Chen An looked visibly uncomfortable. Hearing Chen Kuang's words, he froze for a moment, then took a deep breath, his expression dazed.
He looked again at his elder brother.
Truth be told, he had spent all of last night mentally preparing for this.
Before falling unconscious, Chen Kuang had already asked him to consider whether he was willing to take up the position of leader of the Canal Gang.
At that time, Chen An's first reaction was: absurd!
A gang as huge as the Canal Gang, filled with experts, how could someone like him be its leader?
Unless all of them were dead!
But then it hit him: the greatest expert in the Canal Gang, the gang leader Fan Hailong, was already dead, killed by none other than his own elder brother, right in front of everyone.
And Fan Hailong's severed head had been offered to the Dragon King as well.
What's more, he now knew that the only Grade A token of the Soil True Officials was in Chen Kuang's possession. In other words, technically speaking... Chen An was already working under his brother.
Chen An recalled how he'd asked Pei Xiu to look into Chen Kuang back then, and how Pei Xiu had dodged the question with vague responses and constant evasions, never offering any useful intel.
And yet, despite that, Pei Xiu had concluded "based on his own judgment" that Chen Kuang posed no threat to the Chen family.
Now, with Pei Xiu standing quietly behind Chen Kuang like background scenery, it all made sense.
Damn.
In short, Jishao Prefecture was now headless. The governor was dead, and the local powers were left without leadership.
If Chen Kuang spoke, who in the Canal Gang would dare disobey him?
The only obstacle left was in Chen An's own heart.
After all, he had been the one who had constantly suspected Chen Kuang of being an impostor.
Even though Chen Kuang seemed unconcerned about it, just thinking of it made Chen An want to slam his head into a wall. Shame and regret flooded his mind.
Years ago, Chen Kuang had been sold off while gambling with his life to save their whole family. When he returned home, he was treated like a liar, only their mother had truly believed in him.
In the end, the Chen family's prosperity had almost turned to nothing... and it had been saved again by him.
Chen An had it better than Chen Rong, who hadn't spoken a word since last night. Today, he didn't even sit in the main seat, instead sitting to the side with Gantang.
The main seat was clearly left for someone else.
Unfortunately, Chen Kuang didn't seem to care much. He walked in, all business, not even bothering with taking a seat.
That said, Chen An had also considered something far more practical last night:
He was only at the Qi Opening Realm, with just two meridian nodes open, the so-called "eight-vessel" stage.
Even if Chen Kuang forced the Canal Gang to obey him temporarily, what about a month later? Or a year?
What would happen then?
And besides, he was only seventeen.
Though he had been a sub-branch leader for two years, managing the entire Canal Gang still felt daunting.
Or rather, precisely because he'd seen how vast the Canal Gang was, he understood how inadequate he still was.
Then again... his elder brother was only nineteen. Two years older than him. Still not yet of age by traditional standards.
He had faced a Moon-Embracing Realm expert head-on, stormed the governor's mansion in a stormy night, and walked out carrying three severed heads. None of the Canal Gang's supposed big shots had dared to speak up.
That kind of heroism, that was the kind of man Chen An aspired to become.
And so, in that moment, Chen An figured it out.
If Chen Kuang was still willing to entrust the Canal Gang to him, it meant he had not yet given up on the Chen family.
He still trusted them, still trusted him, Chen An.
If he couldn't even carry out this task... how would he ever repay this trust? How would he ever repay the two times Chen Kuang had saved his life?
Chen An stepped forward, met Chen Kuang's gaze, and gave a deep bow:
"I swear I will not fail in my duty."
Chen Kuang smiled slightly. "I hope that when I return, you'll already be someone who can shoulder things alone."
He had understood Chen An's doubts from the beginning. Originally, he'd only meant to rest here briefly, a lingering attachment of his past self had held him back from explaining everything.
What finally dispelled that old emotional knot was when, inside the illusion realm, Chen An had risked his life to try and help him escape when pursued by Di Wu.
Chen An had no cheats. A normal Qi Opening Realm trying to save someone from a half-step grandmaster? That was as good as suicide.
But in that moment, Chen Kuang's heart was moved.
He had been through the Great Void Illusion Realm many times, he knew how real its simulations could be.
He was sure the real Chen An would have made the same choice.
Maybe his effort had been useless. But for Chen Kuang, it had untied the knot in his heart.
Chen An said nothing more. He just nodded, hard.
Gantang came up, gently took Chen Kuang's hand, and asked with reluctance:
"You're leaving again, Kuang'er?"
Since he had returned, she hadn't stopped crying. Every day, her eyes were red with worry, terrified that her son would leave again.
And yet now that it was finally happening, she seemed much calmer.
Chen Kuang nodded. "There's still something I must do. Don't worry, I'll return. When I do, I'll play a song for you, something beautiful."
She pulled something from her sleeve. "I made this while you were resting, take a look."
Chen Kuang took it, it was a cloth doll.
It was modeled after him, in chibi style.
Not dressed in white robes anymore, but as a pampered young master, adorned in jewelry and jade, hair tied with a coronet, holding a Zither, and still blindfolded.
Gan Tang clearly hoped he would settle down here, live a pampered life.
Chen Kuang smiled. "It's lovely. Thank you, Mother."
He didn't store it in his storage bag, but placed it close to his chest.
Gantang watched his face carefully. Seeing no flicker of hesitation, she knew she couldn't keep him here.
