Ultimately, they left Wú Jiǔ City with few answers and far more questions than they had arrived with – or at least Jiao Ziyu did.
Mingyue seemed to have received his answers, and although some of them had seemingly satisfied him, others had definitely not.
Thus, the trip back had been a bit strange. Truth to be told, Jiao Ziyu had thought it’d be more difficult to get Mingyue to leave – without a certain someone, that is.
“Are you really fine with that?”
They were taking a break, sitting atop the branches of some tall tree. It was located upon a hill as well, providing a decent view of the sprawling landscapes down below. Granted, they’d seen those from the air as well. However, looking at them from the side wasn’t the same as looking at them from above, and one couldn’t really appreciate the beauty of such things when one had to focus on steering and⸺
“No,” Mingyue said, looking back towards the direction from whence they’d come. “I’m not.”
Ah, yeah, Jiao Ziyu had already figured that, more or less. Still⸺ “I’m surprised you weren’t... more insistent on the issue?”
This earned him a decidedly cold look. “Are you saying that I should’ve dragged him back, kicking and screaming?”
Ah, well⸺ “I’m not saying that. It’s just⸺”
Well, potentially catastrophic consequences aside, since this was Mingyue, Jiao Ziyu was positive that there would’ve been sedatives involved. Besides, it wasn’t outrageous for Jiao Ziyu to think that, seeing that Mingyue’s first action upon reuniting with Little Yue had been to⸺
“There’s unfinished business to deal with,” Mingyue said. “After that though⸺”
Unfinished business? “Anything I should know about?”
“No. It doesn’t concern you.”
Huh. Well, Jiao Ziyu wasn’t entirely sure that he agreed with that – besides, it was sort of his job to know things. Also, speaking of knowing things⸺ “The Sect Leader will probably corner me about submitting my report the moment we get back. What am I supposed to tell him?”
Mingyue said nothing at first, simply narrowing his eyes. Then finally, he said: “I’ll take care of it.”
Huh. Oddly enough, Jiao Ziyu was not even remotely reassured.
“Forgive me for asking, but... what does that even mean? You’ll take care of it... how exactly?”
At this, there was a scoff, and then Mingyue averted his eyes, looking out over the sprawling landscape. “You don’t need to know.”
Hah. Well, so much for Jiao Ziyu’s attempts at establishing more open communication.
Well, two could technically play that game.
“So... this ‘Red Devil’ individual is in fact a prince of the Demon Realm, and he’s set up camp in Wú Jiǔ City... together with a rogue medicinal cultivator called ‘Yue’, no surname provided, who’s in fact Peak Lord Bai’s former disciple?”
“Yes.”
“And Mingyue’s stance on the issue is...?”
Well⸺ “He wants to bring him back here, but said something about unfinished business. I mean, I asked, but he said I didn’t need to know, so...”
“Unfinished business, huh?” The Sect Leader’s smile turned quite sardonic. “That’s what he’s calling it, huh?”
“That’s what he’s calling... what?”
“Sorry,” the Sect Leader said, smile turning somewhat apologetic. “Unfortunately, it really isn’t my place to say.”
Really. “It’s supposed to be my job to know things, you know?”
“It is,” the Sect Leader acknowledged. “But people are entitled to certain secrets, don’t you think?”
Really. The guy who’d tasked him with digging up other people’s secrets were telling him that. “Fine. Whatever. I’ve honestly had way too many revelations recently and frankly, I struggle to wrap my head around it all.”
“Is the thought of Mingyue’s unknown disciple and them... colluding with a demon prince all that outlandish?” the Sect Leader asked, and Jiao Ziyu just stared at him, not really sure how to respond to any of that.
First of all, the Sect Leader’s lukewarm reaction had caught him off guard, and secondly, there was that whole bit about ‘time travel’ and all that, and thirdly⸺ “That’s not just any demon prince though. That’s the Demon Prince: Youming Jun – Demon King Youming Hongyan’s nephew and designated heir.”
Now, it was Sect Leader Yeguang’s turn to stare – and he did, staring unblinkingly at him for a long moment before his face twisted into a slight grimace. He then reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes screwed shut.
“Right,” he then said. “That’s a definite reason for concern.”
Hah. “You don’t know the half of it.”
This made the other look up. “There’s more?”
Of course, there was more. Still⸺ “There’s obviously more, but Mingyue thought you didn’t need to know. I mean, I guess you could just ask him about it, but... people are entitled to certain secrets and all.”
Now that was really no way to address one’s superior. Still, Jiao Ziyu was frustrated, and while he’d rather have brought his grievances to Mingyue directly, he’d already tried that and things hadn’t exactly turned out as intended.
“I guess I deserved that,” Sect Leader Yeguang sighed, shaking his head. “And it’s fine, honestly. Mingyue and I... well...”
He trailed off into silence – an incredibly suspicious silence – and the way that he averted his eyes only added to it.
Coming to think of it, the Sect Leader had been the one to deal with Bai Mingyue’s previous bouts of qi deviation, and when it came to stabilising someone’s surging qi⸺
“Sect Leader,” Jiao Ziyu said, mouth suddenly incredibly dry. “You... and Mingyue... did you actually⸺?”
