Jing Yi left the Grandmaster's palace in a daze. He held a list of ingredients in his hand but didn't really know what to do with it. Keep the manual and go on a mission, with Qiu Ling out of all people even … How would that turn out? He couldn't imagine anything else but chaos when he thought of it. After all, Qiu Ling hadn't given up yet and his own heart wasn't as unperturbed by Qiu Ling's presence as he would have liked.
"Junior martial brother Zhong!" Wu Min Huan called out to him with a tight voice.
Jing Yi hurried over. "What is it? Did something happen?"
Wu Min Huan wordlessly pointed to the unrestricted area of the inner sect that all disciples could enter. A lot of people had gathered there and clamored while they looked on in awe as two people clashed again and again. Or, well, one of them tried to clash with the other while the second one evaded all of the time. He didn't look like he was very successful with that though.
Jing Yi frowned. They were too far away to make out more than the general happenings down there but looking at that black and that white spot … Wasn't that Qiu Ling?! After all, there shouldn't be anyone else shameless enough to wear a black robe in the Yun Zou Sect when the official robes for the disciples were white.
Jing Yi rubbed his brow and held back a groan before he turned to Wu Min Huan. "Senior martial brother Wu, could I trouble you to bring me down there? That looks a lot like Qiu Ling. I'd like to make sure everything is alright."
Wu Min Huan nodded. "Of course! It's only natural that you're worried about your fiance. I would have gone to take a closer look if I hadn't been worried you might see and not know how to get down there fast. Come on then." He unsheathed his sword and the two of them flew off once again. A few minutes later, they had already reached the unrestricted area.
Jing Yi's expression twisted. The person in the black robe was indeed none other than Qiu Ling. As for the person he was going after … Jing Yi frowned even more when he saw the familiar face. Why was Qiu Ling trying to injure senior martial brother Yu?!
"Qiu Ling!"
Qiu Ling stopped in mid-flight and retracted his claws, brushing back his hair and smoothing out his sleeves to make sure he looked presentable. "My love!" He turned around to greet his beloved but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw Jing Yi's furious expression.
Uh. It couldn't be that his beloved was angry because he had tried to teach that shameless bastard a lesson, could it?
"My love!" He called out again, his voice sounding pitiful as if he was the one who had been wronged.
Jing Yi's brows twitched. Had Qiu Ling forgotten how many people were still around? "What do you think you're doing?"
Qiu Ling furrowed his brows and pointed at Leng Jin Yu. "He seduced you! And when I wanted to make a deal with him to get you back he agreed but didn't hold up his end of the bargain after I provided him with the information he wanted!"
The disciples around them started to whisper. It wasn't news that the Sect Master's disciple Yu Jin had come back and that he had somehow made the Grandmaster's disciple and his fiance split up. But now it seemed there was even more to this than they had thought!
Jing Yi held his forehead. So Qiu Ling actually thought he had fallen in love with senior martial brother Yu? That was …
He sighed. He wanted to say that it was ridiculous but upon closer inspection, it was actually the most plausible assumption. He had spent those five years in the secret realm with senior martial brother Yu and as far as they knew there had been nobody else inside. Other than that, he had also left with him after he broke up with Qiu Ling. So it was probably no wonder that Qiu Ling thought like this.
Ah, he had to clear this up. Jing Yi lowered his hand and looked at Qiu Ling. The words didn't want to come out though. The way Qiu Ling looked at him … He was obviously still hoping that they would get back together. Maybe that had been the reason why he attacked Yu Jin in the first place. He hoped that he would get him back if he could defeat the other person.
Jing Yi lowered his gaze. There was no way that would happen. And he had to make that clear somehow. And furthermore … Jing Yi looked at Leng Jin Yu and bit his lower lip. He wanted to apologize for what he was about to do but he didn't see any other way.
In the end, it was good that Qiu Ling had misunderstood. It was better if he believed that the person he had fallen in love with was the one he had spent those five years in the secret realm with. It would be better than letting him find out the truth.
After all, the person he had really fallen in love with was a demon and Qiu Ling hated their race. If he found out that the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with was one of them, there was no way to tell what he would do. But considering how he had reacted even to Yu Jin … He might try to attack Tian.
Jing Yi clenched his fists. He couldn't allow that. Never mind that he had promised himself to Tian already, even though he didn't like to admit it there was still a place in his heart that belonged solely to Qiu Ling. He would hate to see him hurt and he didn't doubt that he would be injured if he took up a weapon and tried to fight him. After all, Tian was the king of the demon race. Qiu Ling might be a dragon but there was no way he could win against someone of Tian's status.
So he had to sustain this misunderstanding. After all, as much as it would hurt Qiu Ling, it would hurt him less than losing the person he loved to a demon and knowing that he could never win him back.