Tails' eyes lit up.

Thurland.

Slave.

survived.

Escaped.

"That's it. ”

Heather smiled lightly and shrugged his shoulders: "That's my encounter with Thran, it wasn't long, but it was impressive. ”

"Hope it helps. ”

Tails was slightly stunned, and a sense of loss arose when he heard the story but didn't have the following: "That's all?"

He was answered by the old crow's oily grin.

"What else?"

Tails was puzzled, and hurriedly asked, "Where did she come from, where is she from, and where did she go next?"

"How did you get involved with my father and the Kingdom of Stars?"

Heather coughed softly, interrupting Tails' questioning.

"I'd love to describe to you my impressions of your mother, Tails. ”

"If I'm good enough, I can even write you a sketch. ”

"But I'm afraid, that's all I know, I don't know who she was before slavery, and I can't tell where she came from," Sixser, looking at him with regret, and motioning softly to the surroundings, "And now is not the time for us to sit down and talk about the past. ”

Faced with Hisser's apologetic and helpless smile, Tails was momentarily speechless.

Heather sighed, rubbing his crutches, undecipherable emotions emerging behind the monocle.

"As for the Grivo thing, all I can say is that I'm really sorry," he whispered, "Take care of yourself." ”

Tails seemed to wake up from a dream, and the surprise of just getting the information was instantly dispersed by the threat in front of him.

The prince paused for a moment.

"Nope. ”

"It's me who should say I'm sorry," Tails forced a smile, "You took a great risk to save me, if Valhalla knew ......"

"Don't worry about me, child," Sexer shook his head, "my channels are normal and don't arouse suspicion—Putile worries about his missing prince, and I, as a teacher, have come to find out from my old friend...... At least, Valhalla, which is too busy to take care of itself, will not suspect it in the short term. ”

Tails was silent.

"But I'm still sorry I couldn't get you out," said Heather gloomily, with uneasy sorrow, "I suggest you hide around here for the night, and then we'll think about it......"

Tails squeezed out an ugly smile.

"Anyway, thank you, sir. ”

He looked at the ruined scene around him, and his mind flashed over the earth-shattering battle in the shield area back then.

Try not to think about the bleak road ahead.

Tails pursed his lips and hesitated slightly: "I...... I'll find a way out on my own. ”

When Grivo refused to help him, Tails was disappointed and terrified.

After all, in the face of the blockade of Longxiao City, the meteorites who are chasing the city are ......

But......

Hither had done enough for him.

He is not qualified to ask for more.

Heather silently looked at the prince's struggling smile and did not speak.

"Of course," Sexer smiled a little bitterly, but for some reason, Tails always felt that there was an indecipherable meaning in his gaze: "Of course you can, then I'll ......"

The old man didn't say anything more, he apologized and turned around on crutches.

Walk over to Kevin, who was already waiting impatiently in the distance.

Tails looked at his back from afar, and suddenly remembered something.

"One last question. ”

Tails' words brought Heater to a halt.

"Our first lesson, remember?"

Tails rubbed his hands together, as if that would drive away the cold of the night: "The boundaries of domination. ”

Exexor paused visibly, and he turned completely to face Tails.

"Of course. ”

Tails glanced at the desolate scene around him again, and faced the aging Sexer: "At the end of the day, you told us that in fact, all our speculations and conclusions in the class that day were wrong. ”

The prince took a deep breath, took a few steps forward, and looked into Hipser's eyes seriously: "I thought you were going to tell us that history can be interpreted in many ways...... But ......"

"In the second lesson, even though we all did a lot of homework, I could feel that you weren't happy with our answers. ”

Heather looked at him silently, not saying a word.

Tails raised an eyebrow at him, "Why?"

"What's the answer in your mind?"

In the distance, the carriage pulled the cart and let out a bored neigh.

In the night, the rickety old man and the young man with his head held high stood in the ruin-like corner, silently facing each other.

The old crow laughed.

"You know, I was going to talk about this much later, or when classes are closed, or even nothing, and let you figure it out for yourselves......"

The old man's words froze slightly: "But given your current ......"

Tails was still staring at him intently.

