Chapter 787: Mutual Love, Huang’er’s Background
The news of young master Ji San and House Wei’s guest pill king, Pill King Zhen, becoming sworn brothers spread through Veluriyam Capital like wildfire. However, one of the two involved, Jiang Chen, was mysterious beyond belief. He seemed to have vanished from Taiyuan Tower. In reality, Jiang Chen was cultivating in seclusion inside House Wei’s secret base.
Ten days of seclusion later, Jiang Chen successfully broke through the shackles of third level sage realm and ascended to fourth level sage realm. He had finally become an authentic earth sage realm cultivator. Although the ascension from mortal sage realm to earth sage realm looked like a minor step on the surface, Jiang Chen could feel that his strength had undergone a major growth. But despite feeling the vigor of an ascension coursing through his veins, Jiang Chen wasn’t entirely satisfied with this outcome, “It’s still not enough. I may be able to fight against a peak level sage realm cultivator, and I may even have a real chance to win against one, but an emperor realm cultivator would still be beyond my personal ability.”
Jiang Chen had keenly felt the lack of his martial strength ever since entering Veluriyam Capital. Even a random bystander at Veluriyam Capital would be considered extraordinary if they were dropped into the Myriad Domain.
“Sir Jiang, you shouldn’t push yourself too much in the cultivation of martial dao. Please remember that you’ve only started cultivating for several years, and that your attainments today is something most people would never achieve in a lifetime. With your talents, your name would spread throughout the world in just ten to twenty years time. There is no need for worry.” Huang’er immediately rea.s.sured him with advice when she saw him frowning.
Huang’er’s voice was to Jiang Chen’s ears as the melodious sound of ‘Ethereal Soothing Melody’ was to others. She could always calm him down no matter how restless he was feeling. As of late, the duo had noticed that they shared a vague but deeply in tune rapport with each other when it came to any movement, word and glance. They just hadn’t said anything about it. It was an incredibly subtle and indiscernible feeling, but it was enough to bathe them in happiness.
“Thank you, Huang’er,” Jiang Chen felt his mood improve as he gazed at Huang’er’s exquisite countenance.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Huang’er smiled faintly, “You haven’t stopped saying that ever since we met. Or are you trying to tell me that I should thank you everyday for saving my life?” Huang’er’s smile seemed capable of enchanting everything that existed in this world. For a brief moment, Jiang Chen was completely infatuated by her smile.
Suddenly, the impulse to hug Huang’er struck him. It wasn’t a physiological reaction, but an eruption of emotion that came from the bottom of his heart. Jiang Chen took a step forwards and grasped Huang’er’s soft and delicate hand.
Huang’er smiled faintly, but didn’t respond to Jiang Chen’s gesture with shyness or embarra.s.sment. Instead, she murmured softly, “Did you know that I’ve been waiting for this for half a year now, Sir Jiang?”
Jiang Chen’s entire body trembled when he heard this. “Huang’er, you…”
Huang’er smiled joyfully and rested her unparalleled face lightly against Jiang Chen’s broad chest. She listened to Jiang Chen’s heartbeat as she breathed in his scent. The world might be large, but at this moment, she feared nothing. Even if she was plagued by a deadly illness, even if her past was dreary and painful, nothing could ruin this moment for her. “You saved my mortal body back then, but I was unmoved. Now that you’ve saved my despairing soul, how can I ever live apart from you, Sir Jiang?”
Huang’er voice was as soft as the mellow cries of a skylark. Gentle but not overly intimate, her confession of love was unlike that of an ordinary girl. It was a confession that belonged to Huang’er alone.
Infinite love abruptly overflowed from the depths of Jiang Chen’s heart. The girl before him had always stayed by his side despite having to brave through a thousand obstacles and hards.h.i.+ps on a journey of untold length. He hadn’t feel too many stirrings back when they were still journeying across the land, and had only now noticed how difficult it had been for the two of them to be here together. This journey had also unnoticeably decreased the distance between the two of them time and again. Now that the last curtain that hid the truth was finally unveiled, they discovered with matching hearts that they could no longer bear to be apart from each other.
For a long moment, infinite happiness wrapped around Jiang Chen. There were no worries in the whole wide world that could deter this one moment of soft and tender love. True love was ever so beautiful that even a solitary encounter was testament to how precious it was.
“I am a fool, Huang’er. My sect’s troubles have blinded me, and you suffered because of it.” The tendrils of regret slipped into Jiang Chen’s heart.
Huang’er smiled softly, “Do you take me for one of those delicate little flowers? I’ve wandered across the lands with Elder Shun since I was eleven years old and spent several years in the Eastern Kingdom. Elder Shun wouldn’t stop saying that there is a sliver of destiny lying somewhere amongst the Eastern Kingdom that would cure my sickness, but little did I know that his words would actually come true. I’ve wondered often since if the heavens had also gifted me a fated marriage? Teehee... I’ll be spending a lifetime with you, Jiang Chen, and you’re not allowed to turn me away, okay?”
There was nothing Jiang Chen loved more in Huang’er than her temperament. Magnamious, perceptive, sometimes with a touch of the haughtiness of a girl, but never losing the elegance of a n.o.ble lady. Every one of Huang’er’s qualities were the qualities he appreciated the most in both lives.
“Who in the world could possibly turn you away, Huang’er?” Jiang Chen sighed.
“I don’t care if others turn me away.” Huang’er smiled before she suddenly straightened her expression. “I suppose I cannot call you ‘Sir Jiang’ from now on, so what exactly should I call you? If I remember correctly, you are a few months older than I am. Then I shall call you Brother Chen [1] just like the womenfolk would call their partner.”
