Back in the demon realm, Jin Ling stared intently at the mirror in his hands, waiting for Qiguan Cheng Da to speak even though he could hardly concentrate. Jinde! This guy might have seen his Jinde! If it was true … If it was true, then they could finally reunite!
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to concentrate. He couldn't miss even the smallest detail. This concerned Jinde, after all. Everything he could find out about him was valuable. He had to know all about his situation to leave a good first impression on him when they finally reunited. The mistakes of the past … he had to make Jinde forget about them.
Jin Ling opened his eyes and smiled. "So? What about that person?"
"The person I saw had indeed golden hair. He came to the Yun Zou Sect several years ago and has stayed there most of the time since then."
Jin Ling's breath caught in his throat. "Is he there right now?"
Qiguan Cheng Da pondered. "I'm not sure. He hasn't been going out much lately."
Jin Ling straightened up. Naturally, he's hiding from me! This fit. This fit Jinde! He didn't know where Jinde could have been before but 'coming to the Yun Zou Sect' might also mean that this Qiguan Cheng Da had only seen him for the first time several years ago. And hadn't it been quite a while since he happened upon the special dimension in the Yun Zou Sect? Most likely, Jinde had been hiding in that special dimension before that but because he went there, Jinde hadn't dared to return so he had tried to hide away somewhere else in the sect. Fortunately, there were no other places in the sect that allowed him to stay so completely hidden like before and thus, some of the disciples had seen him. It truly was his luck to happen upon that special dimension!
"I see. Tell me more! How did he seem to you? Was he happy?"
Qiguan Cheng Da snorted. "Naturally, he was. Who wouldn't if they were a talent like him? Ah, I'd really like to know what it is with the people around that Zhong Jing Yi. All of them are talents. Is his face really that useful?"
Jin Ling's grip around the mirror tightened. What was this shameless human insinuating? That his beloved Jinde would fall in love with a filthy human?! His Jinde would never be interested in someone like that! No, Jinde wasn't like that. Jinde was someone who loved with his whole heart. Just thinking back to how gentle his gaze would turn when he thought about that man or that deeply hurt smile … He wouldn't casually hook up with someone he didn't love. He'd need to have a very, very good reason to betray that person. It had been liked that back then and it would be the same now.
Qiguan Cheng Da had no idea that he had touched the reverse scale of the person on the other side of the mirror and just went on. "Well, this might not actually be about that Zhong Jing Yi. That guy shouldn't be as strong as Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple so maybe he hoped to get some benefits from sharing that person with him."
Jin Ling snorted. "Not as strong? I doubt you're seeing the situation as clearly as you think you are."
Qiguan Cheng Da gave a ridiculing smile. "What do you know? If he was indeed as strong, then he wouldn't have become the disciple of some normal Elder. He should have at least been taken in by the Sect Master. Since that wasn't the case …"
"Taken in as a disciple?" Jin Ling frowned. Why would Jinde do that? He couldn't feel the need to hide away that well. Completely impossible. Even though he might not regard him as his lover yet, he should at least still see him as his child, shouldn't he?
Sure, he had exiled him from the dragon realm after what had happened back then but … it had been so long. Jinde certainly wouldn't hold a grudge against him any longer. No, not his Jinde. His Jinde was forgiving. He had never been able to be angry at him for long. If he just tugged at his sleeve and looked at him pitifully, Jinde would give in. It had always been like that. It would still be the same. He just had to find him.
"Where exactly is he now?"
Qiguan Cheng Da pursed his lips. "Where should he be? He's living in the inner sect together with one of the other disciples of Elder Nong."
"Living … together?" Jin Ling's expression blanked. How could that be?! Why would his Jinde be living together with another man? No … This couldn't be! This had to be some kind of misunderstanding! "Are you sure he is living with somebody else?"
Qiguan Cheng Da nodded. "Yes, some boy called Shao Hai. He is also a friend of Zhong Jing Yi's."
"And that person and this Shao Hai …"
"Well, they're really close. One really has to wonder what is going on between them."
Jin Ling's hands shook. Could it be … Could it be Xin Lan had lied to him? Was this Shao Hai that man's reincarnation? Had the two of them reunited? "Are they really that close?"
"Mn. They already arrived together at the Yun Zou Sect. They both stayed at the same place in the outer sect and then they were taken in by the same Master when they became inner sect disciples. I don't think they could be any closer than that. At least not outside of their own rooms." He smirked. Who knew what was going on behind closed doors? He really didn't want to think about it.
Jin Ling furrowed his brows. They arrived together at the Yun Zou Sect? But how should that Qiguan Cheng Da know about that? It made no sense for Jinde to come to the sect late on. Most likely, he should have gone there right after he left the dragon realm and since then hundreds of thousands of years had passed in the mortal realm. "When did they come to the sect?"
"Hm … About ten years ago?"
Jin Ling laughed. "Ten years?" Then that person … "Besides the golden hair, is there any other distinctive feature about that person?"
"Mn, he has a pair of bright blue eyes."
"Blue eyes …" Jin Ling leaned back and closed his eyes, a resigned sigh escaping his lips. Blue eyes, not golden eyes. So in the end, he still hadn't found Jinde. It was as if his most beloved person didn't want to be found.