Who said the person they were searching for wasn't him?
Jiang You had known from the very first moment he heard about the missing-person notices that the person they sought was him. The ones looking for him listed his mother Xu Meng, his sister Qing Xuan, a baffling elder brother named Jiang Chen, and his father Jiang Feng.
Jiang You felt somewhat dazed. Growing up, he had only ever known he had a mother — a pitiful woman, perpetually cold-shouldered by the Moon God Sect. He also had a sensible sister, born the same year as him, yet the treatment she received was entirely different from what he and their mother endured. The Moon God Sect had doted on her, handling her as though she might shatter if dropped or melt if held too long.
Beyond that, he had never known he had a father, let alone an elder brother.
The middle-aged scholar seemed to do it on purpose, keeping him in the Slanting Moon Upper Region for three months, taking him wandering through different places every single day. No matter where they went, similar missing-person notices were posted. The descriptions of Jiang You's childhood features were remarkably detailed and matched his appearance as a child perfectly.
From time to time the middle-aged scholar would ask a shopkeeper: "How long have these missing-person notices been up?"
"Oh, these notices have been around ever since Saintess Qing Xuan was reunited with her brother. Before that, they were searching quietly. But after the Demon Race was destroyed, practically the entire Slanting Moon Upper Region has been looking for this child. Still, a hundred or two hundred years have passed — finding a child who went missing that long ago is easier said than done."
The middle-aged scholar chuckled: "Indeed. And even if they found him, the child might hold a grudge and refuse to acknowledge them, right?"
"Ha, I don't think it would come to that." The shopkeeper shook his head. "Setting aside how exalted Young Master Jiang Chen's status is, he was already searching for his lost younger brother long before he rose to fame. As you know, with Young Master Jiang Chen's current standing, his family is arguably the foremost clan on the Divine Abyss Continent. If there's one regret they still have, it's probably this child who was separated from them in early childhood."
"Mm, flesh and blood torn apart — truly tragic." The middle-aged scholar seemed genuinely moved.
"If you have any leads, sir, you could go to the Ancient Glazed Palace and seek out Young Master Jiang Chen personally. I've heard he's promised a tremendous reward to anyone who provides useful information."
The middle-aged scholar smiled: "That does sound quite tempting."
"Quite tempting? It's more than tempting — it's absolutely irresistible. You wouldn't believe how many homeless rogue cultivators have dreamed of being the person Young Master Jiang Chen is looking for. Too bad none of them are him, ha ha ha." At this, the shopkeeper laughed as well.
"What's so great about latching onto a dragon for support?" Jiang You, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke in an icy tone.
"Heh heh, young man, now that's the wrong way to put it. This isn't about clinging to someone powerful — it's about a family reuniting. He was always supposed to be part of the family. He was lost as a child, but that was out of necessity. It's not as though the family abandoned him willingly. How could you call that latching on?"
The shopkeeper did not agree with Jiang You's view.
The middle-aged scholar chuckled, tossed down money for the drinks, and strolled leisurely out the door.
Again and again, day after day, much the same scene played out.
Even Jiang You was starting to lose his patience: "How long exactly do you intend to keep dragging me around? Didn't you say we were going to the Glazed Palace?"
"Hmm? I thought you didn't really want to go, so I figured I'd let you wander a while longer. You mean you've already made up your mind?" The middle-aged scholar feigned surprise.
Jiang You knew the man was doing this deliberately, but he didn't call him out on it. Over the past hundred-odd years, he had been occupied with a single task — moving mountains — and had become somewhat disconnected from the world. But after a full year of traveling, combined with those wandering days of his early childhood, he had gradually reintegrated into this world. Many things, many thoughts he once could not work through, he had come to understand.
"The Moon God Sect isn't far from here. If you feel you haven't gotten your fill of spectacle, you could always storm in and drag out the people who drove you down the mountain back then and give them a sound beating," the middle-aged scholar said with a grin.
For some reason, Jiang You suddenly found that he had absolutely no interest in doing that anymore.
The experiences of his childhood had always been etched deep into his bones, that hatred had long been buried in his heart — yet now, as though without warning, all of those emotions seemed to simply collapse.