Gongxi Chou stared blankly at the scene before him.
The tears welling in his eyes blurred the view.
"All this time... They've been by my side all this time?"
His voice trembled, choked with emotion.
"How could this be... I had no idea..."
If he'd known, he would have made sure to live better these past few years, trained harder, and found more happiness in life, instead of forcing himself to do things that made him unhappy. Though Gongxi Chou had spent these years indulging in pleasure, he hadn't been happy.
How disappointed his elders must be, seeing him consumed by hatred, unable to let it go, and turned into someone unrecognizable. He had once been the future warrior of the Gongxi Clan, the one they had all placed such high hopes in—the clan's precious boy whom every elder spoiled with snacks.
"You?"
Jimò Can's voice carried a trace of mockery.
"There's plenty you don't know..."
For example, Gongxi Chou didn't know what he stood to lose by choosing revenge. He didn't know how many people's hopes and sacrifices rested on his little life. When he finally found out, he would have to swallow all that pain himself, chewing it over alone.
No one would watch over him in secret or keep him company anymore.
Still, Jimò Can had no right to stop him from seeking revenge.
It was Gongxi Chou's wish, after all—and wasn't it his own as well? He had watched over the boy for years in secret and helped him avenge the Gongxi Clan. That was some recompense for the twenty-odd years he had been absent. As for the days ahead, Gongxi Chou would have to walk that road alone.
A young eagle would leave its parents' wings one day.
Besides—
At his age, what kind of