Coming to think of it, barring Peak Lord Cheng, the other Peak Lords had always seemed astonishingly onboard with the Sect Leader stepping in whenever Bai Mingyue suffered another bout of qi deviation. They’d even insisted that the Sect Leader was the one most suitable for such a task, and while Jiao Ziyu had previously written this off as them acknowledging the Sect Leader’s skill, he now realised that the word ‘suitable’ could indeed carry an entirely different meaning.
He didn’t want to believe it, of course. It would’ve made sense though, to an extent, and since Jiao Ziyu had apparently failed to notice Mingyue’s feelings for him, it was entirely possible that he’d somehow remained blissfully ignorant of other things.
Sect Leader Yeguang just stared at him for a good moment and then quickly covered his mouth and turned away. This didn’t stop all sounds from escaping though, and neither did it stop the other’s frame from shaking.
The Sect Leader was laughing. Sect Leader Yeguang was laughing at him. But what did it mean? Had the two of them actually⸺?
“Sorry,” the other eventually managed. “That was incredibly disrespectful.”
Yeah, no shit. “Answer my question.”
Again, this was not the proper way to address one’s superior. Still, with circumstances as they were⸺
“No,” the other immediately said. “I mean, no, we didn’t. We don’t... we’ve never had that sort of relationship.”
Huh. “What sort of relationship?”
Was Jiao Ziyu jealous? Perhaps. More than that though, he was immensely frustrated with others failing to clarify what the Hell they were talking about.
“Well...” The Sect Leader smiled, sliding his hands into his sleeves while smiling a smile that was decidedly bland. “One of mutual convenience?”
“...The Sect Leader’s relationship with Bai Mingyue? Sorry, but I can’t help you there,” Youming Jun said, pouring himself some more tea. “Also, I only ever offered to help you with Demon Realm politics. If it’s about sect stuff, I’m afraid you’re on your own.”
Well, not entirely unexpected, but⸺ “Would Little Yue be able to answer that?”
At this, there was a soft snort.
“All things considered, I’d probably say no,” the Demon Prince said. “I mean, today’s a good day, but... like I said, he’s over at the clinic, and not to be disturbed. Besides, I don’t really think so. Because if I don’t recall, then he definitely won’t.”
Huh. “And why is that?”
The Demon Prince smiled. “If that guy didn’t tell you, then why should I?”
Really. “I came all the way out here. And considering certain... events, I kind of feel like you owe me.”
“And I suppose I do owe you, in a sense,” the Demon Prince said. “So, what do you want to know? I’ll tell you.”
“...But not for free, am I right?”
“Not for free, obviously,” the other said, obviously amused. “But as a demonstration of my goodwill and immense gratitude, I suppose it’s only right that I answer at least a few of your questions. Which ones I choose to answer and which ones I don’t will be completely up to me though.”
Well⸺ “Allegedly, everyone’s entitled to their share of secrets. So, I suppose that’s fair.”
“It is fair,” Youming Jun said. “Keeping secrets isn’t necessarily for the best though – I mean, sure, sometimes it’s necessary, but other times? It helps to talk about things. The problem is not having anyone to talk to. I mean, Yue and I obviously talk, but we don’t really talk about... before.”
Before, huh? “Your choice or his?”
“I’d say it was a mutual decision,” Youming Jun said. “I mean, it’s not like we’ve ever talked about not talking about it, but... you know? What’s happened has happened. What’s done is done. And what’s been done can never be undone – not completely, at any rate. I mean, I know that, but... you’ve still got to try, you know?”
Try, huh? “You know, I still don’t really see how all that factors into that whole abduction bit... or into that whole bit about you breaking and entering all those⸺”
“Then why don’t you ask?” Youming Jun said. “Who knows, I might even answer.”
Hah. Well, obviously frustrating personality aside, the other did seem to be the most likely out of the three people involved to provide some actual answers – given sufficient incentive, that is. And right now, Jiao Ziyu had no doubt that much of that incentive lay in annoying Bai Mingyue – as a matter of fact, he found himself so utterly certain of this that he even felt inclined to point it out.
“Well,” the Demon Prince said, directing a decidedly wry smile in his direction. “You’re not wrong.”
Well, Jiao Ziyu already knew that there had to be at least some bad blood in-between them – and said blood had likely not started with Yue either, even though the whole Yue issue had likely escalated things. Still⸺ “Why is that?”
The look in the other’s eyes turned decidedly cold at that – not Mingyue levels of cold, of course, because when the latter looked upon another with disdain, the surrounding temperatures dropped significantly.
“I’d say the dislike is mutual,” Youming Jun finally said. “I mean, you saw him, right? ‘One day, I’ll end you’, and all that? I mean, sure, before, I’d be like ‘same’, but these days...? Nah. Besides, he’s got his reasons and I’ve got mine. I don’t blame him though. I’ve done plenty of things I’m not proud of.”
Hoh. “Such as?”
The Demon Prince’s eyes turned back towards him, alight with a definite gleam.
“Well,” he then said, leaning back in his seat. “Where should I start?”
