Jiang Chen blended into the crowd, pushing outward with the others. But as he walked, he deliberately separated from the mass and drifted to the back.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen spotted two figures standing at the city gates — one man and one woman. The sight of them made him freeze in shock.
The woman was short in stature, and Jiang Chen didn't recognize her face. Yet he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
When his spiritual sense swept across the man, his heart lurched: "How can it be them?"
Jiang Chen never imagined he would run into them here of all places!
No wonder the woman seemed so familiar — it was
Ling Hui'er had applied some light disguise, but her distinguishing features were quite prominent, and Jiang Chen recognized her easily enough.
As for Ling Su, though his appearance had been slightly tidied up, his overall bearing hadn't changed much. Jiang Chen identified him at a single glance.
He had always assumed that this father and daughter had perished when Danhang Palace fell — or, if they survived, had been taken captive and sold off to the Glazed King City by now.
So what were they doing here?
For a moment, Jiang Chen suspected this might be some trick orchestrated by the Endless Sky Capital. But upon closer inspection, the bearing of Ling Su and Ling Hui'er was clearly genuine — nothing fabricated about it.
Without hesitation, he transmitted his voice: "Junior Sister Hui'er, is that you? If it is, head to the eastern part of the city. Don't make a scene, and don't let anything unusual show on your face. I'll be watching over you."
Ling Hui'er was standing at the city gates, clearly keeping a close eye on the loose cultivators heading out. When Jiang Chen's voice suddenly reached her, her heart surged with elation. But hearing his instructions, she immediately composed herself. Leading her father, Ling Su, she headed swiftly toward the eastern district.
About a quarter of an hour later, the pair stopped in a corner of the eastern quarter. By now, more than a hundred thousand people had gathered in that area alone.
Jiang Chen and Huang'er took the opportunity to approach. At this point, nobody was paying attention to them, and the four of them came together without raising the slightest suspicion.
"Senior Brother, is that really you?" Ling Hui'er's eyes brimmed with desperate hope, like a lost girl who had suddenly found family — her excitement barely contained.
"Junior Sister Hui'er, how did you end up here? Did you escape when Danhang Palace fell?" Jiang Chen asked, equally curious.
Ling Hui'er's gaze darkened, and tears welled up: "When Danhang Palace was destroyed, I happened to be out gathering herbs with my father. While we were away, we heard the news that the Red Cauldron Central Domain had invaded. I wanted to go back, but Father wouldn't let me. *Hhh…* Senior Brother, I miss my sister so much…"
Ling Su, standing nearby, had already realized the person before him was Jiang Chen — their savior.
"Young Master Jiang, I never properly thanked you for saving our lives. When the disaster struck Danhang Palace, I made the decision not to let Hui'er return. Please don't blame her — it was my doing…"
Jiang Chen shook his head: "Uncle Ling, you did the right thing. Going back would have changed nothing. Preserving the family line is more meaningful than throwing your lives away. My only question is whether the Endless Sky Capital truly captured Palace Master
"Most likely a fabrication. I heard about it too, which is why I came to Taie City early. Since I'm not technically a member of Danhang Palace, they have no reason to suspect me. I've been watching from the shadows, and this looks like a trap the Endless Sky Capital set specifically for you. Put bluntly, it's an open gambit — it all depends on whether you take the bait."
Ling Su was sharp and concise as he laid out his analysis.
Jiang Chen nodded: "I also suspect it's a lure. By the way — the person who shouted just now, that was you, wasn't it?"
Ling Su chuckled: "When I saw them rounding up large numbers of loose cultivators, I worried you might be mixed in among them. If they'd hauled you away, the consequences would have been terrible. So I improvised and put out that false rumor to muddy the waters and give you a chance to slip free. I was just taking a gamble on a hunch — I never actually expected you to really be in that crowd."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen felt a quiet admiration for Ling Su's quick thinking and resourcefulness. Though Ling Su wasn't a member of Danhang Palace and was merely a loose cultivator, his experience in the wider world was nothing short of impressive.
"Oh — Young Master Jiang, you also attended the Myriad Phenomena Assembly. Have you any news of how my daughter Bi'er is faring?" Ling Su asked, worry evident for his other daughter.
"Senior Sister Bi'er and I were separated, but she had already broken free at the time. As for where she is now, I have no way of knowing." Jiang Chen's thoughts turned to the fall of Danhang Palace and how everyone had been scattered — a ache settled in his heart.
Upon hearing that Ling Bi'er had escaped and hadn't been captured, much of the worry in Ling Su's chest eased.
"Bi'er is a girl blessed with good fortune. I believe she'll be fine," Ling Su said, more to comfort himself than anyone else.
Jiang Chen nodded, then asked: "Uncle Ling, your injuries had only just healed — why did you decide to go out gathering herbs so soon?"
Ling Su looked slightly embarrassed: "Well, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me. Years ago, my own greed led me into the depths of the Mist Spirit Miasma. This time, you developed an antidote for it, so I wanted to revisit the old site and see if that opportunity from back then was still there."
In the world of martial cultivation, a single opportunity could change the course of one's entire life.
Risking danger in pursuit of such opportunities was nothing unusual. Jiang Chen wasn't about to judge him for it.
"So how did it go?" Jiang Chen asked with curiosity.