Meng Yiran and Dugu Yan were genuinely worried about Teacher Xin. No longer were they filled with the absurd curiosity and fleeting admiration they once had when they first saw him, but instead, a sincere sense of concern and heartache.
It was also during these two years, with their teacher absent from the academy, that these three core disciples took on the heavy responsibility of leading their junior sisters in reading, studying, and cultivating according to the usual curriculum. Only then did they truly understand how much mental effort and exhaustion it required to manage the academy on a daily basis.
That Meng Yiran and Dugu Yan—these two girls—could now speak such words of respect and care for their teacher made Xin feel a quiet sense of satisfaction.
They say the best way for someone to grow is to let them shoulder responsibility independently. Only after experiencing fatigue, setbacks, and failure do they realize that success is never easy. This was indeed not false.
"But… Teacher," Meng Yiran hesitated, "wasn't it a bit too harsh when you reprimanded Junior Sister Yue'er just now?"
"When we disbanded earlier, I saw tears in her eyes. She looked very upset, then ran alone to the back mountain to cry. Although Junior Sister Yue'er has a mischievous personality, she is quite delicate at heart. If others criticize her, she may just listen and accept it, but Yue'er has always admired Teacher the most… I'm a little worried she won't be able to take it."
Meng Yiran usually focused on studying hidden weapons and spent most of her time researching and training. Dugu Yan, on the other hand, was more like an elder senior sister, often supervising the junior disciples' cultivation and understanding their personalities better, which was why she spoke up about Shui Yue'er.
Bell also added from the side, "Junior Sister Yue'er has indeed fallen behind in cultivation over the past two years, but… she always asks us about Teacher's past teachings and experiences, so her progress naturally slows down. With her talent, if she truly focused, she would definitely catch up later."
"It seems all of you are quite fond of this junior sister Yue'er," Xin said calmly. "That makes me, as a teacher, seem rather harsh."
"We wouldn't dare," they quickly replied. "We just feel that Junior Sister Yue'er is innocent and hope Teacher can give her a little more opportunity."
"Alright," Xin said after a brief pause. "Since all of you are pleading for her and speaking so highly of her, if I remain unmoved, wouldn't I appear too heartless as a teacher?"
He slowly stood up, his expression thoughtful.
"I'll go see her."
As he rose, Xin recalled something he often reflected on quietly: as a teacher, he was not without flaws. Taking four students and leaving the academy for one or two years meant their cultivation and emotional development inevitably lacked direct guidance. No matter how capable the disciples were, it could not fully replace his personal instruction.