Xu Qingxuan pursed her lips but said nothing more.
Supporting her mother, she walked toward the garden beyond: "Mother, please don't get too worked up. No matter what happens, I'll be right beside you."
Xu Meng nodded ceaselessly, murmuring, "I know, I know."
She kept saying "I know," but in truth, her emotions had already reached a fever pitch that could go no higher.
They soon arrived at the garden entrance. From behind the structure, a figure strode out with powerful steps and suddenly halted at the gateway, fixing Xu Meng with an unblinking stare.
Four eyes met, and it was as though the entire world had ground to a halt.
One glance — and thirty years melted away, becoming eternity.
Xu Meng's tears streamed down like rain. She let out a soft cry: "Feng-lang."
"Meng'er!" Jiang Feng's fierce eyes were likewise brimming with tears. He charged forward and pulled Xu Meng into a crushing embrace, as if terrified this was all a dream, terrified that a sudden gust of wind might scatter the scene before him like mist.
Thirty years of separation. Thirty years before they met again.
No words in any language could capture the explosion of feeling in that moment. All that mattered was holding each other tight, clinging to each other as though letting go meant ceasing to exist.
Every last drop of emotion poured out through that single embrace.
"Feng-lang… Meng'er is not dreaming. This can't be a dream, can it?" Xu Meng whispered, her voice trembling.
"Meng'er, we're not dreaming. All these years, you've suffered so much. Heaven has taken pity on us and allowed our family to be whole again. Meng'er — this is the will of Heaven, do you understand? It must be the will of Heaven." Jiang Feng's composure finally broke as well, his voice shaking with every word.
Xu Qingxuan's eyes glistened, and her delicate frame quivered faintly. The heart is made of flesh. How could she not be overwhelmed with joy at the sight of her parents reunited?
Not once in her entire life had she ever seen her mother radiate such happiness from head to toe — every corner of her being seemed to be smiling.
It was a kind of bliss she had never witnessed before.
Xu Qingxuan gently wiped her eyes, then suddenly remembered that Jiang Chen was still standing nearby. She hurriedly steadied her emotions and cast a slightly reproachful glance at him.
But she saw that Jiang Chen's eyes were red-rimmed too. "Hey — my parents are reuniting here, and you're just the messenger. Isn't it a little… inappropriate for you to get this emotional?"
Xu Qingxuan thought this man was truly baffling. My parents are the ones reuniting — what business is it of yours to get so worked up? Has anyone ever been this deep into someone else's drama?
Jiang Chen was caught between laughter and exasperation at her words. "Your parents are reuniting — but couldn't they also be my parents?"
What?
Xu Qingxuan froze. She hadn't processed that yet. What did that mean? My parents are your parents? Are you trying to take advantage of me, boy?
Her first instinct was that this fellow was trying to pull a fast one — after all, a mother-in-law and father-in-law were still "parents" in a manner of speaking.
But when she looked at Jiang Chen's earnest expression and saw not the slightest hint of frivolity or mischief, she was struck completely dumb.
Her mind buzzed like a hive, and she found herself in a daze.
"Saintess Qingxuan — the foremost Saintess of the Moon God Sect. I wonder whether you would acknowledge me as your elder brother?" Jiang Chen said with a faint smile.
"What? You…" A bolt of lightning seemed to crack through Xu Qingxuan's mind.
Elder brother? This Shao Yuan… he… he's my brother?
Xu Qingxuan looked at the father who had just appeared, then back at Jiang Chen. In that instant, she was thoroughly stunned.
By now, the parents had gradually regained their composure. Jiang Feng, beaming with delight, held Xu Meng's hand: "Meng'er, today is truly the happiest day I've had in decades. It isn't just the reunion of husband and wife — it's the reunion of our entire family. Chen'er, why haven't you come over to pay your respects to your mother yet?"
Jiang Chen did not dare delay. He gave Xu Qingxuan a smile, strode up to Xu Meng, and dropped to his knees in a full bow. "Your son, Jiang Chen, greets Mother."
Xu Meng's emotions, which had only just begun to settle, surged violently once more. Her expression shifted, and her eyes reddened: "Jiang Chen? You… you're Chen'er?"
She suddenly rushed forward, seized Jiang Chen, and pulled his head into her arms, pressing kiss after kiss against him.
In that fleeting instant, Xu Meng felt as though she had been transported back more than twenty years — to when Chen'er was still a babe in swaddling clothes, still nursing, still unable to speak, capable of nothing more than babyish babbling.
Twenty-some years seemed to fold back upon themselves.
"Chen'er, my poor, suffering child. Mother has let you and your father down all these years. Come — let Mother look at you." Xu Meng cradled Jiang Chen's head, crying even as she spoke.
At this point, Jiang Chen saw no need to maintain his disguise. He tore away the disguise layer, revealing his true face.
His features bore three parts resemblance to Jiang Feng, three parts to Xu Meng, and the remaining balance was shaped by years of his own experience.
Sword-sharp brows and luminous eyes, a face chiseled with clean angles — combined with his own extraordinary bearing, he had already surpassed the most outstanding young prodigies of the Upper Eight Regions.