Maybe Jing Yi’s melancholic mood was a little too obvious. The other three couldn’t help but notice and exchanged glances with each other. After knowing him for a few weeks, they had already gotten the whole story of what had happened out of him and felt that they knew him quite well.

Most likely, he was once again thinking about his fiance and worrying himself to death. Even though he had said that he had only recently come to know that person better and had even rejected him before, they had their own thoughts on this matter. Obviously, he liked that person very much. He was probably just too shy to say it outright.

One of the servants coughed and then pulled over a chair, sitting in front of Jing Yi and giving him a smile. "What’s the matter? Aren’t you feeling well?"

Jing Yi smiled back and shook his head. "That’s not it. I was just thinking … We won’t be able to see each other anymore in the future. Who knows if we’ll ever meet again?" To be honest, he felt that it was unlikely. Even though he knew where the Haibin town was, these people were often out traveling. So even if he went there some years later, they might not be there anymore.

The other man couldn’t help but grin. "Oh, so it’s just that you’re already missing us while we’re still in front of you. That’s not a good thing to do. You should at least wait until we’ve really left. Otherwise, wouldn’t you make us feel bad for leaving you alone here?"

One of the others came over and sat down next to Jing Yi, patting his shoulder. "Don’t say that. I’m pretty sure he won’t miss us when we’re really gone. After all, won’t he meet up with that fiance of his? I bet he’ll have forgotten about us as soon as he sees him again."

The other two agreed in a joking manner and even the last servant came over, nudging Jing Yi in the side. "I guess it’s no wonder. From what you’ve said, your fiance should be several years younger than us. I bet he’s also better to look at than us. Isn’t that so?"

Jing Yi’s face turned red and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Naturally, he felt that this and that had nothing to do with each other. He didn’t miss a person for their looks. He missed them because he liked them and wasn’t able to spend time with them anymore.

But at the same time, he also couldn’t bring himself to lie. And saying that Qiu Ling wasn’t was better looking than these men would definitely be one. Furthermore, if Qiu Ling ever heard that he had said something like this, he would definitely feel hurt. That wasn’t what he wanted. Especially now that he had already realized how good Qiu Ling actually was, he wouldn’t feel comfortable doing something that he knew would hurt him.

The others joked around even more when he didn’t say anything against it.

"Ah, look at that! He’s keeping quiet so as to not hurt our feelings."

"True, true. It’s really a pity that we won’t get to see his fiance. I really would have liked to take a look at his face to see how good he really is."

"Yeah, don’t you think that’d be kind of necessary to get a realistic picture of him? If you ask people in love, they’ll always describe the target of their affection as if they were a god."

Jing Yi’s cheeks flushed red but he couldn’t say anything against it either. Yes, maybe he had been talking only well about Qiu Ling. But what could he do? After all the help he had received and after how Qiu Ling had cared for him these weeks, he really had trouble not seeing him in a completely different light. And as for the few things he’d have something to complain about … well, he wouldn’t say anything about those in front of other people.

Seeing Jing Yi’s reactions, the three men were delighted. It seemed they had successfully made him think of something else than those depressing thoughts. Since they had already reached their goal, the three of them stopped teasing him and just had a normal conversation until one of the people from the inn came to notify them that their food was prepared. The three men leaped to their feet and rushed for the door, making Jing Yi laugh. He shook his head and slowly followed them to the dining room.

As soon as they entered, Si Fen waved him over. Jing Yi said goodbye to the other three and then went to sit down next to her. "Did something happen?"

Si Fen shook her head and motioned for him to sit down. "It’s nothing much. Just that I already sent somebody to contact the people I know in the town to inform them that I’ve arrived. I’ve also had them mention about your matter and asked if one of them would be leaving in the direction of the Long kingdom anytime soon."

At first, Jing Yi’s expression lit up but then he couldn’t help but become worried. Si Fen’s expression didn’t look as if she had any good news for him. "I guess … nobody needs to do that?"

Si Fen sighed but still shook her head. "That’s true. Unfortunately, none of them will be leaving in that direction. At least not anytime soon. I know that you can’t just wait. You have to go back and check on your fiance as soon as possible."

Jing Yi nodded. "It’s true. I can’t really wait until somebody would leave here. The longer I wait, the worse it would be." Well, it wasn’t like he would be able to help Qiu Ling but at the very least, he wanted to be at his side again. Since the journey itself would take a long time, he didn’t want to add even more time by waiting.

"Well, while none of them are going there, there is one other option. One of my friends told me that there’s a guest in this town that is traveling a lot. It could be that this person would leave in that direction after they finished their business here. So you might be able to go with that guest.

"It’s just that … I don’t know that person personally and I doubt that two people traveling together would be as safe as you going with a whole caravan. I’m not quite sure I like this idea, to be honest. But it’s you who has to undertake this journey and it’s also your fiance so … I guess you could at least talk with them and then decide if it’s a risk you are willing to take."

Jing Yi nodded. "That’s true. Thank you very much for your help. I really wouldn’t know what to do if it wasn’t for you."

Si Fen rubbed his head and gave him a smile. "Don’t worry about it. I promised I’d help you out so I’ll do that. Anyway, just asking doesn’t cost me anything. Let’s just see if this works out. For now, let’s eat first though." She knocked on the table and left it at that for the moment.

Jing Yi couldn’t help but think about what kind of person this guest could be. Would this really be the solution he had hoped for? Or would he have to look for another one afterward?