Jing Yi went to the room at the back of the building where Xiao Dong was staying. He hesitated in front of the door, though.
What exactly would he ask? And how should he do it? Could he really just go in and …
The door was opened and Xiao Dong appeared on the other side. Thanks to the mark of the dragon Qiu Ling had left with his beloved, he had already noticed Jing Yi since he entered the building.
He lifted his brows as if surprised and nodded. "What may I do for you?" He had always been courteous to Jing Yi. Now that his king had arrived and would stay at the sect, he would try even harder to please his king's beloved. If his beloved was happy, His Majesty would be happy, too!
"Xiao Dong …" Jing Yi squirmed a bit. Could he really just ask?
Xiao Dong stepped to the side and wanted to invite him in when he suddenly halted. Wait. He couldn't invite him in! This was His Majesty's beloved! How dare he even think about inviting him into his room?!
"Ah, how about we go and take a stroll outside?"
Jing Yi blinked. "Alright?" What was it with people proposing for him to take a stroll today? Was the weather really that nice? But it seemed just like yesterday?
Xiao Dong smiled relieved and hurriedly closed the door. He wouldn't be able to make it up to his king if anyone misunderstood the situation. He hastily left the house and tried to find the path with the most disciples wandering about. He even went so far as to maintain an additional step of distance between them. No, nobody may misunderstand! This wasn't any kind of romantic stroll!
"So, what may I do for you?"
Jing Yi gulped and took another look at Xiao Dong's expressionless face. "Well … You see, I … I was wondering if you might be able to give me some advice."
"Advice?" Xiao Dong blinked. What kind of advice could His Majesty's beloved want from him? "If it's something I know, I'll naturally help you."
"Well, I don't really know how to say this but … I was wondering about yesterday."
"Yesterday?" For a moment, Xiao Dong didn't know what this was about. Then, his face lit up. "Oh, you were talking about Hi— uh … Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple."
"Mn." Jing Yi nodded. He waited if Xiao Dong would say anything else but nothing came. "It's just that … I don't really know about those things. I was wondering if you might know more about it."
Xiao Dong's eyes widened. Was this the opportunity he had been praying to the heavens for?! "Are you … asking for my advice regarding how you should answer?" He turned toward Jing Yi and narrowed his eyes.
"Ah, never mind, I can go and —"
"No, no." Xiao Dong hastily grabbed his sleeve. "It's no problem at all! Actually, I had already felt like I should offer it of my own volition because your reaction yesterday was really lacking."
"Lacking?" Jing Yi frowned. Well, he hadn't said anything.
"Mn. You know, I think you should accept."
"Accept?" Jing Yi still could only repeat what Xiao Dong said. He had thought he could find out a bit more about what marriage was like. Now, he instead got advice on how to proceed. "Why?"
"He obviously loves you very much! He'd hold you in the palm of his hand and care for you for the rest of your life, keeping you safe and anticipating your every wish. Wouldn't you love to have a partner like that?"
Jing Yi pursed his lips. "Not really."
Xiao Dong was stumped for words. Hah? How had that happened? He had praised His Majesty so much! Why was Jing Yi reacting like this?
"You see, I've always wanted to become a hero. How could I do that when I marry someone who would always keep me safe? In all the stories you and brother Hai have told me the heroes always had to live through dangerous situations."
Xiao Dong really wanted to slap himself now. Why had he told him those stories? "But … isn't marrying a hero also a good thing?"
Jing Yi shook his head. "I believe, my father would have wanted me to become a strong man and not someone who has to rely on somebody else for everything."
Yes, he didn't believe anymore what Qiang Wei had told him but after five years of struggling in the Yun Zou sect, he was reluctant to give up the dream he had worked hard for. He really wanted to become one of those heroes clad in white now. Even more so after he had seen Qiu Ling yesterday. He might not have fallen in love at first sight but he had definitely paid a lot of attention to Qiu Ling. That man, he definitely was his role-model! He wanted to become just like him!
Xiao Dong grew flustered. No, he couldn't mess this up! He had to at least achieve something for His Majesty! "Uh … you see, I was just guessing. Actually, what I've just said wouldn't have to be true. No, no!" He waved his hands. "That's also not what I meant. You see, Hi— ahem, the Grandmaster's disciple, I believe he's a really good person. He'd treat you nicely and you certainly wouldn't regret choosing him as a partner."
