"It's all my fault, it's my mistake… How could the Rakshasa divine force be so easily dealt with? Even when my spirit power was at level ninety-eight or ninety-nine, I couldn't dissipate that evil thought. Teacher Xin, you must have paid a heavy price, and after so many days of recuperation, your internal condition is still so bad. It's all my fault."
Only by feeling the fluctuating and chaotic spirit power and damage within Xin's body through the spirit power pulse and heart pulse in his wrist did Bibi Dong realize her profound self-reproach.
The once proud Supreme Pontiff trembled slightly, her fingers tightening unconsciously as if afraid even a moment of contact might confirm a truth she could not bear. Even a strong person like her shed tears like a young girl in that instant, her composure cracking under the weight of realization.
Xin smiled faintly, but said softly:
"It's not your fault, it's only my fault for not asking clearly and miscalculating a step. It took some effort to break the Rakshasa God's evil thought, and it also took some energy to stabilize the remnant soul and origin of the 100,000-year Soft Bones Rabbit. I'll be able to recover after some more time of recuperation."
His voice was calm, almost gentle, as though what he described was nothing more than ordinary exertion. Yet the faint paleness on his face betrayed that the cost had not been light.
"Although my disciples usually seem playful, they actually care about me the most. Please calm your emotions, Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong, and don't let tears stain your face, lest they notice and worry unnecessarily. Moreover, I wouldn't want these disciples to see it and think that I bullied Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong."
Xin reached out and gently wiped away the misty tears from her eyes, his movements steady and unhurried. There was even a faint teasing warmth in his expression, as if deliberately trying to ease the heaviness between them.
"How can it not be my fault? If I hadn't said anything, how would you have known there was a Rakshasa evil thought in my spiritual sea? It's all my fault…"
Bibi Dong took a breath, trying to steady herself, but her voice still trembled. While blaming herself, her emotions were also being soothed by Xin's presence alone.
"They won't think you bullied me at all; they'll only think I'm playing the victim for sympathy, and they'll probably curse me behind my back."
A faint, almost helpless smile appeared through her tears.
"Cough, cough… These girls are ignorant and may have many conjectures. Teacher Dong, please don't stoop to their level."
Xin shook his head slightly, as if already accustomed to such misunderstandings. His tone remained calm, though another soft cough slipped through at the end.
"You said I'm an auxiliary teacher of Heart of Fire Academy. An auxiliary teacher is half a teacher, so how could a teacher argue with her students?"
Bibi Dong's tears slowly turned into a faint smile. Looking at the stunningly handsome face before her, the knot in her chest loosened at last, replaced by a warmth she could not easily name.
"Not leaving?"
Xin's gaze softened slightly.
"No, I'm not leaving. As long as Teacher Xin doesn't dislike me, as long as Teacher Xin needs me, I will always be here."
Her words were no longer hesitant. Instead, they carried a quiet determination that had survived doubt and fear.
…
"This Teacher Xin of Heart of Fire Academy, after a few years, is still so handsome."
Seeing Xin appear from the depths of the cherry blossom garden to persuade Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong to stay, Gui Mei was momentarily stunned at the school gate.
Even from a distance, that presence was impossible to ignore—calm, otherworldly, and strangely convincing in a way that defied reason.
Teacher Xin is truly handsome. No wonder he has Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong so utterly captivated.
If he were a woman, he probably wouldn't be able to resist such a handsome face and temperament either.
…