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Who? Zhu Yan couldn’t help but be startled, thinking that the emperor was speaking to the two Kongsang Sword Saints guarding his side, yet when she turned her head, she saw the two swordmen standing behind the curtain slightly stepping to the side and making way – a door opened soundlessly in the depths of the room, and two people walked in, side by side. They passed through the heavy curtain and made their way in silence all the way to the emperor’s bed.

The moment the visitor became visible, all the people in the room became stunned!

“You…” Zhu Yan’s lips opened and closed briefly, but she was unable to utter a word, “You…”

Yes! Coming out from the innermost recesses of the Palace was none other than the Great Divine Priest – and with him, the old man who had been absent for the past weeks, he was now bringing along with him the Great Priest of the Jiuyi Temple, the first-born son of the Emperor!

Master! It’s Shifu! He actually came down here!

Zhu Yan almost gasped in shock in that instant, but resisted, and without realizing it, tears instantly filled her eyes. It had only been a short while since she last saw him, however, the image of this Shy Ying that appeared so suddenly, had already become somewhat unfamiliar.

He was no longer wearing the white robes of the priesthood, but instead was dressed in the royal garments of Kongsang, with a high crown and wide sleeves, and approached with a calm, unflinching demeanor, not batting a single eyelash when he noticed that she was also there.

She stared blankly at him from beside the emperor’s bed, feeling that a thousand words were stuck in her throat, her lips moving, unable to say a word. He didn’t look at her, but only lowered his head to regard his own father, and with a mixed expression on his face, he spoke in a soft voice, “Your Majesty, Father.”

The pale, dying eyes of the emperor suddenly lit up for a moment, as if a fire had been sparked in his heart, and his soul was actually brought back to life by these two words.

“You are here.” He struggled to stretch out his hand and gestured towards his firstborn son, “Ying…”

Shi Ying walked over to his father with an expressionless face and bent down in front of his bed. The Bei Mian Emperor strained to raise his hand, his withered arm landing feebly on his shoulder. The old man lifted his eyes to scrutinize his firstborn son, with his breathing going short and rasp.

Suddenly, muddy tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes.

“So… this is what you look like? Very much like Ah-Yan.” The emperor murmured, looking intently at the strange and handsome young man in front of him, and his voice drifted feebly, “Although I can no longer remember very well what she looked like… ahem, I remember that her eyes… were also bright like yours… like the brightest stars in the sky.”

“Yes,” Shi Ying stared blankly at his dying father, and his voice sounded light and cold, “I heard that she never rested her eyes until the moment of her death.”

These words were like a dagger plunging into the heart of the emperor, and the old man’s face turned abruptly white. The hand that had been lifted to touch his son’s cheek stopped, trembling violently, and remained motionless for a long time.

“Why do you have to mention that?” The Grand Master glanced at Shi Ying, his expression tinged with remonstration. Yet the Imperial Prince who had returned from ten thousand miles away was looking cold, vaguely revealing a sharp hostility.

“I know… you will not forgive me, cough…” The emperor dropped his hand in dismay and coughed violently, with his entire body in a knotted pile. “For twenty long years… we have been separated from each other as father and son. What else can be said now…?”

He strained to lift his hand and placed an object into the palm of Shi Ying, “This is for you.”

Even someone as cold and collected as Shi Ying could not help but feel touched – what was placed in his palm was a ring: on a dazzling silver base, two unfurling wings held a dazzling gemstone, resplendent with a thousand ethereal auras.

That, indeed, was the Imperial Heavenly Divine Ring, a symbol of the Kongsang Imperial bloodline!

“I entrust myself to you. Take… this Yunhuang and hold it in your heart!” The Bei Mian Emperor looked at his firstborn son with eager eyes and coughed intermittently, “This is… my final decision in this life. I believe you will be a very good emperor… ahem, as good as ten or a hundred times better than… myself.”

Shi Ying looked at the Royal Heavenly Divine Ring in his hand, and his fingers slowly gripped firmly enclosing the jewel in his hand, while nodding in agreement.

He had not spoken much, nor did he look at her directly. However, as Zhu Yan followed the scene, her heart was shocked beyond words – she could never have imagined that the man she had thought she would never see again in her life would appear right at this moment in front of her; and when he reappeared, he would be transformed into someone else whose identity was beyond her reach!

He has succeeded to the Emperor’s Kingdom and was about to rule the Yunhuang Realm!

