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As the two of them exchanged thanks, the door suddenly swung open.
Miss Setaria entered, her face bright with delight, holding a sheet of paper in her hand.
"Miss Candace, I've finished preparing the class schedule you requested. Would you like to…"
At the sound of that familiar voice, Shao Yun instinctively turned his head at once.
Sure enough—it was none other than Miss Setaria, the woman who had once served as the assistant to the former Grand Sage of the Akademiya, Azar.
Shao Yun subconsciously waved his hand in greeting.
"Wow, hello there, Miss Setaria!"
However, the moment Setaria's gaze fell upon Shao Yun, she froze on the spot in utter shock.
After a long pause, she managed to swallow hard, then greeted him in a timid, cautious tone.
"Hel…hello…"
Candace smiled warmly, waving a hand toward her. "Miss Setaria, you've arrived just in time! You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Why don't you join us?"
Hearing that, a trace of hesitation and embarrassment appeared on Setaria's face. She quickly shook her head and politely declined. "I…I'll pass, thank you for your kindness, Miss Candace."
But Candace was insistent, and in the end, Setaria couldn't refuse her enthusiastic invitation. Slowly, she made her way to the table and sat down.
Candace then turned and went into the kitchen to check on the stew she had been preparing with such care.
That left only Shao Yun and Setaria seated at the table.
For a moment, the air was thick with invisible awkwardness, a subtle tension lingering in the room.
After a brief silence, Shao Yun was the first to break it. "Back at the Zubayr Theater, I yelled at you. I…"
Setaria quickly waved her hands. "It's alright, Mr. Shao Yun. That's all in the past—please don't worry about it."
"Besides, my attitude toward Nilou back then wasn't very kind either…" she added softly, lowering her head.
Seeing this, Shao Yun pursed his lips slightly and changed the subject. "So, you came to the desert to teach?"
Setaria nodded nervously and answered truthfully, "Actually, I've always wanted to return to my homeland and give back the knowledge I've learned. I didn't have the courage before, but now the timing feels right. I applied to the Acting Grand Sage to come back and serve as a teacher."
Shao Yun nodded in approval. "That's good."
Just as the atmosphere was growing awkward again, Dehya pushed open the door and entered. "I'm done. Rahman's ashes have been buried."
Dehya then noticed Setaria at the table and greeted her. "Miss Setaria, you're here too."
Setaria replied respectfully, "Hello, Miss Dehya…"
Shao Yun looked at Dehya and asked, "Where did you bury Rahman?"
Dehya found a chair and sat down. "The cemetery at Aaru Village."
Hearing Rahman's name, Setaria's face clouded with guilt. "I'm sorry—it was my fault. If I hadn't made mistakes in my part of the work… none of this would've happened."
Dehya patted Setaria's shoulder comfortingly. "Hey, life's unpredictable. If you must blame someone, blame Azar and those cunning Fatui."
Setaria nodded quietly. "Mm…"
…
Shao Yun rested in Aaru Village for a day, then spent another day and a half on the road. Traveling alone on horseback was far faster than riding a beast of burden.
As for why Dehya didn't return to Sumeru City with him, the reason was simple—Candace had learned that Dehya had been injured again in Sumeru City. Thus, she firmly insisted Dehya stay in Aaru Village for a while to recuperate.
Whether Dehya agreed or not didn't matter much—her small arms couldn't twist Candace's strong will. As for Shao Yun, he held to the principle that internal matters should be settled internally and wisely stayed out of it.
Upon returning to Sumeru City, Shao Yun didn't go home immediately but went to look for Kaveh first.
If memory served, Kaveh lived with Alhaitham. But… where exactly does Alhaitham live?
When faced with this dilemma, Shao Yun immediately thought of Miss Katheryne from the Adventurers' Guild and went to ask her.
However, Katheryne—professional and discreet as ever—firmly refused to disclose such personal information.
