Nalan Shan persisted in kneeling on the ground and even when the previous Spirit Master stretched a hand out to help him up, he did not move in the slightest. That scene just further saddened the previous Spirit Master and he felt even more remorseful.
"It's all your Master's fault. Your Master has failed as a teacher, having possessed power for so many years but was not able to judge a person clearly, to have taken a vicious tiger for a trusted kin. Your Master has caused you to suffer much grief. You should not have come, shouldn't have come….." The previous Spirit Master's voice trembled, not from fear, but self admonishment.
He hated himself for his incompetence, hated that his eyes had not been able to see, that had not only thrown himself into a hopeless quandary, but had also dragged Nalan Shan down.
Nalan Shan shook his head.
"Being able to acknowledge you as my Master, has been Nalan Shan's greatest pride. I have no regrets."
