Xin Lan furrowed his brows. He really wanted to deny what she said about this but she was more or less right. What she had seen was the truth and even though it wasn't necessarily the case that he would make Hua Lin Yu unhappy, there also wasn't any guarantee that he would make him happy. After all, if you didn't love someone, then how much effort would you put in?
Especially in this case where Fei Bai Mu didn't know the whole story behind this, it would be hard for her to imagine that he would actually put in enough effort all the time. And since Hua Lin Yu was a cultivator, there was no saying how much time it actually would be.
If Hua Lin Yu made it until his ascension — which was more than likely considering his current level and age — then there was a good chance that he would live for several hundreds of thousands of years. How long could he pretend for? If he didn't end up developing some kind of feelings for Hua Lin Yu, things would get difficult in the long-term. And when everything broke down … the boy really would be unhappy if he was the one who held some feelings.
Xin Lan didn't quite know what to do for the time being. He actually had no choice. His promise to Xiang Yu meant that he couldn't turn back. Otherwise, he would lose his life. No, more than that. There wouldn't even be a chance to be reborn. That was how vicious the oath he had given had been. The little fallen god had really made things difficult for him.
After a while, he sighed, clasping his hands behind his back. "If I gave you a good enough reason, would you reconsider those words?"
Fei Bai Mu turned to face him, watching his expression. "It is hard to say without knowing what that explanation would be. I do not want to see my disciple be heartbroken in the future. That's the only thing I want. I'm not quite sure if you can give any explanation that would take that worry from me."
Xin Lan didn't answer immediately. Instead, he started walking around the stone garden, looking at the sculptures. "Things can seem really simple at first but when taking a closer look, you will realize that there is a hidden meaning behind them. There's more to them than meets the eye."
Fei Bai Mu slightly raised her brows and followed him, also looking at the stone garden. "This is actually the place where one of the arrays keeping the Jian Yi Sect safe is located."
"I can see that." He stopped on the other side and then motioned to one of the stones. "You could probably do without any but this one."
Fei Bai Mu nodded. "That is the anchor of the array. You're not wrong. In regards to Xiao Yu … what do you think it is that he can't do without?"
Xin Lan turned to look at her, his gaze grave. "It's a person at his side that won't betray him. But the person this concerns is not Hua Lin Yu but the one he has originally been."
This time, Fei Bai Mu's gaze changed. "Your meaning is …"
"You really think I would have bothered to spend time with a child of some human family and even give a promise such as that?"
"To be honest, I would not call your words back then a promise. You might as well have had been joking. If you didn't return now, Hua Lin Yu wouldn't have had a chance to track you down, would he?"
"That is true. But I did promise somebody else something. And that is why I'm afraid that whether you give your blessing or not, I will not be able to stay away from Hua Lin Yu."
Fei Bai Mu nodded slowly. "I think I'm beginning to understand where this is going. Asking for a blessing was a mere formality."
"Asking for your blessing was something that Hua Lin Yu's father suggested. Asking him for his blessing was indeed just a mere formality though. I wouldn't mind just marrying the boy like that. I have never cared about what anybody else said. Well, maybe there is one person whose opinion I would consider. But even then, I don���t think there's a way around this.
"Still, what you're worried about won't happen. As long as Hua Lin Yu lives and wants me to be at his side, I will be. Even if he doesn't want me to be at his side, I will still cling to him. In this life of his, no matter what happens, the two of us will not be separable."
"So if he didn't love you …"
"Then I would have to expend some more effort to make him fall in love. But since he is, why not just say yes? Don't you think it would make him happy? And I do promise you that I treat my lovers very well.
"Maybe my feelings for him aren't very deep. Maybe to me, this just to pass my time. But it doesn't mean that he will be unhappy with me. And who knows? Even a human can have a long life as a cultivator. With his aptitude, it is quite possible that he will be able to hold on for several tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. Maybe even longer. Who says that feelings couldn't develop in that time? To be fair, he does strike my fancy."
Fei Bai Mu gave him a look that was hovering somewhere between disbelief and a bit of reproach. This was definitely not what she wanted to hear. "You know, this would have sounded quite nice if you left out the last sentence."
Xin Lan smiled. "I do not want to lie though. Whether it is his looks or the temperament he has shown so far, I do like it. As for anything else … we don't know each other very well. Maybe with some time, that will change. Maybe my heart will also change. Believe me, I'm the person that would welcome that the most."