"I will go and see Qiu Ling." He barely managed to get those words out. Looking at Jinde and knowing that his time was running out and that this was really the last time he would see him, he had a hard time moving his body. But he knew he had to go and see that son of his a last time as well. Otherwise, he would once again die with regrets.
Jinde looked up and then stood up as well. He cupped Chun Yin's cheeks and then leaned forward, giving him a kiss. "Farewell. I … I will not forget you. Never. I promise you that."
Chun Yin pulled him into his arms again and then abruptly let go, turning on his heels and striding out of the room. He knew he couldn't look at him for even a second longer or his resolve would crumble. He would've liked to be with him up until the last moment but he knew that he couldn't. He had t do this. And he knew that he also wanted to. That son of his … He had made him suffer more than enough.
Following the memory of Leng Jin Yu, he flew over to the bamboo house in the inner sect of the Yun Zou Sect. Looking at it from outside, he actually calmed down. That was where his son was currently living with the person he chose to spend his life with. Contrary to him, his son had not made the same mistakes. He had found the person he loved and had held onto him. Even though they weren't officially married yet, he knew that it was only a question of time. Qiu Ling had managed to make out of his life what he would've loved to do for his own.
Chun Yin unwittingly smiled when thinking of that.
This son of his … he was proud of him. He actually felt sorry that he was not able to meet him in his own body. More so toward Qiu Ling than he had been toward Jinde. His lover might not mind since this new person was still his. As for his son, he probably had different thoughts about this matter. He felt that Qiu Ling really would've liked being able to look into his actual father's eyes once more. Unfortunately, he couldn't give him that.
Chun Yin smiled wryly and then opened Leng Jin Yu's spatial ring, taking out the sword that Jinde had given him.
Originally, this had been a pair. He had forged them as two parts of a whole and as a sign of their special bond when they had been young. That had been shortly before Jinde even came of age.
At that time, everything had still been alright between them. The swords had been supposed to be a promise of the future that would lie ahead of them. Now, the promise already had not been kept. One sword had been left behind for his son and the other had been kept by his lover and finally given to his reincarnation.
This had not been his intention back then. But now, he actually felt that it was quite fitting. Even after he stopped existing in this world, this pair of swords would be with the two most important people in his life.
He took a deep breath and then went over to the door to the bamboo hut, knocking.
It was already late at night. At this moment, Jing Yi was still inside, cultivating so he would be able to ascend as soon as possible while Qiu Ling was accompanying him, feeling a little bored.
Hearing the sound from the door, he sighed and then got up. "I'll see who it is. I'll be back in a bit." He went over and opened but before he could say anything, Chun Yin motioned over his shoulder.
"Let's have a fight."
Qiu Ling furrowed his brows, not quite sure what was up with that. That certainly wasn't Leng Jin Yu's usual behavior. Other than that, he also remembered how badly he had managed to beat Leng Jin Yu back then when he had thought that this guy had tried to take his lover from him. He really didn't know why this person wanted to be beaten up once again.
Still, since things inside were quite boring right now and this was his father's reincarnation after all, he followed him over to a spot a little further away that gave them enough room to fight without bothering anyone else.
He took out his sword without waiting for the other person to say anything and then gave him a look. "Don't complain if I beat you too badly."
Chun Yin smiled at that. At the very least, his son's self-esteem wasn't low. Well, if he was afraid of losing to an ascended deity, he really wouldn't have raised him right. He didn't say anything and then just attacked.
Qiu Ling didn't need long to figure out that something was wrong. Never mind that the other person's strength seemed to have gone up a bit, his style was also different.
The longer he fought, the stranger he felt though. While the style might be different from Leng Jin Yu's previous tries of dodging and evading his attacks, it absolutely wasn't a style that he was unfamiliar with. Instead, the sense of familiarity that he got from this was eerie. It was very similar to his own fighting style and there was an uncanny resemblance to the one he had originally learned from.
The smile that had originally been on his lips faded away and he finally stepped back, just staring at the other person scrutinizingly.