A still silence fell across the surroundings.
Faces all around wore expressions of unspoken questions....Who was this man standing before them?
Duie and Su Nian exchanged glances, the same thought running through their minds:
"Who is this Wuzu?"
Because duie and su nian had never met wuzu in their previous lives.
Meanwhile, Wuzu and Lao Duan found themselves equally puzzled.
"Who are these two strange creatures?" they wondered silently.
One emotion after another flashed across every face present.
A color would rise and quickly fade, anxiety written in every pair of eyes.
At that moment, Wuzu lowered her head slightly in respectful greeting.
Though fury still raged in her heart, she stood with unwavering reverence before Mo Yan.
As for Lao Duan....who still hadn't grasped the full picture....he stood confused, unable to recognize anyone.
Still, following his sister's lead, he awkwardly bowed his head in mimicry.
Wuzu's tone turned solemn as she spoke:
"Yes, Your Majesty Mo Yan... I am Wuzu... It brings me joy to meet you once again, reborn in this new life."
The moment Mo Yan's name echoed in the air, it was as if a lightning bolt had struck Lao Duan.
His mouth fell open in pure shock, as though his very soul had leaned out to take a peek at reality, trying to make sense of the scene before him.
Only now did he begin to understand....why his sister Wuzu had been tracking this man with such determination.
When Wuzu caught sight of Lao Duan's agape face, she jabbed her elbow into him subtly, gesturing:
"Close your mouth and pull yourself together!"
But Mo Yan remained calm, steady as a mountain.
He drew a deep breath.
Then, with eyes glimmering like stars and a voice tinged with a question he had long been carrying in his heart, he asked:
"Where is Yu Sui?"
The question echoed through the air like a sacred incantation.
A silence crept in once more, this time deeper, colder.
The question had found its home....a space filled with sorrow.
Hearing it, both Wuzu and Lao Duan lowered their eyes.
It wasn't fear that overtook them....but helplessness.
Because they, too, didn't know where Yu Sui was.
Their eyes glistened with tears they could no longer hold back.
Years of pain stirred again within their hearts, and once more, they laid heavy stones upon their chests.
Lowered gazes could no longer conceal their sorrow, and so the tears flowed.
Those tears were their answer.
But even so, Wuzu found her voice through the heaviness, and with a trembling tone, she spoke:
"Forgive me, Your Majesty… I've been searching for him endlessly these past three months.
Even on the day of the ceremony's commencement, I set out once more to find him....yet no trace was found.
But I had faith in you. That is why… I was following you."