Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 276 Reunion

"We're almost at the Shanglinping County dock. Passengers who want to disembark, please pack your luggage and get ready. Those who need to go ashore for supplies and rest, please pay attention to the time. We will only be here for one hour..."

Two days passed in a flash, and at noon, under the warm early spring sun, the boatman's repeated reminders were heard.

The passenger ship's final destination is not the Shanglinping County Pier, but it will continue to sail downstream. Passengers disembark and board here. Most of the people coming and going are just passers-by in each other's lives.

Gao Jingming stood on the terrace early in the morning, looking towards Yang County, his desire to return home was already on the verge of an arrow being drawn on a string.

He stood there very conspicuously, nearly 1.8 meters tall, with a handsome face. Although he was already over the age of coming of age, he had his hair tied up with a silk scarf and a jade hairpin, and wore a blue-collared and white scholar's suit. He exuded a scholarly air from the inside out, and his gentle and elegant demeanor was best described as handsome and elegant.

This made many young girls and wives on the boat look at it secretly or blatantly, and they would blush and their hearts would beat fast if they looked at it for a few more seconds.

But he seemed not to feel people's gazes, he just looked in the direction of Yang County, his heart was no longer on himself.

Chen Xuan lazily lay on the window of the room, not trying to steal the limelight from Gao Jingming. He thought that even if this guy didn't pass the imperial examination to become an official, he could still live off others just by looking at his looks, and the kind that would be forced.

'Stop, he's going to take the imperial examination and become an official to do great things in the future, so you'd better think of him. Let me bear the burden of living off him. Anyway, I'm thick-skinned and don't care about worldly opinions.' Thinking in his heart, Chen Xuan secretly thought that he was really fearless.

As the passenger ship approached the dock, we could see from afar that there were already many people waiting at the dock. Some were passengers about to board the ship, while others were family members coming to welcome their loved ones.

There, Chen Xuan saw some familiar faces, first of which was the graceful and elegant Mrs. Gao, who was surrounded by a large group of people, looking longingly upstream.

Around her were a few maids that she was not very familiar with. Qinghe and Qingyu had already married.

In addition, Chen Xuan also saw Leng Bing, Jiang Kai, Niu Le, and He Guanjia...

Long before Chen Xuan and his companions were about to set out on their journey back from Mo City, they had already written to the Gao family, roughly confirming their return date, so it was not surprising that Mrs. Gao and the others were waiting at the dock.

Although timely communication is impossible in this era and the exact arrival time cannot be determined, my son has been away from home for seven years. How can I not miss him after not seeing him for seven whole years? I am afraid that Mrs. Gao and others have been here waiting for him for a long time, and perhaps they have been disappointed again and again.

She must have wanted to see her son whom she had not seen for seven years as soon as possible, so she would wait there before dawn and until late at night, day after day.

'Mrs. Gao actually came here in person. It seems that she has been waiting for quite some time. Seven years have passed and she is beginning to look old. It is the most difficult thing to keep a person in this world. The beauty leaves the mirror and the flowers leave the tree.' Seeing Mrs. Gao who was eagerly waiting over there, Chen Xuan couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Thinking back to when I first met Mrs. Gao thirteen years ago, she was so radiant. She must be almost fifty years old now.

In addition, Chen Xuan also discovered that the group surrounding Madam Gao was even larger, with about twenty guards alone, not counting maids and servants. The Gao family was becoming more and more prosperous, which might be related to Mr. Gao's successful career.

Now Mr. Gao is the governor of Hezhou, supervising all officials in the state and having enormous power. If he can take one more small step forward, he will be a governor at the level of a frontier official. Once he becomes a governor, he will control the military and political power of the state. It is no exaggeration to say that even the emperor has to flatter him!
Leng Bing hasn't changed much since seven years ago, and even looks younger and more beautiful. After all, after entering the innate realm, her physique has been further nourished and tempered, which is a change in her life level and her lifespan has also been greatly increased.

But she was colder than she was seven years ago. If she had been cool before, now she was icy cold that sent chills down her spine, like ten thousand year old ice, without a trace of life, as if to freeze everything.

Of course, when she doesn't deliberately emit this kind of aura, only people at the same level or even higher can feel it. Anyway, at this moment, she is standing behind Mrs. Gao with her eyebrows slightly lowered, like an ordinary person.

In Chen Xuan's perception, her Qi cultivation was probably comparable to Ling Yun of Yuhua Country back then, or perhaps even a little bit worse, but this did not represent strength. After all, the techniques she practiced were different, the nature of her Qi was different, and she also had experience in fighting against enemies on the spot, etc. These were the real factors that determined strength.

Just like back then, Chen Xuan was far inferior to Liu Zhenwei, but he still relied on Han Xing to defeat him in one move.

Butler He has also aged a lot. He, who Chen Xuan felt was unfathomable back then, is actually now probably at the same level of internal strength as Mr. Yushan, whom he last met seven years ago.

Niu Le and Jiang Kai, they haven't made much progress, they are just middle-aged.

Seven years have passed, and many things have changed. People have also changed, but it seems that nothing has changed...

Gao Jingming on the terrace could no longer remain calm when he saw the people on the dock, especially the haunting figure. His eyes turned red and his nose felt sore. He immediately jumped up impatiently and used his lightness skills to fly over there, which was more than a thousand feet away.

