Seeing Yun Bei Fen's distraught expression, the others didn't know what to say but instantly felt bad. Anyway, this was a cute junior. Nobody would want to make him unhappy. It didn't help that he was Mei Chao Bing's fiance and Elder Baili's favorite disciple. Being held in such high esteem, they felt like it might have negative consequences if say didn't manage to make him return to a good mood.
Unfortunately, save for Yi Ju who had bonded over being one of the more useless people in the group with him, and Yuan Lei who had already been in the previous group with them, the others didn't really know him very well. Thus, they weren't quite sure how to solve this problem.
Song Mu scratched his head and then looked around. "Well, giving him that kind of spiritual herb when we might need it soon wouldn't be good but I'm sure that there will be other plants available that he can eat. Why don't you just put him down again and let him find some food himself? I'm sure that would be for the best."
Yun Bei Fen looked up at him and then down at Xiao Hui, still not quite sure what to do. He had just been afraid that Xiao Hui would run off so he had hurriedly gone to catch him. Now, he was supposed to just let him run around again? But what if he disappeared?
Song Mu wasn't sure what exactly Yun Bei Fen was thinking and could only furrow his brows. He hesitated for a moment and then turned to Yu Ju, asking her for help with his eyes. Anyway, he didn't know how to coax a cute junior.
Yi Ju also wasn't sure. "Um ... I think senior martial brother Song's suggestion is quite good. Don't you think so?"
Yun Bei Fen looked up at her, still worried. "But what if he runs off?"
Yi Ju heaved a sigh of relief when he asked that question. "Where would he run off to? Anyway, we're here with you. We'll just keep an eye on him."
Yun Bei Fen hesitated for a moment longer but then obediently put Xiao Hui down. The spiritual beast continued to sit on the spot for a bit, then turned to look at Yun Bei Fen before he scuttled off slowly, sniffing the ground around them.
Song Mu glanced at Yun Bei Fen's face and also heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that he was already feeling better. While he normally wouldn't worry about one of the juniors being distraught, he felt a bit different when it came to Yun Bei Fen. After all, his relationship with Mei Chao Bing was already complicated. If that guy felt like he was bullying his fiance when he wasn't there, that would bring even more trouble in the future. He'd really like to prevent that.
As for the spirit beast, he continued to hop forward and finally found a small gap in the ground. Patting at it with his paw, he raised some dust, making Yun Bei Fen get up and hurry close himself.
Looking into the small gap that Xiao Hui was slowly widening, he blinked his eyes. "It seems that there is another herb ..." He looked over his shoulders to the others who stared at him in shook.
In the end, the whole group got up and rushed over, once again crowding around Yun Bei Fen and the spiritual beast. Looking into the gap, they just didn't know what to say. Once again, there was a spiritual herb in front of them. While it wasn't high-leveled either, it was still a surprise at this place.
Song Mu rubbed his forehead and then turned to Tan Xin. "Which of them is more valuable to us?"
The girl looked from this herb to the other one and finally motioned over. "The previous one. I think it's alright to let the spiritual beast eat this one."
Song Mu nodded and then patted Yun Bei Fen's shoulder. "Alright. It seems that your spiritual beast was able to find something on his own. Just keep it up like this and I'm sure you won't have to worry."
Yun Bei Fen nodded and then reached out, helping Xiao Hui dig out the herb. Then, he smilingly watched him gobble it down.
When Mei Chao Bing and the other two returned two hours later, the rest of the group had already gotten over the first shock. Song Mu got up from the place where he had been sitting and went to welcome the others back.
Mei Chao Bing nodded at him. "Nothing suspicious out there. We should decide on how to go about these patrols in the future though. It could still be that they are just waiting for us to let our guards down."
"Mn. When do you want to continue?"
"How are the others faring?" Mei Chao Bing glanced over, his gaze lingering on Yun Bei Fen for a moment longer who was sitting next to Yi Ju, absentmindedly brushing through Xiao Hui's fur while he was already looking over with glittering eyes.
A small smile lit up Mei Chao Bing's face. Even though they were far from the Teng Yong Sect, seeing Yun Bei Fen again after having to separate for a bit always felt like coming home. It was ... a very nice feeling.
Song Mu also smiled when he saw their interaction. "Your fiance's little spirit beast found two herbs. I had junior martial sister Tan keep one of them since she mentioned it could come in handy on our travels. I hope you're alright with that."
Mei Chao Bing glanced at Song Mu. Mentioning it on his own accord ... That was pretty good. At the very least, he wasn't trying to keep secrets. "I would have done the same. Anyway, as long as I'm not there, you're the leader of the group. So what you say counts."
"Very well." Song Mu nodded, keeping it in mind. "As for the others ... I think they should have recovered some strength. Those who might need some more time to recover could also switch with their partners."
"Good idea."
With that, the two of them went back to the group, announcing their decision.