After a while, Xuan Ning said, “Master, I don’t want to.”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed slightly, but before he could say anything, Xuan Ning continued, “I grew up at your side, and in my heart, you’re no different from my father. Rather than pursuing the Grand Dao, I’d rather serve at your side as I did before.”

He lowered his head sheepishly. “Perhaps you’ll think I have no prospects, but to me, you’ve always been a god-like existence; it’s only right I treat you with reverence and piousness.”

Su Yi fell silent for a while. He couldn’t help but sigh. “Alright.”

Xuan Ning’s heart clenched. “Master, are you disappointed in me?”

A faint, helpless smile tugged at Su Yi’s lips. “Everyone has their own ambitions. I won’t force you.”

Only when he saw this did Xuan Ning sigh in relief and smile too.

……

The first day of the tenth lunar month, shortly after daybreak.

Azurecloud Court.

Su Yi was eating breakfast with Yue Shichan.

Ge Qian squatted not far away, watching this play out in a daze.

“Old-timer, was it really Su Yi who saved us?” he muttered inwardly.

“Fellow Daoist Su is our benefactor. He saved our lives; speak more respectfully going forward,”...