A few days later, a paper crane fluttered above Qiu Ling's face. At that moment, he was spending time with Jing Yi at the bank of a small lake, reveling in the wonders of love. Actually, he was just lazily lying there with his head resting on Jing Yi's lap while his beloved was still working hard on his cultivation. That paper crane was an ugly annoyance in this blissful atmosphere.
Qiu Ling glared at the thing and swatted it away like a fly. The poor paper crane landed in the lush grass with one of his wings crumpled. Qiu Ling didn't even look. He closed his eyes again and just enjoyed his time with Jing Yi.
Mn … He sighed in satisfaction. Ah, life could actually be so perfect.
The sun sent warm rays down to them, a slight breeze ruffled the surface of the lake, making light sounds that nearly lulled him to sleep. And most importantly there was his beloved at his side. There really wasn't anything else he could wish for.
"Don't you want to see what message you got?" Jing Yi stopped cultivating and gently combed through Qiu Ling's hair. "What if it's important?"
Qiu Ling cracked his eyes open. "How could it be more important than you, my love?" Qiu Ling started sweet-talking him instantly. After a whole year of practice, he felt like his skills had gone up. Unfortunately, Jing Yi's resistance had done the same. At first, he had actually still been able to make him blush but now … Ah, it was a pity.
"Let's just continue with your cultivation. Haven't you nearly broken through? If all goes well, we should be able to return to the sect in a few weeks." He smiled and sat up half-way. "Aren't you thrilled, my love?"
Jing Yi returned the smile. "You should still have a look. Maybe it's even from the sect."
"Mn." Since his beloved wanted him to, he would take a quick glance. After that, they could continue in this blissful state.
Qiu Ling lifted his hand and with a wink of his fingers, the message was blown right over. He unfurled the paper crane. The message inside was short: 'Bring that boy back to the sect. Zhangsun Xun Yi'
Qiu Ling stared at the characters. Uh …
"What is it?" Jing Yi took a look at the message himself and frowned.
'That boy' was obviously him. But why? Although a year had passed he wouldn't have thought that they had to return exactly at that time. What would happen now? He hadn't managed to raise his cultivation enough, yet. He still lacked another level for the energy of the earth and this element had always been his weak point. Even if he used the whole way back to train it might not be enough!
Qiu Ling was equally frowning but he was thinking about something else. "Say, my love, Zhangsun Xun Yi … Who is that person again?"
Jing Yi came out of his thoughts. "Huh?"
"You also don't know?"
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"Who is Zhangsun Xun Yi? Do we know him?" He looked doubtfully at the message. He felt like he had heard that name somewhere before but … Where could that have been?
"Qiu Ling …" Jing Yi rested a hand against his forehead. What should he do with this man?
"Yes, my love?" Qiu Ling threw the message aside and hugged Jing Yi to his chest. "You want to continue with your cultivation, right? Mn, it's not a problem. Let's just ignore this thing. Who knows which basta—"
Jing Yi hurriedly clasped a hand over Qiu Ling's mouth. "Sh! How can you say something like that?" He looked around as if he was afraid that the so-called bastard would show up.
Qiu Ling took advantage of the situation and planted a kiss in the palm of Jing Yi's hand.
"Qiu Ling, stop it." Jing Yi took his hand back and shook his head. This guy was hopeless! "You really don't remember the name Zhangsun Xun Yi?"
Qiu Ling shook his head.
"That's Grandmaster Zhangsun! Your master!"
Qiu Ling raised his brows. "Oh." So it was that guy. "Well, you can't blame me. When he took me in he threw me into some dimension and didn't even come to take a look at me for five whole years. Then, I didn't even see him for a day before I was cruelly abandoned again at the Gathering of Practitioners. And after that, I already went to search for the ingredients of the Amethyst Lightning Pill and finally left the sect with you. We've probably only spoken four or five times to each other. How should I have remembered his name?"
Jing Yi sighed. That was indeed true. "Anyway, he's your master. You should listen to him. Let's return to the sect."
"But you haven't finished your cultivation and we can only marry when you reach the root stage. How could we return just like this?"
"Maybe something happened at the sect." Jing Yi couldn't really imagine that, though. If something happened, then Grandmaster Zhangsun might indeed message Qiu Ling but wouldn't he ask him to return? Why was he asking Qiu Ling to bring him back? It made no sense!
"Mn." Qiu Ling pursed his lips. "How long do you think you'll need to reach the root stage?"
"Well, the only spirit vein that's lacking is the earth spirit vein. I was never good with that one. Most likely, I'd still need a few weeks."
"Then we'll have to pretend that we didn't get the message yet. Let's at least wait a week or two while you concentrate completely on your cultivation. We can only return after you've reached the root stage or they might not let us marry."
"Qiu Ling …"
Qiu Ling grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes. "Please. I already waited a year. I don't want to wait any longer. It's important to me."
Jing Yi sighed. "I'm sure it doesn't have to do with that at all. Let's go and find out, alright? If … If it's really about our marriage, then we could still marry secretly, couldn't we?"
Qiu Ling pressed his lips together. "I don't want a secret marriage. I want to marry you openly. Everyone should know! You're mine. And you'll always stay mine."
"I just said if. Isn't the most important thing that we know?"
Qiu Ling wasn't completely persuaded but he still nodded in the end. If his beloved wanted to return, then they would return.
"Alright. We don't have to hurry, though. The closer you are to your breakthrough, the better."
"Mn."
Qiu Ling stood up and pulled Jing Yi to his feet and together they traveled back to the Yun Zou Sect again.