Yan Qingsang's fury came quickly, and it dissipated just as fast.
In truth, he had simply been too caught up in his temper to think straight. Once he calmed down and analyzed the situation carefully, he realized that if he put himself in Jiang Chen's shoes, everything made perfect sense.
A sworn bond of love, a pledge through life and death—how could such a relationship be severed on a whim? No man of any backbone could stand by and watch the woman he loved be claimed by another man, reduced to nothing more than a cultivation furnace.
It was the cruelest fate imaginable.
Not only would her body be taken, but her life would be forfeit as well.
Truth be told, when Yan Qingsang considered it from a man's perspective, this was something absolutely impossible to accept.
And so, once his anger had subsided and he thought it through, he actually came to understand Jiang Chen. At first, he had vehemently opposed Jiang Chen getting close to Huang'er.
That was because he had treated Jiang Chen as a brother and didn't want him walking to his death. He didn't want any more upheaval in the family.
Now, knowing the truth, the sympathy buried deep within his heart came flooding to the surface. Huang'er was his cousin, and he had always resented this cruel arrangement of fate. But he, Yan Qingsang, had lacked the power to change it.
Now, Huang'er's partner from the human domain had come all this way, expending tremendous effort and perseverance to reach this point. The hardships he must have endured along the way were beyond imagination.
Under these circumstances, Yan Qingsang felt he could no longer so cruelly suppress the man.
If he kept putting up resistance, it would be an affront to both heaven and humanity.
The two of them were brothers—they had fought and they had argued. Now they sat side by side at the edge of the courtyard, neither saying a word.
Clearly, anything said at this moment would ring hollow.
After a long silence, Yan Qingsang was the first to break, unable to hold back any longer. "So… what should I call you now?"
"Shao Yuan is fine," Jiang Chen replied evenly. "My true identity—I won't reveal it until I'm absolutely certain. It's not that I'm afraid of trouble. I just don't want to drag Huang'er into the vortex. And even less do I want someone targeting the human domain and taking their anger out on it."
Yan Qingsang snorted coldly. "So you do worry about Huang'er being affected? If it weren't for you, Huang'er wouldn't have been watched so closely when she returned."
"If it weren't for me, your Yan family wouldn't even have a living Huang'er to use as a bargaining chip for the Xiahou family's favor," Jiang Chen retorted, his tone icy.
It was nothing but the truth.
When Jiang Chen had first encountered Huang'er, the Hundred-Lives Heartbind Curse had already progressed to a critical stage. Without timely intervention, she wouldn't have survived much longer.
Yan Qingsang let out a bitter laugh. "Now I understand why Huang'er is so devoted to you. You're not only capable—you're brave, resourceful, and above all, patient. Given enough time to grow and a proper stage to stand on, you might genuinely have the potential to challenge Xiahou Zong one day."
"Challenge Xiahou Zong?" Jiang Chen scoffed repeatedly. "Yan Qingsang, one day you'll come to realize that Xiahou Zong is nothing more than a jumping clown in my eyes. He's just a minor episode in my life—he won't be able to stir up much of anything."
"You've got some nerve, haven't you? I suppose that's fair—you've only been at Myriad Abyss Island for how long? You probably still lack a proper understanding of just how powerful Xiahou Zong truly is."
The corner of Jiang Chen's lips curved slightly upward, but he offered no rebuttal.
"Brother Yan, I've already laid the groundwork. The Eternal Sacred Land—think it over. I haven't been at the Yan estate for long, but I can tell your grandfather truly has high expectations for you."
"I know," Yan Qingsang said, a note of melancholy creeping into his voice. "It's just that over the years, I've disappointed him far more often than I've made him proud. This time, thanks to meeting you, I finally managed to save some face in front of Grandfather. It let him vent some frustration in front of the rest of the family, too. When you get right down to it, my fortunes only began to turn around after I met you."
There was a touch of self-deprecation in his tone.
"No one's fate is dictated by another person. We can only say that you and I were destined to share this bond of brotherhood. Honestly, before I came to the Yan estate, I harbored deep resentment toward all of you. I couldn't fathom how a family could be so ruthless as to send their own granddaughter away."
"Don't blame my grandfather for this," Yan Qingsang said, his voice tinged with desolation. "The truth is, the family's momentum was too great to resist. The whole clan was a house divided, and everyone wanted to sacrifice Huang'er just to survive another day."
His voice carried a note of indignation.
"I could see all of that. The Yan estate is in complete disarray right now. The patriarch may have grand ambitions, but in terms of authority and prestige, he may not have enough. He can't keep all the Supreme Elders and clan elders in check. Under these circumstances, the divisions within the family keep growing. The more a family focuses its energy on internal strife, the faster its decline—and the closer it gets to complete collapse."
Jiang Chen's words held no punches.
He genuinely believed the Yan family's model was deeply flawed.
But no one within the Yan estate had the power to change it. It wasn't that they didn't want to—each person had their own competing interests and positions.
Who would willingly sacrifice themselves for the sake of others?
"What do you think should be done? Is there truly no hope left for the Yan family?" Yan Qingsang's voice was laced with profound disappointment, deep dejection.
"For any faction, any sect to prosper, it must produce a figure of extraordinary genius—a true leader capable of carrying the family through its darkest hour. Once such a person appears, the internal discord and infighting will all fall silent. Your Yan family's decline began the moment the Supreme Ancestor fell."