Ye Guyi's words brought Xu Tianming's thoughts back from his Mental Sea of Consciousness to reality.
At the same time, the airship had already entered the outskirts of Ming Capital.
Just as Ye Wuya and his wife, Lin Wanqiu, thought the airship was about to land, they never expected it not only to maintain its speed, but to fly straight into Ming Capital!
Everyone knew the Sun Moon Empire's capital had a strict no-fly order. Aside from a few people with special status and privileges, no one was allowed to fly an airship over Ming Capital. Otherwise, the Fixed Soul Cannon Shells installed throughout the city would shoot it down.
Yet when this airship had just sped into Ming Capital, not only had no one tried to stop it, but even the city guards standing ready atop the walls had not uttered a single warning.
What did this mean? Ye Wuya only needed to think for a moment to guess at the key issue:
The owner of this airship—the young master before him who had saved the lives of his family of three—had a background even more powerful than he had imagined.
But whether that was a good thing or a bad thing for his daughter was hard to say.
Just as Ye Wuya's thoughts grew tangled once more, the airship began to slow. Now coming into view before the family of three was the imperial palace, rising in the heart of Ming Capital. Its grand, magnificent architecture symbolized the Sun Moon Empire's supreme authority.
Once the airship had landed at its designated spot and come to a stop, a group of imperial guards who had been waiting moved up at once. At the exit, they placed a magnificent staircase made of pure gold, with a strip of red carpet laid across it.
With a Soul Master's cultivation, one wouldn't be hurt even by jumping straight down from a great height, let alone from this close to the ground.
The point of this entire procedure was mainly to display the nobility of the imperial family.
After all, members of the imperial family were expected to look the part. If they did everything just like ordinary people, how could they show what made them special?
Xu Tianming, who had awakened the memories of his past life, looked down on the imperial family's rules. But right now, he didn't want to make trouble.
After all, things had to be handled one at a time. Without overwhelming power to back him up, no matter how reasonable his words were, those stronger than him would most likely treat them like a joke, letting them go in one ear and out the other.
Putting aside his distracting thoughts for the moment, Xu Tianming didn't respond right away. Instead, with a smile, he held out his right hand to Ye Guyi, inviting her to take it.
The young Ye Guyi hesitated for only a moment. Though her face was bashful, she still placed her small, fair hand in his, letting Xu Tianming hold it.
At that very moment, Mavuika in his Mental Sea of Consciousness seemed to have no idea what had gotten into her. Out of nowhere, she remarked:
"You were just calling me Weiwei, and now you've turned around and taken another girl's hand right in front of me. Tsk, tsk..."
At those words, Xu Tianming's body stiffened.
Fortunately, Mavuika also realized she had let herself get carried away, and quickly added:
"It's fine. You don't need to pay attention to what I said. I just couldn't help stating the obvious."
Even so, how could Xu Tianming not read into Mavuika's strange tone?
But this wasn't the time or place, so he could only suppress the thoughts he shouldn't be having and leave the rest until he was back in the quiet of his own room.
And so, Xu Tianming forced himself to stay calm as he led Ye Guyi by the hand. Ye Wuya exchanged a glance with his wife, then silently followed behind them.
After Mavuika had spoken, Xu Tianming had considered letting go of Ye Guyi's hand. But after thinking it over, he decided that since he had taken her hand already, he might as well hold on to it.
After all, if he let go after only a moment, wouldn't that mean he'd held it for nothing?
The group walked in silence at an unhurried pace until they reached the airship's exit.
Kong Deming, who had been waiting there, glanced in surprise at the bashful Ye Guyi, whose hand was held by his nephew.
He stared for a moment at the hands clasped between the boy and girl. A hint of amusement appeared in Kong Deming's eyes, but he quickly buried it and opened the hatch.
The guards waiting outside the hatch saw the two people standing there and immediately bowed in a perfect noble's salute.
"Your subordinate is here to welcome the Great Enshrined and Fourth Prince back to the capital. The Second Prince has prepared a welcoming banquet at his residence and has specifically ordered your subordinate to invite you."
At this, Kong Deming frowned in slight displeasure. He paid no heed to Second Prince Xu Tianran's dignity and bluntly declined.
"Unnecessary. Tianming and I still have important matters to attend to, so there's no need for him to trouble himself. Repeat my reply to him word for word. He won't blame you for failing in your duty. You may all leave."
It was no exaggeration to say that in the Sun Moon Empire today, only an imperial edict issued by the emperor could come close to matching the weight of Kong Deming's words.
The guards naturally knew the gravity of the situation, so they promptly assented. After bowing once more, they left with their men.
Only after all the unrelated people nearby had left did Xu Tianming lead Ye Guyi out of the airship.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire had dealings with the Holy Spirit Cult. His uncle could keep them safe, but to minimize the risk of anything going wrong, it was better if no outsiders saw Ye Guyi's parents.
After descending the staircase, Ye Wuya didn't hesitate for a moment before dropping to his knees again and bowing.
"This junior pays his respects to Your Excellency Silver Moon and the Fourth Prince."
This time, his voice held the earnest sincerity of someone meeting an idol.
Kong Deming's reputation as the continent's foremost Soul Engineer was, after all, well known. Everyone in the Sun Moon Empire with even a little expertise in Soul Tools admired him to the utmost, and Ye Wuya was no exception.
Kong Deming had seen this sort of thing countless times before, so he showed no particular reaction. He lifted Ye Wuya to his feet with Soul Power and spoke in a detached tone.
"No need for formalities. Since Tianming is willing to take your daughter in, she can stay by his side and attend him from now on. There's no need to worry about her safety. As for you and your wife... I'll give you two choices. First, I can find you a residence in Ming Capital where you can live in seclusion. Second, you can leave the Sun Moon Empire, assume new identities, and settle in Shrek City. You'll be far from your homeland, but in return, you'll be able to live more freely."
Xu Tianming had actually meant to say these things himself, but he hadn't expected his uncle to bring them up first.
Although Xu Tianming hadn't yet discussed with Kong Deming the specifics of what he had in mind about this matter,
Kong Deming had lived for more than a century. Just by seeing his nephew holding Ye Guyi's hand, he had already seen through his nephew's intentions.
So it was better for him, an old man, to be the one to suggest separating the girl from her parents.
That way, even if the young girl couldn't understand at first and came to resent them, she would direct her hatred first at him, the "heartless" old man.
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