"Well," Hipser smiled helplessly, as if he couldn't stand the annoyance of his children, "Why, why was our discussion wrong that day......"

"Because times are different. ”

Tails frowned.

Heather put her hands on her crutches again, tried to stand up straight, and coughed softly.

I saw that the old man suddenly became serious: "Let's clarify first, Tails, what we were doing at that time was such a thing: analyzing and discussing the past events more than ten years ago from us, inferring the development and trend of people and things at that time, and trying to draw as many conclusions as possible that are real and useful and useful for us today......"

Tails nodded slightly.

But as soon as Hixser's words changed, a rare sharp edge shot in his eyes: "But the problem is, the time is different." ”

"When?"

Tails had doubts in his mind: "You mean ......"

Heather raised a hand and pressed his question:

"The world, little sir – our world is complex and changeable. ”

As if to save time, Sexer didn't give him another chance to interrupt:

"Time is moving forward, times are changing—people may see that for thousands of years, the iron hooves of mankind have forged a boundless and prosperous world, the mighty empire has ended the division of kings, the church of the gods has purified people's hearts and treacherous, and the surging tide has overturned the decay of the imperial family, the division of the church has recreated the gods, and the nearest end war has reached the end of the world. ”

Hipser's eyes flickered: "But many people will also ignore the fact that thousands of years ago, the merchants of the land were just getting used to bartering, the farmers could only rely on iron and fire to harvest their crops, and the people did not even know how to tamesticate the crows, and the communication between the city-states could only rely on messengers, and the courts of many kingdoms today even look like barbarian gatherings;"

"Hundreds of years ago, the eternal oil and bitumen were still deep under the sea and underground, the magic gun had not yet appeared in this world, the teachings of the gods spread to the continent without doubt, and our long-distance ships could only pray for good weather, hoping that the trade winds would take them to distant places......"

Tails lowered his head, silently contemplating the course of the world's history.

Heather tapped his cane lightly, slightly distracted.

"But that's not all, every year, every month, every day, every minute, every second, every part of the whole world is changing, not just the politics of the lords, not just the coins of the merchants, not just the grain production of the farmers—some changes are so small that they are even imperceptible or even difficult to understand, and some changes are connected to other things and bring about changes in the final result. ”

Hisser's words were serious, his eyes were serious, and even Tails unconsciously straightened up in the cold wind:

"But it is precisely these insignificant changes, along with the pace of history, that are crucial for those of us who try to summarize patterns, learn from experience, discover the truth, and infer cause and effect. ”

And when many people talk about history, learn from history, and compare history, it is easy to unconsciously ignore these changes—even if it is only eighteen years—and only after experiencing failures can they have the energy to look back and look for the existence of these changes: Emperor Comora laid the ancient empire, Kessel VI re-established the final empire, and King Tormund established the kingdom of the stars, they are often compared, but these three are no longer facing the same world, the same people, the same situation. ”

At this point, Heather coughed slightly, "We can't just focus on what we care about, Tails. Every piece of history, every case, there are so many factors that determine it that we can easily ignore it, and these factors become too fast and too fast for us to grasp. ”

"So, when that day, we confidently and complacently gave such a conclusion as 'the limits of domination'......"

Sixer sighed deeply, full of emotion, as if he did not expect the other party to understand:

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

Tails' eyes swelled.

"What we have learned from history—" the prince unconsciously exclaimed, "that is, we have learned nothing from history." ”

Hiksser, who was sighing, suddenly lit up.

"Hmm......"

"A thought-provoking paradox, an interesting set of logic," the old crow chews on the meaning of the sentence: "'Nothing has been learned'...... Well, I can feel that it's not just the superficial layer of 'repeating mistakes'. ”

Tails came back to his senses and breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course it's not. ”

"Did you think of that for yourself?" Hikser's eyes flashed with approval and admiration.

"Of course ......"

Facing the old crow's inquiring gaze, Tails was deflated as soon as he spoke: "Of course not. ”

"It was another man's words—an unworldly and great man, surnamed Hegel, if I remember correctly," he said. ”

Heather smiled.

"Well, I guess not - I need sincerity and introspection in my classes, and the last thing I need is spirit and vanity. ”

"So ......"

