It seemed that Ye's words touched Xiao, who lowered his eyes, shivering as he bit his lip for a moment before regaining his composure.
"The Diamond Pavilion will always be your home. I will welcome you with open arms if you have a problem or need someone to talk to. You can still consider me your second master if you want." Jia Jingzi said in a softer voice, crouching down to Ye's height.
This time, however, Ye backed away from him, giving him a look that was very different from usual. Angry, betrayed, distrustful, cold.
"A second master? Shizun is getting rid of us. Of me. Shizun doesn't love me. He's not doing this for us, he's doing it for himself. So we're out of his way. Shizun is shizun, there will be no other. If this disciple cannot have the master he has chosen and that fate has granted him, then he would rather leave."
"W-Wait, Ye-shixiong! We can keep insisting, he'll eventually give in—" Chuang began, panicking a little. The kid had some nerve, saying that in front of the person concerned! He received an outraged look from Jia Jingzi.
"Shizun seems determined, he even came out despite his condition," Ye interrupted him anyway, his gaze darker as if he had just lost the sparkle in his eyes.
The master straightens up to catch Ye and take him in his arms. That's the only thing that calms him down. He shouldn't do it as a shizun, but this little one gives him no choice. Since he has him in his arms, he lifts him up to his height so he can look him in the eyes.
"Ye." His tone is gentle, yet firm. " Has this shizun ever done anything to show that you are a burden to me? Your shizun has always loved you, even when he couldn't take care of you. You are young, it's normal for your emotions to take precedence over your reason, you find it difficult to take a step back. It is because I love you that I don't consider myself worthy enough to teach you. I don't want to break our shidi-shizun bond. But the other masters won't agree to teach you if they can't take all the glory for your success; they'll want you to call them shizun. If I could, I would have you attend their classes and return to the Diamond Pavilion in the evening, but I can't."
Although Ye initially tries to push Jia Jingzi away, tears in his eyes, he eventually breaks down and hugs him with the energy of despair. The poor little guy keeps repeating that he's a liar, that he doesn't love them. Ye doesn't care about other people's teaching or his own achievements, he just wants to stay with him. Xiao grumbles and finally speaks up, arms crossed and a contemptuous look on his face.
"You're embarrassing shizun. Why can't you understand something so obvious? He is, and always will be, our shizun. Don't think of the other guy as a replacement, but as someone hired by shizun to teach us while he rests. You said it yourself, didn't you? That he forced himself to come out despite his condition. He's forcing himself for our sake, but we're not helping him get better. On the contrary, we might even be making his condition worse. Do you want to make his condition worse?""No," admitted Ye."Then it's better to focus our learning elsewhere. We'll become stronger, and then we'll be able to find a solution. Because right now, there's nothing we can do. "
Jia Jingzi nodded. It wasn't exactly how he would have phrased it, but so be it. That left Chuang.
His problem wasn't that he no longer had him as a teacher, but finding a way to take it easy. What to do in that case? Chuang caught his eye and smiled.
"Shizun, give up. This disciple will never be taken by another master. He is, by far, the worst. Isn't it enough for shizun to already have two disciples who will become stronger in the future? If you are afraid of not being there, know that this disciple is content with little and is perfectly self-sufficient. You can come and check on him whenever you like."
Xiao couldn't help but roll his eyes and mutter, "What the hell are you doing at the sect anyway?!"
Jia Jingzi remains silent for a moment, continuing to lightly stroke Ye's back while thinking, which has a calming effect on him. "Chuang, I'm saying this for your sake... if you joined the sect, it was to become a cultivator, right? Why are you so reluctant to work? Effort has its rewards..."
At his own words, his eyes light up—he has an idea!
"I know. If you perform exceptionally well, I will invite you inside my pavilion."
The Diamond Pavilion? The one no one has seen inside for years?! He who hides it so carefully would be willing to reveal all its secrets?
The disciples' faces brighten, and Xiao solemnly joins his palm to his fist. "Shizun. I will not just be very good, I will be the best. This is a commitment that this disciple makes."
Now it's Chuang who rolls his eyes. Ye sniffs sadly and looks at Jia Jingzi, remaining silent, then grabs his robe for a moment, forcing a slightly sad smile.
"If it pleases shizun, this disciple will do his best to live up to his expectations. Visiting his pavilion would be an honor."
In turn, he greets him respectfully with a bow of his head. Chuang, on the other hand, seems torn.
"Shizun... it's not that I don't want to. I just don't like fighting. In these trials, well—can I really do things my way? I'd rather find a method of my own, and the other masters, well, they're... they're masters like you see everywhere."