Back in the Long kingdom's capital city, Jing Yi didn't quite know what to say. "My … cousin-in-law?" He furrowed his brows and pondered. The only cousin he knew was Guanyu. So this Xiao Li should be her husband? Well, it was no wonder that he wouldn't know about this. After all, they hadn't seen each other for several years.
To be honest, he was still … quite surprised. Or maybe he should say that he was entirely dumbfounded? If he had ever stopped to think about Guanyu and her future prospects, he wouldn't have seen any husband in it. After all, she fell in love so easily and it only ever lasted until somebody better came by. Well, it was probably getting more difficult to find somebody acceptable with her requirements becoming higher and higher.
Just thinking back to the bit he knew … Originally, she seemed to have been in love with Shao Hai and then with him. Even though they had later started to become a practitioner and a cultivator respectively, they were still quite the normal people. But after that, she had fallen for Xiao Dong and, finally, Qiu Ling. These two weren't even human! Even though that in itself wasn't a problem, it would become troublesome if she judged every other man based on them. After all, who could compare?
Jing Yi glanced at Qiu Ling before turning away just as fast. Well, he might be a bit biased about this issue as well. But he really felt that no one could deny that Qiu Ling was a good catch. He was handsome and strong and caring and while they had their troubles, he was also open to working on them. Could you find a better man than that?
Qiu Ling noticed Jing Yi's gaze and also looked over but his beloved had already looked away. Well, the issue was another one right now. "How did that girl get herself a husband? And if he is anything like my cousin-in-law, he should be a good catch."
The other three people couldn't help but look at him.
Qiu Ling just shrugged. "What? He's related to my mother-in-law's side. Naturally, he should be awesome!"
Madam Zhong stared at Qiu Ling for a few seconds before she turned to look at Jing Yi. There was a trace of hurt in her son's eyes that made her heart fall. So he knew. And it seemed this was a problem. Well, now was not the time to talk about that.
She turned back to the transmission and gave Bai Mu a smile. "Well, Nie Huang talked a lot about you while she was working here. You must indeed be a very good person from what she told me."
Bai Mu couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you for your kind words. Nie Huang has also told me a lot about her time with you in the teahouse. You can not even start to imagine how grateful I am to you and your family for taking care of her. She … she has not had it easy." He lowered his gaze, his brows furrowing slightly. "Much of that is my fault. Some of it might be her own fault for being too obstinate. If she had done what her parents expected her to do, she would have had an easier life." He looked back up and forced himself to smile. "Still, thank you. I am glad that … when I finally returned, she was still there, waiting for me. I will never forget this."
Yes, this woman and her family were the ones who had helped Nie Huang through the darkest days of her life when he had not been able to be at her side. He felt apologetic that he had not been able to extend his thanks so far. If he could, he would go over and do so right now. But unfortunately, the Chun Feng Sect was still out there and he also had to take care of Nie Huang right now. Before she didn't reach the third stage, he didn't think it was safe to leave. After all, what if she ran into a bottleneck? He couldn't risk that. After all the trouble they had gone through to finally get together, he would never risk their happy end. But he did feel happy that he at least got the chance to thank this Madam Zhong. It seemed he once again owed Qiu Ling a thank you for his help.
He glanced over at him but before he could say anything, Qiu Ling already spoke up.
"Anyway, we were actually just talking about you and Nie Huang and just contacted you to hear how you are doing."
Bai Mu's expression eased up and a smile lit up his face, making Madam Zhong feel that she could see why Nie Huang had fallen for this man so hard that she couldn't get over him despite all the years he had disappeared for.
"We're doing very well. Much better than I even hoped we would. How much do your fiance and mother-in-law know?" He glanced at Jing Yi and Madam Zhong who only looked confused. Bai Mu nodded. "I see. Well, Nie Huang is human while I …" He pondered what to say but he felt that going into the details of his backstory wouldn't be too good. It would probably be better to keep it to the bare minimum for now. "I was born immortal. That does bring some trouble. Qiu Ling and … some other people helped us so Nie Huang would be able to become a cultivator. That way, we'll be able to stay together. Right now, she has already started to cultivate. I don't know how long it'll take her to become a true immortal but I'm optimistic. Originally, I never thought this was possible and already wanted to give up. Now … I am so happy there was somebody there to convince me otherwise."
He looked at Qiu Ling and nodded again. Yes, it had been the best decision he ever made in his life to agree to that deal back then. Otherwise … how would his life be now, having to watch her from a distance without any chance to remedy the situation? Watching her die slowly where he couldn't reach her … The regrets the two of them would have had, would have been endless.