The four people left in the room looked at each other in silence. In the end, Fei Bai Mu cleared her throat and looked at Leng Jin Yu. "That … Will I get my disciple back?" This had gone a little too fast for her to react. Well, maybe it would have been a little easier if she hadn't been so surprised when she saw that person. Anyway, she felt like she could see just why their Grandmaster had chosen to stay here. That probably was the type of person a man would go to extreme lengths for.
Leng Jin Yu looked through the door that Jinde hadn't close behind him and watched how he sat down at the edge of the lake with Hua Lin Yu, giving the boy a brilliant smile and talking to him softly. Jinde … looked extremely happy.
After they met again in this life and finally got together again, Jinde's mood had become much better already. But the things that happened before had done some damage and those scars weren't easy to heal. Losing Chun Yin had been one thing. The matter with the demon king was another.
He had already guessed that this might have hurt him even more deeply when Jinde had talked about having another child in the future. After all, he wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. And … even though it had seemed as if he had joked back then, there had also been a certain seriousness to his gaze. It was something he dearly wished for, something that he wanted at all costs but didn't quite dare to ask for. And now, seeing this child, all the thoughts seemed to come up again. It made him realize just how much Jinde really wanted this.
He gave a hum and then turned back to Fei Bai Mu with a smile. "Jinde loves children. Just give him a bit of time. I'm sure he'll let him go afterward." Although … it could be that Jinde's heart would be really heavy when he had to do so.
Before the Sect Master could say anything, Qiu Ling already huffed. "Just make one of your own. Why would you want to keep a child that has anything to do with that bastard?"
Leng Jin Yu refrained from responding to that. He also had his troubles with Xin Lan but he wouldn't take it out on an unrelated child. Although … He looked at Fei Bai Mu and raised his brows. "Actually, what does this all have to do with Xin Lan?" Before, they hadn't been able to finish that line of thought because Jinde suddenly appeared but he was still curious.
Fei Bai Mu leaned forward and tried to glance outside but there wasn't much to see. Jinde was sitting with his back to them so the only thing they saw was that golden hair flowing down his back and gathering on the ground and that pair of slender shoulders clad in a white robe. "I guess your husband is also of the dragon race?"
"He is. Actually, he and Xin Lan know each other quite well."
"Mn." Fei Bai Mu nodded. "The child is the descendant of the Hua family. I don't know how but they somehow got acquainted with that Xin Lan. He stayed with them for a few years, and that child took a shine to him. I'm not quite sure what exactly transpired there either. He only came to our sect about a week ago."
"I see." Jing Leng Jin Yu lightly furrowed his brows and then looked outside again. If it had to do with Xin Lan … Normally, he would only ever do something for Jinde. But he really couldn't see any reason for taking care of this child. Sure, Jinde loved children but it wasn't like Xin Lan had brought him here.
And anyway, the child was human. Wouldn't a dragon child be better for Jinde? At the very least, it would grow up more slowly, giving him more time to make up for the things he had missed out on before.
Leng Jin Yu pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned back to Fei Bai Mu with an apologetic smile. "Well, you certainly hadn't come here because of that."
Fei Bai Mu nodded. "Not quite no. But then again, it seems that what I came here for isn't that different either. The Yun Zou Sect asked for our help because of the disciples that went missing. The one behind that is the Chun Feng Sect. The person who informed us of this matter never mentioned the Yun Zou Sect but was able to give a detailed list of other sects' disciples that had been taken captive. That person also mentioned that among the people that had been suspected to be demons was your husband.
"Originally, I didn't want to meddle in your matters. But when the Yun Zou Sect asked me for help, I thought it would be a good opportunity to come here without alarming anybody. Do you have any idea who that person could be?"
Leng Jin Yu quietly pondered and then looked out of the door once again. "All things considered … I actually think it might be Xin Lan. There aren't many people that know that I and Jinde are here. And I guess he would have an interest in making sure that the Chun Feng Sect wouldn't come to bother us.
"So in that case, I do think it's likely for him to try to intervene. He probably mentioned me because he felt that it would make you get involved in this matter even if you didn't care about the other disciples. And he probably didn't say anything about the Yun Zou Sect and their disciples because he didn't want to draw even more attention to the sect. He probably wanted to make it look like they had only suspected people from here but not actually taken them captive. That would have made you stay away from the Yun Zou Sect."
Fei Bai Mu nodded but wasn't quite sure what to think of this. She had only seen that Xin Lan person for a short moment when he had pushed the child to her. The impression she had of him … It wasn't too deep. She had only realized that he had to be very strong. To think that he was actually involved with their Grandmaster and his husband … "Your relationship with that Xin Lan … How is it?"
Qiu Ling looked from one person to the other and couldn't help but grin. "I really wonder how you're going to dress that up."
Leng Jin Yu shot him a look but didn't bother to say anything else. "Well … He is very important to Jinde. Naturally, it does sting a bit to see my husband be so close to another man. But it is nothing to worry about. The two of them have a strong bond. I'm not going to try and sabotage that. Anyway, he has done a lot for us. I think he is somebody that can be trusted."
Fei Bai Mu nodded and didn't ask any further. Anyway, as long as the person was on their side, she didn't need to know anymore. The private matters of their Grandmaster … they could stay private for all she cared.