Ming Zhijian readily accepted, "Good, I also apologize for my previous rudeness. Father, you have my approval."
Ming Ya felt a headache coming on. "Haven't you always been rude to me?"
Ming Zhijian chuckled, "Not anymore. Let's get back to the point. Can we go save her now?"
Ming Ya solemnly asked, "You mean… you want me to go back to my old ways?"
Ming Zhijian replied, "What's wrong with that?"
Ming Ya stated decisively, "Of course not."
Ming Zhijian retorted, "Are you willing to lose your son for a bit of dignity?"
Ming Ya considered it repeatedly. "Alright, you win. What are you waiting for? Lead the way."
Ming Zhijian smiled slightly, "I won't laugh at you."
Ming Ya shook his head helplessly. "You rascal."
Upon Ming Ya's diagnosis, the Empress of Stars was suffering from poisoning. She required long-term medication to stabilize her life force and survive.
Ming Ya sighed, "King Luo Shi is truly wicked."
Piao Ling'er anxiously inquired, "Is there any way to save her?"
Ming Ya looked at Ming Zhijian. "The poison has already entered her bones. Leave her with me for half a year, and we'll observe her progress slowly."
Ming Zhijian nodded. "Father, I entrust her to you."
He had nearly severed their father-son relationship for this woman. Ming Ya nodded. "Don't worry, I will do my utmost."
Piao Ling'er said tenderly, "I want to stay here and accompany Mother, may I?"
Ming Zhijian replied, "Stay as long as you wish."
Chen Buqi smiled and said, "Yes, young lady, treat this place as your home. It's just one more set of chopsticks, no trouble at all."
He then approached Ming Ya and whispered in his ear, "If I find out you fall for someone else again, you're dead."
This was a distinct possibility, as it was Ming Ya's known weakness. As the saying goes, a physician cannot heal themselves. Now that he was returning to his old profession, it was easy for him to revert to his womanizing ways.
Ming Ya chuckled awkwardly, "Don't worry, Qi'er, you must believe in my self-control."
Chen Buqi simply ignored him and huffed.
The Empress of Stars awoke. She endured the itching and pain in front of everyone, her eyes red. Ming Zhijian knew how uncomfortable she was, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of so many people.
Ming Zhijian told her, "Xingchen, the Divine Emperor Holy Land Sect is no longer safe. You will live in the Suohai Wuge from now on and receive treatment from my father. Don't worry, he will cure you."
Chen Buqi, noticing Ming Zhijian's unusual gaze towards her, instantly understood and covered his mouth, stifling a laugh.
The Empress of Stars glared at him. "I don't want to see you. I hate you."
Piao Ling'er felt the same. Whether it was Ming Zhijian killing their father and husband, Emperor Piaoyan, or his misguided rescue of the Empress of Stars from King Luo Shi, they both hated Ming Zhijian.
Returning to the hall, Ming Ya, Chen Buqi, and the others looked to Ming Zhijian as their leader, ready to act at his command.
Ming Ya did not pry too much into what Ming Zhijian intended to do with his eight thousand disciples. Ming Zhijian merely told him that they were stationed at the Twenty-Three Sects, Thirty-Nine Gates, and the Divine Emperor Holy Land Sect.
At this moment, Mo Li Shen Zun returned. He said, "My apologies, little one. I tracked down Emperor Ou, but unfortunately, he escaped."
Ming Zhijian acknowledged with a hum, "It's alright."
Mo Li Shen Zun continued, "Little one, I have sensed the whereabouts of my artifact, the Mo Li Divine Bow."
Mo Li Divine Bow. Ming Zhijian immediately thought of the Cloud-Piercing Arrow and the missing Yanran Qingcheng.