"What?" Lan Yan cried out in shock. "I just got back, System, are you trying to fool me!" She and the System hadn't spoken in days, and now this.
The System said, "Emergency!" He had been staring at the interface, and this danger was a notification from the interface, which he was unaware of.
Lan Yan: "...If something really happens to Jun Yelan, System, I'm not done with you." With that, she lifted her skirt and ran towards the shore they had just left. She saw everyone gathered by the shore, searching for something.
She pushed through the crowd and squeezed to the closest point to the shore, looking out at the sea. The ship that had been there before was nowhere to be seen. Her heart skipped a beat, and she anxiously grabbed a fisherman who was searching, "What happened just now?"
"Alas, for some reason, a huge wave suddenly came and capsized the entire ship, even sinking it," the fisherman responsible for the salvage sighed.
Others nearby chimed in, "I think the people on this ship are doomed. They encountered such strong winds and waves so soon after setting sail. They probably won't even have their remains left."
Lan Yan didn't hear the rest of their words. She just gazed out at the sea. She took a step and walked into the sea, desperately wanting to find Jun Yelan.
No, she didn't believe Jun Yelan was dead. He must be waiting for her to save him.
Seeing Lan Yan walk into the sea, the fisherman quickly shouted, "Help!" With his cry, several people nearby rushed over and stopped Lan Yan.
"Young lady, you must be a family member, but you can't do anything foolish."
Lan Yan couldn't break through the crowd and shouted, "I'm not trying to die, I'm looking for someone. My husband is not dead yet, he's waiting for me."
If Jun Yelan truly died, then the world she was in would also end.
But the fishermen didn't think so. They increasingly felt Lan Yan was overcome with grief and sent people to watch her. "Young lady, please come back up."
Lan Yan reluctantly walked back, her legs soaked. She stood by the shore, a mess, letting the wind blow. The fragments on her forehead were all blown up, and her face was filled with anxiety.
This wouldn't do. She picked up a bamboo pole from the ground and shouted, "I'll search too." She couldn't just wait like this, with Jun Yelan filling her mind.
The other fishermen had left, continuing to search the shore. "There's someone here."
Lan Yan heard the voice and immediately dropped the bamboo pole and ran over. But upon seeing an old man on the ground, her eyes filled with disappointment. It wasn't her Jun Yelan!
She returned to her spot, clenched the bamboo pole in her hand, and continued to search.
As the sky gradually darkened, people were found one after another, while some were still missing. In the end, a few more bodies were salvaged, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
Only Lan Yan remained. Looking at the families reuniting by the shore, she thought of herself and Jun Yelan, and her eyes dimmed slightly. She murmured, "Jun Yelan, I won't give up on you."
She turned her attention back to the sea, but after an hour, then two, she found nothing.
The fishermen who were searching saw this and advised, "Young lady, you should go back. You can't see anything clearly at this hour of the night."
Lan Yan saw the fishermen packing up. She took out all the money she had, shouting, "Brothers, please help me. My husband must still be alive."
"If you save my husband, I will prepare a generous gift." Relying on herself alone was not enough.
Thus, the fishermen stayed and helped with the search.
A whole night passed, and the sea was calm. The fishermen, unable to bear it any longer, left one by one.
Lan Yan did not leave. Her hands were trembling, but she did not put down the bamboo pole. If she also left, Jun Yelan would truly have no hope.
She looked at the sea. How painful it must be for Jun Yelan to be alone in the cold seawater.
Lan Chuan heard the news of Jun Yelan's accident and rushed to the seaside. He saw Lan Yan alone there. He called out tenderly, holding the food box in his hand, "Sister, you should rest and eat something first."
"Brother has brought people to help you." Behind him followed Lin Yun, and all the shop assistants.
Lan Yan's tears gushed out. She bowed and said, "Thank you all."
"If it weren't for our benefactor, we wouldn't have such good lives," the shop assistants shouted in unison. They all picked up bamboo poles and went to help.
Lan Yan's hands were no longer strong enough. She could only go ashore to eat something. Looking at the shop assistants and her elder brother who were working hard with her, she sniffled, holding back her tears.
At this moment, she remembered something. "Smelly System, this is all your doing. You don't appear usually, but when you do, it's a major event. I ask you, where is Jun Yelan?"
Since Jun Yelan wasn't dead, he couldn't have stayed in the sea for so long. He was probably washed away long ago.
The System was also helpless. This interface was unreliable. "Host, I don't have this function, I can't track him. I suggest you don't keep staring here."
"Heh." Lan Yan heard the System say that, and it seemed to be the same as she thought. She swallowed the cold pancake in her hand, got up, and said, "Brother, I've decided to go downstream to look."
"I'll go with you," Lan Chuan said, worried about his sister going on a long journey.
Lan Yan shook her head. "Brother, I have to leave the household affairs to you. I don't know when I'll be back. If I don't return, you and Sister-in-law must be well."
She didn't know how long she would search. It was all because this system was malfunctioning.
Lan Chuan was moved. He patted Lan Yan's shoulder and said, "Fine, I'll take care of the business for you. You promise me that if you haven't found anyone after three months, you must come back."
He couldn't lose this sister.
Lan Yan nodded. She refused to believe she wouldn't find someone in three months. "Brother, then I'm leaving." She bid farewell to Lan Chuan and the shop assistants, packed some clothes and silver, and took the family's donkey. She set off in a hurry.
She looked at the endless road, following the downstream of the seaside, riding the donkey. She always felt that Jun Yelan was waiting for her ahead.
After walking for a long time, she stopped to rest for a while, ate some dry food, and continued on her way. This continued for two days, and she was almost collapsing onto the donkey.
Suddenly, a group of people ran down from a nearby hillside. Their attire and appearance suggested they were mountain bandits from the vicinity. Lan Yan became vigilant, holding a dagger in her palm, staring at these ill-intentioned people in front of her.
The bandit leader had a wide face with a long scar on his right cheek. He pointed his large saber at Lan Yan. "Leave your travel money."
Lan Yan looked at these four or five people. Fighting them head-on would be difficult. If it was just about money, it would be simple. She opened the bundle on her back and took out some silver.
"Everyone, I'm in a hurry to find my husband. Take this money, and please let me pass."
The bandits saw that Lan Yan was travel-worn, riding only a donkey, and her bundle only contained clothes. They shouted, "Go quickly." The scarred man took the silver, and as he put it into his embrace, a piece of tattered cloth fell out.
Lan Yan's pupils trembled. That tattered cloth was from the clothes Jun Yelan wore when he left. The crooked stitches on it were sewn by her!