Zhi Guan didn’t say more than that either. He simply inclined his head, turned around, and then walked back the way he had come.
Mu Qing glanced at him and then turned back to Liu Bao Ru. “I will do everything I can. You can trust me. I … have been too passive in the past. I know that. But from now on, I will try to make up for all of it.”
Liu Bao Ru nodded. A few weeks ago, she would have scoffed and told him to keep those sanctimonious words to himself but … she had watched Mei Chao Bing in the last few weeks and she had started to understand something that had been a hard concept for her to grasp previously: Not everything was black and white, not every decision was easy to make, and sometimes, doing what seemed right would mean also doing something that was wrong at the same time.
As an outsider, what right did she have to judge Mu Qing? This was not her Master who had betrayed the sect. It was not her who owed a life-saving debt. It was not her fiancee she had to leave behind without a word, abandoning all hopes of a future with her. It wasn’t her senior martial brothers and her junior she had to choose between. Seeing as she had never been in the situation and faced with all those choices, how could she dare to claim to know what was right or wrong?
Oh, it was easy to look in from the outside and preach. After all, you wouldn’t need to live with the consequences, you didn’t have to square any of it with your conscience, it wouldn’t have any impact on your life. In that situation, it was easy to make a choice, wasn’t it?
But when trapped in the situation yourself, faced with conflicting loyalties and promises, who could really say what was right and what was wrong? Sometimes, you simply weren’t able to tell and you would make a wrong decision that only turned out to be such years down the road. In that kind of situation, what were you supposed to do?
At most, you could only do what Mu Qing was doing now and try to make up for the hurt you had caused and rebuild the trust you had shattered. None of it was easy and she should probably admire him for being willing to try.
Mu Qing didn’t know that Liu Bao Ru’s impression of him had changed or that he owed this change to his junior martial brother Mei Chao Bing and what he had gone through. He simply followed Zhi Guan after leaving these words. Anyway, he didn’t rely on her trust. Instead, he intended to prove with his actions that his words were credible. Anything else would be wrong.
When the two male disciples stepped into the corridor, they found Song Yu Zheng, Lu Wei, and Wen Xiang standing together, seemingly discussing something. Zhi Guan didn’t think much about it but Mu Qing raised his brows, wondering if they might have caught onto something already. Otherwise, what were they discussing so spiritedly?
When the three disciples noticed them, they immediately turned around to them, all of them greeting Mu Qing as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Mu Qing continued to look at them, somewhat worried. “Is there a reason for the three of you to wait here?” They wouldn’t have secretly followed Zhi Guan and heard something, would they? He hadn’t noticed anything but with Song Yu Zheng’s talent, maybe his Master had given him some spiritual tool that could hide his tracks. It wouldn’t be impossible. Most disciples might wait for an important moment to use such a thing but the elites of the Wu Yun Sect sometimes had odd habits. The kind of preference they received had definitely led to some personalities getting spoiled.
Song Yu Zheng gave a hum and then hurriedly pulled Zhi Guan over. “Of course, we are waiting for Ah Lin.” To make sure that Mu Qing would believe him, he even went so far as to pat the other disciple’s chest as if they were the best of buddies.
Mu Qing stared at him blankly, wondering if Song Yu Zheng wasn’t as smart as he had expected after all. How come there was no suspicion at all and he instead treated this person like his best friend? Hadn’t they only met today?
Of course, Song Yu Zheng was also pretending. He wasn’t that close to Zhi Guan even if he might want to change that. No, mostly, he wanted to hide his tracks so Mu Qing wouldn’t realize he and his friends were trying to set him up with a woman. In his mind, if Mu Qing realized, things were much more unlikely to work out.
Either way, since Zhi Guan didn’t seem to be suspected, Mu Qing could also rest assured. He shook his head, not caring any longer and simply nodded at the four disciples. “Well, you should go back to your room then. Don’t loiter around and disturb the others. If there is anything you need to talk about, you know where to find me.” With that, he passed by them and returned to his own room.
Song Yu Zheng heaved a sigh of relief and then hurriedly pulled Zhi Guan’s arm, going back to their room just like Mu Qing had asked them to. As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned to Zhi Guan and looked at him expectedly. “So, what did you find?”
Zhi Guan looked at the hand that was still on his arm and then up at Song Yu Zheng’s face. He was currently finding that this guy was acting awfully close with somebody from the righteous faction. If he knew … he’d probably throw a fit. Of course, he couldn’t say that so instead, he tied back to their earlier conversation. “Well, nobody was naked.”
