He stared blankly at Ningguang, as though something had blocked his airway. No matter how desperately he tried to breathe, he could not draw a single breath.
The agony felt like countless ants gnawing at his heart, making his whole body tremble faintly and uncontrollably.
Too long...
He had stayed too long.
He should never have stayed this long. If only he had left sooner...
"Xiu Yuan..."
"What's wrong...?"
Seeing how strangely Xiu Yuan was acting, Ningguang asked with concern.
"N-nothing..."
"My illness is acting up... just like when you first met me..."
"Thank you, Ningguang. I love it..."
"Please wait a moment... I'll go meditate... I just need to get my illness under control..."
Then Xiu Yuan slowly set down the box, walked out of the house, and leaped onto the roof, where he sat cross-legged.
Even the Tranquility Mantra could not help him in the slightest.
He could not focus on using the Tranquility Mantra at all. All he felt was pain that made it difficult to breathe.
He could sense that tomorrow would be the day he left.
Why did tonight have to mark a year since they met...?
Had he already been here for a year?
Time had passed far too quickly.
Every day, Xiu Yuan had done everything he could to teach Ningguang as quickly as possible.
But learning could not be forced, nor could he intervene. He could only rely on Ningguang to grasp things and work them out herself.
Over that year, he had taken Ningguang through at least ten business battles and brought her to all kinds of occasions, all to teach her how to deal with those shrewd old hands in business.
But it was still too late. He had never imagined that a year would slip by before he knew