Tails asked tentatively, "What do you want to tell us about the first lesson......"

Heather tapped his crutches lightly and returned to his previous state.

"Second, as people far removed from that era, any judgment we make about the history of the past can only pale and superficial in comparison with the real past. ”

The old crow frowned, and seemed to have a headache: "Since we cannot restore the time, we have lost too much basis for judgment to rely on—we focus on the king's intentions and interests, but does King Nunn really think so? We appeal to the position and behavior of the princes, but what else have the counts done, and which comes first? We blame Exeter's disadvantage on the untamability of the conquered lands, but what are the real actions of the people of the stars? Will there be historical facts that we have missed but are crucial?"

Heather's voice was filled with infinite emotion: "Trying to simplify the interpretation and evaluation of history by ignoring the process and narrative of historical details under the pretext of 'grasping the essence' is quite dangerous in any sense. Every time one of these details is omitted or misjudged, the deviation between our judgment and the real history will be enormous, and if we use this as a basis, the error between the law of conclusions and the actual situation summarized on this basis will be even more disastrous. ”

The old crow chuckled and shook his head: "The old saying of the night: the difference is a thousand miles. ”

Just as the old elves taught young archers the warning: A miss, a mile. ”

Tails froze.

He remembered something.

"More than that," Tails said to himself, "there's endogeneity and collinear interactions, sample infections, multi-level biases, causal inferences, and when you expand individual behavior to the collective level......"

Shocked by the flurry of unfamiliar words, Sexer frowned:

"What?"

Tails came to his senses and quickly shook his head and said, "It's nothing, talk to yourself." ”

Heather gave him a strange look and continued:

"So, on that day, after what we thought was rigorous and materialistic, but in fact it was seriously biased, and full of errors and conjectures, we made easy assertions about what happened eighteen years ago, and hastily attributed it to the 'limits of domination,' even if it sounded a little reasonable, but it was absolutely far from the truth we wanted, and it could never fit our future history to serve today: eighteen years is enough to change many things, and we are by no means omniscient. ”

Sticker stretched out his crutches and made an unpleasant noise on the uneven ground, and said gloomily: "So, whenever we try to learn from history, we will find that this mirror is not flat, and the image it reflects is always distorted and blurred, and it is difficult to use. ”

Exex let out a deep sigh.

"Remember, Tails, in the Dragon's Kiss Academy, even the most prestigious scholars must be cautious, humble, and extremely careful in dealing with the gap between knowledge and reality in the face of history, the world, and the crowd. ”

Tails frowned and looked at the old man in front of him, not saying a word.

Hipser snorted sarcastically: "On that day, for example, in our daily lives, most of the self-righteous arguments and then state in absolute certainty conclusions such as 'The empire died in this way,' 'What made a kingdom flourish,' 'If there is no such thing, there is no other thing,' and so on, all of them are more or less with the savagery and childlike innocence of beginners." ”

Heather nodded his forehead and pointed at the stern-looking Tails.

"Your mind spins fast, Tails, and I believe your eloquence will make it easy for you, but sometimes you need to stop, think more, and talk less—the wise man seldom speaks eloquently. ”

Tails still didn't speak, he stood silently in place, listening to Hisser's words.

"Humility," Sexer said earnestly:

"Tails, humility, that's what you should really learn from the first lesson. ”

"Rather than from my seemingly open-minded and reasonable, but in fact deliberately guided bullshit questions, through my carefully set up intentional indoctrination to tempt you to come to a conclusion, but you still believe in it, believing that it is your own thinking - humility is often lost in this way. ”

Sixser, as if remembering the past, couldn't help but sigh: "Learning, this is the time when a person is most likely to lose humility and become self-righteous: when your empty brain is suddenly filled with something, in addition to the excitement of self-sublimation, you often rarely care: whether it is a lump of feces or ...... that is stuffed with your brain A lot of the time both look pretty much the same. ”

The ...... that stuffs your brain

Thinking of this, Tails moved and raised his gaze.

"Speaking of which, I remembered one thing......"

In a deliberative tone, the prince said worriedly: "In the first class, sir, do you remember the book you used to refute us, "History of the Northern War?"

