there.
'Doesn't that mean… Zero was with Dan Feng this whole time?'
Recalling how the Dragon Lord had thrown money at Zero before, Jingliu instantly became alert.
On one side was her beloved, and on the other was her friend…
For a moment, Jingliu didn't know how to ask. Just as she hesitated, Zero seemed to see through her thoughts and brought up Dan Feng himself.
"Your friend… that Imbibitor Lunae really is a man of strong passions."
Jingliu subconsciously turned to look at Dan Feng. In the distance, the Dragon Lord sat by the stone table, one hand propping his forehead, looking very much drunk.
Zero deliberately skipped over the part where he'd made Dan Feng drink in exchange for answers, and said with a smile, "Dan Feng drinks so straightforwardly. I imagine his previous actions were not ill-intended."
Jingliu first let out a sigh of relief, then reached out and lightly pinched the hand at her side.
"Do you judge everyone you meet by how they drink?"
Zero shook his head. "I won't run into bad people."
Jingliu didn't argue, her tone deeply helpless. "Alright. You won't run into bad people."
Zero continued, "After all, there's you, Sword Champion. With people like you around, how could there be any bad people in the Luofu?"
Jingliu, "..."
How did chatting with Zero somehow turn into her being praised again?
The more she listened, the more familiar these words sounded.
She couldn't quite place it, so she set the thought aside and looked toward the open ground instead.
The one fox and two humans had found the sword Jingliu had knocked away.
Jing Yuan, looking solemn, handed the cat over to Baiheng.
He picked up the sword Jingliu had set aside earlier and issued a challenge to Yingxing.
"Come on, Brother Yingxing, if you lose, you have to agree to do one thing for me."
The moment Yingxing heard how he was addressed, he immediately became alert.
He'd just finished sparring with Jingliu… there was no way Jing Yuan had good intentions.
Yingxing quickly guessed his plan, went speechless for a second, then snapped irritably, "So it's Yingxing when there's nothing, but 'Brother Yingxing' when you need something… You brat… you just want that formation blade, don't you? Fine. I'll make it once I'm done with my work, alright?"
Hearing this, Jing Yuan beamed and leaned in closer. "Yingxing, you said that yourself. If you delay again, I'll go block you at the Artisanship Commission every day."
Yingxing, "..."
The moment he agreed, the 'brother' was gone again.
'That kid really changed faces fast.'
The group joked around a bit more, then returned to the stone table to have a few more drinks.
Jing Yuan set the cat on the table. Always one to stir up trouble, he glanced at the possibly drunken Dan Feng and reminded Baiheng, "Baiheng, do you remember your bet with Dan Feng?"
Baiheng looked at Jing Yuan, then at Dan Feng, and nodded vigorously, her ears even flicking.
She urged him on. "Dragon Lord, don't forget about your tail."
Dan Feng felt dizzy. Propping his head up, his expression turned cold the moment he heard her words.
He casually swept a glance at Zero.
Looking bored, Zero was focused entirely on the wine cup in his hand.
Dan Feng let out a sigh of relief.
He normally didn't mind manifesting his dragon tail in public, but the former Marshal's mental state… made him cautious.
Following his agreement with Baiheng, Dan Feng manifested his dragon tail.
His friends were very accommodating, all lifting their heads to admire the Dragon Lord's tail, into which who knew how many credits worth of maintenance had been poured.
Zero followed everyone else's gaze and looked at Dan Feng's tail.
His expression was calm. After examining it for a bit, he looked away and turned his attention to Jade on the stone table. He reached out, rubbed the cat's fur, and sighed.
"Feels like Jade still wins..."
The drunk Dan Feng snapped his head toward Zero.
'What did you say? You're saying my tail, which had cost no less than nine digits in credits to maintain, lost to your cat?'
Zero said seriously, "The Dragon Lord's scales… look kind of like a fish's."
Dan Feng, "..."
'Are fish and dragons the same thing? Say that again while looking at my tail, if you dare.'
Just as he was about to make Zero properly appreciate his tail, he heard him add, "I imagine the texture feels about the same as a fish too..."