His aged, declining body knelt on the ground, just as it had when he was still a child that year.
That year, the White-Clad One had saved the young brother and sister.
Then the White-Clad One had severed the heavens, and the siblings had knelt on the ground far away beneath the sky, just as he did today.
Later, the White-Clad One had vanished. He had cultivated hard, then earned distinction in the imperial examinations.
He had entered the court, determined to safeguard the realm the White-Clad One had created...
Emperor Ying had taken Su Jingyan's place on the throne, yet he addressed him only as "Your Majesty."
On the day the heavens were severed, the words "my emperor" seemed to have acquired an indelible figure in his heart.
It seemed that apart from the White-Clad One, there was no other "my emperor"...
He knelt before the White-Clad One as he had in childhood.
The child he had been was now old, yet the White-Clad One still seemed young...
Tears streamed down his aged face. No one understood where his lifelong loyalty to the Nine Heavens' Imperial Clan came from. The civil and military officials throughout the court pursued their ambitions, but he sought only that single thought of the White-Clad One in his heart.
"Xu Xixi pays his respects to my emperor."
Before the White-Clad One, it seemed that his aged self was still the child whom the White-Clad One had personally rescued from the Red Mist.
He had never been Elder Xu. He was only Xu Xixi, whom Su Mo had saved.
Su Jingyan looked at the old man before him and seemed to discern something.
"Rise..."
Elder Xu slowly climbed to his feet, gazing through streaming tears at the still-youthful Su Jingyan. His heart seemed filled with