Yu Jin?
Jinde who was still in hiding perked up. Was that the name of the person who lived here? Was this … Chun Yin's reincarnation? He lifted his hand and rubbed his chest, his gaze lingering on the scroll of paper in Yuchi Bing Xia's hands. Could it really be? After all this time he had finally found him?
Jinde stepped out and gently cleared his throat. "Yu Jin … Might that be the person living here?"
Yuchi Bing Xia whirled around and lifted his hand, caution written in his eyes. He hadn't noticed somebody entering behind him and couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. As soon as he saw the person behind him he relaxed though. So it turned out this was the person he had been looking for.
He lowered his hand and smiled awkwardly. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't notice you were here."
Jinde just smiled. Since his injury back then there wasn't any kind of energy that could be detected from him. Even that of his soul was greatly diminished. It would have been a miracle if a human could notice him.
"I'm sorry for scaring you, sect master." Jinde looked at the insignia Yuchi Bing Xia was wearing on his belt. He shouldn't have made any mistake, right? This person was indeed Yun Zou Sect's sect master?
Yuchi Bing Xia hurriedly shook his head. "I don't dare to accept your apology. It's my fault for not paying better attention. Mn, actually, I was searching for you. Or … Grandmaster Zhangsun was."
"Oh?"
"You probably left that place because of that person who came to our sect? That … Jin Ling?"
Jinde nodded but his gaze swiveled back to the painting in Yuchi Bing Xia's hands. He didn't want to talk about that. He just wanted to know more about that Yu Jin. "I did. I didn't know where to go, though, so I ended up occupying this house. I hope I haven't made problems for anyone?" He lifted his gaze once again and gave a slight smile.
Yuchi Bing Xia gulped. Beautiful people really shouldn't smile like that … He felt like his heart would stop beating any moment now. "No … You certainly wouldn't trouble anyone."
Jinde nodded. "The person living here …"
"Ah, Yu Jin! He's … He went out on a mission."
"So it's like that." Jinde stepped to the window and looked outside. So he might have missed him by just a few days. "In that case … would it be alright for me to stay here a little longer?"
Yuchi Bing Xia hurriedly nodded. "Of course, of course."
"Then … how long will he be gone?" He turned to look at Yuchi Bing Xia and noticed out of the corner of his eye how the sect master tensed up for a moment. Jinde lowered his gaze.
What was this about? There shouldn't be a problem with what he had just asked, should it?
"I'm not quite sure about that."
"So, it's a difficult mission?"
Yuchi Bing Xia averted his gaze. How come the beautiful god was interested in this so much? He considered just nodding but couldn't bring himself to do so. This person was the Yun Zou Sect's benefactor. How could he just lie to him? "Not … that difficult. It's just that there was a slight mishap."
"Mishap?" Jinde's face paled. It couldn't be that something had happened to Chun Yin, could it? He wouldn't … wouldn't leave before they had even managed to see each other again, would he?
Yuchi Bing Xia reached out and grabbed his elbows. "You … are you alright?" There was a hint of panic in his voice. Don't joke with him! This beautiful god was already pale on a normal day. He had been when he saw him for the first time back then and he had been when he saw him again today. But at this moment even the last bit of color had vanished from his face. He looked just like a ghost.
Jinde sighed. "Thank you but it's alright."
Yuchi Bing Xia wasn't convinced though. "How about you sit down for a while?" He gently led Jinde over to the desk and helped him sit down. He certainly couldn't let their benefactor suffer any harm. "Maybe I should get Grandmaster Zhangsun? Or take you back to the Special Dimension?"
"No need." Jinde shook his head. There was only one thing he wanted right now. "You wanted to tell me what happened on that mission just now."
Yuchi Bing Xia nodded but still took out a paper crane and hurriedly sent a message to Grandmaster Zhangsun. "It was an unfortunate accident. He was supposed to get a report from two of our disciples and then bring them over to a place where a secret realm opened. Unfortunately …" Yuchi Bing Xia sighed. "A creature known as a Jade Gathering Beast …"
Jinde's hands trembled. Most humans might not know about it but the dragons were definitely different. The Jade Gathering Beasts were something most of them knew, although those creatures that the humans had placed so much hope on were nothing more than bugs to them. Unfortunately … if he was right, then Chun Yin had been reborn as a human. He wouldn't have … suffered from an attack by one of those things? Then his soul …
Jinde looked up at the window. There was probably no one who knew better than him what an injury to the soul meant. If Chun Yin really …
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. No, he wouldn't believe it. Chun Yin wasn't that weak. He hadn't been in that life and he wouldn't be in this life either. He would never believe that the man he had irrevocably fallen in love with would ever be defeated by something like a Jade Gathering Beast.
Yuchi Bing Xia sighed. "I wasn't there so I can't really say what exactly happened. It would be better to ask Grandmaster Zhangsun about that. But it caused some kind of energy disturbance and Yu Jin was trapped in the secret realm with a fellow disciple."
"Trapped? So it's like that."
"Mn. Well, I trust in Yu Jin's abilities. He'll be able to get out of there. Sooner or later he will return to our Yun Zou Sect."
Jinde hardly held back his smile. He hadn't even seen this Yu Jin. But he knew Chun Yin and there definitely wasn't anything that could imprison him. If he wanted to get out, then he would get out. He had seen that more than once.
Until then, he would continue to wait for him. Whether it was a year or a decade or even another millennium. He wouldn't stop waiting. For this person, he would wait until the end of time.