Mo Lin quietly watched Bibi Dong without answering immediately.
Mo Lin had not planned to deliberately speak with the Grandmaster in front of Bibi Dong. The idea had merely come to him on a whim, and he had acted on it. So, if Bibi Dong had come to him right after he finished speaking with the Grandmaster, he would certainly have thought carefully about what to say before meeting her.
Now that Bibi Dong had suddenly asked him, Mo Lin was completely unprepared. Of course, as long as his brain was not broken, he would never answer "Yes." He was only considering how to make Bibi Dong believe that his answer of "No" was not merely meant to spare her feelings.
But time waited for no one. The longer Mo Lin delayed, the more Bibi Dong felt that he was remaining silent because he was afraid of hurting her. Even though she no longer loved the Grandmaster as much and no longer had that "filter" over her eyes, she would not think herself better at teaching others than him. Moreover, this was not what Bibi Dong truly wanted to ask. She wanted to ask more directly—whether Mo Lin would leave Spirit Hall, leave her, for some reason. But she felt that, in her current position, she could only ask as his teacher.
Bibi Dong believed that Mo Lin had already given her his answer through silence. She had turned to return to her throne and let Mo Lin leave when he made a move she would never have expected. He stepped forward and directly embraced her—not a light hug, but a tight embrace that pulled her into his arms.
With a clatter, Bibi Dong let the scepter in her hand fall. She had never imagined that Mo Lin would be