Upon returning to Huaxia territory, Mu Jinyu and his group were still unaware of the changes happening in Dongying.
After a night of flight, by the time Mu Jinyu arrived back in Capital City, the sky to the east was beginning to brighten with the light of dawn.
"You all go back and report to Dragon King Hall on your own," he said.
The red flag limousine slowly made its way to the entrance of the Su Family Courtyard and came to a steady stop. Mu Jinyu opened the car door, stepped out, and instructed Zhao Yuan and the others inside the car.
"Yes, Dragon Master!" Zhao Yuan and his company respectfully answered.
Afterward, the red flag limousine started again and sped away from the street.
Mu Jinyu watched them leave, slowly stretched, and despite not having slept for a day and a night, his Cultivation Technique ensured that even seven days and nights without rest would not make him feel the slightest fatigue.
He stepped towards the courtyard inside, and the aunties who were up early sweeping the yard all respectfully greeted him with "Good morning, Young Master."
Mu Jinyu nodded to each of them in response and then headed towards the dining hall.
Su Zijin didn't know whether Mu Jinyu had returned today, but she still got up early and made a big table of breakfast.
Mu Jinyu walked into the dining hall without tiptoeing to mask his footsteps, so Su Zijin immediately heard the noise behind her and quickly turned to look.
Seeing that it was Mu Jinyu who had come in, Su Zijin's eyes also shone with surprised delight.
"You're back, hurry and wash your hands, and get ready to eat," she said with a happy smile on her face, looking at Mu Jinyu.
"Hmm," Mu Jinyu softly responded, then washed his hands and sat down at the dining table.
Although he had known Su Zijin for some time now, Mu Jinyu still wasn't quite accustomed to interacting with her, feeling that there was still a barrier between them.
Perhaps it would take time to slowly break down this barrier.
Su Zijin was aware of this, but she didn't mind. She was already very content that Mu Jinyu could return to her side and call her mother.
She didn't expect Mu Jinyu to rely on and yearn for her like a child who had grown up under his mother's care.
"Come, try this, it's been a long time since I've made it, see if you still like it," Su Zijin said, placing a piece of pastry into Mu Jinyu's bowl, then put down her chopsticks, cupped her face in her hands, and watched him expectantly.
"You eat too," Mu Jinyu said after taking a bite, feeling a bit awkward with Su Zijin just watching him eat, and instigated her to eat as well.
"Alright, mom will eat too," Su Zijin replied, picking up a triangular cake and taking a small bite, smiling as she spoke.
Mu Jinyu fell silent and continued with his breakfast.
Soon, Gu Xiyan and the other two women also got up. Seeing Mu Jinyu had returned, they shared the joy with smiles on their faces and sat down beside him to start their meal as well.
"Mom, I have to head back to River City soon. There's a pile of things at the company that I haven't dealt with yet," Gu Xiyan said apologetically to Su Zijin after finishing her meal.
There were far too many matters to attend to at Jinyu Company, and though Gu Xiyan wanted to stay in Capital City to keep Su Zijin company, Xu Qingya was overwhelmed dealing with them alone, along with the plan to open branch offices in other cities.
Despite her need to return to River City,
Wen Rou, on the other hand, didn't have many matters to attend to in the company, so she could afford to stay in Capital City a while longer.
Gu Xiyan had already decided that once she had handled those matters, she would transfer her duties to Yu Linglong and Lin Qiaoxia. She needed to extricate herself from the constant busyness at the company, which left her no time to spend with family.
"Going back? I'm planning to go back too," Mu Jinyu said.
Mu Jinyu, upon hearing Gu Xiyan's words, gave it some thought before he likewise spoke.
"Are you heading back too?"
Gu Xiyan was a bit surprised by Mu Jinyu's response.
She had initially thought that since he had only just recognized Su Zijin as his mother, combined with the recent death of the Old Dragon King, he would stay in the Capital City to keep Su Zijin company for a while longer.
Unexpectedly, just two days after the Old Dragon King's funeral had concluded, he was also ready to leave.
"Yes, things in the Capital City have been mostly settled, so it's time to go back."
Mu Jinyu did not look at the somewhat sorrowful expression on Su Zijin's face as he spoke softly.
His reason for coming to the Capital City was originally to present the Ten Thousand Year Wood Core and the Spring of Life to the Old Dragon King to heal him and extend his life, but he arrived a step too late and ended up only sending off the Old Dragon King on his final journey and taking charge of the Dragon King Hall.
Now that the Old Dragon King's affairs had been settled and he had handed over the Dragon King Hall to Xiang Mantang to manage, and since the main hall of Fallen Splendor still hadn't been investigated thoroughly...
Staying on in the Capital City didn't hold much meaning for him.
As for spending time with Su Zijin, he found it quite awkward; it would be better if Wen Rou and the others kept her company.
Gu Xiyan felt this wasn't good and wanted to persuade Mu Jinyu, but wasn't sure how to do it. After seeing the signal from Mei Yinxue, she hesitated for a moment before reacting and asking Su Zijin, "Then, would you like to come to River City for a visit?"
At these words, the previously sad and sorrowful Su Zijin suddenly froze, gave it some thought, and seemed intrigued.
Taking care of Mu Jinyu in River City wouldn't be a bad idea.
Mu Jinyu wanted to return to River City, perhaps because he was not accustomed to living in the Capital City. If she went to River City to take care of him, he would probably accept her, right?
Mu Jinyu's reaction to these words, however, was utter confusion, "???"
He wanted to return to River City precisely because he felt uncomfortable around Su Zijin; he needed time to ponder how he should interact with her.
He also wanted Su Zijin to calm down and stop treating him with such a guilty, compensatory attitude.
But with Gu Xiyan's intervention, wouldn't he have no escape?
And he couldn't exactly tell Su Zijin that he didn't welcome her and she shouldn't return with them!
When Su Zijin first appeared, he could have resisted her with such an attitude, but now, after the death of the Old Dragon King, he simply couldn't harden his heart to do so.
Su Zijin looked at the changing expressions on Mu Jinyu's face, and even though she was inclined to go with them back to River City, she was afraid of being scorned by him and said timidly, "If Jinyu agrees, I'll go back with you."
What else could Mu Jinyu say?
He could only manage an embarrassed smile and said, "I don't mind, let's go back to River City together."
"Alright."
Upon hearing this, Su Zijin's face immediately lit up with joy.
Mei Yinxue and Gu Xiyan, however, watched Mu Jinyu's slightly dejected expression and secretly chuckled to themselves.
After that, they arranged for tickets to be booked and flew directly back to River City by midday.
...
After Mu Jinyu and the others had left the Capital City.
Shen Family Villa.
Shen Cangsheng had nothing to do today. Even if he had originally had business, it had been transferred to others by Xiang Mantang, both overtly and covertly reducing his power and influence.
Shen Cangsheng paced back and forth in his room, furrowing his brows and muttering, "Several days have passed, why hasn't there been any movement from my sect?"
His two disciples, who were still healing, overheard Shen Cangsheng's words, also furrowed their brows and said, "Could there have been a delay on the road?"
"Maybe. Big brother, summon the messenger pigeon. If the people from our sect are already on their way, they should have written to us."