Madam Zhong's hands trembled. Her son … was in danger? How could this be! Qiu Ling had followed him. He was so strong. With him around, nothing should be able to happen to her son.
Xiao Li put on an apologizing expression. "I'm very sorry. There are a lot of missions like that. I guess it means the sect trusts him very much. Knowing this will probably not help you very much but you can be proud of him."
Madam Zhong nodded mechanically. She knew she needed to calm down. It wasn't as if something had already happened to Jing Yi. He had just gone to a dangerous place. That didn't have to say anything.
She took a deep breath and smiled at Xiao Li. "Mister Xiao …"
"Xiao Li is alright."
"Mn. Xiao Li, do you happen to know if my son went alone to that … other Sect?"
Xiao Li shook his head. "He didn't. Senior Martial Brother Qiu followed him."
"Ah." Madam Zhong's smile grew lighter. So he wasn't alone. Qiu Ling was indeed with him. In that case, she didn't need to worry. Nothing would happen to Jing Yi.
Xiao Li's eyes narrowed. Surprisingly, this woman had calmed down completely after knowing that the dragon king was with her son. Could it be that she knew who he was? Did that boy know? Then their relationship should be closer than he had thought. Mn, His Majesty would definitely want to know about this.
Just then Nie Huang brought two teacups over, placing them in front of Madam Zhong and Xiao Li. Her gaze lingered on Xiao Li's face for a moment before she hastily turned away and went back to her place. He really looked a lot like him. Was that just a coincidence?
Xiao Li's gaze followed her. This was interesting, too. But he didn't have time for that now. He had to find out more about Jing Yi first, then he could find out what was up with that Nie Huang woman.
He lightly touched the teacup in front of him before looking up at Madam Zhong again. "Senior Martial Brother Qiu is very strong so I guess Jing Yi won't be in too much danger. Still … It's an evil sect, after all. One can't know what might happen. I'm actually worried about him. Junior Martial Brother Jing Yi is still so young, after all. Will he really be alright?" He drew his brows together and stared down at his tea with a dark expression.
Madam Zhong had no idea this person was only pretending. Seeing him this worried about her son, she was actually happy. It seemed Jing Yi didn't only have Qiu Ling. He still had other friends in the sect. Well, he had also told her that Shao Hai and Xiao Dong had become disciples of the sect when he came by last year.
"I'm sure Qiu Ling will protect him."
"Mn." Xiao Li nodded. "That's also true."
The two of them fell silent. Madam Zhong was thinking about her son's life in the Yun Zou Sect while Xiao Li pondered how to find out more.
How could he trick this woman into telling him something? It definitely wouldn't be easy. He didn't have enough information in the first place to pretend to be close with Jing Yi. Since she was his mother she would definitely notice if he talked about something from his time before entering the sect. As for the time in the Yun Zou Sect … if he had indeed returned with the dragon king once last year, then she might also know about that. The only things he could talk about for now were his time in the Hei Dian Sect and the few pieces of information he had gotten from that Qiguan Cheng Da.
Ah, speaking of that … Xiao Li looked up again. "Right, I remember the sect also send someone to check on the two of them. You should also know that person. Jing Yi mentioned once that he's also from your village. He's called Qiguan Cheng Da."
"Qiguan Cheng Da?" It had been years since Madam Zhong had seen him but she instantly remembered. The day she had met Qiguan Cheng Da the last time had been when the villagers called him over to have a look at her son. That day she had really feared to lose her son and the one to save them from that situation had been Qiu Ling.
Remembering that day Madam Zhong frowned. Her reaction was registered by Xiao Li who barely held back a smile at that. It seemed the dislike was mutual. She also didn't think well of that Qiguan Cheng Da. Well, it was understandable. He was a despicable guy.
Xiao Li averted his gaze again. "Maybe Jing Yi already told you when he came over the last time. The two of them also get along very well. It's probably good that the sect sent him. Being able to report his findings to someone he knows well might make his mission a bit more bearable. It's not that easy to be a spy, after all."
"Spy?" Madam Zhong's brows furrowed even more. Would her son do something like that?
Xiao Li nodded. "Yes, he was sent there as a spy. But that's all I know. It's a very important mission after all. The sect wouldn't publicize any more information and I hadn't much time to talk with Jing Yi. So, I'm afraid I can't tell you any more than this."
"That's alright." Madam Zhong didn't say more than this, much to Xiao Li's frustration.
Why couldn't this woman be more communicative? This mission of finding out a bit about the dragon king's beloved should have been so easy but somehow nobody wanted to talk! The disciples of the Hei Dian Sect didn't know anything, the Grandmaster's sister-in-law seemed to know something but didn't want to say it and this woman obviously knew everything about her son but still didn't talk! How was he supposed to accomplish his mission like this?!
He could only sigh silently. Well, there was still Zhong Jing Yi's cousin. Since she was so eager to marry him she would definitely tell him whatever he wanted to know.
At least that was what Xiao Li thought. He never would have thought that Zhong Gang and his wife would try everything to make sure he'd only have the chance to talk with Guanyu after their wedding.