Yuan clings to them both for a moment, taking the time to try and get his tears under control. When Jingyi draws back, he takes a deep breath and nods.

It's better for him to stay here - but that doesn't mean he's happy about it.

"That's a good idea," Zizhen says eagerly, wanting to help - it was a long distance, but he thinks he'll be able to make it, and at the very least he can cover a significant portion of it before he'd need to get a horse or something "As soon as Wei-qianbei is done, I'll offer to take it."

He reaches out to take Jingyi's hand, squeezing it softly.

"I'll miss you," he says quietly "but I'll send word about Jin Ling to you both as soon as I can."