For a moment, Shao Yun considered intimidating her, just like he had done with the Katheryne in Mondstadt, but then thought better of it. This wasn't a situation worth bringing out the killing intent.
In the end, he reluctantly went to the Akademiya, where a sage finally told him Alhaitham's address.
Why that sage chose to tell him, however—no one knew…
…
By evening, Shao Yun arrived at Alhaitham's door.
His decision to visit at this hour was deliberate.
Classes at the Akademiya had just ended for the day. Though most scholars would linger in the labs to continue their studies, Alhaitham was certainly not one of them.
From what Shao Yun knew, the independent-minded Acting Grand Sage always clocked out right on time.
And indeed—when Shao Yun knocked, the door opened quickly.
Standing there was Alhaitham, freshly returned home.
He froze momentarily, clearly not expecting Shao Yun to appear at his doorstep.
After the brief surprise, he quickly regained composure and greeted politely. "Mr. Shao Yun, hello. Is there something you need?"
Shao Yun didn't bother with small talk. "I'm here to see Kaveh."
Alhaitham blinked, taken aback—after all, very few people in Sumeru City even knew Kaveh lived with him.
"What do you need from him? He—"
Shao Yun casually glanced past Alhaitham into the house, then lifted his chin slightly with a half-smile. "What, are you planning to keep me standing out here chatting all day?"
At that, Alhaitham wordlessly stepped aside and gestured him in. "Please, come in."
Once inside, Shao Yun briefly scanned the room, taking in its layout.
Overall, it wasn't so different from the place he shared with Lumine and Paimon.
But what stood out were the tall bookshelves lining nearly every wall, filled to bursting with books.
Still, Shao Yun wasn't here for sightseeing. The décor of another man's home didn't concern him.
So he directed his voice toward the room he assumed belonged to Kaveh. "Hello, Mr. Kaveh. I have a commission I'd like your help with. I can offer generous payment—could you come out for a moment?"
Alhaitham, calm as ever, poured him a glass of water and handed it over. "Kaveh's in Port Ormos—he's not in Sumeru City."
Shao Yun took the cup, but upon hearing that, froze in surprise.
"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Alhaitham gave a helpless shrug. "I was about to, but you interrupted me… Still, if you're willing to trust me, I can pass your commission on to him."
Shao Yun drained the glass in one go and handed it back.
"I wanted to discuss a business deal. He's quite the talented architect, isn't he? I was hoping he could draft some blueprints for me."
Since Kaveh wasn't here, Shao Yun saw no reason to linger. He rose and said, "If he's in Port Ormos, I'll go find him there. Thanks for the trouble."
But just as he was about to leave, Alhaitham called out.
"Wait a moment—may I take a bit more of your time?"
Shao Yun halted and turned back. "What is it?"
Alhaitham drew a slow, steady breath before speaking sincerely. "I want to apologize for my attitude—and Cyno's—at the recent celebration banquet."
"To be honest, both of us were uncomfortable about the forest fire that killed so many people."
"But as Miss Dunyarzad said, you saved Sumeru. Without you, Azar's God-Creation Project would've succeeded—and that would've meant the end of Sumeru. Even with countless sacrifices, success wouldn't have been guaranteed."
Shao Yun looked at him blankly. "You shouldn't apologize to me. You should apologize to Lumine and Paimon. They're the ones truly hurt by all this."
Alhaitham nodded. "I already have—face to face."
Hearing that, Shao Yun pressed further. "And did Lumine and Paimon forgive you? Be honest. You know what'll happen if you lie."
His tone sharpened on the last few words.
Meeting his gaze, Alhaitham replied evenly, "They said they would only forgive us once you do."
Shao Yun sighed softly.
"So now we're stuck in a deadlock, huh?"
Alhaitham nodded. "More or less."
Without saying whether he forgave him, Shao Yun turned away and headed for the door.
Just as he stepped over the threshold, he paused briefly and left one final remark.
"Then keep being stuck, both sides. I'm leaving."
With that, he disappeared beyond the door.