Outside of the realm, Qiu Ling had already rushed back to the Grandelder's palace at that time. Unfortunately, when he arrived, nothing could be seen of Jing Yi. He stared at Nian Hong Fang suspiciously. "Where is Jing'er?"
"Uh … Junior martial brother Zhong went back to his own house a while ago." After all, his fiance had stayed away for several hours and it had gotten late. Outside, the sun had even gone down by now.
Qiu Ling pursed his lips and ran out, not even bothering to say goodbye to Nian Hong Fang. Ah! How could his beloved have left without waiting for him? Well, he must have been very, very reluctant to do so. He should go and wrap him in his arms to comfort him.
With that thought, Qiu Ling rushed back to the bamboo hut and stormed inside, fully prepared to show his beloved just how much he loved him. As a result, he froze right in the doorway when he saw Jing Yi sit on the bed in the lotus position, his eyes closed gently and his expression one of concentration.
Qiu Ling couldn't help but feel betrayed. How could his beloved just return home and cultivate as if nothing had happened? Hadn't he missed him at all? He pursed his lips and got a chair, sitting down in front of him so the first thing his beloved would see when he opened his eyes was his disappointed face. If he couldn't come and console him, then Jing Yi should better console him after he finished!
Thus, Jing Yi was finally faced with his fiance's gloomy face when he stopped cultivating several hours later. He blinked his eyes and then rubbed them in confusion. "Qiu Ling?"
His fiance pursed his lips even further. How could his beloved still ask so cluelessly? Of course, it was him! Wasn't it obvious?!
Jing Yi gave an embarrassed smile when he saw Qiu Ling like this. "So you're back. I wasn't sure how long you'd take so I went back home and cultivated for a bit."
"I've seen." Qiu Ling still sulked. His beloved had finally noticed him but he wasn't even giving him a kiss. This was so wrong!
Jing Yi's lips twitched when he noticed where Qiu Ling was looking. It seemed his fiance was once again trying to take advantage of the situation? He smiled and then leaned forward, finally giving Qiu Ling the kiss he had been waiting for.
Needless to say, Qiu Ling's expression lit up. "Ah, it's not a problem at all. You should make use of all the time that you have. That way, we'll be able to go to the Nine Heavens sooner."
Jing Yi tensed when he heard that. Going to the Nine Heavens sooner … didn't this mean that he would also have to give up on his life sooner? This was ridiculous! He was hardly twenty-five years of age. If he continued to cultivate like this, he would ascend when he was fifty at the very latest. Maybe it would even be sooner if he had another stroke of luck until then. That was no age for a cultivator to die. Even a hundred years wouldn't be.
Could Qiu Ling really expect him to just give up on his life at that time? He knew he had promised it but still. Deep inside, he still hoped that Qiu Ling would change his mind, that he would come to love him more than he loved Jing He and not force him to end his own life just so Jing He could come back.
He knew that it was a vain hope and that it didn't look good for him right now despite spending several years alone with him but he was far from giving up. He still had the rest of his mortal life and he might even have a bit of his life as an ascended deity to achieve this. It wasn't too late yet.
Thinking of that, Jing Yi gave him a sweet smile and leaned in again, giving him another kiss. "You're right. But anyway, you're back now so I'd much rather spend time with you."
Qiu Ling felt even happier when he heard that. He leaped onto the bed and pulled his beloved into his arms. "Don't worry about that! I'll spend as much time with you as possible."
Jing Yi smiled and cupped his cheeks. "So … What were you up to today?"
"Mn, I went to ask somebody for help to get these people out of that Chun Feng Sect."
"Really?" Jing Yi's eyes sparkled when he heard that. They had been talking about the matter with Shao Hai and Xiao Dong but Qiu Ling had left so abruptly that he hadn't been sure if it had been about that. Hearing now that he had been gone because of that, he couldn't help but feel sweet. "Thank you, Qiu Ling. It means a lot to me that you're helping my friends."
"Isn't that a given?" Qiu Ling reached out and brushed back his hair, leaning closer to give him a kiss.
Jing Yi closed his eyes and then wrapped his arms around Qiu Ling's neck, pulling him even closer and finally falling backward onto the bed. They had known each other for slightly more than a decade now. Even though they hadn't spent all of that time together, at least more than half of that had been spent with just the two of them.
From the beginning when he had had nothing but doubts, they had come a long way. By now, there was no way for him to imagine ever being with somebody else. There was at most a bit of fear about their future. But he was willing to just take a leap of faith and hope that he would be rewarded for it.