Qiu Ling stared at the chaotic scene in front of him, his body slightly trembling. His beloved … had been taken away. He had vanished right in front of his eyes and he hadn't been able to do anything about it.
Where? Where had that person taken him? How was he supposed to get him back now?
His breath sped up and he finally sank down to the ground, unable to keep standing any longer.
"Jing He …" He reached out to where his beloved had just stood, his sight clouding over with tears.
This couldn't be real. His beloved wouldn't leave him. Hadn't they promised to spend the rest of their lives with each other? They still hadn't married yet …
He decisively shook his head. This had to be a ploy of the demons. They had tried to separate them but he wouldn't let them succeed. Yes, that person had managed to kidnap his beloved but he would find him and bring him back and then kill that bastard that had dared to lay his hands on his Jing He!
Qiu Ling took a deep breath and got up again. He straightened his clothes and turned around. First of all, he had to find out what had happened. Something like a Jade Gathering Beast wouldn't appear just on its own. Somebody had to have brought it over. His gaze fell on Qiguan Cheng Da who was just getting up from the ground.
Qiguan Cheng Da took a relieved sigh. He never would have thought that the 'little accident' Jin Ling spoke of would turn out like this. If not for the attack Yu Jin had sent at Qiu Ling that had flung him out of the way, too, he would have been meat paste by now. Well, he had still gotten injured but it wasn't as bad as the other disciples.
He took a glance to the side where one of them was still writhing in agony. The lower half of his left arm was completely gone, blood still flowing unceasingly from the stump. His back was a mangled mess of bloody flesh and ripped clothes. Part of the skin and hair had even been burned off by the energy set free in the explosion. The guy might have been better off dead.
Qiguan Cheng Da lifted his own arms. His clothes were singed at the hem, the fabric cut here and there and he was dirty and dusty but he didn't have any grievous injuries, only a few scratches.
He stood up and wanted to dust off his sleeves when he was suddenly grabbed by the lapel, whirled around and then came face to face with a pair of eyes that seemed so angry that he thought he saw sparks flying.
Qiguan Cheng Da gulped. "Senior Ma—"
"Cut the crap!" Qiu Ling wasn't in the mood to pretend any longer. He wouldn't listen to even one word that was irrelevant to what he wanted to know. "You will tell me exactly what happened just then." His voice had already become a threatening growl. Threatening the chosen partner of a dragon was really the last thing one wanted to do.
Qiguan Cheng Da smiled nervously. "I don't know what Senior Martial Brother Qiu is talking about. I only know that Senior Martial Brother Yu suddenly stormed over and knocked Junior Martial Brother Zhong to the ground and then something flew into the air and exploded. I —"
Qiu Ling's eyes blazed. "Where did that Jade Gathering Beast come from?"
"Uh … What?" Qiguan Cheng Da could only pretend to be stupid. His courage was waning though. Qiu Ling's gaze became more savage by the second. He really feared that he might lose his head if he didn't say what he wanted to hear.
Indeed, he was right to worry about that. Qiu Ling wasn't holding back anymore. His killing intent leaked and it wasn't just a bit. It was probably enough to make even a battle-hardened person back off, not to speak of someone like Qiguan Cheng Da who'd rather advance through deceit than actual hard labor.
As amicable as Qiu Ling seemed when his beloved was around and as silly as he could be he had killed his fair share of people. Starting with fulfilling the last demand of his father and killing his own mother, then murdering that young woman to keep the secret of his heritage, to the demons that had fallen to his blade in the war … He actually didn't think much of taking a life. And he definitely would take a life if he thought that the person in question was a danger to his beloved.
He already hadn't had a good feeling about Qiguan Cheng Da when they had seen him at the Hei Dian Sect. But right now when Qiguan Cheng Da had been the one next to Jing Yi when the Jade Gathering Beast appeared his initial dislike became profound hate. He really would have liked to shred this person to pieces. Unfortunately, he still needed information from him and when his beloved came back and heard that he killed someone he regarded as a friend it wouldn't be good.
"I'll ask you for the last time: Where did that Jade Gathering Beast come from?"
Qiguan Cheng Da gulped. He felt deeply that he couldn't continue to lie or else … He didn't want to die! He had just managed to survive this crisis! Why would he accept to be killed now?! He definitely wasn't willing!
"Senior —"
Qiu Ling lifted his other hand, his fingers seemingly poised to kill.
"Stop, stop, stop! I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" Qiguan Cheng Da's voice instantly became higher in fear. "It was me who gave it to him! I didn't know something like this would happen! The person who gave it to me said it would be able to help with cultivating. It seemed really suitable for Junior Martial Brother Zhong so I handed it over to him. I also don't know why it suddenly exploded like that. It might be because of what Senior Martial Brother Yu did!"
One really had to hand it to him: Even in these circumstances, Qiguan Cheng Da was able to revert black and white and conveniently mix lies with truth. Maybe it was some kind of innate talent?
Qiu Ling let go of him and furrowed his brows. He wasn't sure if he could trust this but he felt himself wavering. It was possible … "The person who gave it to you … What did he look like?"
Qiguan Cheng Da grimaced. "Senior Martial Brother might not believe me but that person was actually quite conspicuous looking. He was really handsome and his hair was copper-colored. Ah, you can ask your Master! Grandmaster Zhangsun was the one who brought him over!"
Qiu Ling frowned even more. "No need. I believe you."
So this was indeed that bastard's doing.