Everybody continued to work until finally, steps sounded from outside. Jinde's expression lit up and he rushed to the door, intending to throw himself into Leng Jin Yu's arms. As a consequence, he came face-to-face with Qiu Ling who looked at him with a weird expression.
"What are you trying to do?"
Jinde's lips twitched and he leaned out of the door, looking in both directions. "I thought your father was coming back. How come he's still not here? He only went to the spirit beast people's territory. The time difference isn't as bad there. He should have returned before you."
Qiu Ling continued to look at him weirdly and then moved past him while pushing a box into his hand. "How would I know? Anyway, he is the herb that you wanted. Now, do you need anything else?"
Jinde held onto the box and gave a sigh. "No, there's nothing else. Just sit down somewhere and wait. We still need the other herbs." He returned into the palace himself and went to put down the herb next to the one that Xin Lan had brought back. Unfortunately, the still wasn't enough to start the refining process.
Qiu Ling decided not to bother with him any longer and just shook his head, looking around for Jing Yi. Seeing his beloved stand to the side with a helpless expression, his own face lit up and he finally went over, pulling him into his arms. "My love …"
Jing Yi also felt relieved when he saw Qiu Ling again. "You're back." He hugged him back and smiled to himself. While he hadn't had to worry about Qiu Ling too much since Jinde had mentioned that he wasn't doing anything dangerous, it was still nice to have him back. At the very least, he wouldn't just uselessly stand at the side now.
Not far from them, Shao Hai turned around, slightly furrowing his brows. So far, he hadn't dared to say anything to Jing Yi because he was still worried about Ma Zhi Wu and didn't want to disturb anyone. But seeing how the Grandmaster's disciple just came back and behaved so casually, he regretted it a bit. Anyway, while it had been some years, he still wasn't quite reconciled with the fact that Jing Yi had chosen this person over him despite the fact that they knew each other longer.
Qiu Ling glanced over his shoulder when he noticed that somebody was watching them and then raised his brows at Shao Hai. Thinking back to everything that had happened previously when Jing Yi was young, he hugged him even tighter and gave the boy a triumphant look.
To him, what happened to that Ma Zhi Wu wasn't really important. He was mostly doing this because that guy knew his beloved and that Nian Hong Fang had helped them before. Otherwise, he didn't care about that person though.
Jing Yi looked up questioningly when he noticed that Qiu Ling seemed to be somewhere else with his thoughts. "What's the matter?"
Qiu Ling looked back and cupped Jing Yi's cheeks, leaning down to give him a kiss. "It's nothing, my love. I'm just making sure that everything is alright so you won't have to worry."
Jing Yi wasn't too sure if he could trust this and wanted to take a look but at that moment, they could once again hear footsteps from outside.
Everybody turned to the entrance. Jinde perked up again but considering what had happened just now, he didn't rush over immediately. Anyway, he would first see if the person coming over was his husband or not. If it was, he could still go and plunge into his arms. It wouldn't be too late by then.
This time, Jinde was indeed in luck. Leng Jin Yu stepped inside with Wu Ya following in his wake and his expression lit up when he saw Jinde. He walked over and pulled him into his arms, kissing his cheek through the veil. "I'm back."
"And are you hurt?"
Leng Jin Yu shook his head. "Not even a scratch. I just had to convince them to leave the herb to me." He let go of Jinde and motioned over to where Wu Ya was awkwardly holding the box in his hands. "He's holding onto it for me. He said he wanted to make sure of what exactly was going on first."
Jinde raised his brows and then looked over, his expression behind the veil immediately derailing. How come … This actually turned out to be a person he knew? Just what were the chances?
He turned around and reached up, rubbing his brow.
Leng Jin Yu raised his brows but he felt that it might be best not to say anything. He turned around to Wu Yan, then motioned over to the table where Ma Zhi Wu was still lying. "Well, please go and take a look."
Wu Ya looked at Jinde's figure for a moment longer but since he couldn't see his face, he let it go for the moment and walked over to the table. Looking at the person on it, he reached out for his wrist and took his pulse. Noticing that it was indeed different from humans, he nodded and put the box with the herb down. "Very well. It seems that you've said the truth. In that case, I'll leave the herb to you."
Leng Jin Yu nodded and went to pick it up, handing it over to Jinde afterward. "I'll leave it to you then. As for this person …" He once again looked at Wu Ya. "I believe that you were searching for somebody."
Wu Ya nodded. "Yes, somebody of our tribe. I'll go and take care of that right now."
Before he could turn around though, Zheng Yin got up from where he was sitting between the human disciples and came over. "Wu Ya. I think the one you're looking for might be me?"
Wu Ya looked over and his expression lit up. "Zheng Yin. So you're here. It seems that I won't have to go and search for you then."
The two of them smiled at each other, making Xin Lan who was standing at the side raise his brows. This sure was interesting.