Chapter 264: The Wound of Teaching

On the fourth day of the trial, Pure-3 summoned its witness: a young individual from the newly emerged civilization of GuiHuaYuan, code‑named "New Leaf-12".

He stood on the witness stand, his semi‑corporeal body trembling slightly—not because the technology was unstable, but because he was nervous. Su Yu recognized him: three months earlier, this young individual had broken down once in the "Pain Barrier" class, unable to endure the "memory echo" generated by frequency resonance.

"Please describe your experience in Earth teaching," Pure-3's Light Sphere prompted.

New Leaf-12's voice was soft: "They taught us what 'pain' is. They taught us how to turn pain into a barrier. But I… I can't bear it. Every time I connect to the pain frequency, I see the scene of our civilization being harvested—the sound of silence being torn apart."

He paused, and fine cracks appeared on his surface—physical manifestations of psychological trauma.

"I once asked Teacher Han Qing: 'Could you teach me something easier?' He looked at me and said…" New Leaf-12's trembling intensified, "He said: 'If you run away now, you'll run away the next time you feel pain. But if you learn how to breathe when you are in pain, pain is just pain, no longer a disaster.'"

"And then?" Pure-3 asked.

"Then I kept studying. I studied until my third breakdown." New Leaf-12 finally lifted his head, looking at Old Zhao on the bench, "During the third time, Teacher Su Yu gave me a paper crane. She said: 'This won't stop you from feeling pain. It gives you something to hold when you are in pain.'"

"Is the paper crane useful?"

"Yes. But if you grip it too tightly, the paper crane will wrinkle." New Leaf-12 showed his hand—there were fine crease imprints left from overexertion, "Now every time I use my ability, my hand hurts. Earth teacher told me this is the 'price of learning.'"

In the DiQiuJiDi kitchen, Han Qing was cooking porridge. The simplest plain porridge, rice grains slowly blossoming in the water. He cooked very slowly—memory lag made his judgment of heat require more time.

Su Yu sat at the table, folding a gray paper crane. It was the color of "guilt."

"The imprint on New Leaf-12's hand," she said softly, "is because I didn't teach well. I should tell him—the paper crane can be held, but not held so tightly that it harms you."

Xiao Yu's light imprint flickered faintly: "Statistical data shows that in our teaching network, 0.7% of individuals develop similar 'learning trauma.' Does that count as… a teaching mistake?"

Kaiwen pushed his glasses three times: "By the standard of 'harmless teaching,' it counts. But by the standard of 'real growth'…"

"Growth inherently has a price," Aili took a medicinal paste from the medical kit—prepared for New Leaf-12, a formula to treat hand imprints, "My son fell seventeen times while learning to walk; his knees are covered in scars. Can we say 'Earth's gravity is harm'?"

Lao Zhao received this discussion in the courtroom lounge. His reply was a single sentence:

"Tell New Leaf-12 that during the afternoon session, I will let him see something."

In the afternoon session, as Pure-3 was preparing to summarize the closing statement, Old Zhao suddenly raised his hand.

"Judge, please speak."

"I request activation of 'Judge Privilege Article 9'," Old Zhao said calmly, "Allowing the judge, in disputes involving teaching ethics, to display the 'core balancing process of choice.'"

The court rule database flickered in search. Three seconds later, the mechanical notary announced: "Privilege valid. Please specify the display method."

Old Zhao stood up and walked to the center of the courtroom. He removed his wife's faded coat—a unprecedented move. Beneath the coat was his usual work shirt, washed to a pale hue.

But everyone's gaze fell on his shoulder: there, the grafted‑sapling‑woven "Robe of Real Choice" was fully revealed! No longer a transparent mesh, but a semi‑corporeal fabric emitting a soft glow, like a shawl woven from dawn.

"This robe," Old Zhao said, "lets me see the choice scales in others' hearts. Now I will temporarily grant its permission to everyone in the courtroom—for three minutes."

Pure-3 immediately objected: "This involves consciousness privacy—"

"We have obtained special permission from the Cosmic Memory Archive's 'Teaching Ethics Review'." Old Zhao displayed a golden seal—an emergency application during recess, "Our debate is whether Earth teaching causes harm. The best evidence is not data, but letting you experience personally—what those who choose to keep learning are truly weighing."

He looked at New Leaf-12: "From you onward. Will you?"

New Leaf-12 hesitated for two seconds, then nodded.

Old Zhao gently placed the edge of the robe on New Leaf-12's hand.

In an instant, a massive holographic image floated in the courtroom air—the choice scale of New Leaf-12's heart!

Left tray (labeled "Stop Learning"):

·Weight: 37 units

·Components: elimination of hand pain (12), no longer dreaming of harvest scenes (15), return to a peaceful life (10)

Right tray (labeled "Continue Learning"):

·Weight: 41 units

·Components: possibly help compatriots build stronger barriers (20), understand the source of one's own pain (8), prove one can endure (7), not betray the paper crane folded by the teacher (6)

The scale tilted slightly to the right, but wavered.

