"So, am I your mother?"

Xu Yunqing stared at Fu Xiaoguan intently. Fu Xiaoguan put away the parchment, but did not dare to look at Xu Yunqing.

He simply nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "You are my mother!"

A smile appeared on Xu Yunqing's face, and she looked away and out the car window.

The night was late and the city of Ezo was already ablaze with lights.

Fu Xiaoguan gave her an answer, but she got the answer she wanted. Everything was just like that scene in the play. He was not her son, but he was her son.

This is contradictory, but it is what Xu Yunqing is thinking at the moment.

It doesn't matter anymore. Fu Xiaoguan's expression already shows that he is the chosen one!

She squeezed her sleeve pocket imperceptibly, and found a piece of parchment inside. It was also a secret document, also written by the Taoist master.

"The so-called chosen one is someone who comes from beyond the heavens."

"They understood a more advanced civilization, and they had ideas that were far ahead of their time."

"If they endanger society, they will bring great disaster to society. The Tianji Pavilion calls them destroyers."

"If they benefit humanity, they will drive society forward at a rapid pace. The Tianji Pavilion calls them pioneers."

"No one knows how or why they came."

"But every time a chosen one appears, the world is either madly destroyed or ushered in a brand new transformation."

"The existence of the Dao Academy is to slay the destroyers and protect the pioneers."

Fu Xiaoguan is clearly a pioneer!

Su Changsheng used his own death to prove that Fu Xiaoguan was the chosen one. The fat man left with the eight disciples of the Taoist temple... He did leave, but not because he would no longer protect the pioneers, but because the fat man's existence would bring endless trouble to Fu Xiaoguan, and this trouble involved a huge secret!

Xu Yunqing heaved a sigh of relief, then suddenly smiled and said, "Son, do you know that you still have bloodlines out there?"

Fu Xiaoguan suddenly felt a little embarrassed - he naturally knew that it was the daughter born to him by Fujiwara no Kiso from Ezo Castle.

"This... Mom, my son has already made arrangements."

"She is the little princess of Great Xia. How could she be stranded among the common people? And in this extremely remote Far East Road!"

"But..." Fu Xiaoguan was very conflicted. There was really no love between him and Fujiwara Kisho. In a sense, he made the mistake that many men would make.

He had never thought of bringing Fujiwara no Kiso into the palace and canonizing her as a concubine. He came this time just to meet Fujiwara no Kiso. If Fujiwara no Kiso agreed, he planned to take his daughter back.

Of course, if Fujiwara no Kiso disagreed, he had no intention of using force.

"The son gave her a lot of compensation."

Xu Yunqing looked at Fu Xiaoguan and said, "I understand what you mean. I'll handle the little princess's affairs. Let's get back to the topic we were discussing... What does curiosity kills the cat mean?"

"...This story originates from a Western legend. People say cats have nine lives and are immortal, but in the end, they die from their own curiosity... This is meant to warn people that curiosity should have limits, otherwise it can bring great danger."

"In that case, do you still want to go to the eighteenth floor of Tianji Pavilion?"

Fu Xiaoguan pondered for a long time before nodding, "Mother, I want to go see the Chosen Ones who first came to this world. Firstly, to see if there are any traces of them left behind, and secondly... I want to know what secrets are hidden behind that door."

"So you have to go?"

Xu Yunqing stared at Fu Xiaoguan with great concern. This time, Fu Xiaoguan nodded firmly, "You must go."

"Have you ever thought about not being able to come back?"

Without waiting for Fu Xiaoguan's answer, Xu Yunqing asked again, "Have you ever thought about what would happen to your wife and children if you couldn't come back? What would happen to this country? What would happen to the people of this country?"

"I've already formulated the next five-year development plan for Daxia, and I've also made Daxia Jinfeng Group earn enough money. The seeds of Daxia science have been sown, and all that remains is to wait for them to take root, sprout, bloom, and bear fruit. I can no longer influence them too much."

"I have also drafted the edict to enthrone the crown prince. If anything happens to me, Daxia will have a new monarch. Of course, the monarch is still young, but I have established a new cabinet in the edict."

"Mother, my existence has actually hindered the development of Daxia. The officials in the court are too dependent on me, which is not a good thing."

"The next step in Daxia's transformation will be my departure, the separation of powers within the central court, and the transition of Daxia from rule by man to rule by law. This is all I am doing. I believe my departure will accelerate this transformation, allowing Daxia to take off again."

Fu Xiaoguan said a lot to Xu Yunqing in a very proud manner, even saying that even if he found nothing on the eighteenth floor, he would still abdicate, because his ideal had never been to become a great emperor.

"My original plan was to embark on this voyage to find an undeveloped land somewhere at the end of the world. For the rest of my life, my wife and children and I... Of course, if Mother is willing to come along, that would be the best... We could live together in an unknown place, multiply and thrive there, and be carefree little landowners."

"When I was in Linjiang, I didn't have such a long-term ideal. At that time, all I wanted was to take good care of the fields of our Fu family. But now I have to run away because Daxia does not need the existence of an emperor."

Xu Yunqing stared at Fu Xiaoguan intently. Only now did she understand Fu Xiaoguan's true thoughts.

"In that case, mother won't stop you from going out to sea."

"But now I've changed my mind... I can let He Sandao do the job of finding a place at sea. I... I'll set off tomorrow and return to Guanyun City."

Xu Yunqing's brows tightened, "Are you going to check it out so soon?"

"I'll have to go see it sooner or later anyway, so why not go now?"

"Mom will go with you!"

Fu Xiaoguan shook his head and said with a smile, "Mother, you will have to cover up for me tomorrow. No one except you can know that I am going back to Guanyun City."

"If I am alright, I will return to the palace with great fanfare."

"But if I really lost contact..." Fu Xiaoguan grabbed Xu Yunqing's hand and his tone became heavy.

"As Mother said, my wife and children... I can't bear to leave them. But if I really don't come back, please tell them... just say that I died in this expedition."

Xu Yunqing suddenly regretted telling Fu Xiaoguan this secret.

She originally hoped to persuade Fu Xiaoguan to retreat, but she never expected that she would push Fu Xiaoguan instead.

At this point, she was silent for a long time. Only when the carriage stopped did she speak: "If I can return this beautiful country... then I will return!"