I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

Bai Zhou's eyes were filled with worry, showing no trace of joy.

Three days ago, his elder brother brought him a message saying that the painter had just woken up and needed to recuperate for some time, so he would not be able to return for the time being.

Has something happened to you, sir? Are you in good health? Do you have any hidden illnesses?

He knew nothing of it.

In such a state, even as the New Year approaches, he cannot feel the joy of others.

"Let's go. We can't keep them waiting."

After glancing at the distance once more, Bai Zhou followed his brother, who had come to summon him, back into the palace to spend this memorable day with his family.

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye, and during this time, waiting for daylight has been the most difficult thing.

"..."

"Good day, Your Highness."

The elder brother's voice came from outside the door. With a "thud," Bai Zhou threw the documents in his hand on the table, got up, and quickly went to open the door for his brother.

"But is there any news from the master?"

A look of joy appeared on Bai Zhou's face as he saw the letter his brother was holding.

"Yes, it was a message from Eleven, Your Highness."

"Great...cough cough, come in quickly, come in quickly."

Seeing Bai Zhou, who was as happy as a child, his older brother couldn't manage a smile.

"What did you write, sir?"

He offered his elder brother a seat and poured him tea. Bai Zhou then asked him what the painter's letter contained.

"...I find it difficult to say, Your Highness, please read it yourself."

The elder brother placed the letter on the table, then silently picked up his tea and drank it by himself.

"..."

Looking at the letter, he was so happy that he didn't think much of it and reached out to take it and open it to read it carefully.

"..."

The interior was as quiet as a cemetery in the capital city.

As his elder brother covered the teacup, the porcelain clinked together, and Bai Zhou, who had been silent, finally looked away from the letter.

"I don't want to come back... Sir... why do you say that?"

The daytime is incomprehensible.

We had clearly agreed to reunite here and then travel the world together.

How come... you suddenly say you don't want to come back...?

And... what do you mean by temporarily losing interest in him...?

"Eleven...that's just her temper."

The elder brother remained expressionless, as if he had expected this.

“When I become interested in a material that can be used for painting, I will linger for a while. Once I have finished painting and lost interest, I will leave.”

"She never invests too much emotion in anything other than painting."

"Your Highness is a unique case in the past thousand years... But enthusiasm is a thing that comes with great passion and goes as light as smoke. You never know when you will lose interest."

"The things Eleven did with His Highness before her departure... were probably her last act of passion. In this world, there are very few people who can catch her eye, let alone the number of people she has painted... The 'Map of the Land and its People' that His Highness obtained was created by her painstaking efforts, and it was a gift to His Highness, which is probably quite fitting..."

"...Stop talking."

Bai Zhou interrupted his brother coldly during the day.

"...Your subject takes his leave."

After setting down his teacup, the elder brother stood up, bowed slightly to Bai Zhou, and left.

"...Something must have happened."

Bai Zhou couldn't believe that the painter could so easily discard all those thirty years of longing.

Can……

My gaze shifted back to the ink on the letter paper; the jet-black ink on the white paper was incredibly glaring.

Our meeting was fate, so how can I greedily desire constant companionship? From now on, cease sending letters; the clouds and rain over the painted pavilion are of no avail. Do not pester me with your foolish and stubborn actions, lest you incur my wrath… Whether you accept or discard the gifts I gave you is entirely up to you.

Yes, a mere thirty years—compared to the vast expanse of thousands of years, how insignificant, how foolish, how…laughable…

The dragon clenched his fist, and the three black scales pressed tightly together in his palm.

To hesitate is to be defeated.

"..."

Reason recovered from the chaos of his thoughts and gradually regained control over his body.

"Finally awake, Eleven. How was your sleep?"

That sound...

The painter looked up and saw his elder brother sitting in a chair by the window, drinking a cup of hot tea.

But the painter did not respond to his brother's greeting; instead, he showed a wary expression.

This guy always looks like this when he's plotting something bad; he's definitely up to something mischievous this time.

"What brings you here?"

"How can you be so cold-hearted? We are, after all, brothers and sisters who are of one heart and mind."

The elder brother drank the tea and then said softly:

"I'm only here to stop you from doing something reckless."

"..."

The crimson sword was pointed directly at his face, but the elder brother remained unmoved as he looked at the angry painter.

What are you talking about?

The artist's words carried a hint of confusion.

Did this older brother get his head slapped by an old man in his dream and damage his brain?

Her affair with Ah Xi was common knowledge among her siblings, and most of them supported her. So why was her brother trying to stop her from going back today?

Don't you understand?

Looking at his innocent younger sister, the older brother couldn't help but chuckle.

"That's true. After all, you've never been deep into the inner workings of the imperial court, so you naturally can't understand how important A-Xi's existence is to the Great Yan."

"so what?"

The artist still maintained his nonchalant demeanor.

Whether the court is in chaos or not has nothing to do with whether they are together or not.

"In the court, from the death of that old dragon until Ah Xi ascended the throne, several hundred years passed, and dozens of emperors, both wise and mediocre, ruled. The internal changes of various factions and parties within the court were like undercurrents in a river, chaotic and disorderly."

"Those dragons with mortal bodies, in their short lifespan, may use their political skills to balance the various factions in the court; or they may seize military power and persuade people with reason."

"But no matter which dragon it is, the balance it achieves only lasts for a few decades. Every time a new emperor is established, the power in the court has to undergo a bloody baptism."

“I’m tired of this fleeting balance.”

The older brother stared at his younger sister and poured out his heart to her.

"For so many years, those foolish mortals have never been able to learn from history."

"In the short span of the year, they were only concerned with vying for power and profit, enjoying their own pleasures, forming cliques for personal gain, framing loyal officials, and holding positions without doing their jobs..."

"If things continue like this, when will we be able to fulfill the agreement made by that old dragon?"

"To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to plead for the people, to continue the lost learning of the sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations..."

"Such a grand ambition, such a great undertaking, how many more thousands of years will it take for those foolish and dull-witted men to wake up from the vortex of power struggles?"

"Since I took office, I have come to know how deeply the poison of power can penetrate. It is like a carbuncle that is attached to the bone, an evil that cannot be eradicated by any medicine."

"Even I sometimes fantasize about how wonderful it would be to hold power over the country one day. Not to mention those mortals who only have a few decades to live."

"Foolish people, after tasting the power, lose their true nature, and the struggle for power and profit becomes their lifelong pursuit. How difficult it is to awaken from this!"

The elder brother let out a breath, trying to calm himself down.

"But now, I see hope."

“Ah Xi…”

A fervor that painters had never seen before rose in his eyes.

"The reason why balance is short-lived is because the lifespan of its rulers is short."

"If an immortal ruler were to ascend to the throne, this balance would be eternal. Officials would fulfill their duties with integrity and clarity, noble families would cultivate virtue, and the common people would not suffer. With the people united in heart, the whole world would prosper."

"So that's why you let Ah Xi pursue immortality?"

The artist understood.

Why did this elder brother appear so loyal to the emperor and patriotic when we went to the capital to find him?

He had already made this plan!

Ah Xi sacrificed himself for a century of peace, and his prestige in the nation was comparable only to that of the founding emperor. If Ah Xi did not abdicate, no one in the Great Yan could threaten his rule.

"really."

But the elder brother let out a sorrowful sigh.

"But even the most careful plans can have flaws. I never imagined that Ah Xi's feelings for you were so deep. So deep that he was willing to give up the throne and that supreme power."

Although it was a helpless sigh, the elder brother's face was full of pride.