Of Ten Parts of Blame, Three Are Yours

A long silence followed.

The thoughts in Bibi Dong's eyes gradually faded, returning to a calm, still state.

You don't understand.

"You can only understand these things by experiencing them yourself. Even if I explain them to you, you still won't understand."

Bibi Dong's fingertips twirled gently, and beneath her calm eyes lay a hidden deep contemplation.

"Um..."

"Then I'll ask you another question."

What was His Holiness the Pope a child?

Bai Wanwan smiled and continued to ask questions.

Born into poverty, she spent her childhood in a small Village, worrying about having enough to eat every day. Fortunately, she was appreciated by the former Pope, who took her in as a disciple and carefully taught her for twelve years, eventually making her the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall and the next Heir the Pope.

Bibi Dong looked at Bai Wanwan with a puzzled expression, somewhat confused as to why she would ask such a question.

"From a young age when he worried about having enough to eat, to being capable of standing on his own, a full twelve years—in an ordinary family, could that be considered a debt of gratitude for raising him?"

Bai Wanwan asked the question seemingly casually.

Bibi Dong did not answer immediately, but instead gazed intently at Bai Wanwan.

Under Bibi Dong's gaze, Bai Wanwan remained seated quietly, her expression unchanged.

After a long while, Bibi Dong withdrew her gaze and nodded gently. "Yes, you could say that."

"Your His Holiness the Pope, why did you choose to leave the Spirit Hall and follow Yu Xiaogang, instead of the other way around, having Yu Xiaogang abandon the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and stay in the Spirit Hall?"

"As you yourself just said, twelve years of meticulous guidance have made you Holy Maiden and the Heir to the next Pope. In other words, the previous Pope groomed you entirely to meet the standards of the next Pope."

"After you completed your training at the Spirit Hall and became capable of handling things independently, you chose to leave the Spirit Hall and go to another family. Your almost handpicked Heir is leaving. All twelve years of careful nurturing have been for nothing. Moreover, there is a risk that many secrets and trump cards among the Spirit Hall's higher-ups will be leaked."

"This kind of thing seems unacceptable to anyone, to any power."

Bai Wanwan gently stroked her hair, looking at Bibi Dong with a calm expression.

What are you trying to say?

"The fact that I'm sitting here talking to you means that I haven't left the Spirit Hall."

"The scenario you've assumed naturally doesn't exist."

Bibi Dong's voice was normal, but it gave people a feeling of an impending storm.

The calmer the place, the more dangerous it is.

"If it weren't for the previous Pope's extremely drastic methods, would His Holiness the Pope be sitting here talking to me now?"

As Bai Wanwan spoke, she put one hand behind her back, keeping a close eye on Bibi Dong's expression.

Hehe~

Bibi Dong chuckled lightly, "You know quite a lot. So, what's your take on what happened back then?"

Bibi Dong's voice revealed no emotion.

"Of the ten faults, you are responsible for three, while the former Pope was responsible for seven."

"One mistake, and twelve years of nurturing kindness have been completely forgotten."

"Second mistake: After receiving the Spirit Hall's training, you wanted to leave the Spirit Hall when you were capable of standing on your own. This made twelve years of painstaking training benefit someone else, and also caused the Spirit Hall to lose its original Heir."

"Cultivating a qualified and capable Heir is extremely important for any power; in fact, every decision made by the Heir can potentially influence the future direction of the entire power."

"Three mistakes: He couldn't distinguish between longing, fantasy, and love; he was easily swayed by Yu Xiaogang's few words and prepared to leave the Spirit Hall and return to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with him, without considering the consequences of doing so."

"The former Pope's mistakes accounted for seven-tenths of the problem, mainly due to his overly extreme methods. After all, there are many ways to retain people, but he chose the most extreme and also the most wrong one."

"So from an objective point of view, if there are ten points of fault, you are responsible for three, and the former Pope for seven."

"But everything has two sides; the results can be drastically different depending on your perspective."

While speaking, Bai Wanwan kept a close eye on Bibi Dong's expression.

To say that Bibi Dong is at fault for three reasons is actually a conservative assessment.

According to Bai Wanwan's true thoughts, the right and wrong between Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji should be judged in a 40/60 or 50/50 split.

After all, given the circumstances at the time, Bibi Dong, as the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall and the next Heir the Pope, was already considered a betrayal by the Spirit Hall she proposed to leave.

There are many ways to retain employees, but can you retain their hearts and minds?

As the next Heir, his mind is not on his own family's power, but on other powers. Under such circumstances, who would dare to make him their Heir?

Thinking about it more deeply, giving money or resources is a minor matter.

But what if what they're giving away isn't just money and resources?

And what about the former Pope?

Of course, there were mistakes too. If the Heir was unsuitable, why not just replace him?

To be precise, Qian Xunji may indeed be preparing to change, but his methods are too extreme.

Given Qian Xunji's status at the time, if he wanted women, he could have easily lined up from the Papal Hall all the way to the Heaven Dou Empire, but it wouldn't have been a problem for him to reach the gates of Spirit City.

Furthermore, the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul can also guarantee the quality of talent.

All I can say is that the approach was too extreme, and the subsequent handling was also rather illogical. But a stain is a stain, a stain that can never be washed away.

Hehe~

"Of the ten mistakes, I am responsible for three."

"What a mistake! Out of ten, I'm guilty of three."

Bibi Dong chuckled softly, her laughter echoing in the pavilion.

He laughed for a while.

Bibi Dong stopped laughing, glanced silently at Bai Wanwan, and then got up and walked out of the pavilion.

Bai Wanwan watched quietly as Bibi Dong left.

Although she still had something to say, some things couldn't be rushed and needed to be done slowly, little by little.

Only after Bibi Dong's figure disappeared from sight did Bai Wanwan get up from her seat and head towards the Worship Hall.

Worship Hall.

At the table laden with various delicious dishes, Qian Renxue kept looking towards the door.

Why hasn't Wanwan come back yet?

"That woman won't bully Wanwan, will she? No, I have to go check on the Papal Hall."

Just as Qian Renxue was about to get up from her seat, Qian Daoliu Qian Renxue his hand on her shoulder.

"No need to go."

"Your Wanwan is back."

Qian Daoliu pointed towards the door.

Qian Renxue looked in the direction Qian Daoliu was pointing and vaguely saw a beautiful figure.