She pulled her hand back, lips pursed. "Just promise me... whatever happens, put your safety first."
Chen Kuang nodded.
Then, Chen Ning came forward.
"Thank you for saving me last time, Elder Brother."
Chen Kuang had a good impression of this little sister. Other than their mother, she had been the first to believe in him.
She said, "I don't have much to give, but I copied a poem for you."
She handed him a scroll, elegantly mounted.
He unrolled it and read aloud:
"Life is always like this, what could stop one from smiling wide?"
He blinked.
He'd expected something along the lines of "May your name be known across the land," or "Victory in every battle."
Instead, she gave him this short verse.
Chen Ning explained, "I haven't known you long, but... I noticed something. You smile a lot, but rarely does it feel like a happy smile."
"More often... you don't smile at all."
Chen Kuang chuckled, "You're saying my smiles are fake?"
Chen Ning blinked. "Not fake. Just... they don't seem to come from the heart. I hope in the future, Elder Brother can smile more. Truly smile, I mean."
The first time she had heard him play the Zither, she had felt a trace of loneliness, like a man standing alone beyond the mortal world.
Each interaction since then had only deepened that impression.
Especially this time, he'd just survived an impossible battle, a normal man would be elated. Proud even.
But when he returned, it was like nothing had happened.
No joy, in fact, there was no emotion at all.
Chen Ning had noticed, and chosen this poem to express her hope and blessing.
She was truly a thoughtful sister.
Chen Kuang was aware of it too. In his past life, he had lived solely for revenge, having a normal emotional life was nearly impossible.
But recently, he had finally found something that made him genuinely happy.
That was.. facing death.
It had brought him an epiphany that let him slay the Firebrand Sect's master.
Though that was a bit too intense to share with a sixteen-year-old mortal girl.
He nodded solemnly:
"If that's your wish, then I'll make sure to smile more, and try to find more things that make me happy."
"Mm!" Chen Ning beamed. The usually bookish girl was now showing a rare bit of youthful energy.
...
After saying his goodbyes, Chen Kuang gestured to Pei Xiu and Chen An, asking to speak privately.
In a side room,
Chen Kuang turned to Chen An as if remembering something:
"Right, about that Xiao Hong..."
Chen An instantly panicked.
"What Xiao Hong?! I-I barely know her!"
Chen Kuang stared silently at his dumb little brother, who had just confessed without any prompting.
"Did you forget who asked you to investigate her?"
Chen An turned to look at Pei Xiu, who was watching with a wry smile.
He realized the order had come from Pei Xiu... which meant it had really come from Chen Kuang.
He coughed. "So... the report said she had no issues. Just that she's a black-registered person. As long as she gets registered, there's no problem, right?"
Now that the governorship was under Chen Kuang's control, giving someone legal status was easy.
But Chen Kuang said, "Her background is clean. The problem lies in what she is."
"I need to explain this, or else you might misunderstand later."
He then explained the true identities of Old Apehead and Xiao Hong, from beginning to end.
Chen An stared, wide-eyed. "An illusion?! She's just an illusion..."
Chen Kuang shook his head. "Not an ordinary one. She used a Langhuan fragment to become a real, flesh-and-blood person."
Both Xiao Hong and Tie Baiyuan had been made real through the power of the Wujian Between.
But Chen Kuang chose not to reveal this part. The illusion realm had already reshaped the timeline. Revealing too much might destabilize Xiao Hong or cause some other ripple effects.
He'd seen the bloody aftermath of the last illusion collapse. No need for a repeat of that.
"Old Apehead and Xiao Hong have lived at the Eastern Court Lake for over ten years. They are, for all intents and purposes, real people. You don't need to worry. I just didn't want you to one day overhear something strange and misunderstand."
Chen An nodded, dazed, but seemed to understand.
At least, Chen Kuang hoped so.
But then, a thought popped into his mind.
If Xiao Hong was once an illusion... can she have kids?
Not that he was being lewd but he did have the Wind Leans on the Tree passive..
More descendants = more benefits.
If Chen An married her and she couldn't have children... wouldn't that be a loss?
But... he couldn't exactly ask that out loud.
He sighed. Let nature take its course.
If she couldn't, well... there was still Chen Ning.
Chen An, seeing his brother deep in thought, grew nervous again. He decided he'd have to ask Xiao Hong about this himself later.
...
After giving final instructions, Chen Kuang prepared to leave.
As he stepped through the doorway, something tugged at his heart, so he turned back.
And saw...
His father, Chen Rong, kneeling.
Gantang, Chen Ning, and Chen An all rushed to help him up, stunned.
Chen Kuang froze but then smiled.
He extended a hand, Spiritual Energy flowed out, gently lifting Chen Rong to his feet.
Chen Rong stood there, stunned. His arms were untouched, yet an undeniable force had raised him.
He whispered:
"I... wronged you..."
Chen Kuang turned around and waved:
"You didn't wrong me."
"You did everything you could back then. If it had been me, I wouldn't have found a better way either."
"You gave the best answer a mortal could give. No need for guilt."
His voice faded into the distance.
Chen Rong raised his head, but Chen Kuang was already gone.
...
Chen Kuang arrived at the riverside dock once more, followed by his previous company as well as Shen Meinan.
And this time, it was his senior brother Wen Si, standing on the small boat in the water.
Chen Kuang stepped forward and bowed:
"Senior Brother, I ask you to take me on my next journey."