Shen Lei’s emotions were rather tangled when he thought about it. But just that alone wouldn’t be able to change anything so he pushed the thought away. Even if he couldn’t come up with a complete solution, it was still better to slowly work on things.
Finding out more might bring them some clues that they could really use. That was what he had to focus on just like everybody else. Maybe they would be able to make sense of it when there was more to be seen or maybe the Elders would be able to come up with something that was still behind the horizon.
Thus, he just didn’t think about it any further and looked for something else to do. His gaze couldn’t help but travel to Luo Lin’s little junior and his lover who were sitting together.
Looking at them, Shen Lei couldn’t help but give a wry smile. How nice it had to be to actually have your lover at your side while you were doing this kind of thing. This mission would surely be better if Luo Lin was at his side. Although, then again, maybe he didn’t actually want that. If his little fairy was at his side, he would probably just worry.
Well, Zhi Guan wasn’t a good person to talk to so he got up and walked over to the two of them, sitting down with a smile. "I hope I’m not disturbing this world of two too much."
Mei Chao Bing who had already talked to him before just smiled faintly. "How could senior martial brother Shen be a disturbance? It is nice to see that you care so much about Fen’er." He brushed through his lover’s hair, feeling that it really was a good thing. Just the thought that there was him, Zhi Guan, and Shen Lei here who cared about Yun Bei Fen deeply made him feel especially calm. Even if something were to happen to one of them, there would still be another two people to keep him safe. And back at the Teng Yong Sect’s camp, there was even Elder Baili as well. There really was no reason to worry.
Shen Lei nodded, being able to see exactly what Mei Chao Bing was thinking at a glance. He turned to Yun Bei Fen next and blinked his eyes. "So, this is the first time for you to be out on a mission, isn’t it?" He remembered that back then, this little one had only ever been hanging around Elder Baili’s valley, either sticking to his own senior martial brothers or going to see what Mei Chao Bing was doing. Actually, it had been quite cute to watch. Still, it also meant that Yun Bei Fen didn’t have much experience. He couldn’t help but wonder how he was doing now that the situation had finally come up.
Yun Bei Fen looked at him, apparently not worried at all. "It’s alright. In any case, Mei Chao Bing is with me." As if to prove his words, he burrowed further into Mei Chao Bing’s arms and smiled brightly.
Shen Lei gave a hum, still feeling a little jealous inside. "Well, it’s your good luck to have a lover like this. That sure makes things a little easier, doesn’t it?"
Yun Bei Fen nodded without a second thought. "Of course! Mei Chao Bing taught me a lot of things. I’ve already shown first senior martial brother when he came to get us before."
Shen Lei raised his brows. "That must’ve been really impressive. What did you learn?"
Yun Bei Fen’s eyes twinkled, clearly eager to show off.
Before he could though, Mei Chao Bing hurriedly held him back. "I don’t think this is really the right place to show him, is it? Maybe you should better wait until we are back at the camp." In any case, Yun Bei Fen wasn’t that proficient yet. He didn’t want him to waste any bit of spiritual energy in case something happened. It might not be likely but it was still better to be safe than sorry.
Shen Lei glanced at him, not quite sure what he meant for a moment but seeing Mei Chao Bing’s expression, he thought for a bit and then realized. "Yes, ah, don’t rush too much. In any case, we will likely bring you back in a bit. Then, you can still show me."
Yun Bei Fen nodded, not too disappointed. While he definitely liked showing off what Mei Chao Bing had taught him he did have the patience to wait a bit until he did so. Maybe he would even get a bit better until then. Also, they were just waiting for the last group to collect the information before his first senior martial brother would decide what to do with him and the other younger disciples. Most likely, they would already be sent back to the camp by then. So it wouldn’t be long until he could show Shen Lei.
Yun Bei Fen was indeed right with that thought. The younger disciples definitely couldn’t be taken along on this mission of investigating the demonic practitioners’ places. Thus, they naturally had to be sent back. Zhi Guan just wanted to make sure that they used the opportunity to its full potential and also sent the necessary information back at the same time. Also, there was still the question of just who could send them back.
In fact, this was precisely the question he was currently wondering about. He would have liked to do that himself considering that one of those smaller disciples was his own little junior. But on the other hand, he was in charge of this group of older disciples. He couldn’t just abandon them even if they were at a relatively safe place. Instead, it would be better to send somebody he trusted. Or maybe a couple more disciples to make sure that nothing would happen to either of them.
His gaze slipped over several disciples, pausing for a moment on both Shen Lei’s and Mei Chao Bing’s faces. He also picked out a few others, but finally decided that the more disciples sent, the bigger the group would be and the more attention they might draw. Thus, just a select few might be best. And he felt like he had a bit of an idea of who would be the best choice for sending them over.
