"After eliminating the enemies in the south and returning to the capital, when he reported to the Imperial Court, he did not once mention any of my mistakes. From start to finish, he only talked of my merits and continued to keep me in the army."

Gu Yun paused for a while as he got there.

Suddenly he felt that this was all too unbelievable. All along the way, he had only thought about how to reprimand Chang Geng once he caught the boy, from both lectures to real actions. No one expected it to evolve into him sitting down to confess his own humiliating old affairs.

He had thought that he would conceal these matters forever, but looking at them now, he found that he could actually face them with ease.

This was beyond his understanding.

Perhaps Shen Yi was right. Young ones and old fathers were indeed heavy burdens, making people bow down to clearly examine themselves.

"The reason I am in this position is not that I am better than anyone, but because my name is Gu," Gu Yun said, looking at Chang Geng. "Sometimes, your origin determines what you must do, and what you must not do."

This was the first time Gu Yun explained to Chang Geng why he couldn't take him to the Northwest, although it was quite hard to comprehend.

Chang Geng looked at him intently.

Gu Yun considered for a while, then spoke again: "But if you have clearly thought about what kind of path you want to take, you don't have to worry too much. As long as I am alive, I will always have the strength to sweep away any obstacles in your path."

Chang Geng thought that after all this time following Master Liao Ran, he had already trained himself to be able to make a conversation with almost everyone with ease. But he only now realized that "everyone" still excluded Gu Yun just as before. The moment he faced the man, he would become strangely clumsy in his speech.

He always thought he was the burden that the old emperor cast to Gu Yun, that he was a greedy being who longed for the world that did not belong to him, but this was not the case.

Chang Geng thought, no one else in this world could ever treat him like Gu Yun did.

Just then, there was a sudden flash of a figure outside the door: "Marshal."

Gu Yun pulled himself together and waved his hand at Chang Geng: "Go rest early, following that monk, you couldn't have eaten and slept well - Ah, or do you want to stay here and sleep with me?"

Chang Geng: "..."

His mind exploded into fireworks, immediately blushing red all the way to his ears.

Gu Yun smiled and said: "Also learned how to feel embarrassed now. Before, when you used to get scared into tears from nightmares, wasn't it me who coaxed you back to sleep?"