Jiang Chen nodded. He was currently wrapped in happiness, and he enjoyed this emotion very much. Honorifics were entirely secondary to him right then.
“Brother Chen, I’ve never told you about my past, have I? It’s not because I wanted to hide it from you, but because I was afraid it would involve you in danger. However, I feel that it’s no longer something that I should keep from you.” Huang’er’s tone grew a little heavy. The slight wrinkle of her eyebrows was a clear indication of her hesitation and worry.
Jiang Chen said, “Huang’er, you can tell me later if you find it uncomfortable to talk about.”
“I want to tell you,” Huang’er’s tone was unexpectedly firm. Rather than taking the easy way Jiang Chen had offered her, she soldiered on. “One day, I might be forced from your side, and if I disappear, you won’t even know where to find me if I don’t tell you now.”
Jiang Chen was shocked, “What do you mean?”
Huang’er put her finger on Jiang Chen’s lips, “Listen to Huang’er first, Brother Chen?”
His heart immediately turned gentle at the touch of her hand, and so Jiang Chen acceded to her request.
“Brother Chen, I am born in a place called the Myriad Abyss Island; specifically, the Eternal Divine Kingdom of the Myriad Abyss Island. You must remember this name. If one day I’ve suddenly vanished from your side, then this is the place you must go to find me.”
“The Myriad Abyss Island, and the Eternal Divine Kingdom?” Jiang Chen muttered, “What is this place? Is it part of the Upper Eight Regions? Or is it somewhere else?”
“It is neither part of the Upper Eight Regions, nor a part of any human or foreign races’ domain. The Eternal Divine Kingdom is the true heart of the Divine Abyss Continent, and there aren’t many in the entire Upper Eight Regions that know of this place. This is because most people aren’t qualified to enter the Myriad Abyss Island even within the Upper Eight Regions!”
“Is it a place that’s beyond this plane?” Jiang Chen was surprised. Huang’er’s explanations had given him some inspiration. He couldn’t help but recall his Celestial Emperor father from his past life.
“”No, it is still on the Divine Abyss Continent, but there are very few people who are aware just how large the Divine Abyss Continent truly is. The Upper Eight Regions and the middle and lower regions combined may not even amount to a thousandth of the landma.s.s that is the Divine Abyss Continent.”
“What?!” Jiang Chen was completely stunned.
“This domain of the Upper Eight Regions, treated as the heart of the land, is but the territory of mankind. Humans are used to calling all other territories that are not theirs as the desolate wilderness, but in reality there were at least tens to hundreds of domains out there that are just as big as the humans’ domain. There are hundreds of small and large races that live in those domains, and some of them are even stronger than humans!”
“I guess I really am a frog at the bottom of a well,” Jiang Chen mocked himself. It had been many years since he’d arrived in this world. But he had never known much about Divine Abyss Continent to begin with. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to learn more about Divine Abyss Continent, but that information about it was a little scarce. His ability to look deep into this continent was extremely limited, and he wasn’t able to learn more even with the unparalleled knowledge he possessed from his past life.
Now that he was being enlightened by Huang’er, Jiang Chen finally realized just how small the place he was living in truly was. What Eastern Kingdom? They were practically as small as a single leaf floating atop a vast sea. Even the Myriad Domain was but an insignificant, tiny place. Even the so-called heart of the land, the Upper Eight Regions was but only a piece of land that belonged to humans. According to Huang’er, there were at least hundreds of such lands belonging to countless foreign races across the Divine Abyss Continent.
“Brother Chen, you are absolutely not a frog at the bottom of a well considering your level of knowledge and bearing. I’m guessing that the stranger who taught you is no ordinary person, but he simply didn’t have the time to teach you everything…”
Jiang Chen blushed with shame. For the longest time, he had been using this excuse to cover up his ident.i.ty from his past life. He had used the same excuse back when he faced Elder Shun too. Now, he found it a little difficult to continue that lie. That being said, now that he and Huang’er had fallen in love with each other, he could no longer lie to her with the same excuse. “Huang’er, actually, that stranger thing is just an excuse that I use. He doesn’t actually exist.”
“Ah?” Huang’er let out a soft exclamation, “Then…”
Seeing the puzzlement in Huang’er’s eyes, Jiang Chen smiled wryly, “I said that because the truth is too unbelievable. After I was beaten severely by the monarch of the Eastern Kingdom, my soul had experienced a sudden awakening as it drifted along in a foggy haze. Many strange memories that far exceeded the level of Divine Abyss Continent suddenly popped up inside my head.”
Although Jiang Chen still couldn’t tell her about his past life, his tactful explanation wasn’t really a lie either. After all, from the standpoint of those minor overlords of the Eastern Kingdom, that was what had exactly happened.
A long while later, Huang’er finally revealed an intelligent smile, “To think that such a strange thing could happen in this world! You can say that something good indeed came out of your misfortune, Brother Chen. Perhaps in the past you were an expert from a higher plane that exceeded the level of Divine Abyss Continent. Perhaps you have awakened your past memories thanks to the power of reincarnation.”
A woman’s intuition was quite ridiculously accurate. Huang’er’s careless a.n.a.lysis had struck the bullseye. That was exactly what had happened, wasn’t it? Jiang Chen nodded, “That is my guess as well. It’s just that this experience is so unbelievable that I’ve been using a mysterious teacher as my excuse all this time.”
Huang’er could understand his feelings very well, and she replied in an understanding tone. “As you should, or you would’ve been hounded by countless evil people who would wish to rob you of your memories.” Huang’er’s eyes were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with happiness as she said this. She could feel Jiang Chen’s trust in her when he shared his secret with her. It made her feel both proud and happy at the same time.