Downstairs from the company building.

A black Audi sat in a temporary parking spot. It had been there for fifteen minutes.

Zhao Zhenguo had not gotten back into the car. He stood beside it, arms hanging at his sides. Motionless.

The afternoon sun was harsh. It beat down on his suit. He did not shift an inch toward the shade.

Old Zhou, the security guard, paced near the entrance twice. He had wanted to approach and ask. But after two steps, he saw Zhao Zhenguo's expression and retreated.

That expression was hard to read. Not angry. Not anxious. More like someone making a heavy decision. Old Zhou had never seen a man driving an Audi stand motionless in the sun. He decided not to disturb him.

Zhao Zhenguo did not notice anyone looking at him. Only one thought turned over and over in his mind.

Before coming here, he had sat in his car for a long time. Hands on the steering wheel. Engine off. Window down. The autumn wind poured in, drying his eyes.

He thought of Zhao Rui as a child. Six years old. His mother had just left. The little boy crouched in the corner of the living room. Zhao Zhenguo had walked over and asked what was wrong. Zhao Rui had said: "Dad, does Mom not want me anymore?"

He had said no. Dad will go with you.

All these years, he had thought he gave everything he could. He thought that honored his promise.

Until the night before last. When he saw those accounts.

Twenty-three million.

He sat in his study. He went through the stack of transfer records three times. Every amount checked.

After the last page, he closed the folder. He sat there for a long time.

At three in the morning, he called Zhao Rui three times. The third call connected. Zhao Rui mumbled on the other end. Said he was drinking at a friend's place.

He said nothing. Hung up. Then sat in the living room until dawn.

Now he stood beneath this office building.

He was here to apologize for his son.

The elevator doors opened.

Su Cheng stepped out.

He saw the car immediately. He also saw the man standing beside it.

Zhao Zhenguo.

Su Cheng walked toward him. Not fast. Not slow. He noticed Zhao Zhenguo's suit was buttoned with meticulous care. His hair was neatly combed. His leather shoes were polished to a shine. Like he had dressed for this moment on purpose.

But his eyes betrayed him.

They were the eyes of someone who had stayed awake all night.

"Uncle Zhao."

Zhao Zhenguo turned around.

To Su Cheng's surprise, there was no arrogance in his expression. No probing. Not even the customary businessman's smile.

Only one expression remained on his face.

Earnestness.

Complete, unguarded earnestness.

"Friend Su," Zhao Zhenguo spoke. His voice was hoarse. "My son did wrong. As his father, I come to apologize on his behalf."

The words had barely left his mouth when his knees bent.

He was going to kneel.

Everyone in the lobby froze.

The receptionist's hand holding a water glass hung in midair. Old Zhou's steps locked up. Two salespeople on business turned their heads. Their mouths parted slightly. A delivery boy carrying a box walked in. Seeing someone about to kneel, he instinctively stepped aside. Then he realized something was wrong and looked back.

The air in the entire lobby seemed to freeze.

Dozens of eyes stared in this direction. No one spoke. No one moved.

Su Cheng reached out. He caught Zhao Zhenguo's arm firmly.

He did not use much force. But Zhao Zhenguo could not kneel.

"Uncle Zhao. Don't kneel."

Su Cheng's voice was calm. As if stating the most ordinary thing.

"What your son owes me, he must repay himself."

Zhao Zhenguo went rigid.

His eyes slowly reddened.

The head of a multi-billion conglomerate, in an office building lobby, in front of dozens of strangers. His eyes reddened.

He did not hide it. He just looked straight at Su Cheng. Eyes red.

"You're right."

His voice trembled. But every word came out with force.

"He should repay it himself."

Su Cheng released his hand. "Let's go inside and talk."

He led Zhao Zhenguo down the corridor. Into the reception room on the first floor.

When the door closed, the noise outside was shut out.

The room was small. A sofa. A coffee table. A printed landscape painting on the wall.

Zhao Zhenguo sat down. He took several seconds to steady himself. Then he pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase. He spread them across the table.

Bank transfer records.

Every amount, every timestamp, every account. All clear.

Twenty-three million. Transferred in seventeen installments. The receiving accounts had different names. But they all pointed in the same direction. Zhao Rui's personal account.

After arranging the documents, Zhao Zhenguo rubbed his fingers back and forth along the edges of the paper.

Then he looked up at Su Cheng.

"Friend Su," his voice was low. "I've already had finance gather the money. Twenty-three million. It will arrive tomorrow."

He spoke carefully. Like testing the depth of a river. "If I return this money, can Rui get a lighter sentence? Two years less?"

Su Cheng looked at him.

He did not answer immediately.

The room stayed quiet for several seconds. Only the hum of the air conditioning blowing cold air.

"Uncle Zhao," Su Cheng spoke. His tone was not harsh. "You gathered the money quickly. But did you consider this? Your son embezzled your company's funds. If you use your company's money to patch your company's books, the ledger balances. Do you think the Economic Crimes Division won't find out?"

