Jing Yi only awoke several hours later. For the first time since eating the Beguiling Night Tree's fruit, he had had a good night's sleep. In fact, he had slept so well that he just wanted to turn around and close his eyes again.
He knew he couldn't though. It hadn't been long since they came to the Hei Dian Sect and even though they had already finished their mission there were still a lot of things to do. After all, he had finally started to learn how to read and write and had even managed to grasp the basics of Alchemy.
As long as they stayed in the Hei Dian Sect he had to use these opportunities that were presented to him. Sooner or later he wouldn't be a burden to Qiu Ling then and would even be able to help him. That was more than enough reason to get up.
He turned his head to the side to take a look at Qiu Ling. Once again he was greeted by his beloved's sleeping face. He couldn't help but watch him a little longer. This was something he was only able to do since they came to the Hei Dian Sect. Would he still be able to see it when they returned to the Yun Zou Sect? How long would it be until then? Another week? Another month?
Come to think of it, it had only been a bit more than a year since Qiu Ling proposed to him. That probably wasn't too long. Even though they had needed to postpone the wedding it wasn't like an end of the delay wasn't in sight. Qiu Ling could probably wait that long.
Jing Yi was tempted to lean over and give him a kiss but he was afraid that Qiu Ling might wake up. Well, he didn't know if dragons actually needed to sleep like humans but it certainly seemed that way.
Jing Yi frowned. Qiu Ling had told him a lot about his past when he was imprisoned in his inner self but he had never mentioned he was a dragon. If not for what Grandmaster Shen had said at the duel, he might have never found out about it. Qiu Ling had admitted it when he asked but they hadn't had the opportunity to talk about it. After all, they had been invited to the Grandmaster's house and then the thing with the Beguiling Night Tree had happened and he … It was his own fault.
Jing Yi sat up and leaned against the beam behind him. He had thought that he knew Qiu Ling quite well after spending more than a year with him but there were still a lot of things he had no idea about. Especially concerning the dragons … What were they like? How did they live? Were there things he should take note of?
While Jing Yi was deep in his thoughts Qiu Ling finally woke up. He, too, had slept wonderfully if he ignored the short disturbance by that message from the sect. Mn, in fact, he was very rested right now. This was the perfect opportunity to do something.
He peeked at the spot beside him and noticed that Jing Yi had sat up. His lips curled into a satisfied smile. Ah, there was that one thing he had always thought must be bliss but that he had never dared to try with Jing He. This was a prime opportunity to make use of!
He silently crept closer to Jing Yi before taking another peak to make sure his beloved hadn't noticed anything. Ah, perfect! He wasn't paying attention. Well, not that his beloved wouldn't allow him if he asked nicely … It wasn't like they hadn't done this before, after all. Still, it was better to be prepared.
Qiu Ling pushed himself up a bit and charged forward, putting his head on Jing Yi's lap and encircling his slender legs with one arm to make sure he couldn't get up.
Jing Yi jerked. "Qiu … Qiu Ling, what are you doing?!"
Qiu Ling gave a satisfied smile. "Basking in the wonders of love!" He rubbed his cheek on Jing Yi's thigh before lying still again. Mn, this was too wonderful! Ah, but it might have been better if his beloved was sitting the other way around, then he could actually turn around and look up at his face to admire him.
Jing Yi sighed. What else had he expected? Well, this was probably a good moment to ask him about the dragons.
"Qiu Ling …"
"Mn? Do you want a good morning kiss?"
Jing Yi smiled. "Maybe later. There's something I wanted to talk with you about."
Qiu Ling perked up. He actually wanted to lift his head to look his beloved in the face but then he would have needed to leave this spot. Argh, this wasn't ideal. "My love, can you turn around?"
"Mn?" Jing Yi reached down and gently combed through Qiu Ling's hair.
Qiu Ling's lips curled and his eyes formed into little crescents. He probably would have started purring in pleasure if he wasn't afraid that the excruciating rumor of the hidden tiger would be heated up again.
Jing Yi stopped to take a look at Qiu Ling's face though. "What do you mean?"
Qiu Ling loathed to break the wonderful moment but this really wasn't right. "Turn around, my love!"
"Huh?" Jing Yi still didn't understand. Was he supposed to face the wall?
Qiu Ling sat up, grabbed Jing Yi by the waist and pulled him to the side so that he looked into the other direction. Then, he flopped down again. Ah, finally he could look up at his beloved's face while lying on his lap! This was really true bliss!
No, wait … There was one thing wrong! Qiu Ling frowned a bit and grabbed Jing Yi's hand, putting it back onto his head, his gaze expectant.
Jing Yi didn't even know how to react. In the end, he only sighed and started to comb through Qiu Ling's hair again with his fingers.
"Can I ask now?"
"Of course, my love! Don't hold back! I'll answer all of your questions at any given time!"