How? And why did he come back here? How could he openly accept the status of Crown Prince again? He… clearly said he had no intention of competing for power in Kongsang, that he would live the rest of his life far away in a foreign land! Why did he changed his mind and decided to pursue a very different course of action?

Did he… actually lie to her?

Zhu Yan stood there, staring blankly at Shi Ying, who had tightened his grip on the Imperial Heavenly Divine Ring, with a complex and puzzled look in her eyes, as if she was looking at a complete stranger. Shi Ying obviously felt her gaze, the tip of his eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn’t look back, he only lowered his head and glanced at the corpse lying at his feet.

The treacherous concubine who murdered his mother and lived a life of tyranny was finally dead. Killed by her own husband’s hand, she died not knowing that her only son had passed on to the afterlife before her – a retribution for all the things she had done. But why, at this moment, he felt no relief in his heart?

“Ying, he will definitely do a fantastic job.” The one who spoke up was the Grand Master who remained silent on the side, “Don’t worry, I will also do my best to assist him.”

“Very well… very well.” The emperor raised his head, looking at his only sibling, and murmured, “I pushed on for so long, just to wait for your return…”

The emperor’s withered and shaking hand clenched on his arm with a grip as cold as wood. The Grand Master trembled violently but did not withdraw from his hand, and suddenly the corners of his mouth twitched.

What, is the Grand Master… crying?

In that moment, Zhu Yan’s heart trembled and she could hardly believe her eyes.

The two brothers who inherited the blood of the emperor shook hands in a moment of peace and reconciliation in the depths of the palace, a moment so intense and complex that everyone remained speechless for a while.

Shi Ying’s eyes also shifted slightly as he witnessed the scene.

“Ahem… Ying has now officially resigned from the priesthood and returned to the Imperial Capital,” after a prolonged period of time, the Bei Mian Emperor released his hand and coughed violently, turning his head to look at the two Vassal Kings, “White King, you are Ying’s uncle… and the Red King is also your relative by in-laws, ahem… I, I will entrust Ying to the both of you…”

The White King hurriedly stepped forward and resolutely proclaimed, “Be at ease, Your Majesty!”

“The succession to the throne must proceed smoothly… I have heard that the Green King is secretly colluding with the Ice Clan, ahem, do not… let him take advantage of the opportunity to cause turmoil…” the emperor’s voice trailed low, but his speech was crystal clear.

On the last leg of his life, the usually hedonistic emperor suddenly became paradoxically sober and impressively managed to make such contiguous arrangements!

“Yes. Please rest assured, Your Majesty.” The White King and the Red King promptly replied in unison.

“You… ahem, you may retire for now. The Imperial Decree will be proclaimed first thing tomorrow morning when the court enters in session.” The emperor’s voice was already extremely weak after speaking so many words, and he waved his hand, “Ah-Jue, go out and see off the White King and the Red King… I, I and Shi Ying… have something else I would like to talk about alone.”

“Yes.” The White King and Red King made a joint exit.

The Grand Master turned his head to look at the sickly emperor, and his eyes altered slightly, as if he was feeling somewhat uneasy, but in the end, he refrained from disobeying his wish and followed the two Vassal Kings out.

Meanwhile, Zhu Yan remained standing in her original position, not knowing what on earth to do.

Could such a great event be decided in just a few words? For some reason, no one, including the emperor, has ever mentioned the other son of his, Shi Yu, in such an important occasion – it seems like the son who was stripped of his throne with a single word has been also simultaneously wiped out of existence with a single word.

Such cruelty, such coldness.

Zhu Yan was staring at all of this in a daze, having a sensation of living in a dream.

“Ah-Yan.” The Red King stopped in his tracks and looked back at her, who remained frozen in front of the emperor’s bed, with a note of reproach in his voice. Shi Ying’s eyes twitched slightly, but he refused to look at her.

Zhu Yan was called back to her senses by her father, took one last peek at Shi Ying in the shadows of the palace, and followed her father blankly out from the Emperor’s chamber and returned outside.

The Mother Consort, who was standing at the entrance, was already pale from anxiety, and as soon as she saw them appear, her body collapsed and she could no longer sustain herself. The Red King hurriedly picked up his wife and called for his attendants. The White King also rushed forward and asked the Red King in a low voice what was happening.

For a while, there was a great clamor around, with a multitude of people moving in and out. Zhu Yan didn’t pay attention to all this, and just stared at the sky outside somewhat in a trance.

In a matter of moments, everything has been turned upside down in Yunhuang. In just a few moments, the people she had known for more than ten years had also become completely foreign to her.

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