"Look," Old Zhao said, pointing at the weight labeled "not betray the paper crane folded by the teacher," "This weight wasn't imposed by Earth teacher. You placed it yourself. Because you remember—someone, when you broke down, didn't abandon you, but gave you something you could hold."

New Leaf-12 looked at that weight, suddenly wept—not sadness, but a kind of release. The imprint on their hand shimmered in the courtroom light.

"So the responsibility of teaching," Old Zhao turned to everyone, "is not to guarantee students are unhurt. It is to guarantee—when they are hurt, they know the wound need not be the end."

He paused: "Now, I will share Han Qing's choice scale."

The image switched.

Left tray (labeled "Stop Teaching"):

·Weight: 28 units

·Components: no longer any students injured by learning (10), no longer bearing teaching pressure oneself (8), can focus on repairing one's own memory damage (10)

Right tray (labeled "Continue Teaching"):

·Weight: 73 units

·Components: possibly help more civilizations find the "meaning of living" (25), fulfill Teacher Chen Mo's "Sower" legacy (20), prove that "pain can blossom" is not merely theory (15), prevent those who have already paid the price from paying in vain (13)

The scale swung dramatically to the right.

But everyone noticed: on the right tray, the weight labeled "prevent those who have paid the price from paying in vain" was covered with tiny cracks—the weight added to Han Qing's heart each time a student was hurt.

More striking, the scale's pillar itself bore cracks! It symbolized Han Qing's damaged memories. The pillar trembled, seeming ready to snap, yet it still bore the 73 units of weight.

"He…" New Leaf-12's voice choked, "He hurts more than we do."

"Because teachers' scars lie in unseen places," Old Zhao said softly, "The imprints on your hands will heal. But the cracks in his heart—each time a student breaks down, each time a civilization wavers under pressure, each time the defense accuses 'you are harming students'—these all leave a new crack on the pillar."

He looked at Pure-3: "You say we force others to choose pain. But look at this scale—we are in pain ourselves. If this is coercion, the first person we force is ourselves."

The three‑minute shared time was about to end. Yet in the final minute, Old Zhao's body suddenly shivered!

The robe on his shoulder began uncontrollably absorbing more "choice data"—not just from the courtroom, but linking to the frequency of the entire teaching network!

Kaiwen sounded an emergency alarm at the DiQiuJiDi: "Old Zhao's vital signs are dropping! The robe is over‑extracting his spiritual energy as fuel!"

The holographic images began frantically switching, flashing countless civilization individuals' choice scales:

·A silent observer volunteer struggling between "Continue Empirical Research" and "Return to Logical Purity"

·The awakened civilization wavered between 'maintaining the pain barrier' and 'brief rest'.

·Light-Fracturer Shatterlight-7 agonized between 'spreading deactivation experience' and 'avoiding retaliation'.

·Even including……the Choice Balance inside the Pure-3 Light Sphere! It delicately balanced between 'continuing the procedural war' and 'acknowledging partial rationality'.

The information flood almost overwhelmed Old Zhao's consciousness. But he gritted his teeth and did the final thing:

He directed the robe's connection toward the ninth Balance Fruit on his own chest——through the remote link established by Han Qing!

At DiQiuJiDi, the silver rootlets at the crack in Han Qing's chest fruit suddenly grew wildly! They plunged into the void, as if sucking up some nutrient.

"He's sharing the burden……" Han Qing sweat beaded on his forehead, "Old Zhao is diverting the overloaded data to me!"

But the crack in the fruit expanded at a visible speed! From 0.3 mm to 0.7 mm!

Aili immediately injected a stabilizer: 'You can't withstand this!'

"But Old Zhao will die!" Han Qing grabbed her wrist, "The robe is draining his life force! The fruit can at least……convert part of it!"

In the depths of the crack, those silver rootlets began to bear tiny, pearl-like light points——these were the 'pure will of choice' extracted from the overloaded data. Each light point represents a civilization individual's perseverance in pain.

Just then, inside the courtroom, the Pure-3 Light Sphere suddenly emitted a blinding light!

"Stop! Stop immediately!" Its voice showed for the first time a tremor like 'panic', 'You are……extracting the 'civilization will origin'! This is prohibited by the 'Cosmic Consciousness Protection Convention'!

Sharing was forcibly cut off.

Old Zhao slumped in the judge's chair, his face as pale as paper, but his eyes clear. The robe on his shoulders dimmed, returning to transparency.

Newleaf-12 rushed forward, supporting him with its branded hand. The young individual trembled as it said: 'I saw……I saw cracks on all the teachers' pillars. But you……are still holding up.'

Old Zhao gasped a few breaths, pulled the cracked quartz stone from his pocket, and placed it in Newleaf-12's hand:

"Cracked……it can still refract light."

The courtroom fell into dead silence.

The mechanical notary announced a 24-hour recess——'due to technical accident requiring evaluation'.

But in the jury area, the bodily colors of the thirteen civilization representatives had permanently shifted from 'wavering' to 'deeply moved' olive green.

But at DiQiuJiDi, at the crack in Han Qing's chest fruit, those pearl-like light points began to self‑arrange, forming a tiny, rotating Star Map——

It was as if the will of all who chose to press forward in pain were condensing into some……new seed.