Jiang Chen's shout came completely out of the blue. By the time Yan Qingsang tried to stop him, it was already too late. Yan Qingsang's face darkened. "Brother Shao Yuan, what do you think you're doing? Such forwardness—hardly the conduct of a gentleman!"
Jiang Chen chuckled. "I couldn't help myself. Don't blame me, Brother Yan. Shall we go?"
Having called out, Jiang Chen figured that if the person on the other side was truly Huang'er, she must have heard him by now. He knew it would be unwise to linger here, or he would risk exposing himself.
Yan Qingsang gave a light snort. "Don't ever do that again."
Jiang Chen nodded and smiled. "Brother Yan, you're really making me feel rather discouraged. Even if your sister is the most beautiful woman in all the world, there was nothing improper about what I said. Surely there's no need to be quite so tense? Could it be that this celestial lady has never met outsiders growing up, never even heard voices beyond her window?"
Yan Qingsang clearly had no desire to continue the topic. He sighed. "Fine. But not again. This matter—it's a long story. Better left unsaid."
He clearly didn't want Jiang Chen to linger here any longer. He turned and said coolly, "Don't listen where you shouldn't, Brother Shao Yuan. Let's go."
……
On the other side of the wall, the moment Jiang Chen's words rang out, the zither music stopped abruptly.
Huang'er's hands pressed down hard onto the strings. Her delicate body swayed, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. But she quickly recalled the Elder Shun's words of caution.
The Elder Shun had warned her that every move she made could be under the family's watchful eye.
So the boundless surge of emotion that had welled up inside her was forcibly suppressed in an instant. However, the tempest raging within her heart was not so easily calmed.
With both hands pressed against the strings, how could the music possibly continue?
"Shao Yuan? Shao Yuan?" A torrent of thoughts flashed through Huang'er's mind. "That name—isn't it the one Brother Chen used back then? When he went to the Slanting Moon Upper Domain and passed through the Pill Fire City, he used this very name. When he met the Peerless Great Emperor, he used this name too. Could it really be… could it really be Brother Chen?"
At this point, Huang'er was no longer merely guessing. She was virtually certain—the person who had come was none other than Jiang Chen!
At the thought, she could barely contain herself. Several times she nearly rose from her seat, nearly went to peer over the wall—but each time she checked the impulse.
She admonished herself: she must not act rashly. If any members of her family were secretly watching her, showing eagerness now and going out to look would only arouse their suspicion.
Huang'er was, after all, an exceptionally perceptive person. Once she understood this, a measure of calm gradually returned to her heart.
Before this, her emotions had been like a lone boat tossed upon a vast ocean—drifting without direction, battered by waves of despair. But in this instant, it was as though a ray of sunlight had pierced through the endless darkness of her heart, flooding her body and soul with warmth.
Brother Chen has come!
The one she had thought of day and night had finally arrived!
She had always held firm to the belief that her beloved would one day come to the Myriad Abyss Island, that he would come looking for her!
And that day had finally arrived!
It wasn't in the Eternal Divine Kingdom—but what difference did that make?
"Brother Chen must have gone through so much hardship to find me. So that means the Jiang Emperor who was being hunted on Winter End Island—that must have been him!"
"Brother Chen must have also learned about the Ancient Jade Assembly here in the Blue Mist Island Domain. He must have heard that the experts of the ten great divine kingdoms would be attending. He must have sensed that I would be there too. This must be the connection between our hearts. He left the name Jiang Emperor as a way of sending me a message. And now, deliberately praising my music aloud and announcing himself as Shao Yuan—he must have known all along that I would come. He went through all that effort to infiltrate the Yan family, all so he could see me, to let me know he was here, to put my heart at ease…"
At this thought, Huang'er felt as though her very heart might melt.
"Brother Chen…"
She could imagine the countless trials Jiang Chen must have endured to find her, to get close to her.
The thought filled her with both gratitude and heartache.
A young man from the Human Domain, making his way to the Myriad Abyss Island—the journey alone must have been riddled with untold hardships. And upon arriving, he faced the united bounty from the Provenance True Kingdom. Under such dire circumstances, to then attempt to approach someone within the Yan family—the bitterness of it all, Huang'er understood. She understood deeply.
In this very moment, all Huang'er wanted was to rush to Jiang Chen and hold him tight, to ease all the longing that had built up since their parting.
But reason told her: the more critical the moment, the more composed she had to be.
If she acted rashly, the family elders could shatter their reunion in the blink of an eye, snatching away this long-awaited dream.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yan Qingsang had pulled Jiang Chen away and now bombarded him with questions about jade appraisal and related lore.
Jiang Chen's thoughts were entirely with Huang'er. But he had not lost his composure, and he answered Yan Qingsang's questions carefully, all while pondering how he might manage to reunite with her.
He had also faintly sensed that in the area where Huang'er was, one or two forces seemed to be keeping watch from the shadows. This realization made him inwardly vigilant.
It seemed Huang'er's situation within the family was indeed precarious. Even here, where the family had set up temporary quarters, someone was watching over her at every moment.
Under these circumstances, a face-to-face meeting with Huang'er was all but impossible.
But Jiang Chen knew that his shout just now had surely reached her. As long as Huang'er knew he was here, the purpose of his trip had been achieved.