At that moment, Tang Si’s voice was heard from outside the study. “Your Majesty, the princess wishes to see you.”
“Ask her to wait for me in the courtyard,” Ming Zhaoshu replied.
“Yes.”
Ming Zhaoshu looked at his aged appearance in the mirror with sad eyes. He had used his entire life to achieve his ultimate goal, but had he already reached the end of his life? No! He wouldn’t give up. The universe was huge, and there might be a way to cure him somewhere out there! He only had a small bit of understanding towards the outside universe, but there might be—no, there had to be a cure!
His expression grew crazed. He had finally reached the point where he could enjoy his achievements, and he didn’t want to die yet. He didn’t even have an heir.
Initially, he hadn’t had a son so as to avoid any gossip, and he had only had a daughter. His current plan was to have a son who could inherit the throne, and Ming Zhaoshu couldn’t die before that.
In a pavilion that lay within the courtyard of the Reverent King’s Residence, Ming Yan was looking at the river with an anxious but excited expression.
The fish in the river kept leaping out of the water before falling back into river, causing droplets of water to splash into the pavilion.
“Do you want to leave this lake too?” Ming Yan muttered as she squatted down to watch the fish.
“Yan’er, what are you thinking?” Ming Zhaoshu asked as he arrived at the pavilion. He had altered his appearance with star energy so that he didn’t look old anymore.
Ming Yan was shocked and stood up quickly. Once she saw that the person who had spoken was Ming Zhaoshu, she shyly answered, “I’m- I’m looking at the fish.”
Ming Zhaoshu nodded and took a seat. “Have you prepared everything?”
Ming Yan knew what Ming Zhaoshu was referring to. She lowered her head and softly replied, “Yes.”
“Tell me the truth. Do you want to leave?” Ming Zhaoshu asked Ming Yan wistfully with a complicated expression.
Ming Yan didn’t notice Ming Zhaoshu’s strange tone, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I want to go out from this place and take a look.”
“Do you want to take a look at the universe or take a look at Lu Yin?” Ming Zhaoshu asked.
Ming Yan blushed as she thought that Ming Zhaoshu was merely teasing her. She lowered her head and demurely answered, “Father, don’t say that. I just, I just….”
Ming Zhaoshu sighed when he saw how flustered his comment had made Ming Yan. “I’m sorry, but you can’t leave for now.”
Ming Yan raised her head in surprise. “Why not, father?”
Ming Zhaoshu fell silent. He couldn’t tell Ming Yan that his life might end soon. Although he hoped that there was a cure for the poison in the greater universe, he knew that the chances of that were quite slim. Once he died, the Shenwu Empire would be passed over to Ming Yan. Hence, Ming Yan couldn’t be allowed to leave until he could confirm that there was a cure.
He needed to plan for the worst case scenario.
“I will explain to the Great Yu Empire. You will have to stay here for a while longer,” Ming Zhaoshu said as he stood up. He left the pavilion in a bad mood.
Ming Yan was confused by this turn of events. Her father had been the one who had arranged for her to leave for the Great Yu Empire, and his greatest wish was for her to be together with Lu Yin. Why would he suddenly change his plans?
“Right, starting tomorrow, you need to start learning how to deal with political affairs,” Ming Zhaoshu casually added as he continued to walk away from the pavilion.
Ming Yan became even more confused. “Deal with political affairs? But I have never done anything like that, and I don’t have any intentions of doing so either.”
Ming Zhaoshu frowned and told her, “Just come to my study in the morning.” He then left, leaving behind a completely perplexed Ming Yan.
***
Within the ruins of the Daosource Sect, White Knight rested for an entire day in the cleft between the mountains before opening her eyes again.
Lu Yin had done some calculations, and there were only two or three days left before he would be able to leave this place.
“Let’s go.” White Knight stood up and stretched her body, releasing various cracking noises. Although her wounds were still aching, they had mostly recovered, and her star energy was recovering as well.
Lu Yin asked, “Where are we headed?”
“To the place where I entered this place,” White Knight said coldly.
Lu Yin didn’t understand. “What do you mean, the place that you entered?”
“Just follow me.”
“Do you want to leave this place? The battles outside should still be raging on, and we’ll almost definitely bump into an Arbiter or a Realmling if we go out now. You can’t protect yourself against anyone as you are right now.”
“You’re here.”
“You overestimate me.”
“I meant that you can delay them long enough for me to escape,” White Knight said coldly.
Lu Yin was speechless. “You can just leave on your own. I don’t want to leave. I’m staying right here until my time is up.”
White Knight frowned and then glared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin glared right back at her. He was definitely not going to leave this hidden place until he was able to return to their universe. The battles in the Daosource Sect were probably the most ferocious right now.