In the next few days, Jing Yi continued to work in the herb field. The servants that had previously been against him slowly warmed up to him when they saw that he was indeed willing to do his share of work. While they couldn’t exactly be called forthcoming, they at least weren’t talking about him anymore and had instead turned to just ignore him or maybe begrudgingly acknowledge his existence.

As for Peng Mu … Jing Yi had made sure to work as close to him as he could, spend his breaks where Peng Mu spend his, and even followed him back to the house in the evening and then over to the field again in the morning.

Unfortunately, despite all this, he hadn’t discovered a single thing. There was no woman other than the steward’s wife around the herb field and Peng Mu hadn’t left the vicinity to meet up with anybody outside either. Instead, all of his time seemed to be spent in the field or in the house where all the workers lived together.

It made Jing Yi wonder if there actually was a demon but since Liu Cheng knew more about these things, he continued to investigate. As for how he wanted to do that … Well, he had decided that he couldn’t just passively follow Peng Mu around and hope that he would reveal something. No, he had to become more pro-active.

They were currently back in the servants’ quarters. Jing Yi was sitting on the edge of the bed and watched Peng Mu mend his outer robe that had gotten torn that day. Looking at this ordinary scene, Jing Yi sighed.

Peng Mu looked up and raised his brows. "What is it? Bored?"

Jing Yi shook his head. "No. I just had to think of my fiance."

Peng Mu’s brows raised even higher when he heard that. "You’re actually engaged?" He could hardly believe it. He hadn’t asked how old Jing Yi was but he hadn’t struck him as old enough to get married or even think about getting married. To think that there was a fiance in the picture …

Jing Yi smiled at that. "Yes, but it hasn’t been that long. We met not even a year ago." He got up from where he was sitting and walked over to the table, sitting down across from Peng Mu as if he wanted to talk.

This was the plan he had come up with: If his initial thoughts were right and Peng Mu wasn’t an unfeeling accomplice but actually just somebody who had been made use of by that demon, then he might regard this person as somebody close to him. Maybe he actually loved her and was thinking of marrying her. If that was the case, they might be able to bond over this fact. Especially so if Peng Mu had troubles seeing this woman of his dreams just like he couldn’t see Qiu Ling currently.

It wasn’t a foolproof plan but it was the best he currently got. Anyway, it would at least allow him to ask some questions after he told Peng Mu. He couldn’t know for sure if he would get a truthful answer but it was his best shot. And regardless of how little information he managed to get out of him, Liu Cheng might be able to deduce something from that.

Peng Mu’s smile became a little indulgent when he saw Jing Yi acting like this. "You must be very much in love then if you’ve already decided to get married."

Jing Yi nodded. "Mn. Well, it wasn’t that easy in the beginning. But after spending some time together, I realized that he was very good. Now, I also think it’s the right choice. It’s just …" He sighed again and then rested his arms on the table, putting his chin on top. "We were traveling together before and then he got injured. He went home ahead of me with somebody else so I don’t even know how he is doing right now."

Peng Mu put down the robe and gave Jing Yi a worried look. "Was it very serious?"

Jing Yi lightly furrowed his brows at that. Unfortunately, he wasn’t even sure of that.

Peng Mu sighed when he saw his expression. "I’m sorry that happened. I hope he’ll make it through."

Jing Yi nodded but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy at that. Since the day Qiu Ling vanished, he had often wondered if maybe he was seriously injured but up until now, he had never even thought that it might be even worse. Could it really be that … Qiu Ling wouldn’t survive this?

Now that he thought about it, it was entirely possible. After all, several weeks had already passed. If the injury wasn’t too bad, Qiu Ling should have been back on his feet by now, shouldn’t he? But if he was, then there was no chance he would obediently stay in the capital city. No, knowing Qiu Ling, he would have rushed over back to the seaside and done everything he could to find him just so he would be able to see him a single day sooner. That was just the type of person he was.

Jing Yi sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I really hope you’re right." Ah, with this possibility in front of his eyes, he couldn’t help but want to deal with things here as soon as possible. Returning to the capital city was the most important right now. He couldn’t delay it.

Thus, even though Jing Yi felt terrible thinking about what might have happened to Qiu Ling and how grave his injuries might still be, he forced himself to focus on Peng Mu again and continue with his plan. He could only hope that it would work out.