Grandmaster Zhangsun didn't wait for the end of the gathering. He left after watching some more fights of his disciple and observing that boy Qiu Ling had proposed to. Then, he left the venue and made his way over to the formation he had fetched Qiu Ling from before the gathering. He stepped into the array and was transported into the special dimension.
He looked around but couldn't spot the person he was looking for. He flew toward the center of the dimension and stopped at the edge of a lake. The water was clear enough to see down onto the ground. Right now, a golden-haired man was seated there in a lotus position. When he felt Zhangsun Xun Yi's gaze, the man opened his eyes. They glinted golden like the sun.
Zhangsun Xun Yi nodded at the man and the figure pushed off the ground. It broke through the surface, swam over to where Zhangsun Xun Yi waited and came out of the water. The man waved his hand and his golden hair as well as his black robe both dried.
"I feel like this dimension has become quite lively."
"I hope you didn't mind me sending my disciple over. There was something wrong with his energy. I thought coming here might help."
The man walked over to a boulder and sat down, smiling lightly. "You're asking that now. Hadn't I already been stuck with him for five years?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi didn't answer.
The man sighed. "It's alright. Though, I wouldn't have minded a little warning. It was quite the shock."
The Grandmaster narrowed his eyes. "A shock? Why that?"
The golden eyes fixated on him.
Zhangsun Xun Yi sighed and sat down on the ground in the lotus position, too. "I can imagine. Back then, I actually didn't know but there was an incident today. When I checked his veins I found out he isn't human. Is he … like you?" He looked at the other man but only got a smile in return. "Besides that incident that revealed his … special constitution he proposed to one of his junior martial brothers he hadn't seen before."
The man laughed and leaned back, looking up at the sky. His golden hair gently swayed in the breeze. "So he already proposed? He's a fast one."
"If he really is part of your race then —"
The man sighed. "There is no use in worrying over that. He's more decisive in this regard, it seems, but he is just as dumb as that man. He already did something irreversible long ago. Even if you tried to protect him, it would be of no use."
"So your meaning is …?"
"Just let it take its natural course. There is nothing you or anyone else could do. It's up to them in the end."
Grandmaster Zhangsun nodded. He wouldn't have known what to do anyway. "Then I'll just watch and concentrate on training him."
The man sat up straighter and smiled sardonically. "Train him? Even I wouldn't be able to train that brat. What do you want to teach him? Just let him stay at your sect and use him when it's necessary. He'll be content just being able to watch over that boy he fell in love with."
Zhangsun Xun Yi frowned. So, he had taken in a disciple that wasn't a disciple in the end? Somehow, he felt a little reluctant to accept that.
"You just set your sights too high. If you want to teach someone, look out for someone with potential but no training, not someone who has already mastered everything."
Zhangsun Xun Yi sighed. "Maybe it's just time for me to ascend."
The man examined him for a while before turning toward the lake. "What's the difference? Whether here or there you'd still be alone."
Zhangsun Xun Yi didn't answer. He just turned around and left the special dimension. He already had the answer he wanted. There was no need to disturb that man's peace any longer. Obviously, his questions had already touched a sore spot.
While Grandmaster Zhangsun had figured out how to proceed in a swift manner, Jing Yi had spent the rest of the day in a daze. Neither did he pay attention to the fights nor did he hear any of the flaming remarks Shao Hai had to say about that 'hateful disciple of the Grandmaster that couldn't be trusted under any circumstances'. Until the time he went to bed that evening all of his thoughts were occupied with that burning gaze and those earnest words and that gentle hold on his hands. He even seemed to still be able to feel that quickened heartbeat.
This man … He couldn't help but blush thinking of him. What would he have given to have someone at his side he could ask for advice! If he could just talk it over with his mother … He hadn't seen her in so long but there was no way to change that. He couldn't just leave the sect.
Jing Yi sighed and turned to the other side. What was marriage actually like? He knew it was some kind of relationship like how his parents had shared it. But that had been some years ago and as a child, he hadn't really paid any attention to it. Now, he desperately needed to know. Was there anyone he could ask?
Jing Yi pondered. He didn't know many people in the Yun Zou sect even though he had stayed there for a full five years. The other martial brothers of the outer sect had only ever given him work to do without bothering to exchange even the most basic greetings with him. The martial sisters were a little better but Jing Yi was still afraid of them. He couldn't ask either of these people.
Then that would only leave Shao Hai and Xiao Dong. But Shao Hai had always spoken of wanting to marry him himself so maybe it wasn't so good to ask him? That would leave Xiao Dong as the only option …
Jing Yi thought of that cold face and couldn't help but wonder if Xiao Dong was really the right choice for this. He probably didn't know about things such as love and marriage? Then again, he looked with a similar determination at Shao Hai like that man had used to gaze at him today.
Jing Yi turned around again and sighed. He could at least try to ask him tomorrow. If he couldn't get an answer that way, he could still try to come up with other ideas. Having found this solution, Jing Yi finally fell asleep.
Meanwhile, a lone figure clad in a white robe stood in front of the building and looked up at the window of the room where Jing Yi was sleeping. Qiu Ling was of half a mind to go up there and just stay with him for the night but he held back. He clearly remembered what his mother-in-law had told him back then.