Back outside, Qiu Ling finally gave up with a huff. He was sure that these two had definitely noticed that he was there and just didn't want to open up the realm. Hmph. Well, he didn't need them. He might as well go and ask somebody else.
He turned away but then didn't really know who to go to. In the mortal realm, there was still that so-called Master of his but he had no idea about the trials or Tian's curse that made the dragons unable to love more than one person. It seemed that there was nobody he could go to. In that case, he would only be able to go to the immortal realms but that would take a lot of time.
He glanced in the direction of the bamboo hut and furrowed his brows. Originally, he had only gone out to ask these two a few questions. He would have been back soon enough that his beloved might not even notice. But if he went to the immortal realms … With the difference in time, it might even be a few days until he returned if he wasn't careful and then his beloved would definitely wonder what was going on. And he certainly couldn't leave without saying anything.
He hesitated and finally went back to the bamboo hut. He lay down next to Jing Yi again, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep again.
Two hours later, Qiu Ling still hadn't managed to do so. It was one thing if this only happened once and he rejected Jing Yi but it would be a completely different thing if this happened again. He couldn't just ignore what had happened. He needed to find a solution.
Qiu Ling got up once again and this time, he took out a scroll of paper from his spatial ring, as well as the ink and brush, and then wrote a short message for Jing Yi, putting it down on the table. He sighed and took a last look at his beloved and then left the hut and rushed toward the Nine Heavens.
He went straight for the palace of the Heavenly Empress. After all, who would be able to give him better advice than his mother-in-law? Well, his father and the old geezer probably would've been a better alternative but since these two didn't want to help him, she was still the best person to go to. At the very least, his mother-in-law would never shut him out. He was sure of that!
When Qiu Ling peeked through the window into her room, he unfortunately had to realize that Bai Fen wasn't in though.
He sighed. "She's probably at her husband's palace at this time, wouldn't she? Does that mean I would have to see that bastard as well? But he'd probably just disturb us and then Jing Yi will have to wait even longer for me to return."
Qiu Ling pondered for a moment and then decided not to go to the Heavenly Emperor's palace. Anyway, he didn't trust Jing He's father. So it might be better to look for another alternative.
Qiu Ling continued to ponder for a while and then his expression lit up. He rushed over to another palace and went to look for the owner's personal rooms. He hadn't been here very often so he wasn't quite sure where to look but after searching around for a while, he finally stumbled upon the right one. He rushed in and wanted to shake the person awake only to be met with the sharp end of a sword.
Qiu Ling jumped back, extending his claws to defend himself. "Uncle-in-law, what are you doing?!"
Qiang Yan stared at Qiu Ling in a daze and then rubbed his eyes, before looking again. "Qiu Ling?"
Qiu Ling lowered his hands and harrumphed. "Of course it's me. Were you expecting somebody else?"
"That … I wasn't expecting anybody this late at night." He sat up and grabbed his outer robe, pulling it over his shoulders. "Did something happen?" He really couldn't imagine what kind of other reason there could be. It certainly wasn't like Qiu Ling to suddenly barge into his palace and come to see him in the middle of the night.
Qiu Ling pulled over a chair and sat down in front of him, giving him a serious look. "Uncle-in-law, do you think it would be wrong of me to marry Jing Yi?"
Qiang Yan was once again speechless. "Is this what you came here to discuss with me?"
Qiu Ling was taken aback. "What do you mean? Of course, that is what I came here to discuss. Why would I bring it up otherwise?"
Qiang Yan sighed. Right, why else would he bring it up? And why was he even surprised? This was very much like Qiu Ling. He rubbed his face and then tried to think about the question in earnest. "Well, why exactly are you asking?"
Qiu Ling pursed his lips. "Isn't that obvious? Originally, I wanted to marry Jing Yi. But then I realized that maybe Jing He wouldn't like it if he remembered that. So now I can't help but worry that I might do the wrong thing. But then again, Jing Yi would also be devastated if I didn't marry him, wouldn't he?"
Qiang Yan nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I guess in the end, it should be more important what this would mean to Jing He, shouldn't it? After all, he'll return sooner or later. As for his reincarnation … Even though it might hurt him a little, he should be able to understand, don't you think so?"
Qiu Ling didn't seem very convinced. Even though it was true that Jing He would return and that by then, Jing Yi's feelings wouldn't play any role anymore, it didn't mean that they didn't right now. And at this moment, he was obviously very sad about this. Could he really just ignore this?