"Exactly," Shen Yuan agrees. "The tragedies wouldn't have had the same impact if he hadn't been so pure and innocent. That kind of character type is a genre staple, although most authors aren't so heavy-handed about it. Airplane was like an idiot dumping cayenne pepper all over a meal when the recipe just called for a few pinches, that hack."

Viktor's next question, however, gets a groan and a big old shrug. "I don't know," Shen Yuan groans, letting his head fall back against his chair. "He hadn't come back out of the Abyss yet, when I woke up here. I guess it would've been nice if he'd come out still willing to forgive me for that too, but realistically speaking what are the odds of that? I personally condemned him to years and years of hell, and it's not like he knew he'd survive and come out of it stronger than ever. He's got every reason to hate me."

A tired, bitter laugh gently wafts from the until-now empty kitchen doorway. Shen Yuan tenses up again as he raises his head and catches sight of Luo Binghe, leaning against the doorframe. "And so we come to the crux of the issue," Binghe sighs. "Shizun has so many wonderful things to say about this disciple when he was young, but now? Shizun must really believe that the Abyss stripped me of all positive and worthy qualities."