Zhong Gang laughed happily when he heard that. "I knew it! Shao Chen will be delighted when he hears that. You know, even though he was very angry when his son ran away back then, he was also very proud that he managed to get into a deity sect on his own accord. I guess he really made the right choice back then to go there.
"Naturally, it's a pity for his father that he doesn't have them with him but it's still better than nothing, isn't it? Anyway, as long as he's doing well, Shao Chen will be happy. The two of you should definitely go over and tell him one of these days. I'm sure he'd like to hear about it."
Mi Fang used the opportunity to chip in as well. "Your uncle is right. You should definitely go over and have a chat with Mister Shao. He has been missing his son very much. His mother as well. She wouldn't dare to say it so as to not upset her husband but it's definitely taking a toll on her that she isn't able to reach him at all. Those deity sects are really cut off from the rest of the world. I'm actually very happy that Guanyu didn't want to do something like that when the two of you joined that sect."
Zhong Gang nodded at that, his expression turning grave. "Yes, I was worried she would be throwing a tantrum that she wanted to go as well. Especially after that Xiao Dong boy she liked back then vanished because he had followed Shao Hai over. Ah, children these days can be really capricious. If Guanyu manages to have one in the future, I really hope it will not be like that. Even though knowing a cultivator isn't anything bad but it's still not that easy to accept for a parent. I'd much rather have a child that is here at home and helps out with everything. At the very least, if the child got into trouble, we can at least try to help. What could we do for a cultivator?"
Jing Yi looked at Qiu Ling and smiled wryly. Somehow, they'd once again returned to talk about children. He really hadn't expected that. And how come it was always about Guanyu? If she came down unannounced without her parents noticing, wouldn't she throw another tantrum because she was treated like this? He could already imagine how that would turn out. He'd much rather not be involved in any of that.
Qiu Ling could imagine what his beloved was thinking but there was nothing he could do, was there? So he only continued to put on an expression that could have been anywhere between listening without any opinion or just plain not caring. Anyway, they couldn't really expect much more from him, could they? After all, he wasn't trying to marry their daughter but their nephew.
Unfortunately for them, Zhong Gang and Mi Fang didn't seem to get the hint. On the contrary, now that they had started to talk about the subject, it seemed that they were not going to stop anytime soon.
"Actually, I'm very worried because of that. You have to know that her husband, Xiao Li, is also a disciple of a deity sect. So what if he insists on his child becoming a cultivator as well? Then what are we supposed to do? I mean I can see the benefits in that but wouldn't you say that everything speaking against that outweighs the advantages?" Zhong Gang looked at his nephew and his nephew's fiance, waiting for their opinion.
Unfortunately, Jing Yi had no idea how to answer this question. "Well, I guess as a parent, you would have a more … differentiated perspective on this." He felt that this was a very good way to tell him that in the end, it was his own decision how to think about this anyway. There was nothing he or Qiu Ling could say to change anything about that.
Zhong Gang nodded. "Yes, that is true. Ah, being a parent can be very hard. Anyway, I'm very happy that Guanyu got married to somebody this dependable. Just wait until you see Xiao Li. I'm sure you'll like him. The three of you will have lots to talk about."
"Yes, yes. In fact, didn't Xiao Li say he was from the Yun Zou Sect as well?" Mi Fang looked at Madam Zhong, waiting for her to agree. After all, he only had come to the capital back then in search of her to inform her about Jing Yi's situation. Marrying Guanyu had only been something that happened because … of everything else. Ah, she really didn't want to think about it.
Madam Zhong nodded indeed. "That's true. He came here back then when something had happened to you, Jing'er. He told me everything he knew."
Jing Yi raised his brows and looked at Qiu Ling. If something like that happened, it could only be because Qiu Ling had sent somebody. But he certainly wouldn't tell one of his subjects to get together with his cousin. So … what had actually happened?
Unfortunately, his fiance shook his head. He had no idea what this was about either! In fact, he could remember nobody with the name Xiao Li that he should know. Well, that part wasn't really surprising. He never bothered to learn anybody's name if he didn't have to. Just for delivering one message he definitely wouldn't have kept that in mind.
Madam Zhong could see that her son and son-in-law had no idea what this was even about. She gave a wry smile, not without having some second thoughts about the situation but then shrugged her shoulders. "Well, the Yun Zou Sect should be very big. It's normal that you wouldn't know immediately who he is. Maybe you'll figure it out when you meet later on."
Zhong Gang and Mi Fang nodded eagerly. "Yes, I'm sure you will. Just wait until you see him. I'm sure he'll seem familiar."
Jing Yi nodded even though he knew that that wouldn't happen. They had more or less already seen how that Xiao Li looked. After all, he did resemble that cousin-in-law of Qiu Ling. Even if there was some difference between them, he should be looking enough like him that Qiu Ling should have noted this before. Since he hadn't, they had probably never met.
But, well, that wasn't too astonishing either. Just as his mother had said: The Yun Zou Sect was very big. There were probably disciples that had never seen each other even after years. Especially if they were in the inner and outer sect respectively.
Who knew? Maybe that Xiao Li was an inner sect disciple so he had never met him when he was in the outer sect? And after he became an inner sect disciple, he had hardly spent any time in the Yun Zou Sect. So this wasn't a surprise. And since Qiu Ling was normally following him around, it wasn't too astonishing that he hadn't met Xiao Li either. They would probably only be able to figure this out after they met him.
As it turned out, they didn't need to wait long for that. Just a few minutes after they had talked about it, steps sounded from the entrance and a man that looked remarkably like Bai Mu stepped into the room, awkwardly freezing up when he saw the two of them sitting at the table.