With a slight smile on his lips, Qiu Ling led Jing Yi out of the capital before taking to the sky once more. This time he didn't call down the cloud but instead tried to pick up Jing Yi and carry him once again. After all, weren't they much closer like this?
Surprisingly, Jing Yi didn't say anything this time. Instead, he actually hugged him back, closed his eyes and just let himself be carried.
Qiu Ling froze. Unbelievable! He had known that a mother-in-law was effective but he never would have thought that it could be this effective! This was like … like going to war and winning instantly after appointing a different general! Ah! He should have taken his beloved home sooner!
Qiu Ling slowed down a bit. There was no way he would hurry up to that place if he could hug Jing Yi the whole time on the way there!
"My love, actually, I feel like cultivation doesn't sound so hard. Don't you just have to go to a place with lots of spiritual energy?"
Jing Yi cracked his eyes open. He had actually felt so comfortable right now that he nearly would have fallen asleep. "Mn, that might help …" He clung tighter to Qiu Ling and shook his head. "It's not that easy, though. The issue is that I don't know how to sense the energy and take it in. Normally, it should work everywhere."
"And there is no way to learn that?" Qiu Ling frowned. He had felt like his idea was pretty good but now it seemed that it might not help his beloved at all.
Jing Yi looked up at his face and smiled. "Well, you might be right, after all. I just … don't want to get my hopes too high up. You see, the grounds of the Yun Zou Sect are rich in spiritual energy anyway, though it's not that obvious in the outer sect. But it's a bit of everything so maybe I was just unable to separate the different energies from one another. Going to a place where one energy dominates might reduce that problem. Let's just try it."
"Mn." Qiu Ling smiled back at him and actually sped up. Forget it. I can spend time with him whenever I want in the future. For now, I should just help him to make him happy. After all, if I managed to let him achieve what he worked for five years to do, then he should be really grateful. That definitely can't be bad!
Qiu Ling imagined how Jing Yi might show his gratitude to him and was instantly even more motivated. Thus, he used his fastest speed to fly to the place he had chosen.
Jing Yi cried out and clung to Qiu Ling's neck, burying his head at his shoulder. Needless to say, Qiu Ling didn't even think of slowing down. Ah, had he known his beloved would react like this, he would have sped up way sooner!
Ah, this was a day with so many realizations …
Soon, the place Qiu Ling had thought of appeared before them. He had actually found it accidentally when he was searching for the ingredients of the Amethyst Lightning Pill. He had really regretted not having Jing Yi with him right then! It was so romantic it just had to be experienced with his beloved!
Ah, speaking of which … "My love, what about that pill? Did you already take it?" Qiu Ling slowed down a bit to make it easier for Jing Yi to answer him. After all, the wind was quite strong when they flew so fast.
"Ah, about that …" Jing Yi evaded his gaze.
"Mn? What is it?"
"I … I didn't."
"Then you should do it now. If you have fewer spirit veins, wouldn't it become easier?"
Jing Yi nodded. "Probably."
"Then …"
"I already gave it back."
Qiu Ling blinked. Hah? His beloved gave the pill back? How come he couldn't remember that?
"Well, I didn't give it back directly. You're from the inner sect, after all. I can't just go over when I want. So, I gave it to a Senior Martial Brother who knows someone in the inner sect. He said he'd return it."
"Oh."
"Are you … Are you mad?"
Qiu Ling froze. He certainly wouldn't be mad but the expression his beloved was making just now …
He gulped. "Mn. Very mad. Very, very mad."
Jing Yi sighed, not sensing that Qiu Ling was messing with him. "I know you invested a lot of time and energy into this. You must think I'm ungrateful to have given it back just like that. It's just … If I took it and would only be able to cultivate because of that, then I would feel as if it wasn't my own effort that enabled me to become a cultivator."
"Oh." Qiu Ling didn't say anything else to that and just admired his beloved's face a little longer.
Mn, who cared that this wasn't Jing He's immortal face? The way he expressed his feelings was just the same. And this mixture of a guilty conscience and his wish to please his lover was just too enticing! Really, he felt like kissing him right now. Not saying anything was the right thing to do or his beloved would certainly notice and then he'd miss out on this lovely sight.
Being faced with an uncharacteristically silent Qiu Ling, Jing Yi's guilty conscience got even worse. He must really be mad at me. Normally, he'd be already gushing about him and calling 'my love' left and right while his hands wouldn't stop moving until they managed to clasp onto him somehow.
"Qiu Ling …" Jing Yi looked up at him with sad eyes. "Is there anything I can do so that you won't blame me anymore?"
Qiu Ling seriously considered this question. Even though he wasn't mad at all, he shouldn't miss this opportunity! He pressed his lips together and looked at Jing Yi with the sternest expression he could manage. "How about a kiss?"
Jing Yi blinked, then laughed. "Aren't you going a little too easy on me?"
Qiu Ling froze. Had he not been daring enough? Then what should he have asked for?
Seeing his lost expression, Jing Yi smiled indulgently. He cupped Qiu Ling's cheeks, leaned upward and gently touched his lips with his own. "Better?", he asked in a low voice, his breath tingling on Qiu Ling's skin.
Qiu Ling was too stunned to react. Could it be … his beloved … had just taken the initiative for the first time?
Jing Yi waited but didn't get an answer. Even worse, they had stopped moving altogether, even though their destination was right in front of them. Qiu Ling would just need to go down and they would be there.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Jing Yi grew nervous. He had never seen Qiu Ling like that. Well, they didn't know each other very well but he still had a feeling that it needed a lot to disconcert him.
Had he felt some sort of danger ahead? Then what should they do? Qiu Ling could certainly fend for himself but what if he slowed him down?
Jing Yi started to panic and tried to get out of Qiu Ling's arms. The movement finally woke Qiu Ling. He pressed Jing Yi closer to his chest and lifted his chin.
"Again."
"Huh?" Jing Yi couldn't understand what Qiu Ling was saying. "What are you talking about?"
"Do it again. You were too fast. I couldn't savor it enough." Just in case Jing Yi wouldn't know what he was talking about, he pursed his lips and looked expectantly at him.
Jing Yi stared back at him exasperatedly. And here I thought it was something grave … But it was just this guy being shameless again!
He shook his head and slapped Qiu Ling's chest. "Put me down. I think we've arrived."
Qiu Ling sighed. He should have reacted sooner, now his chance at a second kiss was already gone. Ah, he really needed to make sure that Jing Yi would learn to cultivate with his help! That should get him another one, right?