Although Si Qing thought this in his heart, he did not say it out loud.
Qi Yu, however, had already seen through his thoughts: "You must be thinking that I'm deliberately looking for a new Heavenly Dao just so I can slack off more easily in the future, right?"
The words "Isn't that so?" were written all over everyone's faces.
Qi Yu felt that the reactions of these people were too much. She put her hands on her hips and pouted indignantly, "What are those expressions? It's like I deliberately said I wanted to find a new Heavenly Dao. I didn't intentionally seek out a new Heavenly Dao; I just felt the time was right and it would be best to find one early so I could give them proper training. I'm not like the old Heavenly Dao."
"Yes, yes, yes, of course, we know you're different. How could you be like that workaholic? Although the old Heavenly Dao did many outrageous things, he never handed over the Heavenly Dao duties to anyone else," Jin Yan said with a shrug and a sarcastic tone. "You're different. You completely handed it over to someone else and only touched it a few times yourself."
Qi Yu was speechless and could only sit silently beside him, looking at Jin Yan with a mournful expression.
Jin Yan became angry under her gaze, "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm clearly telling the truth, isn't that right?"
"...It is the truth, but isn't it because we're short-handed?" Qi Yu continued to shift the blame to the issue of insufficient manpower.
Jin Yan rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Qi Yu quickly tried to appease him with all sorts of sweet talk.
An Nuo watched from the side, unable to suppress her laughter. Seeing Si Qing looking in her direction as if he didn't understand why she was amused, she lowered her voice and said to him, "Your sister is clearly just stringing Jin Yan along."
Based on An Nuo's understanding of Qi Yu, if Jin Yan had never protested and had quietly helped out, Qi Yu would probably have never filled the manpower shortage in the 13th Heaven, not until the end of time, or until the next Heavenly Dao appeared.
Si Qing felt the same, and the mother and son covered their faces and chuckled together.
After that, it took them a good few hours to finally send off Jin Yan and Yu Yuan.
Qi Yu was completely exhausted.
Si Qing reached out and poked her arm, "Do you have any confidence in choosing someone to be the new Heavenly Dao?"
"Don't say it, I actually do have someone in mind, and I think if we really chose this person, no one would object," Qi Yu said, slapping her thigh seriously.
Si Qing narrowed his eyes, "A candidate that the entire Three Realms would agree to? I don't know anyone like that. Wait, the person you're talking about isn't..."
Si Qing's eyes widened, two words stuck in his throat.
Qi Yu nodded, "That's right, it's exactly as you're thinking. The person I want to talk about is him. Calling him the 'new Heavenly Dao' is just a title, like 'vice-sect leader'. So, I think if we choose him, I should be able to step down early."
Qi Yu dreamed of leaving this place as soon as possible and going to the Peach Blossom Spring that the previous Heavenly Daos had gone to after they left their positions.
Qi Yu often fantasized about what that dreamlike immortal realm looked like.
Si Qing looked at her speechlessly, "Actually, ever since you took over as the new Heavenly Dao, I, as the law, have changed many regulations. One of them is about the succession of the old and new Heavenly Daos."
"You can look at the specifics yourself later. In short, the old Heavenly Dao can choose to stay and reincarnate, or remain as a wandering immortal, or go to the Peach Blossom Spring."
This was the first time Qi Yu had heard that the rules could be changed after a Heavenly Dao took office.
"So, even if I pass on the position of Heavenly Dao to someone else, I don't necessarily have to go to the Peach Blossom Spring. If I want to stay and see the magnificent mountains and rivers, that's also possible," Qi Yu suddenly felt that this was not bad.
Si Qing nodded.
An Nuo, who had been listening all along, blinked as she heard the siblings talking back and forth. When they finished, she interjected, "Who is this suitable candidate for the 'new Heavenly Dao' you were just talking about?"
Did they have such a suitable candidate among them? Why had she never seen them? Or did they appear often, but she had never paid attention?
Qi Yu and Si Qing exchanged a glance, and they both spoke a name in unison.
An Nuo blinked, thought carefully, and finally made a decision, "That's good. Whether it's age, law, or status, they are enough to convince everyone. And if we let them directly manage the affairs of the 13th Heaven, no one in the Three Realms should dare to object."
Si Qing nodded.
Qi Yu fell into thought, "There's only one problem now: how can we get him to agree to be the 'new Heavenly Dao'?"
...
After that.
Chang Qing Sect.
By the time Si Qing and Qi Yu descended to the mortal realm, more than a year had passed.
Since they had left clones in the mortal realm to attend to their duties, the disciples of the Chang Qing Sect did not notice any changes in their Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leader during this period.
Yan Hua, in the form of a dragon, was coiled in the center of the Chang Qing Sect's training grounds, like a mascot, lazily yawning.
Many new disciples were circling around him, full of curiosity. This was the first time these new disciples had seen a real dragon.
The older disciples of the Chang Qing Sect, who had entered the sect earlier, were already accustomed to Yan Hua's presence. After bowing, they went about their own business.
Chen Xi was lying on Yan Hua's dragon head, reading a comic book. He laughed heartily as he read.
Qi Yu and Si Qing walked towards them, smiling and greeting them.
Yan Hua snorted, as a form of response.
Chen Xi immediately turned his head, waved at the siblings, and then jumped to the ground, showing them the funniest part of his comic book.
Qi Yu and Si Qing cooperated and laughed heartily for a while.
After they had laughed enough, Qi Yu slowly walked over to Yan Hua and asked him with a whine,
"Master~"
As soon as Yan Hua heard Qi Yu's syrupy voice, he got goosebumps and moved his head away. "Don't come so close to me, and don't speak in that tone. It makes my scalp tingle. Just tell me what you want directly."
"No, Master~" Seeing how far he had retreated, Qi Yu immediately leaned in again. "I just realized it's been a long, long time since we've had a heart-to-heart talk, so I wanted to come and chat. Aren't you happy?"
Yan Hua: "... I think your intentions are impure..."