Flender stared at the youth in front of him.
Those facial features— The angle of the brow, too the shape of the nose.
Even the eyes burning with stubbornness— They were painfully familiar.
"…Erlong?" Flender's voice trembled as he turned slowly toward Liu Erlong.
She did not deny it. Tears streamed down her face as she nodded, her voice barely audible.
"His name… is Fren."
Flender's knees felt weak.
Tears surged into his eyes uncontrollably.
"I'm… sorry…" His voice cracked, filled with regret so deep it seemed to tear him apart from within.
Before Fren could react—
Flender stepped forward and pulled him into a tight embrace.
The sudden action stunned the boy.
Fren froze, wings twitching slightly, confusion flashing across his face. He did not sense killing intent—only an overwhelming warmth, familiarity, and an emotion so raw it made his chest ache inexplicably.
For a moment, he forgot to resist.
Then—memory surfaced.
A quiet night. His mother sitting alone. Her fingers gently caressing a portrait, eyes distant and sorrowful.
A name she never spoke aloud.
Fren swallowed and asked hesitantly, voice trembling—
"…Father?"
Flender's body shook violently.
He hugged his son tighter, as if afraid that loosening his grip would make this moment vanish like a dream.
"Yes…" he whispered hoarsely. "Yes…"
His heart shattered.
'I should have followed her. I should not have stayed behind. I also chose cowardice like Yu Xiaogang—and lost fourteen years.'
'My child is already this big…And I have never even hugged him before.'
Tears streamed silently down Flender's face, soaking into Fren's shoulder, carrying with them a lifetime of regret that could never be erased.
For someone this meeting was a surprise that made them shed tears of happiness, but for someone else it was devastation.
Yu Xiaogang stood frozen at the side, his mind completely blank.
The unmistakable blend of Liu Erlong's gentleness and Flender's stubborn sharpness.
Reality struck him like a blunt hammer.
Step by step, he retreated backward, his breathing growing ragged, as if the air around him had suddenly thinned. His thoughts shattered into fragments he could not piece together.
'No…Impossible… This shouldn't be happening…'
His lips trembled.
Then, unable to bear it any longer, he shouted—
"No—!!!"
The cry was hoarse, desperate, and filled with denial.
And then—he turned and ran.
He ran as if fleeing could undo the past. As if running faster could erase fourteen years of cowardice. As if distance itself could rewrite fate.
Yu Xiaogang fled the courtyard in utter disgrace.
Tang San, standing quietly among the students, was equally stunned by the revelation that Liu Erlong and Flender had once been together—and even had a child.
Yet when he heard Yu Xiaogang's scream of refusal and saw him fleeing in panic, Tang San merely shook his head slowly.
A trace of cold contempt flashed through his eyes. He immediately pieced the events of the past.
'So this time, after you ran away from that marriage, it was Flender who stayed behind—who offered his shoulder when Liu Erlong was abandoned.'
'Teacher… what can I even say? You truly deserve this.'
Still, appearances had to be maintained.
To the eyes of others, Yu Xiaogang was his teacher, and Tang San was nothing if not meticulous in maintaining his masks.
Without a word, he turned and followed in Yu Xiaogang's direction, his expression filled with concern befitting a "dutiful disciple,"
Behind him—Liu Erlong finally snapped out of her daze when she heard Yu Xiaogang's voice.
Her body tensed, as she instinctively took a step forward, her gaze unconsciously chasing after the fleeing figure.
But at that exact moment—A firm hand caught hers.
Flender held her tightly. His grip was unwavering, his eyes burning with conviction stronger than any hesitation.
"I'll never let you get away from me again," he said, each word heavy and resolute.
The words struck Liu Erlong like thunder.
Fourteen years too late. Fourteen years of regret, separation, and self-blame lay behind that single sentence.
Flender himself knew it.
'I should have said this fourteen years ago.'
But this time—
He would not retreat.
A seed of determination bloomed deep within his heart, firm and unyielding.
'I will not back down again. Not this time.'
What he did not know—Was that this awakening, this courage, this perfectly timed resolve…
was merely a fragment of a greater script being played upon the stage of fate.
-----
It did not take long for Tang San to find Yu Xiaogang.
The latter was squatting beneath an old tree at the edge of the garden, his back hunched, his shoulders trembling faintly. His clothes were still wrinkled and ill-fitting, his face pale, his breathing uneven. It was obvious that he had exhausted himself after running only a short distance—both physically and mentally.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang looked no different from a defeated stray dog.
When he sensed footsteps approaching from behind, his body stiffened violently.
Panic flashed across his face.
He pushed himself up clumsily, instinctively preparing to flee once more—as if running was the only way he knew to face reality.
But before he could take a second step, a calm voice stopped him.
"Teacher," Tang San said evenly, "are you going to run away like a coward again?"
Yu Xiaogang froze. The words pierced straight through him.
Tang San continued, his tone neither accusatory nor gentle—only factual.
"You know, I didn't say anything even after you failed to bring back my Eight Spider Lances, despite promising me."
Each word landed like a hammer.
Yu Xiaogang's fingers clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms.
Tang San took a step closer.
"Is this all your conviction amounts to?"
"Is this the limit of your theories… and your courage?"
Yu Xiaogang finally turned around.
----
( Author notes: What emotion does Qian Renxue as a protagonist awaken in you :despair? Fear? Mysterious?)