Wu Min Huan looked at the two people in front of his door, his brows immediately shooting up. “Jing Yi? Xiao Dong?” Actually, the latter was still not that strange but he couldn’t explain to himself what Jing Yi was doing here. Hadn’t he ascended?

Jing Yi smiled wryly, once again being reminded that he would now have to give a lot of explanations. And just like with Nian Hong Fang and Ma Zhi Wu, he also wasn’t sure if he should where it concerned Wu Min Huan. Especially after realizing that this trial of his had caused him pain.

Well, no matter what he would do in the end, since he had already knocked on his door, he couldn’t just walk away without saying anything. “I came for a visit. I know it’s odd but … I wanted to see everyone. Take it as me being nostalgic.”

Wu Min Huan looked at him and then stepped back, motioning into the house behind him. “Why don’t you come in?”

Jing Yi nodded and stepped inside, Xiao Dong following behind.

Wu Min Huan thought for a moment and then led them into the courtyard. There was a stone table there with four carved stools around it. He motioned at it and then went to get a tea set to brew them a pot.

Sitting down with the two of them, he smiled faintly. “You know, you’re lucky. These days, I spent most of my time at my Master’s palace. I’m not here too often anymore. Any other day, you likely would have missed me.”

Jing Yi requited his smile. “I guess it’s fate then. Reminds me of the time we ran into each other in the Long kingdom’s capital city. It’s really thanks to you that I … started to cultivate.”

Come to think of it, had that been planned? Or had that been one of the strange occurrences that happened because of Qiu Ling’s involvement? It was hard to say. Although then again, why would the Fate’s Scribe plan him cultivating? After all, that would risk him actually ascending. So most likely … this had been a coincidence or maybe real fate if it wasn’t steered in a certain direction by someone.

Jing Yi’s gaze turned thoughtful and he couldn’t help but turn the teacup between his fingers. “You know, it seems a bit odd now that I think about it.”

Wu Min Huan raised his brows, not sure what he meant. Over the years, there were many disciples he had taken to the sect. Anyway, they went to the capital city of the Long Kingdom every few years to test children and recruit new disciples. Doing so had been one of the first tasks his Master had entrusted him with. He really couldn’t see anything odd about it.

Jing Yi opened his mouth but then didn’t know what to say. It was odd when thinking about it from the perspective of him being the result of a trial but if you only looked at his mortal life, you probably couldn’t see anything strange about it. So unless he told Wu Min Huan everything or at least the gist of it, he wouldn’t understand.

He sighed and then shook his head. “Odd might be the wrong word. I guess it’s just … I saw you that day and I followed you, thinking that this was exactly what I should do. And somehow, despite only having full spirit veins and everybody telling me that it wasn’t worth it and that I should just go back home, I actually managed to ascend.”

Wu Min Huan nodded slowly. “Yes, that … I guess that was a surprise to everyone. Especially since it happened so fast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone ascend in a shorter amount of time. I … I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Jing Yi nodded. “Yes. Well, I guess it was fate. That and a lot of help, probably. Without Qiu Ling and some coincidences along the road, it wouldn’t have happened.”

Wu Min Huan nodded and then couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Dong. “Speaking of which … where is Qiu Ling? I’m surprised that he’s not with you. You two …” He pursed his lips and gave Xiao Dong a deeper look. He somehow didn’t think that these two were together but it sure was strange that Qiu Ling wasn’t here.

“Oh, Qiu Ling’s busy. I just wanted to visit everyone quickly. After that, I’ll go back. We’re still together.” He nodded and then looked down, his brows furrowing slightly. “Actually, we’re getting married soon.”

Wu Min Huan nodded again, not surprised about that. “I guess it’s about time. I remember when he originally proposed to you in front of everyone. That really was a shock. To think you still haven’t gotten married yet … that’s actually the most surprising.”

Jing Yi chuckled. “I guess if it was up to Qiu Ling, we would have married right then and there that day. Or maybe he would have given it a day to plan the wedding.”

“That does sound like him.”

Jing Yi nodded, his gaze turning a bit nostalgic. The time back then sure seemed easy in comparison to right now. But then, he had also been terrified at that time. It was probably that no matter at which stage in your life you were, there were always things you dreaded or didn’t know how to deal with.

By now, he had a much better grasp of his feelings. Making decisions like that wasn’t as difficult anymore. But his circumstances had changed so the problems had as well. And somehow, with him getting stronger, more experienced, and more knowledgeable, the stakes for the conflicts in his life had increased. Maybe that was also a kind of fate or maybe it was just the way the world worked.

Anyway, thinking about it this way did make him feel slightly better. He couldn’t explain it well but it felt like everything had happened in a way that was inevitable, even when there was nobody writing his fate. Maybe this was the true fate that did not spring from the imagination of a single god but from the High Heavens or wherever fate was really decided. If that was the case, then he could accept it.

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