Zhao Zhenguo's fingers froze.

"Those seventeen transfers. Each one has a record. A timestamp. An IP address. Covering it up today only adds another charge. Transferring funds under investigation."

Su Cheng said no more after that.

Zhao Zhenguo was silent for a long time.

His fingers traced the stack of transfer records. Like touching something he could not bear to let go of.

After ten seconds, he pulled his hands back.

"You're right."

He sorted the documents one by one. Slowly. Like making a final farewell.

"I thought about it all night. Wondering if I could smooth this over for him." He gave a bitter smile. "But it can't be smoothed over."

"Some wrongs can't be smoothed over," Su Cheng said. "They can only be borne."

Zhao Zhenguo nodded.

He was silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"So how do you intend to handle this?"

"According to the law."

Four words. Clean and sharp.

Zhao Zhenguo did not answer right away. He looked down at the documents on the table. His fingers traced the paper edges again.

After a long while, he spoke.

"As it should be."

When he said those three words, his voice was steady.

As if he had finally set something down.

"I've already spoken with Rui." Zhao Zhenguo gathered the documents. "Tomorrow morning, I'll take him to the Economic Crimes Division."

"Mm."

"He cried all night. In the end, he said one thing. 'Dad, I was wrong.'"

Zhao Zhenguo's voice remained steady. But his eyes reddened again.

"Twenty-seven years. That was the first time he said those words to me."

Su Cheng stayed silent.

"Whatever he must face... he accepts it."

Su Cheng looked into Zhao Zhenguo's eyes. "Uncle Zhao, you're doing the right thing."

Zhao Zhenguo smiled. There was no relief in it. Only bitterness.

"If I don't do this, his life is over. Two years in prison is better than a lifetime ruined."

"After he gets out, he can start over."

Zhao Zhenguo nodded. He said nothing more.

He stood up. Put the documents back in his briefcase. He walked to the door, paused, opened it, and turned back to look at Su Cheng one last time.

"Friend Su. I, Zhao Zhenguo, built my business from nothing thirty years ago. I've seen many people. But at your age, with this kind of character, I've never seen a second."

His tone was sincere.

"I admire the friends behind you. But I admire you even more." He gave Su Cheng a slight bow. "If you ever need anything from me in the future, just say the word."

Su Cheng said nothing.

He escorted Zhao Zhenguo out of the lobby.

Su Cheng walked to the Audi. Before Zhao Zhenguo opened the door, he turned back and looked at Su Cheng one more time.

There was a lot in that gaze. Gratitude. Regret. And a trace of something hard to name. Envy, perhaps.

"Take care."

He got into the car.

The black Audi slowly pulled out of the parking spot. It merged into traffic and disappeared quickly.

Su Cheng stood at the lobby entrance. He watched until the car vanished around the corner.

He stood there for a while.

Twenty-two years old.

He was twenty-two this year. Less than a month down the mountain, and he had already made a father worth billions kneel for his son.

Yet he felt no relief. Instead, something pressed against his chest. Not heaviness. A weight of another kind. Hard to name.

The wind picked up. The ginkgo trees along the road were mostly yellow. A gust blew, and a few leaves spiraled down.

He thought of the day he left the mountain. Master had stood at the gate.

"When you go out there, remember who you are."

At the time, he thought those words were simple.

Only now did he realize they were anything but.

He took out his phone.

Fourth Senior Brother's message sat quietly in his inbox. Sent fifteen minutes ago.

"Zhao Rui's case file has been submitted to the Economic Crimes Division. Results within seven days."

Su Cheng did not reply.

He swiped up on the message. Exited the chat.

Then he scrolled through his contacts. His finger stopped on one name.

"Master."

No call history beneath the contact name.

The last contact was the day he left the mountain.

He tapped the contact and looked at the profile picture. A blurry old photo. Master sat in a bamboo chair. The mountain gate behind him. Sunlight filtered through the branches of an old locust tree. It scattered broken gold across his Daoist robe.

Su Cheng stared at the photo for a long time.

He remembered Master's face. Skin roughened by mountain wind. Wrinkles at the corners of his eyes like pine bark. But those eyes were always bright. Like mountain spring water. Calm on the surface. Living water flowing beneath.

He remembered the words Master said most often. "Don't rush." Whether practicing sword forms or splitting firewood. Whenever Master saw him growing impatient, he would say those three words.

Su Cheng's finger hovered above the screen. His thumb was only a centimeter from the call button.

He looked at it for a long time. Then he put the phone back in his pocket.

"Not yet," he told himself.

The wind picked up again. He zipped up his jacket and turned back toward the lobby.

The phone lay quiet in his pocket. The screen was still on. In the contacts list, the two characters for "Master" sat at the very top.

End of Chapter 6: Apology