Qiu Ling cleared his throat, stepped forward and put an arm around Jing Yi's waist. Mn, he had to make sure this guy wouldn't get any funny ideas. After all, he had already approached his beloved before!
"We were indeed able to find out something: The missing disciples are both here in the Hei Dian Sect. To be more precise, they are currently in the estate of the Hei Dian Sect's Grandmaster Shen."
Qiguan Cheng Da lifted his brows. Missing disciples? This didn't sound like the important mission Yu Jin had described to him. And they weren't even talking about many disciples but just two! The sect definitely wouldn't care about this!
Qiu Ling's eyes narrowed. Even though he didn't like being around other people as long as it wasn't about his beloved he had lived long enough to see through the thoughts of a human like Qiguan Cheng Da. That guy was somehow dissatisfied with his words thus far.
Not good! I have to add more details! If this guy reports something bad back to the sect, then they'll postpone our wedding even further. And my beloved also wouldn't stand for it if I don't do a good job with this.
Qiu Ling pulled Jing Yi even closer and gave Qiguan Cheng Da a smile. "Well, you can probably imagine that it's difficult to find out more. That Grandmaster is obviously a highly skilled person. I'm afraid he wouldn't even lose against my Master that easily. Naturally, we were unable to infiltrate his estate in this short amount of time. We have thought up a plan though but executing it will take a bit more time."
Qiguan Cheng Da nodded. He might not think much of the mission but it was still good to establish a connection with the Grandmaster's disciple. He should try and give him a good expression that even this Zhong Jing Yi wouldn't be able to shake.
"What kind of plan is it, Senior Martial Brother Qiu? Can I or the sect do anything to help you?"
Qiu Ling barely stopped himself from frowning. This guy was obviously just talking to him and ignoring his beloved even though Jing Yi was the one who had officially been given the mission. He had just tagged along. So … could it be that this guy wasn't after his beloved in a romantic way but was instead targeting him in some other way? He should make sure of that.
"Well, Jing'er has managed to have them admit him into the …" Uh … What was it called again? He shot a look at his beloved to seek help.
"Ah, I've been admitted to the Alchemy division." Jing Yi really hoped that he had understood correctly where Qiu Ling was going with his story. It seemed that way though.
"Right, into the Alchemy Division. He approached a disciple called …" Qiu Ling's lips twitched. To him, all of them were just rivals. He had never bothered to learn their names. How had his beloved called him? "Uh … Yu. Some disciple called Yu. His Master is the Elder in charge of the Alchemy Division and he has already been given a lot of responsibility within the sect. If we leverage on the relationship between Jing'er and him we'll be able to attain more information."
Jing Yi nodded at Qiu Ling's cue but didn't say anything more. He felt that his fiance's words seemed quite convincing. Well, if one ignored the constant problem of him not remembering names.
Qiu Ling's gaze flitted about. He felt like he still hadn't done enough. This was his opportunity to show off in front of his beloved, after all! "Well, even this disciple Yu might not be able to provide us with the specific location of those two disciples but he might know more about the underlying plans behind their kidnapping."
A glint flashed in Qiguan Cheng Da's eyes. Kidnapping? So this was what the mission was about! The evil faction had started kidnapping their righteous cause's disciples. Those two they were searching for might just be the first or rather the ones that had disappeared for the shortest time. It seemed that Yu Jin had indeed said the truth.
Well … Qiguan Cheng Da nearly snorted. That Yu Jin probably thought of himself as a righteous and principled cultivator. He probably wouldn't lie even if it was beneficial to him and he was given the chance. He shouldn't have suspected the words of such a person.
"That sounds like a really well thought-out plan. As expected of Senior Martial Brother Qiu."
Qiu Ling smiled back at Qiguan Cheng Da but his thoughts weren't any less two-faced than the ones of the person opposite him. Tch! Daring to look down on his beloved? He'd show this guy!
Jing Yi noticed how the atmosphere around him became strange. He hastily put a hand on the arm still around his waist to signal Qiu Ling that this definitely wasn't the time for any of his antics. He wasn't sure this would be enough, though.
With a serious gaze, he faced Qiguan Cheng Da and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry to say this, Senior Martial Brother Qiguan, but this is all we've managed to find out so far. We'll probably need another month or so to attain any useful results. I'm sorry you had to make the trip here just for this."
Qiguan Cheng Da's lips continued to curve in a smile but his eyes blazed. You're really good at faking concern, Zhong Jing Yi! Even I wouldn't be able to outclass you in that. No wonder that Senior Martial Brother Qiu fell for your lies. He wouldn't let him one-up him though.
Qiguan Cheng Da's smile got even brighter. "Don't sweat it, Junior Martial Brother Zhong. As a fellow sect member, it's my duty to help to solve this difficult problem. Just coming here and delivering your findings back to our sect is just a little effort on my side. It can't even be compared to the trouble the two of you are going through." His words were accompanied by a compassionate gaze that actually made Jing Yi's bad conscience rise.
They had accomplished this mission so easily but were still lying about it. Weren't they making things difficult for Senior Martial Brother Qiguan? He looked at Qiu Ling, his gaze clearly communicating that he wanted this to end when Qiguan Cheng Da came by the next time.
Qiu Ling smiled. If his beloved wanted it like this … He would naturally fulfill his wish.