Hipher's brow furrowed.

He coughed softly.

"I went specifically to find this book, so, ......," Tails seemed a little embarrassed, and he observed the old crow's smiling expression, but slowly spoke:

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

Tails waved his hand in disdain: "Merry M. H. Hisser, from Dragon's Kiss Academy. ”

Hisser's pupils constricted slightly.

Tails looked helplessly at the original author in front of him: "That's ...... Big?"

After a few seconds, the old crow burst into a happy laugh.

"Hahaha......"

The old man's laughter is not good, and it is indeed a fight with the crow.

But it can be seen that he is very happy.

Heather laughed a little breathlessly, he propped himself on his crutches, shaking his shoulders, and looked at Tails with a big laugh: "You really, you really go...... Hahaha......"

Tails shrugged helplessly and smirked awkwardly.

Trace the citation source and look through the publication information...... Isn't that the basic quality of a graduate student?

"So ......"

Tails tugged at the corners of his mouth in embarrassment, trying to end the conversation: "My mind was never mine, but everyone's?"

Hisser's laughter stopped.

"Another interesting word," Sixer slowed, with a thoughtful expression, "is this what you thought of yourself?"

Tails shrugged, "I'd love to say no, but—this one? yes." ”

"Good. ”

Heather put away her smile and looked at him steadily and earnestly.

"And the only weapon that can keep your brain from dung, Tails......"

Tails nodded respectfully and took the teacher's words:

"Humility. ”

Heather smiled again.

But Tails then ended: "But you said one thing less: reflection - against oneself." ”

"Remember those class rules you told us: before questioning something, it's best to ask yourself. ”

Thanks Bourdieu.

Tails smiled inwardly.

Hisser's face moved slightly, and he narrowed his eyes and looked at the young man in front of him again.

"More than that, more than 'before,' Tails. ”

He said lightly.

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

"Not everyone has what it takes to get there," Heather blinked, "and let's take it one step at a time: start with humility." ”

"And then figure something else. ”

Tails smiled.

One step at a time.

He looked at the inexplicably interesting old man in front of him, thinking of his uncertain future, and suddenly gave birth to some sighs.

Tails suddenly raised his index finger.

"Sir. ”

"I'm thinking...... Although you told me that the meaning of the first lesson was 'humility,' 'wise men seldom speak eloquently,' or something like that," Tails narrowed his eyes, "but I thought about it again......"

The prince smacked his tongue and looked the old man in front of him up and down with a look of the suspect: "Is there such a possibility: as soon as you turn your head and return to Valhalla, you will be ...... Say ...... to Selma"

Hikser looked puzzled.

Tails cleared his throat and slowed his tone, his thick voice mimicking Hisser's plain tone: "'Dear Miss Selma, know that a wise man fears eloquence. ’”

"'Ma'am, what you need is to confidently stuff your opinion into someone else's head, even if it's a big piece of......"

Before Tails could finish speaking, Heather burst out laughing.

His demeanor was exaggerated, and his crutches kept hitting the ground: "Hahahahahaha......"

Tails laughed too.

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

In the distance, Kevin, who was waiting with his head on his back, yawned helplessly.

Eventually, both of them died down.

Tails closed his mouth.

Heather also restrained her smile and looked at him calmly and peacefully.

It's time.

Tails subconsciously spoke.

But Sixer was a step ahead of him.

"You know, your mother did tell me where she was going. The old crow spoke flatly, but Tails was stunned.

Hipser straightened up in the darkness and sighed long into the vast starry sky:

"On the eve of parting, she turned her back to us alone, facing the blood-red sunset on the vast desert, chuckling and saying......"

There was an inexplicable nervousness in Tails' heart.

He knew that what was going on was the man's exact words.

I only heard Heather say lightly: "'Since I finally escaped, then of course I have to go to a wider world...... Maybe you can pry into this boring world. ’”

Tails froze.

Pry it ......

This one......

Boring ......

"I believe she did," Sexer said softly, but his words reached Tails' ears unmistakably through the silent night sky:

"Or maybe it will be done. ”

A gentle breeze blew through the hole in the wall behind it, sending out a long whimper.

Heather straightened his scarf, his expression solemn, and nodded slightly at Tails.

