Leng Jin Yu couldn't help but look at the transmission stone that had turned dull with worry. Had Jinde been found? Was that why he cut the connection? Or was he just trying to ration his strength? It wasn't impossible. He was injured after all. Unfortunately, that also left the question if he would have enough strength to flee from the Yun Zou Sect. Well, even if he did manage to leave without being caught, would he have to pay a price for that? If this worsened the injury to his soul …
Leng Jin Yu shook his head. He couldn't think like that! This wasn't the time to lose his head. No, he had to stay calm and think fast. Right now, they could only play for time. They needed to give Jinde the opportunity to flee so that he could take cover in the Liu He Alliance. If he managed to get there, then the danger should have been avoided. After all, the demon king didn't know about him and his connections both with the Liu He Alliance and with Jinde, so he shouldn't be able to figure out that Jinde went there. So Jinde would be safe as long as nobody but the two of them knew about this and he didn't go to see Jinde.
Thinking of that, Leng Jin Yu calmed down further. It was only the first step that was difficult. If he managed to get out of the Yun Zou Sect and then reached the Liu He Alliance, then nothing could happen anymore. He could even wait there until they finished gathering the ingredients and Bai Mu figured out a way to lock the dimension and only return to the Yun Zou Sect after they had prepared everything. That way, he could enter the new dimension immediately and the demon king wouldn't be able to reach him even if he knew that he was there. Yes, that was definitely the best way to go about this.
Leng Jin Yu turned to Qiu Ling, his gaze grave. "Qiu Ling, can you return to the Yun Zou Sect?"
Qiu Ling raised his brows in response. "Alone? What about you then? You don't want to make sure how the old geezer is?"
Leng Jin Yu smiled wryly. Naturally, he wanted to. But this wasn't the best course of action. So as hard as it was to endure not knowing what exactly had happened, he wouldn't be willful and rush over. No, he had to do what was best for Jinde. "There's no chance I would be able to defeat the demon king. In fact, I might make things worse. It would be better if you went there and stalled him. Don't let him discover Jinde. Would you do that?"
Qiu Ling gazed at Leng Jin Yu with a peculiar look. His father … His real father had never asked him something like this. Would he do it? Did he want to? For Chun Yin, everything had been a given. Naturally, people would do as he said. Whether his son wanted to leave the capital, whether his lover was alright with him marrying that woman … he had never paused to ask after even a single thing.
Qiu Ling sighed. If his father had only been a little more like Leng Jin Yu, everything might have been different. But now, it was too late. The regrets each of them had from that time couldn't be made up for. He could only look ahead and make sure that their future didn't look as bleak as their past.
"I will. What about you?"
Leng Jin Yu clenched his fists. He really wanted to go and see how Jinde was doing but he couldn't as long as the realm wasn't prepared. If he didn't go over to the Liu He Alliance, it was much less likely that anything would be discovered. He'd have to live with being separated from Jinde for the time being. "I'll continue to gather those ingredients. The sooner we have them, the sooner we can fulfill the promise to your cousin-in-law. And hopefully, he will also be able to find a way to heal Jinde soon."
Qiu Ling nodded and didn't waste any more time, pushing off the ground. "Alright, then you take care. I won't let him down, don't worry." With that, he rushed away, making his way back to the Yun Zou Sect to confront Jin Ling.
Leng Jin Yu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts at Jinde away. There was nothing he could do for him right now. He could only continue on the path he had already taken and see to it that he would be able to fulfill the part that he could do. Anything else … As much as he would like to do it, it would make no sense. This was the limit of his strength for the moment.
Ah, in the future, he definitely had to grow stronger. At the very least, he had to grow strong enough that he would be able to do what Qiu Ling was doing right now and go to help his husband. Seriously, losing to the demon king … It didn't feel good at all. And having to let Jinde flee in a panic … It felt even worse. With that thought, he continued to look for the last few ingredients on the list, hoping that he could return to his beloved's side as soon as possible.