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...Xiao Wu couldn't help but ask softly, "Teacher Erlong, are you... alright?"
Liu Erlong raised her eyes, looked at Xiao Wu, and forced an extremely strained, almost bitter smile. "I'm fine... It is what it is."
She clearly didn't want to talk much about it.
Seeing this, Ning Rongrong and the others didn't press further. After discussing the current situation of Shrek Academy and the Spirit Empire for a while, they stood up to take their leave.
Leaving Shrek Academy, looking back at the increasingly distant gate, the girls' hearts were heavy.
"Teacher Erlong... she seems like a completely different person," Xiao Wu whispered, her voice filled with concern.
The Teacher Erlong who was once as fiery as a flame, daring to love and hate, now seemed to be just an empty shell.
Zhu Zhuqing silently nodded.
They could understand Liu Erlong's pain, caught between her beloved and the cruel reality. That tearing sensation was enough to destroy a person's spirit.
Xiao Wu hesitated, then suggested, "How about... we ask Xuan Ming to see Teacher Erlong? Maybe he can help Teacher Erlong get through this. After all, they're old acquaintances, Xuan Ming shouldn't refuse, right?"
Ning Rongrong shook her head when she heard this. "I'm afraid it won't work."
She looked at Xiao Wu's puzzled eyes and explained, "The relationship between Xuan Ming and Teacher Liu Erlong is different from ours.
It's more like... a sibling relationship? Or rather, Teacher Liu Erlong back then felt a kind of pity and care for Xuan Ming, seeing him as a talented yet unfortunate younger brother.
Xuan Ming's feelings for her were more of respect and a sense of helplessness towards a 'violent' older sister. The same goes for Pavilion Master Tang Yuehua."
Ning Rongrong tried to sort out these complex relationships: "Although Pavilion Master Tang Yuehua had so many rumors with Xuan Ming back then, the essence of their relationship is very clear.
Xuan Ming started studying at the Moon Pavilion when he was seven or eight years old, for nearly ten years. In front of Tang Yuehua, he was always a smart, well-behaved, and endearing younger brother.
Tang Yuehua's affection for him, although extraordinary, was fundamentally the affection of an older sister for her younger brother, not romantic love.
The later commotions were also caused by Tang Yuehua worrying about Xuan Ming."
"Now, with Teacher Erlong in this state, and letting Xuan Ming's brain handle it..." Ning Rongrong spread her hands helplessly, "He'll most likely be at a loss."
Xiao Wu, however, was unwilling to give up: "But what other way is there now? Dean Flender has loved Teacher Erlong for so many years, and he hasn't been able to comfort her, has he?
Teacher Erlong's social circle is so narrow, besides Yu Xiaogang, it's just the academy, she doesn't even have a friend to talk to. Now, the only one who can stimulate her and has a say in her heart is probably Xuan Ming."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned and reminded, "That's not appropriate. Xuan Ming killed Yu Yuanzhen, after all, and has a blood feud with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. If he appears, both sides will be very awkward."
The girls stopped at the street corner, looking at each other, and fell into silence for a moment.
Finally, Ning Rongrong made the decision: "How about this, we'll contact Xuan Ming first and tell him the situation. Whether he wants to help or not, let him decide."
Xiao Wu nodded and took out a palm-sized, strange scale from her spirit tool, emitting a faint chill and a weak Dragon might.
This was the communication token Xuan Ming left for them, connected to his Divine Sense. As long as they concentrated, they could contact him at any time, and even directly teleport to him if necessary. If teleportation was restricted, Xuan Ming would sense the signal and rush over as quickly as possible.
Xiao Wu clutched the Dragon scale, closed her eyes, and transmitted Liu Erlong's current state through her Divine Sense.
Far away in Spirit City, Xuan Ming received the message from Xiao Wu almost immediately.
Perceiving the heartbroken state of Liu Erlong described in Xiao Wu's thoughts, and their request for him to help, Xuan Ming stood by the window of the Supreme Pontiff Palace and sighed softly.
Exhausted.
Liu Erlong's situation reminded him of Tang Yuehua.
The reason he had previously insisted that Tang Yuehua stay away from the conflicts of the Clear Sky Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire was that he didn't want her to fall into a similar painful situation.
He hoped Tang Yuehua could maintain that transcendent tranquility.
But now, Liu Erlong had inevitably reached this point.
Him going to comfort Liu Erlong?
How could he say it?
Should he tell Liu Erlong: "Let go of Yu Xiaogang, he's not worth it"?
Or even more directly: "Yu Yuanzhen's death was his own fault, Yu Xiaogang's stubbornness is the root cause, you should be more open-minded"?
Even if these words were true, coming from him, the "murderer," they would only sound incredibly ironic and cruel, and might even have the opposite effect.
He understood Liu Erlong's pain, that despair built on false hope and the harsh reality, but he wasn't good at handling such delicate emotional entanglements.
After thinking for a moment, his figure flickered and disappeared from the spot, appearing outside Gu Yuena's residence the next moment.
Gu Yuena was sitting in the courtyard, playing with a crystal emitting a soft light, seemingly researching something. Sensing Xuan Ming's aura, she looked up, "What is it?"
Xuan Ming walked over and sat opposite her, directly explaining Liu Erlong's situation and Xiao Wu's request, then asked, "Do you have any advice for this situation...?"
Gu Yuena listened, frowned slightly, and shook her head: "I know nothing about what exactly happened between you and that Liu Erlong. I can't give you specific advice."
"However, resolving this kind of thing is actually very simple. Just like with Qian Renxue before, you should know what to do in your heart."
Xuan Ming raised an eyebrow: "Qian Renxue? Can that situation be the same?"
Qian Renxue's problem stemmed from her obsession with him, while Liu Erlong's was the collapse of her beliefs and emotional trauma.
Gu Yuena shook her head and said indifferently, "The essence is the same. A woman's nature, whether strong or weak, deep down harbors a tendency to desire protection and guidance.
Liu Erlong's current problem is that the beliefs and emotional pillars that supported her for years have collapsed; she has lost her direction and fallen into self-doubt and despair."
"Before, in her eyes, you might have been a younger brother who needed her care, caused her worry, and she couldn't help but pity. But now, the situation is completely different.
You can be like an older brother, or more accurately, a protector strong enough for her to rely on and trust."
She further explained: "What Liu Erlong needs most now is not empty comfort, nor an analysis of the past, but a new, more solid pillar.
You need to make her feel that the little fellow who once needed her protection has grown up, becoming a powerful existence capable of sheltering her and shielding her from wind and rain.
You need to show your strength and responsibility, making her subconsciously feel that relying on you, or at least trusting your guidance, is safe and has a future."
"When she feels this powerful protective force from you, the panic and emptiness in her heart, caused by losing her reliance, will be largely filled. As for the rest, time will slowly heal it."
...Heaven Dou City.
Space subtly rippled, and Xuan Ming's figure quietly appeared deep within a secluded alley. He restrained his aura, and the twin Dragons behind him also vanished, not wanting to cause unnecessary commotion.
He didn't go directly to Shrek Academy, but instead changed direction, walking towards the familiar building in the city center—the Moon Pavilion.