"Take care, little sir. ”

Tails put away his thoughts and nodded solemnly as well

"You too. ”

"Sir. ”

So, Tails stood alone in the quiet night, listening to the sound of Hipser's crutches slowly moving away, watching the old man's rickety figure gradually disappear.

He listened as Heather boarded the dilapidated inferior wagon that matched the shield area, and whispered to Kevin why the boy hadn't come.

He watched from afar as the wagon ticked away to Kevin's whip and the disgruntled neighing of the horses, never to return.

The prince took a greedy breath of air in the cold wind of the night, but his lungs were frozen enough.

Tails turned around helplessly, and the problem he faced, full of sorrow, came back to him.

From now on, he is alone again.

Just like in the old days.

Tails kicked away a half-large piece of rubble that nearly tripped him over, looked at the corpses left behind by Grivo, and looked at the "grand scene" of the shield area in front of him, and felt a headache.

The entire Longxiao City was looking for him.

It's not even just Longxiao City, including Rumba, including people like the Count of Lisbane, the Count of Nazaire, and all kinds of princes and vassals......

What to do?

Tails scratched his head in pain.

Go back to that secret passage?

Hide in the shield and act on the opportunity?

But he was short of clothes and meat......

"Hey,!"

Tails looked up in shock.

In the moonlight, behind a broken wall in front of him, half of his head with an anxious expression was revealed.

A rude voice was suppressing the tone, trying to whisper: "Why are you stunned, come here......"

Tails froze.

He looked at the man in the corner in astonishment: "Are you ...... That one...... Grivo?"

Syllable!

The man behind the corner smashed the wall unhappily.

The familiar wheelchair slowly drove from behind the wall.

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

"Be quiet!"

I saw Grivo, who had just left in a bad mood, looking at him angrily at the moment.

The old soldier who had lost his legs had an embarrassed and complicated expression on his face, and looked around vigilantly from time to time: "And, what the fucking politeness are you!

Tails ignored Grivo's fury.

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

"But why are you ......"

Grivo, who was in a wheelchair, interrupted him, and the only thing left was his eye, "I see you're upset."

"Shut up!"

"Follow me. ”

Follow...... He goes?

Tails was stunned again, he didn't understand the logic of the other party's actions.

"But you didn't say to let me go, not to take me to receive the reward......"

"Hey!" Grivo made a threatening expression like a beast: "Say, shut up!"

The veteran drove the wheelchair to Tails, looked at the surprised prince, and snorted unhappily: "Aren't you going out of the city?

Tails' eyes rolled three times.

"Out of town?"

He smiled stiffly, waved his hand tentatively, and pointed in the direction where Sixer had left: "But didn't you just reject the old crow......

The impatient Grivo's face changed, he supported the wheelchair with his left palm, raised a few inches higher, and raised his right fist at him!

Tyers, who had palpitations, subconsciously stepped back and raised his hands to protect his chest: "Wait!"

Grivo's fist stopped in mid-air.

"! are you looking for a beating?"

I only heard the old soldier say angrily without any scruples: "Do you want to go out of the city and live!"

Tails was shocked by his loud voice, and his ears rumbled, and he nodded subconsciously:

"Yes, yes...... of?"

In an awkward atmosphere, the two looked at each other, one was angry, and the other was confused.

After a few seconds, Grivo lowered his fist, exhaled with a grunt, and turned the wheelchair around.

"Follow!"

"!" he snorted disdainfully.

A frightened Tails lowered his hands.

He shrugged his shoulders, as if he understood something, and thoughtfully followed.

So, in the sound of wheels grinding over the gravel, the shadow of a wheelchair and a teenager slowly stretched out on the rough ground of the shield area, side by side in the quiet night sky.

Smack!

Tails' right fist slammed three times on his left palm.

"I see. Tails, who was walking on the road, carefully observed Grivo, whose expression was ugly, like aggrieved and angry.

The young man seemed to have made a new discovery, and his voice was slightly surprised: "You will still help me after all, but you are not willing to give in to the old crow......"

Grivo's face froze.

