Forget it. I'll let nature take its course. Perhaps things won't be so terrible when the time comes.
The boy consoled himself this way, trying hard to set his heart at ease.
Yet this self-consolation seemed to do little good. Whenever Xing Yan imagined the embarrassment of standing tongue-tied before that great crowd, his heart still fluttered with anxiety. And beyond that anxiety, he felt a measure of defiance.
After all, Shangqing Palace was no bustling street in Raozhou. If he made a fool of himself on such a solemn occasion, it would hardly be a matter of whether he personally cared. Even if he could shrug off everyone else's scorn, he still bore the title of Four Seas Hall Master. If word of such an embarrassment spread, not only would he lose face, but the Highest Clarity Sect's reputation would suffer badly as well.
Ah, why must Sect Master Lingxu insist on having me speak at the Scripture Lecture Assembly?
The boy kept lamenting inwardly.
The other two girls in the hall, however, had no idea that their hall master was weighed down with worry, and went about their lives as usual:
Kou Xueyi methodically attended to the hall's sweeping and cleaning, while little Qiong Rong played with two or three birds beside Cloud-Sleeve Pavilion. Ever since hearing Xing Yan's story of "the gulls that forgot all guile," the little girl had taken a particular interest in playing with birds. Frolicking with the mountain birds that landed on Thousand Birds Cliff had become her favorite pastime.
"Hm?"
Watching Qiong Rong affectionately chase and scamper about with those mountain birds, Xing Yan felt something stir within him. A sudden flash of inspiration seemed to cross his heart, and he dimly glimpsed a way out of the trouble that had plagued