Back at the time when he had still been reigning over the dragon race, he had had to do with the spiritual beast clan more than once. The relationship between both of their races … It was a little complicated if not to say strained.
By virtue of how they had come to be and the intentions Tian had had with them, the spiritual beast clan was below the station of the dragon race. As the dragon king, while he did rule over the dragons, he also had the right to demand the allegiance of the spiritual beast clan. And even the lowest-ranked dragon would still have to be treated with courtesy by the highest-ranked spiritual beast. It was a little … unfair.
Following that, for the spiritual beast people, it meant that they mostly feared the dragons. After all, what were they supposed to do if they offended them? A lot of them believed that going to the dragon king to ask for help wouldn't yield a result at all and maybe even get them and their kind into more trouble. After all, wouldn't the dragon king side with his own people?
Their fear was, of course, more than understandable. As was the resentment that quite a few of them certainly harbored. And why shouldn't they? Just because of a circumstance they had no control over whatsoever, they were forced to bend their knee for the dragons. Who wouldn't resent the other race that could make them do so?
But the dragons also hadn't chosen this. That was the reason why quite a few of the dragon kings had chosen to just stay away and regard the spirit beast tribe as distant relatives that one would only see at a gathering every few years if there was a big event. At the very least, that was what he had always done.
While Jinde was musing to himself, Zheng Yin continued to look over Ma Zhi Wu, checking every single wound and scratch as if this task was the most important he would ever get. He only turned around when he was sure that he hadn't overlooked anything. He looked at Jing Yi but then couldn't help but give Jinde another glance.
Jinde sighed to himself, wondering if maybe he should just go back to his dimension and wait for news there. Anyway, the people of the spiritual beast clan were normally quite well-versed in alchemy. Even though this child seemed to be young, it was likely that his attainment in refining was quite high. He might be able to take care of this matter on his own.
But then again, he had promised Qiu Ling that he would heal this person. He didn't feel like it would be a good idea to just leave because somebody else was here now who might have the ability to take over the task. Anyway, since he had already come out, he might as well stay and see things through to the end. Since the Chun Feng Sect was out of the picture for the moment, this shouldn't be a problem.
Jinde got up from where he had been sitting and strolled over, stopping right next to Zheng Yin. He nodded at Ma Zhi Wu with his chin and then gave Zheng Yin a questioning look. "What do you think?"
Zheng Yin immediately lowered his head and took a step back. "I'm not very learned."
"And what do you really think?" Jinde really would've liked to take off the veil to show this child that he really meant no harm and was, in fact, a very patient person that was easy to talk to but considering that there were still other people around, he didn't dare to do so. Anyway, even if the Chun Feng Sect wasn't a problem anymore, he still wasn't healed enough to say that it wouldn't be a problem if Jin Ling somehow caught wind of this and rushed over.
In fact, he was quite surprised that that child of his had willingly left from outside the array and not returned until now. Even though he had apparently sent somebody to investigate it, it still wasn't like him to give up so easily. It made him wonder if something was going on in the demon realm that occupied Jin Ling to this degree. If that was the case, maybe he should be a bit more worried.
Jinde shook his head at himself and focused on Zheng Yin again. "I understand that you might have some … reservations about speaking in front of me. But I don't mind. Actually, while I do know a thing or two about alchemy, I'm not that knowledgeable about humans. I might be able to help him somewhat but you might have a better idea about it. So why don't you let me hear it? This person saved somebody of my race so I do owe him. I would be very happy if we could make the best effort to help him."
Zheng Yin was still somewhat hesitant but he finally nodded. If this was what the person of the dragon race wanted, then he naturally had to do so. "His injuries are grave. If he isn't treated soon, then I am afraid he will not be able to survive. I would estimate that he has eight hours at most."
The Grandelder that had been working silently at the side, glanced up at that. "Eight hours? We have treated him quite a bit already."
Zheng Yin nodded. "And if he was human, then maybe it would work. The problem is that this person … I'm afraid he isn't quite human."