This scene caused many people on the passenger ship to exclaim in surprise, and they thought someone had jumped into the river because of his confusion.

For many years, Gao Jingming has focused his main energy on studying and has not spent too much time on martial arts. Perhaps it is because of good genes and good talent. With occasional practice, his current level of cultivation is almost catching up with Mr. Yushan in two years.

But with such skills, it is really difficult to cross a distance of thousands of feet on the water surface without any support.

He was eager to see his mother, so he let him go. It wasn't a big deal. Not to mention that Chen Xuan could help him even though he was thousands of feet away. And don't forget that beside Madam Gao stood Leng Bing, a Xiantian realm expert. There was no way she would just watch him fall into the water. After all, he had been in the Gao family for so many years, having lived there as a child. Regardless of the present or the future, Chen Xuan placed himself in the position of a junior. So, as the distance between them gradually closed, he also appropriately put away his laziness.

Walking out of the room, Chen Xuan came to the terrace and looked towards the pier and said, "Uncle Geng, Brother Zhao, Xiao Cai and Xiao Ye, let's get ready to disembark too."

I didn't rush over. I had to give Mrs. Gao and her son some time to calm down.

They have a lot of luggage, and it definitely can't be carried all at once, but there are so many people over there.

"Sister Xiaoye, look, that's the Madam and the others."

"I see it"

"Master, he's... okay..."

On the other side, Gao Jingming used his lightness skills to fly on the water. One step was more than twenty feet, just like a swallow skimming the water. How to say it, his lightness skills were not as good as Chen Xuan's when he went north.

When he was still a hundred feet away from the dock, it was difficult for him to continue, and his feet were about to sink into the water, but his mother was right in front of him. He used his internal energy to move forward, and after a few steps he almost fell into the water. He slapped the water with his palm to gain leverage and turned over, and then landed on the dock. The situation was dangerous, and many people were sweating, and then looked surprised.

Leng Bing's eyes moved, and when he saw that he didn't fall into the water, he stopped thinking about going forward to help.

After getting ashore, Gao Jingming, ignoring everyone's gaze, crawled to his knees and threw himself in front of Madam Gao, hugged her tightly and said with tears streaming down his face: "Mother, the unfilial son is back. I missed you so much, mother."

When he came over, Mrs. Gao couldn't help but step forward. Even though it had been seven years, no matter how much he had changed, he was still her son, and she recognized him at a glance.

At this moment, she no longer cared about her demeanor as a noble lady. Her true feelings flowed out in tears. She hugged Gao Jingming tightly and sobbed, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. My son is back, my son is finally back. I miss you so much..."

This scene was unbearable to watch. All the viewers felt sad, their eyes filled with tears and they turned slightly to the side. Even Leng Bing, who had almost no emotional fluctuations, turned his eyes away.

After a long separation, mother and son reunited, connected by blood, and were reluctant to separate, as if if they let go, they would never see each other again like seven years ago.

After a moment, Gao Jingming calmed down a little, looked up with tears in his eyes and said guiltily: "Mom, have you been okay during these years when I was away?"

"Mom is fine, but I missed you so much. I was worried that you didn't have enough to eat and wear. Now that you're back, I feel relieved. Come, get up, let me take a good look at you. My son has grown up, really grown up. Mom almost doesn't recognize him. Don't cry, be good. My son has become a man who stands tall and proud." In this matter, Mrs. Gao only had her son in her eyes, nothing else.

She was clearly trying to comfort her son, but she couldn't stop crying.

Seven years, seven years of separation from one's own flesh and blood, is too cruel for a mother.

"No matter what, I am your son. I am back and will never be separated from my mother again. If you don't cry, we won't cry either," Gao Jingming said as he stood up and went to wipe his mother's tears.

Mrs. Gao said with tears in her eyes, "My son has grown taller, taller than mother. When he left, he was as tall as mother's nose. My son, please don't talk nonsense. A man has ambitions in all directions. How can he always stay by mother's side?"

"I don't care, I just don't want to be separated from my mother."

"You little brat, you've grown up, haven't you? You don't even listen to me. And just now, it was so dangerous. Why are you so anxious? I'm right here and I won't run away. What will I do if you fall into the water?"

"It's okay, mom. I know my limits..."

As the mother and son reunited and expressed their longing for each other, the passenger ship slowly approached the shore and the dock became bustling with people welcoming relatives or bidding farewell to friends. Reunion and separation, joy and sorrow were all taking place at the same time.

The people of the Gao family did not disturb the lady and the young master, but were busy with their own duties. Butler He had already seen Chen Xuan, Xiao Cai and the others on the boat waving and greeting them, and personally led people on board to help pack the luggage.

Leng Bing, who had been staying beside Mrs. Gao, finally raised her head slightly and saw Chen Xuan at first sight. They had a good relationship in the past, so even though he had changed a lot over the years, she recognized him at a glance.

But when she saw Chen Xuan, a strange look flashed across her dead eyes, because she could not feel Chen Xuan's cultivation level at all.

Before this, she had received news that Chen Xuan, who had accompanied Gao Jingming to study, had reached the innate realm after seven years.

But this time, I couldn't sense his cultivation level. Could it be that he surpassed me? Even if he surpassed me, I wouldn't be unable to sense the fluctuations of his Qi at all...

(End of this chapter)