"Hold on a moment." Wu Changkong glanced at the students sitting ramrod straight in the classroom, his voice flat.
"I'm going to check your physical condition again and see whether your combat abilities have improved lately. Find somewhere to meditate on your own, then gather in half an hour. Oh, Yun Mu, come outside with me."
Yun Mu quickly nodded, rose, and followed Wu Changkong.
Only after they entered the office one behind the other did he scratch his head and ask, "Teacher Wu, did you need me for something?"
The moment he asked, he distinctly felt Wu Changkong's shoulders stiffen.
The normally cold-faced teacher unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes, his voice carrying a nervousness he hadn't even noticed himself. "Well... has my master said anything about me lately?"
Seeing him like this, Yun Mu's heart softened, and he gentled his voice. "Teacher Wu, Uncle Zhuo Shi has actually missed you all along. The last time I visited him, he was still going on about how long it had been since you came home to see him. He never even mentioned what happened back then, and he didn't blame you."
"I..." Wu Changkong abruptly turned his head away and covered his face with one hand. Moisture slowly seeped between his fingers.
Yun Mu watched a tear slide down his jaw and strike the desk, spreading into a small wet patch.
"How could he blame me... I was the one who backed myself into a blind alley back then. I was the one too ashamed to go back and face him."
"Teacher Wu, don't say that." Yun Mu hurried a step closer and gently patted his shoulder. "Uncle Zhuo Shi really doesn't blame you. Whether you were right or wrong, you still have to go back and talk it