After bidding farewell, Xin Lan and Hua Lin Yu finally left the Yun Zou Sect. They didn't really have a direction or a goal in mind, and just walked out of the gate hand-in-hand, and down the path through the forest. Hua Lin Yu curiously looked around, taking in every little bit of the scenery. Previously, even though he had been a disciple of the Jian Yi Sect, he had hardly gotten the chance to do something like this.
Come to think of it, Xin Lan didn't even know about these things yet that had happened in all that time he had stayed at the sect. Hua Lin Yu turned to him, smiling faintly. "When I was really young, somebody broke into the estate of my family. My parents were afraid that whoever it was might be after me so they sent me to the Jian Yi Sect."
Xin Lan glanced at him, wondering just where he was going with this. "I was there when you were sent over."
"I know. I just wanted to say that after that, I didn't get the chance to leave much. Because my Master knew about that problem, she hardly ever let me go out. I was training inside the sect, learning about all kinds of things concerning cultivation and the many different practices out there, but contrary to the other disciples of my generation, I couldn't really go and gain any experience on missions.
"When my senior martial brothers and senior martial sisters went out, I always had to stay inside. It was just books over books and some old jade slips or talismans … there wasn't anything that was really fun. That time when we met in the capital city of the Long kingdom, was the first time that Master actually let me go outside because she figured that I was too old to keep me inside all the time. But even then, we would only travel on well-known routes and only stop in the big cities where they were sure that we could ask for help from other sects or cultivation families if something happened. I've never had the chance to be outside like this."
Xin Lan looked at him and realized that Hua Lin Yu looked really unhappy. Clearly, that time hadn't been something he liked. "I'm sorry."
Hua Lin Yu smiled and snuggled up against his side, shaking his head. "What are you being sorry for? In any case, it's not like it's your fault. I just wonder who that was and what exactly they wanted though. Isn't it strange? I mean I was only a newborn child. Who cares about somebody like that?"
Xin Lan was of half a mind to tell him that it had actually been him but then again, that might create new problems between them. Thus, he finally kept quiet. In any case, if he told him that it had been him, he would need to tell him just why he had done this. And that would require him to tell Hua Lin Yu about Xiang Yu. That was something that he really didn't want to do. If he did, who knew of it wouldn't end up just like with Qiu Ling and that reincarnation of the Son of Heaven? That was definitely something that he didn't want to risk.
Even without Xin Lan's input, Hua Lin Yu was able to think about it. "Actually, it must be because I'm especially talented! So that either it was some hidden Master that wanted me to be their disciple or it was somebody with nefarious interests who wanted to do something bad to me."
Xin Lan nodded, figuring that something along those lines would be a logical conclusion. And, well, even though he didn't want to be his Master, he had indeed gone after him because he had promised to be his lover and needed to make sure that he got the right child later on. So it wasn't like Hua Lin Yu was that far off.
"Well, in these years since I was brought away, that person hasn't appeared again. I think that's a little strange. But maybe that just means that it really was the former and after checking around for a bit, they realized that I wasn't the kind of disciple they wanted after all." Hua Lin Yu actually looked a little down when he said so as if he had imagined the glorious scene of the hidden expert appearing to tell him to follow them to some secret realm where they would impart all their knowledge to him.
Xin Lan watched his expression for a little while longer, feeling that it was quite the novel experience. Previously, no matter who it was, he usually hadn't had the chance to see something like this. Even though Jinde had still been young when he met him, he hadn't been so young that he had needed to care about these things. He had already been established as the king of the dragon race and had long finished learning under his Master. This really was a first to him.
Xin Lan smiled and then reached up, gently brushing through Hua Lin Yu's hair again. "Well, if you're right with that, then I'm pretty sure that they will already have regretted it deeply. If it was me, I definitely would've wanted you to be my disciple."
Hua Lin Yu chuckled and looked up, his eyes glittering with some unknown feelings. "I think you're just biased."
Xin Lan leaned down and pressed a kiss onto his lips before pulling back with a satisfied expression. "I will not deny that. But in any case, I still think that I'm not wrong. And didn't even that Sect Master of the Jian Yi Sect want you as a disciple? That should show that I'm not too biased to make this decision. Clearly, she also thinks that you are somebody special."