Back in the Yun Zou Sect, Xin Lan was smiling at Zheng Yin, the expression in his eyes subtle. The longer he looked at him, the more satisfied he was with this person. "Did you hear what I just said?"
Zheng Yin clenched his hands into fists and then nodded. Naturally, he would pay attention to what the dragons around him were saying. After all, he was at their mercy. And from what he had heard just now, while his impression of that veiled person had gone up slightly, his impression of this one wasn't good at all. This was precisely the type of attitude that made him hate the dragon race.
Xin Lan nodded and then walked around him, taking a closer look. "So, what do you think? How should we transfer some energy to him?"
Zheng Yin raised his chin, trying to keep at least a little dignity under this kind of scrutinizing gaze. "There would be no problem for somebody of the dragon race to do it." Not that he believed that any of them would actually do that. They were all selfish, weren't they?
Xin Lan indeed only gave a hum. Anyway, his Master wasn't in the condition to do it so he would never allow that to happen. As for himself … Well, he certainly didn't want to do it. But maybe he would if that was what his Master wanted.
Before he decided to do so, he would look for other ways though. "Other suggestions? Some herbs maybe?"
Zheng Yin refused to look at him, his impression of Xin Lan hitting rock bottom. "Well, anything nourishing would do. But you probably don't need me to tell you that."
Xin Lan stopped in front of him and tilted his head. This spirit the beast person was quite the wild one, wasn't he? Well, he happened to like that as well. The kind of meek one that would just go along with whatever he said just wasn't to his taste. "Oh? Well, I happen to like hearing it from you."
Not far from them, Jinde sighed. Even if he had been blind, he would've been able to see that Zheng Yin wasn't at all impressed by Xin Lan and instead seemed to want to get rid of him as fast as he could. He went over and lightly touched Xin Lan's shoulder. "Xin Lan, since you have your answer, why don't you step back now?" He didn't wait for his answer and instead turned to Zheng Yin. "I already thought of some herbs but it would likely be better to just directly transfer energy to him, right?"
Zheng Yin's expression eased a little when Jinde spoke to him. At the very least, this person was making an effort. "That's true. If you want to do so, you'll have to take note of his core though. Since it is already damaged, arbitrarily infusing him with energy directly might cause more harm than good."
Jinde turned to Ma Zhi Wu, his gaze complicated. He had never done this before. In any way … While he had recovered quite a bit, it would also set him back. But if it could save a life, then it would likely be for the best to do it. He closed his eyes and wanted to reach out bit Xin Lan already grabbed his wrist.
"You're hurt. If you transfer your energy, it would do more harm than good for you. Are you really willing to risk that? What about your husband?"
Jinde sighed. "I'm already better. Wouldn't it be best to first imbue him with some spiritual energy so he will be able to hold on until the herbs arrive? I won't die but he might. It's just a matter of priority."
Xin Lan furrowed his brows but still refused to let Jinde step up closer to Ma Zhi Wu. "If you really insist on doing this, then let me take your place. Anyway, I can spare it."
Jinde gave him a look. "You don't have to."
Nian Hong Fang who was still sitting next to Ma Zhi Wu and holding his hand looked up at the people around them, unsure of what to say. "This … How about me? I'm just human but maybe I could also do it?" He didn't know what exactly the differences were between the races but anyway, his lover was half-human as well, wasn't he? Maybe it would be possible?
Jinde didn't know the answer to that so he could only defer to Zheng Yin. If it was a dragon, he wouldn't have worried. The spiritual energy that humans and the immortal races used wasn't any different. It was just a matter of how much they were able to give.
Humans normally had a rather low capacity. But in this case, where every drop of spiritual energy counted, even that little bit might be helpful. And if Nian Hong Fang was willing to give his energy, then maybe others would be as well.
Zheng Yin didn't look too convinced though. "In general, it shouldn't be a problem. But … as I said, his core was already damaged, and whoever gives him energy would have to be immensely careful. I don't really recommend trying anything right now. If you've never given him energy before and don't know anything about his beast core, then I wouldn't advise you to do so."
Nian Hong Fang nodded gravely, looking back at his lover and brushing back his hair. "We'll find a way, won't we?"
Ma Zhi Wu had long lost consciousness and was unable to give any indication of what he thought about any of this.
Seeing his disciple like this, the Grandelder came over and turned to Zheng Yin. "We do have energy restoration pills. It can be made into a makeshift potion. I didn't want to give it to him because I was worried this might drain him even more later on. But if it is energy that he needs to hold on until the others are here, maybe we could give him one?"
Zheng Yin pondered for a moment. The idea was pretty good but also very risky. If the others didn't arrive until the moment the pill's effect wore off, Ma Zhi Wu would be in an even worse situation.
Jinde turned to him, pondering himself. "It should work out. Even if the others won't bring back the herbs until then, at the very least, my husband should return with the heaven peak herb. With that, we could already repair his core, couldn't we? And if we do need to cover some time, then it should be enough to give him some of our energy."
Zheng Yin only hesitated a moment longer before he nodded. "I can process the heaven peak herb to heal his core, yes. As long as you can take care of everything else, that will be enough."
Jinde nodded. "Then let's do it that way." Anyway, they were running out of options.