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Li Yuzhi dreamed of a white horse.\n\nHe dreamed often: of pounding rain, of towering muddy waves, of the cries of teachers and friends, and of white robes drifting through the waters of the Yellow River. But this dream was different. He dreamed of a white horse emerging from the Yellow River, the turbid current parting as it rose step by step, hooves striking the water.\n\nPerhaps it was Elder Changle's words that had stirred up that long-buried night from the depths of his memory. Qingzhou was about to reopen the school of the Inkbound Order, still under the name Inkbound Order. Elder Changle had asked him to take one more disciple.\nThis time, they would be able to protect their disciple.\n\nLate that night, with dew heavy in the air, his leg began to ache again. Even the best healer at Silver Needle had never been able to cure that old injury. The pain was a constant reminder of what a failure he had once been as a teacher: unable to save his disciple's life, unable to set this world right. And now, he had one more chance to be a teacher.\n\nLi Yuzhi went to the market and bought a white horse, then led it slowly back to the mountain gate. He had spent half his life drifting through officialdom, and because of his bad leg, he had often ridden on horseback. But he had never ridden a white horse, just as he had never returned to the Yellow River.\n\nHis new disciple was already waiting beneath a tree, hands lowered properly at his sides, though his eyes kept darting about with poorly hidden curiosity.\n"Greetings, Master."\nThe child's voice was crisp and clear. Li Yuzhi faltered for a moment. It had been a very long time since he had heard those words.\n\nThe warlords who carved up the realm called him "Master" for his counsel. His colleagues in the gilded halls called him "Master" for the sake of power and favor. He too had grown used to hiding behind a mask, beneath the robes of office. But in this child's eyes, there was only admiration, and a pure, earnest desire to learn.\n\n"Do you know how to ride?" Li Yuzhi asked with a smile.\nThe disciple shook his head. "No, Master... I don't."\nThen he looked up again. "Please teach me! I've heard you're amazing. You've read so many books, and you were even a high official. You must be very good at riding too!"\nLi Yuzhi nodded. "Then let this horse be my gift to you on the day we meet."\nThe child cheered, thanked him, and asked him to help him onto the horse. Li Yuzhi lifted the young disciple into the saddle, adjusted the tack, checked the stirrups, and even used his own hands to straighten the boy's legs. From beginning to end, he never loosened his grip on the reins for even a moment.\n\nLi Yuzhi led the white horse and walked his new disciple slowly through the academy.\n\n"This is the dining hall. This is the ink-washing pond. And over there is the Clarion Chime..."\nHe held the reins tightly, as though afraid of losing the hope before his eyes.\n"Master," the young disciple said timidly, "let me hold the reins myself."\nLi Yuzhi refused at once. The horse had only just been bought, and he still did not know its temperament. What if it bolted and threw him?\nThe child puffed out his cheeks. "If you keep holding the reins like that, I won't be using any strength at all. I'll never learn."\n\nYes. That was true.\nLi Yuzhi lowered his gaze to his own hands. His knuckles had gone white around the reins, and the friction had rubbed the old scars on his palms raw. Yet the pain only made everything feel more real.\n\nAt last, he loosened his grip little by little and placed the reins in the child's hands.\nThe white horse gave a soft snort and pawed lightly at the ground, but it did not run.\n\nThe disciple held the reins carefully, as if cradling something precious, and looked back at him with delight shining in his eyes. "Master, look! I'm holding them!"\nLi Yuzhi smiled. "Yes. Hold steady."\nThe child nodded earnestly and sat up even straighter in the saddle, trying his best to look the part.\n\nIn that moment, Li Yuzhi suddenly felt that perhaps all was not yet lost. Perhaps there was still time. Time to teach, time to protect, time to watch someone grow without seeing them taken by floodwaters, by war, or by the chaos of this broken age.\n\nThe mountain wind passed gently through the academy, stirring the leaves overhead. The young disciple sat on the white horse, bright with pride and joy, as though the whole world still lay open before him.\nAnd Li Yuzhi, walking beside him with one hand resting lightly on the reins, felt for the first time in many years that the road ahead might still lead somewhere other than regret.