"But —"
"Wait! I wasn't finished!" Xiao Dong cried out without knowing what else to say. Ugh, this was too hard. Jing Yi was too hung up over this dream of becoming a hero. It would be impossible to have him abandon that idea. So, he'd have to fit His Majesty into it somehow. Wasn't there some story where a hero married another hero? Or, well, even if they didn't marry, was there at least a story about two heroes?
His eyes suddenly widened. No way! There really was such a story! And it was even one from his own race!
He coughed and smoothed out his sleeves. "You know, Jing Yi, there is one story I haven't told you. It's actually quite famous where I come from." Alright, it was just a rumor and his uncle had told it to him only once but Jing Yi would never find out anyway and as long as it could get His Majesty what he wanted it should be alright to exaggerate a bit.
"Oh? What kind of story?" Jing Yi instantly livened up. Telling him a story was probably the only time one would see him this expressive.
"Mn, it's about … the dragon king."
Jing Yi lifted his brows. He still remembered that first story he had heard back then after his father died. It had also been about the dragon king! Or rather … "The old one or the new one?"
Xiao Dong coughed again. "The old one, of course." He certainly wouldn't tell His Majesty's beloved a story about His Majesty that had to do with his love life. "Now, listen: When the king was young his father died protecting a really important person. Because he had done something good for the people of his country, an incredible master took his son in."
"Wait. I don't understand!" Jing Yi frowned. It was the same as always: Shao Hai's stories were pretty good. He just knew how to tell them so that everyone could understand and would be excited to hear how it would continue. Xiao Dong knew good stories, too, but he just didn't know how to tell them. Jing Yi always had problems understanding them.
Xiao Dong felt cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. He couldn't mess this up! His Majesty's marriage depended on this! With such motivation, Xiao Dong tried to calm down. "Alright, let me start over. So, there was a man once in the dragon realm who saved an important person. Unfortunately, the man died and left a wife and son behind. Because the man had done something incredible for the people of his race when he saved that person, a great master took his son in and taught him everything he knew. That son later became the king of the dragons."
"So, that son is the dragon king that defeated the demon king?"
Xiao Dong heaved a sigh of relief. "Yes! That's the one! He was a great hero!"
"But what does that have to do with Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple?"
"Uh …" Xiao Dong embarrassedly tugged at his sleeves again. He had actually forgotten to tell that part of the story because he wanted to tell it as simple as possible. "Well, it's because a lot of people don't know this but he wasn't the only disciple of that great master. He actually had a senior martial brother who was a great hero, too. Those two had many adventures together and actually once had a competition to decide who would become king."
Jing Yi frowned. "You're making that up." That really was too coincidental.
"No!" Xiao Dong shook his head. "I'm not. It really happened."
"And those two married?"
Xiao Dong pressed his lips together and evaded Jing Yi's gaze.
"Did they?"
"No …" He might be able to lie a bit but he couldn't just make something like that up. "But they were really close. Unfortunately, that senior martial brother of the king died someday. The king stayed alone for the rest of his life." He kept to himself that that senior martial brother he spoke of had actually married a wife and even had a son with her. There were some things that shouldn't be said.
Jing Yi had a thoughtful expression. It seemed things weren't as simple as he thought. But he wasn't so sure if what Xiao Dong told him was true. If there just had been someone who also knew that story and could tell him if it had really happened like that …
Not far from them, Qiang Wei, who was still guarding Jing Yi even though Qiu Ling had returned, face-palmed. "Ai Hua, seriously, how have you educated your son? What if His Majesty heard that story? Everyone knows he hates it with passion!"
Indeed. Qiu Ling, who stood on the other side of the street and observed the conversation between Jing Yi and Xiao Dong enviously, had a dark expression. Yes, he didn't like to hear of that particular story. After all, even though he knew it was futile to think like that, he still couldn't help but wonder if his life would have turned out different if it hadn't been for that man. It was a pity that exactly this story might be his only possibility to win Jing Yi over.