Acceptance

The Qing Jing Disciples

As he neared Cang Qiong mountain, Liu Qingge saw a small figure rushing towards the Qing Jing peak. The small figure was clad in green and it seemed like that person had been sent to keep an eye out for their returning Shizun.

The fact that he had failed to rescue the most important person in these kid's life had Liu Qingge face the consequences of his carelessness to some extent.

When he finally reached the meeting hall on Cang Qiong, he saw a group of children standing outside along with the other peak lords. But Liu Qingge's attention wasn't on his martial siblings, he was looking at the small trinkets that the Qing Jing disciples were holding.

Many of them were holding finished portraits of different things, although Shen Qing Qiu seemed to be their favourite subject to paint. The painting weren't perfect but they were astonishingly good for the children their age.

Another group of children were holding some books with a small piece of cloth sticking out of them, they seemed extremely interested in whatever it was that the books held.

Some other children were holding what looked like hand-painted fans, the brush strokes were crude and wobbly but the amount of effort that these children had put in these, made them worthy of being kept as a souvenir.

There were some more children at the end of the group who were holding a large piece of cloth with "welcome home Shizun" embroidered over it in the most beautiful calligraphic design that Liu Qingge had ever seen.

These children were vibrating with energy, their faces seemed to have been lit up with joy. Their eyes held anticipation and a faint admiration even though they hadn't acknowledged Liu Qingge's presence at all.

The younger children were constantly tugging their shixiong or shimei's robes asking about when Shen Qing Qiu will arrive.

Many were talking animatedly with each other.

Liu Qingge had never seen such harmony in any other peak, every peak has a clear distribution of power and ranks but it seems as though in Qing Jing, this discrimination doesn't exist.

Although he had seen a large part of Shen Qing Qiu's memories, Liu Qingge knows that he can't claim to know how Shen Qing Qiu works or behaves in real life. So even though he knew that his Shixiong was the most kind hearted soul ever, Liu Qingge was still surprised by his ability to get his students to maintain this homely spirit even when the peak lord isn't present.

"...di...shidi....Liu shidi....LIU SHIDI!" Yue Qing Yuan's voice snapped Liu Qingge out of his daze as he stared at the Qing Jing family, the family that didn't have a father anymore because he had been too careless.

"Liu Shidi, I am pretty sure that everyone here would like to know what happened and what is the reason of your solo return?" Hearing the sect leader's calm voice made the mental turmoil even stronger because Liu Qingge knew about Shen Qing Qiu's resentment towards the sect leader and it was affecting him too.

'He didn't even ask whether Shen Qing Qiu is alright or not and the way he worded his sentence makes it seem like he doesn't care about Shen Qing Qiu as much as he seems to' Liu Qingge's brain continently supplied as he was trying hard not to snap at the sect leader.

"Yes! Liu Shishu, where is our Shizun? Why isn't he back with you? Did something happen? Does he need help? Where is he? We'll go help him back home!" One of the Qing Jing disciples said, the desperation to see their Shizun and the worry for Shen Qing Qiu's well being was evident in that small child's voice.

Looking at that hopeful small face made Liu Qingge feel guilty all over again. He had done such a horrible thing, he had let them take away a father to these small children.