Back in the mortal realm, the people that were visiting the Yun Zou Sect were still amazed at the ascension of somebody in the sect. After talking it over among themselves, all of them rushed to congratulate Sect Master Yuchi who couldn't help but be a little embarrassed in turn.
Truth be told, he had no idea just who it was that had ascended. Why hadn't he known that they had such a genius in the sect? Thus, he could only lightly deflect the praise and hope that somebody would step out to enlighten him soon. At the very least, that would hopefully happen before somebody could ask for the identity of this genius cultivator directly.
The only person other than the couple that had just gotten married who didn't share the excitement was Xin Lan. He could imagine just who it was that had ascended based on the reaction of Qiu Ling and his two advisers. Thus, he didn't think that it was too strange.
While it was true that the reincarnations of the trueborn gods in the trials were not the same person anymore, for a person like Zhong Jing Yi who actually remembered part of his previous life, it would be strange if he wasn't able to ascend. After all, the immortal realms were a place were with much more spiritual energy where cultivation was commonplace. In fact, the one who did not have any magical abilities would be the odd one out. So to have even some memory of a person from there would naturally give him an advantage as a cultivator. What was surprising about his ascension when it was viewed in this light?
Because of that, Xin Lan's focus was more on the couple that had just gotten married. He glanced at Hua Lin Yu next to him, put a hand on his back, and inched closer. "Would you like to go over and congratulate them?"
Hua Lin Yu who had also been amazed at the person's ascension looked up, not quite sure what Xin Lan was talking about. Then, he was startled when he saw just how close Xin Lan had gotten and immediately forgot what he had been thinking about. "Ah … Sure?"
He had been happy when Xin Lan invited him along to that wedding but he also hadn't been able to help but worry. After all, things were still very much awkward between them. And he was afraid that they would be until the moment when he finally told Xin Lan that he wanted to marry him after all. If that moment ever came. After all, even though he knew how things would turn out if he didn't, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He still felt much more drawn to Bai Mu than he probably should. It was a pity that there was nothing he could do about that.
Xin Lan didn't think too much. He knew that it would take quite some time before Hua Lin Yu would be able to come to terms with whatever it was that was holding him back. He didn't have the expectation that this day would change anything. He was just here because this was Jinde's wedding after all. For his master, he would naturally come to visit. Taking Hua Lin Yu along was just an added bonus at the side.
The two of them strolled over, finally stopping in front of Jinde and Leng Jin Yu. Jinde hadn't bothered to cover up so his face and the golden hair were visible to everyone.
Xin Lan looked at him appreciatively but once again, there was nothing to be felt of the previous feelings. He finally just smiled and inclined his head. "Congratulations. To me, the previous wedding is the one I think of as more binding but it is good to see that you were able to have another one according to human customs."
Jinde chuckled at that. Considering that Xin Lan was the person who had been their witness the last time, he could imagine that he was having this kind of thought. "You do have to admit that the red robe fits me quite well though, right?"
Xin Lan's smile eased a lot at that. "It does. But then again, no matter what kind of robe was common for a human wedding, I would probably still say the same. You are gorgeous no matter what you wear."
Hua Lin Yu who had been looking at Jinde, happy to see him again, turned to look at Xin Lan. He was used to getting compliments from Xin Lan but had never heard him compliment anyone else. No matter which person had tried to get close to him in the dragon realm, he told them off without a second thought after he realized that it made him unhappy. Now though, he was blatantly praising somebody in front of him. It … made him strangely uncomfortable.
He couldn't deny that Xin Lan's words were true though. Jinde did indeed look stunning in the red robe. It made his golden hair look even more fascinating than usual. He looked ethereal, completely not like a human. Well, he obviously wasn't human. But in any case, that didn't change the fact that hearing those words from Xin Lan still hurt.
Hua Lin Yu lowered his gaze, trying to make sense of this feeling. Clearly, his feelings for Xin Lan weren't the same anymore as before. Clearly, he was more interested in being with Bai Mu than he was in being with Xin Lan. So why did this bother him so much? Shouldn't he be happy that Xin Lan was also able to find somebody else? Or was it that he had a problem with this because this person had already gotten married to somebody else?
Hua Lin Yu quietly nodded to himself. Yes. That had to be it. He was just worried because even if Xin Lan moved on, he should move on to somebody he could actually be with. Not a person that would inevitably be unreachable for him. Yes, that had to be it. It had nothing to do with any feelings he had for Xin Lan. This was just … because despite everything, he still wished him well.