Chapter 119: Master Arrives at the Academy

Li Su softened his footsteps, glancing first at the distressed Song Sheng and then at Yun Qin. Without making a sound, he mouthed the question, "What happened?"

Yun Qin shook his head. Song Sheng had been this way ever since he returned from the academy gates with a letter. Song Sheng was never one for many words, but now he was completely silent, his entire demeanor shrouded in gloom.

Li Su pulled his chair over and sat beside Song Sheng. "Brother Qianhe, would you mind sharing with us what happened?" he asked gently. "Sometimes, speaking things aloud makes them easier to bear."

Only then did Song Sheng’s gaze focus on Li Su. Speak? "Friends can share their burdens with one another," Li Su added. Song Sheng was socially anxious, yet deeply loyal; Li Su genuinely regarded him as a friend. Yun Qin nodded in agreement.

It was the first time anyone had ever told Song Sheng that they were friends who could confide in each other.

"Of course," Li Su continued, "if you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Everyone has their own secrets."

A bitter smile appeared on Song Sheng's face. "Perhaps I am just being overly sensitive. I thought I had moved past it." He began to relate his story slowly. "My parents were very loving. Once, when they took me out, I was kidnapped. They searched for me for a long time, and perhaps thinking I would never be found, they had my younger brother."

"Later, I escaped through a narrow brush with death, but... my personality had changed a great deal."

"Aside from the addition of my brother, nothing else in the house seemed to have changed, yet everything felt different. My brother was small then, and my parents poured most of their energy into him. I could understand that."

"But once, I had a small dispute with my brother, and we were both hurt. Although my parents didn't say anything, I could feel that they were blaming me. So, I requested to come here to our ancestral home to study."

"Today, I received a letter from them saying they and my brother miss me and want me to go back."

Li Su and Yun Qin exchanged a look. The rumors in the capital were that the Song family had banished their eldest son to the ancestral home to leave everything to the younger one. They hadn't expected that Song Sheng had asked to leave himself.

Li Su asked, "Do you want to go back?"

Song Sheng shook his head. "My return would only make the atmosphere at home strange." He felt that his presence made everyone’s emotions awkward, and he was far too sensitive to those shifts in mood. "Don't misunderstand, though—my parents haven't treated me poorly. One of the family's largest businesses, a publishing house, is entirely under my name." He felt that his current state was a betrayal of their cultivation.

"Am I being too sensitive?" Song Sheng asked with a bitter smile. "There are so many people who cannot even afford a meal. I am already very fortunate."

Li Su shook his head firmly. "Brother Qianhe, suffering cannot be compared. If it exists, it is real; it does not cease to exist simply because others are worse off."

Song Sheng looked at Li Su in astonishment; it was the first time he had heard such a perspective.

"Perhaps you need to have a frank and open conversation, to learn both how to confide and how to listen. They don't know your thoughts, and you don't know theirs—it is all speculation. Since we are all given mouths, we should speak our inner truths instead of making others guess. Since we are given ears, we should listen to what the other person is truly thinking."

Yun Qin nodded in strong agreement. "Brother Qianhe, Brother Xian is right. Clear the air and speak plainly."

"Exactly," Li Su added. "Otherwise, you are just racking your brain, which is nothing but internal depletion."

Song Sheng looked from Li Su to Yun Qin and suddenly smiled. "Alright. After we finish our exams and go to Tianzhai together, I will ask for leave and make the trip back."

He was deeply grateful to Li Su and Yun Qin. Regardless of the outcome, his heart felt much lighter. He finally had friends he could talk to sincerely, friends who would offer comfort and who did not mind his quiet, reserved nature.

"That's it, that's the way. You are a teachable person," Li Su said. Even if there were no misunderstandings, letting go would at least provide a conclusion to the matter rather than letting it consume him from within.

Song Sheng laughed at Li Su’s humor. "Brother Li, you truly have a way of counseling others."

"Well, people are always full of advice for others, but when it comes to themselves, they’d rather put a noose around their own necks and jump. That is why one should rarely rely solely on one's own counsel," Li Su joked.

The remark left Song Sheng and Yun Qin laughing heartily. While the phrasing was funny, the logic was sound—the physician cannot heal himself.

The three of them abandoned their books that night, choosing instead to share amusing anecdotes. They chatted for half the night, feeling genuinely happy. For all three, it was a novel experience—the first time they had spent half the night chatting not about state affairs or imperial examinations, but about simple, trivial things that made them laugh until they shook.

Song Sheng’s speech flowed more freely, and his heart felt suddenly open and clear.

...

Xi Sheng arrived in Wenzhou Prefecture and went straight to the room he had prepared previously to inspect the books. "Is this brat trying to slack off? Leaving so many books here!"

Uncle Lin thought to himself, *The young master clearly took quite a few to the academy.* Moreover, the academy had a dedicated library; the young master would not be short of reading material.

"I don't think the young master would slack off," Uncle Lin ventured.

"I shall examine him tomorrow, and see what kind of student Wei Shi'an has turned him into," Xi Sheng said, feeling quite impatient.

Uncle Lin thought, *Tomorrow will be difficult for the young master, caught between Dean Wei and the master.* He wondered if the young master had been given a hard time by Dean Wei.

Early the next morning, Xi Sheng went up the mountain. By the time he and Uncle Lin reached the academy gates, they were both gasping for breath.

Once he caught his breath, Uncle Lin remarked, "Why did this Dean Wei build the academy so high?"

"He likes to appear sophisticated."

Uncle Lin remained silent. Knowing their history, if the master said so, it was likely true.

Xi Sheng reached the gates to find the caretaker lounging on a recliner, swinging his legs lazily. Only when he realized a shadow was blocking his sunlight did he open his eyes. He stared at them and said, "Not another one. Are you here late for enrollment?" He then added, "No, that’s not right. Our academy doesn't accept students this old."

Xi Sheng’s expression remained indifferent. "I am not a student. I am looking for Wei Shi'an."

"Looking to be an instructor? It's not the right time, and Dean Wei isn't someone you can just see whenever you want," the man replied, mistaking them for job seekers.

Uncle Lin stepped forward. "My master is an old acquaintance of Dean Wei’s. Please, take this message: tell him my master is here to see his apprentice. Your Dean will know who it is."

Seeing that they did not seem to be lying, the man said, "Wait here, then. I will go and announce you, but I cannot guarantee that the Dean will see you."

"We appreciate the trouble," Uncle Lin said.