Leng Jin Yu coughed. "That … was before I came to the Yun Zou Sect. I actually learned under a different master before the sect master took me in."
"Oh. And your former master is alright with you taking somebody else as your master, too?"
"I guess so."
"You didn't ask him? He …" Jing Yi stopped talking. Considering the impression he had of Yu Jin he felt that he wouldn't do something so insensitive as taking a second master without asking his first one. So maybe … that person couldn't be asked anymore.
He searched for some kind of clue in Yu Jin's face but couldn't find any. Maybe he wasn't dead but something else had happened? Just look at them, they were also trapped in a secret realm and didn't know how to get out. Maybe Yu Jin's master had also been trapped somewhere and so Yu Jin had just continued on and then met the sect master of the Yun Zou Sect? Or maybe he was thinking too much.
Leng Jin Yu noticed the probing gaze and raised his brows. "Is something the matter?"
"I … No, it's nothing." Jing Yi shook his head. Whatever it was he felt like he shouldn't pry too much. If Yu Jin wanted to talk about it, then he would have done so. Since he hadn't he shouldn't risk opening old wounds.
Leng Jin Yu turned back to the front where the other side of the grove could already be seen. They were still quite far from the mountain chain and a few other groves and lakes were on their way there. Maybe they would be able to find the Heart-Calming Buddha Flower in one of them.
Although … it seemed talking to Jing Yi had already calmed him down somewhat. As long as he wasn't reminded of the current situation and the fact that his fiance was still outside he was probably alright. Unfortunately, he couldn't just make him forget about that. If that was possible, then the whole trial the crown prince had to undertake wouldn't have been so difficult. Well, he should have drunk some of the water of the river of forgetfulness prior to descending for his trial. The problem was that a certain other person hadn't.
Come to think of it, this was probably a good opportunity to find out a little more in that regard. "So, I noticed that your fiance didn't use a sword when bringing you back from the Hei Dian Sect. Is he also studying both paths?"
Jing Yi hurriedly averted his face. "Yes, you could say that."
"Well, it figures. He has a special constitution, after all. Wasn't it the divine constitution 'dragon body'?"
Jing Yi pressed his lips together. He remembered vaguely that the elders had talked about such things at the gathering of practitioners but back then he hadn't known anything about these things so he hadn't really understood what it was about. If Yu Jin hadn't brought it up again, he never would have remembered. He would have liked to forget about it indeed. What divine constitution? His fiance was a real dragon! But he definitely couldn't talk about that so he just nodded.
Leng Jin Yu slightly lifted his brows. So it turned out that Jing Yi already knew that his fiance wasn't human. Just how much had the dragon king told him?
"Your fiance … seems quite close to you."
Jing Yi hurriedly nodded. This was a much safer topic. Although it felt a little strange to talk about it with Yu Jin of all people who normally had a stony expression. "Yes, we're very close. But it's probably no wonder. We've been traveling together for a long time and then spent some more time in the Hei Dian Sect together. I guess it's normal to grow closer in such a situation."
Leng Jin Yu also nodded. "That's true. I was a little surprised though. I was there at the gathering when he proposed to you. You seemed … stunned. As if you hadn't expected it."
"I didn't."
"Oh?"
Jing Yi bit his lower lip. Somehow the topic he had just considered safe turned out to be not so safe after all. "We actually didn't know each other before that. Well, I guess you could say it was love at first sight?"
"For him at least."
"Mn." Jing Yi tugged at his sleeve, feeling uncomfortable. This really wasn't something he wanted to talk about.
"So … Why did you change your mind? About marrying him I mean."
"Well, I guess after spending so much time together I just fell in love somehow?"
"Nothing else?"
Jing Yi looked up. Why did he feel like he was interrogated? Wasn't it a little strange for a senior martial brother he hadn't had much to do with until now to suddenly show this much interest in his private matters?
It might have been Qiu Ling's influence but Jing Yi couldn't help but question if there was some hidden reason behind this. It couldn't be that Yu Jin …
Leng Jin Yu raised his brows at Jing Yi's strange gaze. "Junior Martial Brother?"
"I just wondered … We've talked about Qiu Ling just now. So … Is there someone Senior Martial Brother Yu likes?"
Leng Jin Yu blinked. Someone he liked? He wanted to shake his head but hesitated at the last moment. His thoughts involuntarily drifted to those half-finished paintings back in his house at the Yun Zou Sect. Maybe what was missing from them was indeed a person and maybe that person was indeed someone he had loved dearly.
For a long time, even before his ascension, he had wondered why he never fell in love. He wanted to. But it somehow never happened. He had thought that maybe he was too picky but even in the Nine Heavens where beauties were nothing special and where you could find a few people with an acceptable temperament by just taking a casual glance around he still hadn't found anyone.
"Maybe there is."
Maybe … the reason for him being alone all this while and solely focusing on cultivation had been that person. Maybe he was supposed to find that special someone again. Maybe they just were destined to be.