Chapter 193 - 192: Talking About Master

Chapter 193: Chapter 192: Talking About Master

"He was smart his whole life, yet foolish his whole life. If he had just pleaded guilty back then, wouldn’t all the subsequent troubles have been avoided?"

Rian Sinclair said nothing. Elder Sinclair brewed the tea over and over again, continuing even after the leaves were ruined. Watching Elder Sinclair’s actions, she couldn’t understand. What was the point of such gestures after decades of indifference?

Seeing that Old Mr. Sinclair was about to continue brewing, she reached out and pressed down on his wrist. Their eyes met, and seeing the melancholy in Elder Sinclair’s eyes, she felt as if she were looking at the little old man again, the one who would sit in front of his tile-roofed house all day with indescribable emotions in his eyes.

"Elder Sinclair, boiling tea for too long destroys its essence. Repeatedly boiling it not only wastes good tea but also ruins the pot."

Rian had studied beside that little old man for a long time, so seeing this action made the words slip out involuntarily. It was almost a conditioned reflex.

Elder Sinclair’s movements paused. He put down the cup in his hand, turned off the heat, and set the ruined tea aside.

Seeing the wasted tea leaves, Rian’s eyes filled with heartache. After all, in the past, that little old man would hesitate for a long time just to brew a single pot of tea. Furthermore, he didn’t have that much good tea to brew. So even with the most ordinary tea leaves, he would treat them like a precious treasure and brew his tea with his whole heart.

Old Master Sinclair leaned back in his chair. Neither of them spoke, yet the atmosphere wasn’t awkward. Eventually, Old Master Sinclair broke the silence.

"Little girl, Julian Sinclair took you as his disciple? Can you tell me about how you two were doing?"

Seeing the hope brimming in Old Master Sinclair’s eyes, Rian nodded. However, remembering the flippant tone of his previous remarks, she added, "I begged the little old man for a long time before he finally accepted me."

"Why did you take Julian Sinclair as your master? In your area, wasn’t his identity considered a taboo?"

Rian frowned in confusion. "I apprenticed under Old Man Sinclair because he spoke with such unbridled freedom. Even though he wore coarse clothes, he had the aura of a scholar. And why would his identity be taboo?

"Back then, there were no teachers in our village. We had to walk all the way to the county town to go to school, and we would often miss many classes. When I heard the villagers gossiping about the little old man, I was actually quite calculating. I figured that someone who came down from Kyoro must be highly educated, so I pestered him for a long time before he reluctantly took in me and my brother.

"But it wasn’t an official apprenticeship at first; it was just staying by Old Man Sinclair’s side to learn more. He taught Ash Sinclair and me a lot back then. The villagers used to say that girls didn’t need to care too much about their grades, since they would just end up getting married anyway.

"I didn’t believe that, so I wanted to study hard. It was from Old Man Sinclair that I learned that girls were just as capable of studying as boys, and that we were no longer in the feudal society of the past.

"It was probably because of Old Man Sinclair’s words that I devoted myself entirely to my studies. And it seemed that because of those words, my inner potential had been completely unlocked—my learning speed and ability to absorb knowledge were always much faster than others.

"Later on, since my parents passed away early, there was no one to stop me from associating with Old Man Sinclair. Just like that, I studied with him for over a year, and then he asked me if I was willing to be his disciple.

"At the time, I thought I was already Old Man Sinclair’s disciple, but he kept a straight face and shook his head. He said that taking a master requires proper etiquette, though he only had me kowtow and serve tea. After that, I continued learning alongside the little old man."

Rian’s expression was filled with nostalgia for the past, her demeanor gaining a touch of vivacity. After all, those past days truly were carefree and unconstrained.

Old Mr. Sinclair listened to everything, a trace of sorrow revealing itself in his eyes. Yet, he still repeated his previous words, "If he had just pleaded guilty back then, wouldn’t all the subsequent troubles have been avoided?"

Rian frowned. "I don’t understand what you mean, Old Mr. Sinclair. But why should Old Man Sinclair admit to something he never did?"

She couldn’t accept the idea of making a man of such lifelong, unyielding integrity admit to trumped-up charges just to survive, living by the old saying, "where there’s life, there’s hope." She absolutely could not agree with that.

Old Master Sinclair raised his eyes to look at Rian. "Little girl, you don’t know the story behind this."

Rian pressed on, "Elder Sinclair, since you are Old Man Sinclair’s younger brother, you should know his temper. Making him do such a thing would be worse than killing him. And to top it off, it was his own brother forcing him to admit to an unwarranted crime."

Old Master Sinclair stood up, his body trembling slightly, and his voice grew a bit hoarse. "But if he had admitted it, he would have been able to continue living well here in Kyoro City!

"I could have protected him back then! He wouldn’t have been banished to some nameless village in Basilia to squander his life in mediocrity."

Looking at Old Master Sinclair’s expression, Rian shook her head slightly. "Old Mr. Sinclair, since you still hold this view after so much time has passed, I think this conversation can end here. We have nothing left to talk about."

Rian offered a slight bow and was about to turn and leave, but Old Mr. Sinclair’s voice rang out from behind her. "Little girl, it’s my fault. I won’t bring these things up anymore. Just tell me about his life back then."

Although Rian really wanted to walk away, she remembered her time beside the little old man. He would often stare at a yellowed photograph for a long time, never mentioning who it was and refusing to speak of it. Whenever she asked, he would just smile and rub her head, saying softly, "Those are all things of the past. They don’t matter anymore. You have to live well in the present."

Although he said that, every action of his betrayed his reminiscence of the past. Finally, there was one time when she couldn’t hold back and asked, "Little old man, if you still miss them, why don’t you go back and visit? The internet and transportation are so developed now; if you want to see them, just go see them."

Rian still remembered the words the little old man said to this day: "I can’t go back. He’s always been blaming me..."

The sorrow in the little old man’s eyes was impossible to hide. At that time, Rian didn’t dwell on it anymore. Since the little old man didn’t want to go, she would simply take good care of her master.

Rian looked at Old Mr. Sinclair. She had a pretty good idea of who the little old man had been missing all this time. It was this person right here, the brother who was dead set on making him take the blame for faults that weren’t his own. But she also knew that her little old man had always missed him. When her master passed away, she had sworn an oath to find his family. Now that she had found them, she didn’t know how to voice the words on the tip of her tongue.

Rian watched as Old Master Sinclair’s originally clear and bright eyes gradually grew cloudy. The proud and arrogant old man from before seemed to vanish without a trace at this moment.

Rian fell silent for a moment before finally speaking up. "Old Mr. Sinclair, I don’t know what your attitude is toward my master, but I do know that my master would often stare intently at a photograph, lost in thought."