Chapter 12

In fact, it wasn’t that I hadn’t tried to beg Master to save her before.

That time, Master surprisingly didn’t lose his temper.

He sat upright on the large red rosewood chair, staring at me without blinking.

Until the sandalwood incense burned halfway down and the Longjing tea at his side had grown cold, Master finally spoke, extremely calm and composed.

“Why do you think, with your status, you have the luxury to worry about someone else?”

I felt as if struck by lightning.

Master picked up the thoroughly cooled tea and took a sip.

He said, “Yu Sui, living in this world, you can’t have everything.”

He said, “‘If a man does not think of himself, heaven and earth will destroy him.’ There are so many unfortunate people in this world-do you intend to risk your own life to save each and every one of them? What reward can you possibly gain?”

He also said, “Kindness without ability is just a burden. Saving others is meaningless.”

Meaningless, Yu Sui.

Outside, fallen leaves rustled, the wind carrying the remnants into the air, only to let them fall weakly to the ground.

Master turned his face away, refusing to look at me: “Your ear ailment-I’ve treated it for you all these years. Haven’t you learned your lesson? Or do you truly think Ruiwang Mansion likes to keep idle people?”

My ear condition was indeed congenital, but it hadn’t been so severe at first.

It worsened when I was thirteen.

At thirteen, I was still in the Iron Blood Camp, training alongside Long Shuang and the others.

Training at Iron Blood Camp was never fixed-sometimes deep in the mountains and forests, sometimes in bustling cities. That time, we went to the border.

The border had just erupted in war. With firearms becoming common in recent years, the Nan Jia War was filled with cannon fire, and many civilians had no time to flee.

I insisted on leaving the team to save people.

Though I was young, my academic performance was already outstanding in the camp-I was fast and strong.

But with the thunderous roar of cannons and the urgency of the situation, both my hands were busy saving people; I had no time to cover my ears.

In the end, I managed to survive.

But for a long time afterward, I couldn’t hear anything.

Master flew into a rage, rushed me back to the mansion, and cursed me day after day-“Fool,” “Serves you right”-but I didn’t hear a word.

Day after day, I drank medicinal decoctions, and after years of care, I finally recovered most of my hearing.

Just taking care of me alone, Master was probably already exhausted in both body and mind.

I paused for a moment, then bowed deeply, touching my forehead to the ground.

“This subordinate knows her mistake.”

Master pressed his hand to his forehead, lowered his head, unwilling to speak further: “Get out.”

I nodded, then retreated from the room, walking backward.

Since then, I never brought up the matter again.