Zhi Guan didn’t say more than that either. He simply inclined his head, turned around, and then walked back the way he had come.
Mu Qing glanced at him and then turned back to Liu Bao Ru. “I will do everything I can. You can trust me. I … have been too passive in the past. I know that. But from now on, I will try to make up for all of it.”
Liu Bao Ru nodded. A few weeks ago, she would have scoffed and told him to keep those sanctimonious words to himself but … she had watched Mei Chao Bing in the last few weeks and she had started to understand something that had been a hard concept for her to grasp previously: Not everything was black and white, not every decision was easy to make, and sometimes, doing what seemed right would mean also doing something that was wrong at the same time.
As an outsider, what right did she have to judge Mu Qing? This was not her Master who had betrayed the sect. It was not her who owed a life-saving debt. It was not her fiancee she had to leave behind without a word, abandoning all hopes of a future with her. It wasn’t her senior martial brothers and her junior she had to choose between. Seeing as she had never been in the situation and faced with all those choices, how could she dare to claim to know what was right or wrong?
Oh, it was easy to look in from the outside and preach. After all, you wouldn’t need to live with the consequences, you didn’t have to square any of it with your conscience, it wouldn’t have any impact on your life. In that situation, it was easy to make a choice, wasn’t it?
But when trapped in the situation yourself, faced with conflicting loyalties and promises, who could really say what was right and what was wrong? Sometimes, you simply weren’t able to tell and you would make a wrong decision that only turned out to be such years down the road. In that kind of situation, what were you supposed to do?
At most, you could only do what Mu Qing was doing now and try to make up for the hurt you had caused and rebuild the trust you had shattered. None of it was easy and she should probably admire him for being willing to try.
Mu Qing didn’t know that Liu Bao Ru’s impression of him had changed or that he owed this change to his junior martial brother Mei Chao Bing and what he had gone through. He simply followed Zhi Guan after leaving these words. Anyway, he didn’t rely on her trust. Instead, he intended to prove with his actions that his words were credible. Anything else would be wrong.
When the two male disciples stepped into the corridor, they found Song Yu Zheng, Lu Wei, and Wen Xiang standing together, seemingly discussing something. Zhi Guan didn’t think much about it but Mu Qing raised his brows, wondering if they might have caught onto something already. Otherwise, what were they discussing so spiritedly?
When the three disciples noticed them, they immediately turned around to them, all of them greeting Mu Qing as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
Mu Qing continued to look at them, somewhat worried. “Is there a reason for the three of you to wait here?” They wouldn’t have secretly followed Zhi Guan and heard something, would they? He hadn’t noticed anything but with Song Yu Zheng’s talent, maybe his Master had given him some spiritual tool that could hide his tracks. It wouldn’t be impossible. Most disciples might wait for an important moment to use such a thing but the elites of the Wu Yun Sect sometimes had odd habits. The kind of preference they received had definitely led to some personalities getting spoiled.
Song Yu Zheng gave a hum and then hurriedly pulled Zhi Guan over. “Of course, we are waiting for Ah Lin.” To make sure that Mu Qing would believe him, he even went so far as to pat the other disciple’s chest as if they were the best of buddies.
Mu Qing stared at him blankly, wondering if Song Yu Zheng wasn’t as smart as he had expected after all. How come there was no suspicion at all and he instead treated this person like his best friend? Hadn’t they only met today?
Of course, Song Yu Zheng was also pretending. He wasn’t that close to Zhi Guan even if he might want to change that. No, mostly, he wanted to hide his tracks so Mu Qing wouldn’t realize he and his friends were trying to set him up with a woman. In his mind, if Mu Qing realized, things were much more unlikely to work out.
Either way, since Zhi Guan didn’t seem to be suspected, Mu Qing could also rest assured. He shook his head, not caring any longer and simply nodded at the four disciples. “Well, you should go back to your room then. Don’t loiter around and disturb the others. If there is anything you need to talk about, you know where to find me.” With that, he passed by them and returned to his own room.
Song Yu Zheng heaved a sigh of relief and then hurriedly pulled Zhi Guan’s arm, going back to their room just like Mu Qing had asked them to. As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned to Zhi Guan and looked at him expectedly. “So, what did you find?”
Zhi Guan looked at the hand that was still on his arm and then up at Song Yu Zheng’s face. He was currently finding that this guy was acting awfully close with somebody from the righteous faction. If he knew … he’d probably throw a fit. Of course, he couldn’t say that so instead, he tied back to their earlier conversation. “Well, nobody was naked.”