"Shut up. ”

But Tails, who was immersed in the new discovery, didn't care about the other party's words at all, his eyes lit up: "And Hipper, that old crow left me on purpose, he also knows this, Heather knows that you will definitely help me, so he ......"

Grivo's face became even more ugly.

He gritted his teeth, crooked his mouth, and his face twisted, speeding up the hand speed of the wheel:

"Shut up—"

Tails caught up with two steps, overtook the opponent's accelerated wheelchair, and turned to face the veteran.

"Wait," Tails' eyes grew brighter and brighter, "you know that, don't you?"

"You know he knows you're going to help me ......"

As if he had been told what he was talking about, Grivo exhaled with a look of helplessness.

While pushing the wheelchair, he smashed the wheels in dissatisfaction:

"Shut up!"

Tails didn't mean to shut up at all, only to see him walking backwards, holding his chest with one hand and caressing his chin with the other, looking surprised: "So you know each other, it's just ...... You're reluctant to pick on ...... for some reason."

"Hipser, he also knows that you know he knows you will help me......"

Unable to bear it, Grivo raised his head in pain and wailed:

"That's enough—"

The veteran stopped the wheel and viciously interrupted Tails: "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Tails stopped talking and looked at Grivo quizzically.

"Yes, I know, and he knows," Grivo waved his hands violently to the sky, with a look of rage:

"So what?"

He snorted ungracefully and looked at Tails unpleasantly, "I knew he already knew I knew he knew I would help you-"

Tails nodded solemnly, glaring him to continue.

"Fuck, I'm going crazy with you," Grivo's face changed slightly, "You can't fucking shut up?"

Tails blinked, a look of helplessness.

"Of course," the prince said twice, scratching his head, "but you may ...... say so."

"You know, you've scolded my mother too. ”

Grivoden was stunned:

"Scolded—what?"

Tails pointed into the distance, smiled awkwardly, and kindly reminded him, "Your words seem to have scolded her......? Well, you know anyway. ”

The puzzled Grivoy paused for a few seconds before he reacted.

The veteran raised his finger in anger and put on a vicious face: "You fucking ......"

That's it. Tails coughed quietly.

At that moment, Grivo's throat seemed to be stuck in something, and he slammed suddenly.

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

But after a second, the veteran regained his usual vicious voice and pointed at Tails again:

"...... the"

However, in front of Tails' friendly gaze, Grivo didn't know what he was choking on, and the muscles on his face trembled slightly.

"You ......"

The veteran's mouth was closed one by one, but he didn't make a sound.

His fingers tangled back and forth in the air, as if he couldn't find a target.

A breeze blows.

Tails shivered from the cold, his smile still on.

"You ......"

Finally, after a hesitating pause for a few seconds, Drew Grivo, full of grief and anger, punched hard!

Pounding the poor wheelchair hard.

Bang!

"Shut up your father!"

Regarding Sixer and his "History of the War in the North", there is indeed a reality of this.

I had a teacher L tell me about her personal experience: when she graduated from her Ph.D., she submitted a paper to a top journal, and a professor who was anonymously reviewed replied with comments to the effect: "Your literature does not cite a certain work, it is an authoritative work in this field! This is a major deficiency in your research, make up for it quickly." ”

Teacher L, who had just graduated with a doctorate, of course, accepted the anonymous professor's advice with trepidation, and then went to the poor to find "so-and-so's work". However, it is strange that it is obviously an "authoritative work in this field", but she has been searching for it for many years to no avail.

Finally, the persevering Mr. L finally found the message of "so-and-so's book" in Cambridge by calling famous publishing houses in the field one by one. The publisher replied: Oh, so-and-so's work, some of them are here, but they are still proofreading and will be published next year!

Next year, next year, next year, next year~

Teacher L in the wind: I have a sentence that MMP doesn't know to talk about......

Many years later, through a fortuitous channel, Mr. L discovered with a black line on his face: the professor who anonymously reviewed her paper was the author of the book that had not been published that year, "so-and-so book".

Teacher L in the wind: I have another MMP no......

Wujian will never forget the expression on the face of Mr. L, who has always been serious and serious, when telling this story.

May she be in good health and have a good life—how can a great mind ever be bound by a sick body?

(End of chapter)