Leng Jin Yu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even though he didn't blame Jinde for his reaction and even felt that it was normal, he could understand why Jinde was worried. He had been through too many problems with Chun Yin. Becoming a little cautious wasn't strange at all.
Well, he could slowly make him realize that there was no reason to be so guarded. If he wanted to, Jinde could throw a tantrum every now and then. He wouldn't mind. In fact, he would be happy if he did. When they were able to argue and then forgive each other, they were obviously at the point where nothing would be able to separate them anymore. But there was no use in worrying over that right now. That point would naturally come when they spend more time with each other and got as familiar with each other in this life as they had been in his past life.
Leng Jin Yu raised the necklace and imbued his spiritual energy. As usual, the response was almost instantaneous. The stone lit up and Xin Lan's face appeared, a light in his eyes that immediately dulled when he saw Leng Jin Yu.
"Why do you have His Majesty's necklace?"
"I borrowed it for a moment."
"Why?"
Leng Jin Yu looked at him, feeling a bit of unwillingness well up inside him. He pushed it back down, telling himself that they didn't have any bad blood between them. Xin Lan might be hostile toward him but he loved Jinde just as much as he did. They were on the same side. And Xin Lan had never done anything to him. On the contrary, he had helped him back when Qiu Ling attacked him. So why should he respond with the some hostility? Maybe Chun Yin would have done that but not he. He had no reason.
Leng Jin Yu held the stone to the side so that Xin Lan was able to see the situation behind him. "The God of War contacted Qiu Ling. It seems that he wants to talk to you."
Xin Lan looked at Qiu Ling who was still holding the transmission stone with an annoyed expression. "What does he want?"
"He didn't say and I didn't ask. Should I?"
"Otherwise, I won't know what is up, will I?" Xin Lan's brows furrowed. Just when he wanted to scold the person on the other side further, there was a tug on his sleeve. He looked down and found himself faced by a pair of dark eyes.
Xin Lan's brows twitched. "What?"
Leng Jin Yu glanced over but Xin Lan wasn't even looking at him.
The conversation on the other side continued. "Let go."
The person in question didn't even think of it. Xin Lan's brows drew together once again and he tugged on his own sleeve to pull it out of Xiang Yu's fingers. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. Who knew how the little one had done it but his fingers were tightly entwined with the fabric. Xin Lan also didn't dare to use too much strength. If he did, wouldn't the whole family come running again to see what had happened to their little darling? Then he'd have to hide again.
Leng Jin Yu looked away and finally sat down next to Qiu Ling again, tilting the stone so that Xin Lan would be able to see the God of War as soon as he paid attention again.
Qiu Ling also cooperated and tilted the stone in his hands. Then he stared at Xin Lan, blinking his eyes. He did want to return to his beloved as soon as possible but … this was quite intriguing. What was the guy doing?
Qiang Yan also couldn't make sense of what was going on on the third side of this conversation and could only hesitantly call out. "… Senior Xin Lan?"
"Mn?" Xin Lan looked up, finally ignoring the child that still clung to his sleeve. Anyway, it wasn't a problem as long as the family didn't come running. "What is it?"
Qiang Yan cleared his throat. "Well, I was wondering if you would be willing to lend a helping hand in a slightly troublesome matter."
Xin Lan tightened his lips and glanced at the child again. "I'm on vacation."
Qiang Yan stared at him in a daze. Was it really alright to brush him off like this? "Don't you even want to know what this is about?"
Xin Lan sighed. "Then tell me already. I don't have much time."
Leng Jin Yu raised his brows and glanced at the lake. Jinde would probably be disappointed when he found out that he had missed out on this conversation.
"Do you know about the realm where Longjun is staying?"
This time, Xin Lan raised his gaze back to Qiang Yan and it stayed there. "What about it?"
"The Chun Feng Sect is investigating. They have weapons that are specialized for the purpose of hunting demons. I've heard that they are also able to affect the dragons."
"Mn." Xin Lan frowned. He couldn't help but think of his Master. Right now, his soul wasn't healed. If they somehow surprised him …
Leng Jin Yu looked from one person to the other and cleared his throat. "The demon king also should have found out that we're here. He tried to open the array."
Xin Lan stared at Leng Jin Yu. "He … He didn't succeed, did he?"
"Of course not. I also doubt he'll manage to do it but it's troublesome."
Qiang Yan nodded. "Especially with two sides trying to get in. I had hoped that Senior Xin Lan would lend a helping hand in giving the Chun Feng Sect something else to do to worry about. I'd do it myself but the gods aren't supposed to interfere with mortal life outside of their trials. Since this also concerns Longjun I thought …"
"Mn. I know. I'll take care of them." He definitely couldn't let them continue. Even if they couldn't get into that array, his Master might worry if he knew that somebody was trying. In that case, it was better to make these people disappear.
Qiang Yan stared at him, unsure if he had understood right. "I … I thought it might be enough to investigate them and find some dirt on them. Then we could spread the information to the people it concerns and let them deal with it. It's always better to let the mortals deal with these things alone. There's no need to be radical."
Xin Lan glanced at Qiang Yan and then at the person next to him. "Well … that's also right. Alright, I'll take care of it." He cut the connection of the transmission stone and then turned to the child. "Well, now you'll really need to let go."
In response, the child hugged his wrist and blinked his eyes, as if making fun of him.