Even though Leng Jin Yu was the one who had created the entire realm with some help from Qiu Ling, he hadn't paid too much attention to the courtyards before since he didn't know who had been living where. Thus he had only noticed that a lot of rooms had courtyards attached to them, some with an individual one while others shared one among them. Otherwise, he had only followed Qiu Ling's instructions on how these courtyards were supposed to look as closely as possible to make it seem as real as possible for Jinde. After all, they would be staying here for a long time and he wanted to give him a bit of the feeling that he was home. Jinde hadn't been in the dragon realm for way too long.
Even though Leng Jin Yu didn't care about anybody else's courtyard since they were basically strangers to him save for some of Qiu Ling's advisers that he had met once or some old friends of Jinde that he had at least heard about, he very much would have liked to know what Jinde's place looked like. Unfortunately, Qiu Ling hadn't been so nice to point out just which room was his. Thus Leng Jin Yu could only take a closer look around now.
Just like a lot of the other courtyards, this one had a lake. In fact, the lake seemed to be the center of everything with the rest of the garden being built around it. Lotus flowers floated on the surface and a beautiful assortment of flowers surrounded the lake. The rest of the garden was a little less inspiring with only a few shrubs that might blossom in the spring growing next to the walls. Other than that, there was only a table with two chairs next to it.
Leng Jin Yu wasn't too surprised by this setup. Dragons were creatures of the water and air. Having a lake be the middle of the place where they lived was reasonable. Also, water should have the ability to heal them faster since they could absorb the spiritual energy around them faster if they were submerged in it. So for the dragons that prided themselves in their strength and would often be involved in fights, this was a good way to live.
Leng Jin Yu felt he had gained enough of an understanding so he turned to his lover and grabbed his hands, looking into his eyes. "Even if we use what Xiang Yu brought us from the High Heavens, you'll still have to spend several years in there. It'll probably be a long time until we see each other again."
Jinde smiled and leaned forward, pecking his lips. "You make it sound as if I was out of the world. I'll just be down there. If I miss you, I can come out in just a moment. In fact, I think I'll do just that. Even if it isn't very often, I still don't want to stay without you all the time. You can also call me if you want me to come out."
Leng Jin Yu gave a wry smile. "To be honest, I would prefer it if you didn't have to go in. Staying together all the time is pretty good to me."
Jinde chuckled. "I was hoping for you to say that. Don't worry though. This will be the last time. After we get through this, there won't be a reason to separate anymore. We'll be able to spend every day and night with each other. You might grow tired of me by then."
Leng Jin Yu sized him up and shook his head. He knew that Jinde likely just wanted him to disagree but he still couldn't help but to do just that. "There's no way I would. Whatever happens, you will always be the most important, the most beautiful, the most interesting person to me."
"That sounds as if somebody is looking for a reward." Jinde wrapped his arms around Leng Jin Yu's neck and smiled. "You know I would be willing to give it."
Leng Jin Yu hugged him but still shook his head. "Jin Ling is still looking for you. It's better if you heal soon. Anyway, I can see that you're not doing too well. Even though a lot of time has gone by, you still have problems gathering spiritual energy, don't you? That makes it even more difficult to heal your soul. I don't think it's good for you to continue to live with that kind of condition."
Jinde sighed and let go, stepping back. "Unfortunately, you're right about that. The amount of energy needed to heal my soul is just too big. Regardless of how much I take in, it feels like it will be forever until I'll manage to regenerate it. I really don't want to wait much longer."
"Then you should get in."
Jinde nodded and wanted to go but Leng Jin Yu reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him back and hugging him once again. Jinde's eyebrows rose but he didn't say anything. This kind of behavior wasn't quite like Leng Jin Yu. If he did, then it was either that this was one of those moments where some memory was too strong for him to pull himself out of it fast enough or this was bothering him more than he was willing to say. Either way, it was best to let it pass.
Leng Jin Yu closed his eyes and sighed. In fact, the problem was more the latter. It was just that there was the added problem of the last memory he had dug up when he was in the Nine Heavens.
He had wanted to tell Jinde about it before but just then, Jin Ling had tried to get into the realm and he hadn't been able to do what you wanted to. Now … He still felt that Jinde should know about it. He also felt that having some hope and knowing that there had been more to their story than he had known would be good for him. Maybe if he had that kind of reassurance, he would be able to heal a little faster.
But he really didn't know how to breach the subject. After all, he didn't really want to tell Jinde that he had used a part of his own soul to create the array. That just didn't feel like such a good idea.