Kui Min told herself so but in the end, she couldn't resist speaking up after all. With Gongsun Chen taking the lead on the way back, she was flying next to Mei Chao Bing and Yun Bei Fen and just couldn't help but look at the small bunny on Yun Bei Fen's arms. She kept silent for a while but finally couldn't help but lean over, giving a smile. "Junior martial brother Yun, what's that, ah?"
Yun Bei Fen looked from Kui Min to Xiao Hui on his arms and then rubbed its head. "He's called Xiao Hui."
Kui Min waited for some further explanation but nothing came. Yun Bei Fen was just happily looking at Xiao Hui, combing through its fur with his fingers. Kui Min pondered and then her gaze swiveled around to Mei Chao Bing.
He raised his brows but in the end, he felt that that reaction wasn't too strange. If Yun Bei Fen didn't explain, then he as the person who seemed to be the closest to Yun Bei Fen should naturally be asked. "It's a spiritual beast. We picked it up on the way to the border region."
"Spiritual beast?" Kui Min raised her brows and then took a closer look. Sure enough, the little bunny had some markings on its fur. She had honestly thought that it was a real bunny. Well, who could fault her? "So … Why do you have a bunny-like spiritual beast?" She looked back at Yun Bei Fen, wondering if there was some reason she couldn't see.
Yun Bei Fen looked up, blinking his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean? Isn't it cute?"
Kui Min's lips twitched. "It's cute, ah. But don't people normally choose a spiritual beast that will be able to help them? Like, don't they have a really strong beast that would be able to fight for them or defend them if something happened? What can the little bunny do?"
Yun Bei Fen raised Xiao Hui higher, tilting his head to look into its eyes. "Well … It can find spiritual herbs."
Kui Min wondered if there would be more but that was already the end of Yun Bei Fen's enumeration. Once again she looked at Mei Chao Bing.
In turn, he could only smile wryly. "It wasn't really convenient to pick anything else. Fen'er's level isn't very high so he won't be able to make a contract with a strong spiritual beast. And if he picks one that is of the same level as himself, then that wouldn't do him much good in the border region, would it? It would at most be as if he had a second person with him but I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough to deter any of these demonic practitioners. So in the end, we went with something that was practical in another way." His eyelids twitched saying that. In fact, he hadn't been sure if this Xiao Hui would come in handy for anything. After all, he hadn't known before that the little bunny was sensitive to spiritual herbs. But, well, nobody needed to know that.
Kui Min nodded. "That's actually a good idea. But … I don't think that'll be of much use in the border region." She looked around. By now, they had almost left the stone desert and the barren ground on the other side could be seen.
Mei Chao Bing nodded. "Yes. Who would've thought that the border region would look like this? I always thought that it wouldn't be too different. Well, let's just hope we won't encounter any cultivators that are stronger than us or maybe a group of them." He patted Yun Bei Fen's head, a bit of worry creeping into his gaze.
Kui Min watched the two of them and couldn't help but continue to be nosy. "What I wanted to ask … Elder Baili said the two of you were engaged?"
In front of them, Gongsun Chen and Yuan Lei perked up their ears, suddenly feeling interested in the mindless gossip as well.
Yun Bei Fen looked up, blinking his eyes at Mei Chao Bing. Actually, he wasn't too sure what his Master had meant with that. Was it just another way of saying they were in a relationship?
Mei Chao Bing looked at his little bunny and smiled. Obviously, Yun Bei Fen didn't understand. For a moment, he considered just keeping it at that but on the other hand, it also wouldn't do if Yun Bei Fen blurted out the truth. "Well, I don't know if you can say it like that. I did talk about it with Elder Baili but I didn't have the time to ask Fen'er."
Yun Bei Fen blinked his eyes again. "Ask what?"
Mei Chao Bing smiled even brighter. "Ask you to marry me. Would you like to? Staying with me forever?"
Yun Bei Fen didn't even think about it and nodded his head. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to carry Xiao Hui, he would've wanted to hug his senior martial brother. "Of course! Isn't that a given?"
"Mn. I guess you're right with that." Mei Chao Bing turned back to Kui Min, the smile not yet gone. "I guess it means we are engaged now."
The two men in front couldn't help but furrow their brows. So you could actually get engaged just like that? Gongsun Chen didn't dare to say anything but Yuan Lei couldn't help but look over his shoulder. "If you weren't engaged before, why did Elder Baili say that?"
Mei Chao Bing sighed. "Well, Fen'er and I have known each other for a long time. But after what happened with my Master …" His smile vanished and for a moment, he looked a little desolate. "It wasn't really convenient to stay around. And then Yun Bei Fen went into closed-door cultivation so …
"Well, at that time, Elder Baili and I talked about it. I was serious about it but it just wasn't the time yet so we agreed to wait for a few years until things calmed down a bit before we'd decide anything for real." He sighed, glancing around the border region. "Who could have known that when things finally did calm down and Yun Bei Fen came out of closed-door cultivation, we would get a mission to go to the border region of all places?
"I think Elder Baili brought that up because he wanted to help but even with that, people will likely keep remembering the things my Master did. I mean that's a matter of course. What he did was horrible. It's just … it's a pity for Fen'er and me but I guess it just isn't the right time yet. We'll we're young. I guess I shouldn't be impatient."
Yuan Lei furrowed his brows and observed the two of them together. "Actually … What Elder Baili said is true. It's not your fault so … Don't think too much about it. Some people might talk but that doesn't mean you're a bad person."
Mei Chao Bing looked at him and his expression eased slightly. "It's a strange day today. Other than Fen'er, today's the first time since that day that anybody told me it's not my fault. Who would've thought I'd even hear it from a second person? Thank you."
Yuan Lei couldn't help but feel a little awkward. He hadn't really known Mei Chao Bing before the matter with his Master so he wasn't close to him but he could also figure that Mei Chao Bing's status in the sect had been high before. And after what had happened to his Master, everybody had abandoned him. It really made one wonder if that was the right attitude for the disciples of a righteous sect to have.