Chapter 353: A Plan to Mend Hearts
Kang Lin’s heart was much lighter than the last time she’d waited outside the sect leader’s—her master’s—office. And, luckily, she suffered no interruption, either. She knocked, and he directed her to enter. Simple. Easy. Normal.
Light.
Though she tried to suppress it, a grin split her face as she saw the teacup set out for her. She sat and, instead of kowtowing, cupped her hands. “This lowly one has been an idiot, Master. I was so blind that I failed to see Mount Tai.”
Finishing in the top four in her division of the tournament had finally shown her that she belonged in the upper echelon of her generation. Was that partially—or even primarily—due to the advantages she’d received from her Master? Yes, but so what? All top cultivators gained benefits from one thing or another. The end result was what mattered, not how they’d gotten there.
It felt so good to admit her true failings to Master and even better to actually mean it. The weight that had pressed on her shoulders the last several months lessened even more. There remained only one more task before it would disappear completely.
He smiled at her. “I don’t like calling my disciples idiots, but I cannot disagree with you in this instance.”
They drank tea in comfortable silence, a welcome change from how anxious she’d been the last time she’d been in his presence. Even better was the fact that he no longer seemed irritated with her.
She took him putting down his empty cup as her cue to begin. “I see clearly now what I did wrong and why, Master, but I don’t know how to fix my relationship with the twins. Will you guide me?”
If she thought it would have made a difference in his decision, she would have gotten on her knees and begged him to help her. Now that she was seeing more clearly, her experience told her that such theatrics wouldn’t be welcome.
“Your path forward is not an easy one,” he said. “It is possible that what has been ripped asunder cannot be repaired. You must accept that outcome if it comes to pass.”
She was well aware that failure was absolutely still an outcome. Her friendship with Yang Xiu and relationship with Yang Ru might have been damaged beyond repair by her stupidity. Master could do the impossible with cultivation resources, but even he could not simply change hearts and minds because he wished it so.
“Yes, Master.”