The two walked outside and headed toward the back mountain. Halfway up the slope, Zhou Yan gazed out over the cluster of cave dwellings and sighed softly. "Senior Brother Zhen, His Majesty truly thinks highly of you. This cave dwelling of yours — it's the one His Majesty himself used in his youth. Since then, no one has ever lived here. Even Senior Brother Fan back in the day never had the honor of residing in this place."
"Oh?" Jiang Chen knew nothing of this — not even Emperor Yunzhong had mentioned it to him.
"Heh. His Majesty thinks even more highly of you than he once did of Senior Brother Fan. A lot of people figure I, Zhou Yan, was simply unlucky — that if I hadn't placed myself under the Peacock Great Emperor, I might have become the first-in-line heir. So plenty of people have been stirring up jealousy in me, both openly and behind my back..."
At this, Zhou Yan gave a candid smile, glanced at Jiang Chen, and continued: "To be honest — just like I said on the stage — I do feel a little wronged at times, but more than anything, I feel fortunate. Because no one else has what I have: a powerful genius always standing before me, waiting to be challenged; a towering mountain, always waiting for me to climb. Wouldn't you agree?"
It had to be said — Zhou Yan's mindset and way of thinking were truly quite different from the norm.
Jiang Chen looked at Zhou Yan and smiled without a word.
Zhou Yan sighed softly. "His Majesty's vision and magnanimity are never wrong. So I came here to tell you — don't worry about me playing dirty behind your back. I'm a disciple of Peacock Sacred Mountain first, and your rival second. Even if I challenge you, even if I want to defeat you, I'll do it in the most open and aboveboard way. I will absolutely never resort to underhanded tricks. And you don't need to worry about me holding you back either."
"I'm perfectly at ease," Jiang Chen said with a leisurely smile. "If His Majesty chose someone, I naturally have nothing to worry about."
Zhou Yan had never expected the other party to be so easygoing.
Jiang Chen patted Zhou Yan on the shoulder. "As long as we're both working for Peacock Sacred Mountain, titles are nothing but passing clouds. If I told you I didn't care about the position of young master, you'd probably think I was being hypocritical. But the truth is — whether you're the young master or I am, I genuinely don't mind. His Majesty simply feels I'm better suited for this stage. As for what the future holds... who can say?"
Zhou Yan was dumbfounded. He'd thought his own words were pretty straightforward — he never expected this guy to be even more blunt. Such words were practically heretical.
If anyone else had said that, Zhou Yan would have assumed they were putting on an act. But looking into Jiang Chen's clear, guileless eyes, Zhou Yan instinctively believed him.
"Oh, by the way — Peacock Sacred Mountain seems quite lively today. What's going on?" Jiang Chen asked curiously.
"What else could it be?" Zhou Yan said with a bitter smile. "A bunch of idle opportunists trying to curry favor. Miss Dan'er doesn't think any of them are worth a second glance."
"Their? I heard it was just Miao Suo?" Jiang Chen said, taken aback.
"At first it was just Miao Suo, but then several more families showed up — and two Great Emperors even came, both proposing marriages on behalf of their talented young subordinates." Zhou Yan sighed. "If it had only been the Lingzhi Great Clan, His Majesty would have sent them packing long ago. But with two Great Emperors involved, he has no choice but to take it seriously."
"Which two Great Emperors?" Jiang Chen had never imagined that a marriage proposal could cause such a commotion that even Great Emperors would get involved.
"One is the Canghai Great Emperor, the other is the Nirvana Great Emperor." Zhou Yan sighed. "These two seem to have gotten genuinely heated with each other. His Majesty can't take sides either — he's stuck there playing peacemaker."
Jiang Chen was truly at a loss for words. A marriage proposal was supposed to be about mutual interest — if Miss Dan'er herself wasn't interested, what was the point of all this fuss?
"Senior Brother Zhen, have you ever met Miss Dan'er?" Zhou Yan asked curiously.
Jiang Chen shook his head. "I haven't. Have you?"
Zhou Yan nodded. "I caught a brief glimpse once. I have to admit — Miss Dan'er is stunningly graceful, like a celestial beauty from a secluded valley. Her bearing is truly extraordinary."
Jiang Chen was speechless. Could it be that Zhou Yan was also interested in Miss Dan'er?
Zhou Yan caught the odd look in Jiang Chen's eyes and hurried to explain. "Senior Brother Zhen, don't misunderstand. I, Zhou Yan, pursue only the supreme way of the sword in this life — I absolutely have no such intentions. I simply felt that since Miss Dan'er's standards are so high, perhaps only someone of your caliber might catch her eye."
Jiang Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Was Zhou Yan now playing matchmaker?
He hadn't even met Miss Dan'er face to face — how could he possibly be thinking about such things?
As the two were talking, a beam of light suddenly shot down from the clouds — a voice-transmission talisman that landed in Jiang Chen's hand. He opened it and laughed. "His Majesty summons me. Brother Zhou, care to accompany me?"
Zhou Yan initially wanted to decline, but after a moment's thought, he nodded. "Very well."
The two left the cave dwelling and shot through the air toward the Peacock Great Emperor's palace.
The Peacock Great Emperor was clearly in a foul mood. The four great emperors sat beside him, their expressions equally grave and conflicted.
Emperor Duomei in particular slammed the table and roared, "What nonsense is this? Our precious young lady of Peacock Sacred Mountain — since when is she something for the likes of them to covet? The sheer audacity — utterly despicable!"
Emperor Yunzhong smiled bitterly. "Friend Duomei, there's no need to be angry. Hasn't His Majesty already sent them away? Perhaps this outcome is the best we can hope for, for the time being."
Duomei fumed. "Bullshit! You call this the best outcome? If it weren't for those shameless bastards, would Dan'er have voluntarily announced a three-year death seclusion?"
Just then, Jiang Chen and Zhou Yan walked in.