Jing Yi helped Qiu Ling into another set of robes and sat down next to him again. "So, what exactly happened? Why did she attack you?"
"Well … I guess she was a little surprised?"
Jing Yi nodded. "If it's true that she married the Grandmaster, then she probably doesn't want to be found. Maybe you said something that gave your identity away?"
Qiu Ling shook his head. "No. But … I tried to take her with me. She didn't seem to like that."
"You …"
Qiu Ling averted his gaze. "I grabbed her and tried to take her away. Don't look at me like that! The Grandmaster was still standing next to us. It wouldn't have been convenient to talk there."
Jing Yi opened his mouth but didn't manage to say anything. In the end, he just shook his head. He could probably be happy that his fiance had ended up with just a cut on his arm. "Qiu Ling, you can't be like this. You tried to kidnap the Grandmaster's wife right in front of him? What if he had attacked you? You might have ended up dead!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that weak."
"How can you say that? Even his wife managed to hurt you!"
"Well, I didn't take her seriously …"
Jing Yi wanted to scold him but the way Qiu Ling looked let the words get stuck in his throat. Alright. He couldn't bring himself to do it. In the end, he only cautioned him. "Please, be more careful in the future."
"Sure!" Qiu Ling leaned over and gave him a kiss. "You don't have to worry anyway. I already told them."
"Mn? What do you mean?"
"Didn't you say you were afraid because you gave away my name?"
Jing Yi nodded. "I did. You said you had an idea to take care of it."
"I had. I told the Grandmaster and his family that we're from the Yun Zou Sect."
"You … You did what?"
"I told them. Well, I did adjust the story a bit. I told them the two of us were very much in love but my Master was very much against it so we couldn't help us any other way than fleeing. So we came here to the Hei Dian Sect."
"And he believed that?"
"Yes."
Qiu Ling didn't seem to find that strange which stunned Jing Yi even more. It couldn't be that the Grandmaster had accepted this story just like that, could it?
"What about you?" Qiu Ling hugged him as if he had just delivered some news that wouldn't have any impact on them.
Jing Yi couldn't adapt that fast. "Wait, wait. Qiu Ling, not so fast. What exactly happened? You … you tried to kidnap the Grandmaster's wife in front of him and then you told him we were from the enemy side and made that up and he just … This is unbelievable!"
Qiu Ling pressed his lips together. "Well … It's not that easy to explain."
"Then tell me slowly. It's not like we have to go somewhere else now."
Qiu Ling wasn't so sure if that was actually a good idea. He would have liked if Jing Yi didn't ask any more than that. Then again … he had wanted to be honest with him anyway. As long as he didn't tell him about Jing He and the trial everything should be alright.
"Actually, it's not that difficult to explain either. At first, I wanted to take her with me but then she injured me. After that her sister somehow ended up in the fray and, well, I noticed that I already know her. It's been some years since then and she doesn't even remember but that was actually in our favor.
The thing is, she … somehow lost her memory and the part that she lost was the one where she had met me. So, the Grandmaster and his wife wanted me to tell them what I knew so the fight stopped. Then I told them what they wanted to know and mentioned our story on the side so that they wouldn't find out the whole truth. That's everything."
"Something like that can actually happen?" Jing Yi still found it hard to believe but it made a bit more sense now. He didn't have any siblings but if he had he would probably care as much about them as he cared about Qiu Ling. And if Qiu Ling lost his memory … Even if the one who had information was his enemy, he would still do whatever he asked for just to help his fiance. And Qiu Ling would certainly do the same for him.
Why should the Grandmaster and his wife be any different? They were all humans, in the end.
"So we don't have to fear that they'll find out about it anymore?"
"No. We're safe now. You can even continue calling me Qiu Ling if you want."
Jing Yi smiled but shook his head. He had probably done that unconsciously again anyway since he was too agitated after he saw Qiu Ling's injury. "No, I should get used to it and call you Long Jun. There's still the matter of returning. Considering your talent you might make a name for yourself even without trying. What then?"
"Have you ever considered … not returning?"
"What do you mean?"
Qiu Ling cleared his throat. He knew that this wasn't something that could be casually brought up but he really thought it might be a good idea. "Look at it like this: You've been part of the Yun Zou Sect for six years already. In the first five years, they didn't help you at all. You were on your own and had no opportunity to become a cultivator. In the last year, you became a cultivator but that was thanks to your own effort and even now they don't want to reward you for that hard work. No, quite the contrary, they still hinder our marriage. Is that how the sect should be?"
Jing Yi was taken aback. "You … It couldn't be you want to propose to stay here."
"I don't want to propose anything. I'll go wherever you go and stay where you stay. I'm just staying the Yun Zou Sect might not deserve having you. And if we stayed here, we wouldn't have to wait for our marriage either. Just think about it for a while."
Jing Yi would have liked to disagree immediately but Qiu Ling's gaze was too earnest to do so. In the end, he only sighed. He couldn't imagine turning his back on the Yun Zou Sect. Even though it wasn't completely wrong what Qiu Ling said he still felt like he should be grateful to the sect.
They might not have helped him in the first years but they never helped those with low aptitude. It wasn't something they had done to him personally. Then, he had lived there for five years and even met Qiu Ling so the sect carried a lot of sentimental value. And finally, Sect Master Yuchi had given him a chance with coming here. He couldn't disappoint that trust. It wouldn't be right. Even if that meant that Qiu Ling would have to wait a bit longer for the wedding he looked forward to so much.