After Empress Dowager Guo finished making arrangements, she hurried back to wait anxiously. When Mei Conggao still failed to wake, she was terrified and wished she could go in to find him herself, but she had no idea how to enter the Secret Realm.
Now, seeing Xie Jinhuan "return from the dead," Empress Dowager Guo visibly struggled to contain herself. She held his shoulders and examined him closely. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did she sternly scold him:
"With Qixia True Person there, what were you trying to prove? If you'd died inside, what would Wanyi and the others do? How would I explain it to them?" Seeing that Sister Guo had genuinely been frightened, Xie Jinhuan hurriedly hugged her and comforted her:
"I know my limits. My cultivation didn't come easily. Why would I go courting death? I was still thinking about collecting my reward from Sister Guo afterward..."
Under his soothing, Empress Dowager Guo calmed down a little. His words puzzled her:
"What reward?"
Xie Jinhuan did, after all, have an iron Dao heart. Holding her, he said earnestly:
"We agreed that once I came out, I'd use my true body to help Sister Guo restore her physique. You can't go back on your word. I worked so hard this time, I nearly lost my life..." Empress Dowager Guo had not agreed at the time, but Xie Jinhuan had pestered and wheedled with all his might, and she had not rejected him and dampened his enthusiasm. Now he brought it up again, just after she had nearly "lost her beloved." Her heart was in turmoil. After some thought, she said:
"We'll discuss it later. Go let Qingmo and the others know you're safe first..."
So that meant yes...
Xie Jinhuan did not push for immediate results.