Qiu Ling felt even more conflicted now than he had when he found out about the dilemma that Jing Yi's ascension would mean for Jing He. Back then, it had only been a theory. While he knew that it was true that Jing He wouldn't wake up without Jing Yi actually dying, it had been a matter of just hearing of the effect and having to believe it. Now though, he had more or less seen something similar play out. As long as one person was there, the other couldn't be. And the fact that a person would be different in another life was now deeply ingrained into his mind.
If … something had really happened to Jing He and he had been reborn, then he definitely could have love Jing Yi with all his heart. It wouldn't have been a problem. And he also wouldn't feel guilty about it, very much like Jinde would never feel guilty about loving Leng Jin Yu.
But this was different. Jing He was still very much alive. It was just that his body was currently without a soul, waiting for it to return to its original place so he could open his eyes once again. With that happening, how could he let Jing Yi stay alive? It was like refusing to let his true beloved live. He should have a guilty conscience because of that.
Qiu Ling finally sighed. This was something he would have to deal with and he would have to do so soon. He understood that now. But, well, not today. He could still deal with it after the wedding was over. For now, he'd just give himself the luxury of ignoring his problems for one day longer.
They flew over to the square where the sects liked to meet, silently landing close to the place where Jinde and Leng Jin Yu had walked over to Sect Master Yuchi.
Even though they hadn't said a single word, their arrival did not go unnoticed. An Bai and Xiang Yong had been the two dragons who came on behalf of Qiu Ling to deal with the matter with the demon-hunting sects a millennium ago. Even though that was a long time for normal people, for cultivators of high level, it amounted to next to nothing.
Seeing them, the people that had gathered immediately realized who they were and also had some good guesses about the identity of the person next to them. After all, it was clear that An Bai and Xiang Yong were treating this person especially respectfully. To have an adviser of the king be like this toward him, it could only mean one thing: This person was at least a member of the dragons' royal family if not the king himself." To think that they might get to see the dragon king in their lives … Naturally, they couldn't help but discuss this great blessing.
Well, everyone but one person did. Elder Gongxi from the Yang Huo Sect looked at the two Elders beside him, his expression turning stormy. "What are you talking about? What dragon king? That is clearly Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple!"
The two Elders raised their brows and exchanged a glance before looking at Elder Gongxi. "Elder Gongxi, what are you saying? How could that be Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple? If he was, would the people of the dragon race treat him like this? You wouldn't believe that, would you?"
Elder Gongxi furrowed his brows. "Just take a look at him! That is clearly the very same person who attacked me back then! Do you really want to say that you can't recognize him?"
Qiu Ling and his two advisers glanced in the direction of the three people, the former slightly raising his brows. Ah, it seemed that his good deeds of the past had indeed not gone unnoticed. That Elder Gongxi actually remembered him! Well, that was a little inconvenient right now.
An Bai and Xiang Yong had pretty often had to deal with situations like this in the past so they put on a neutral expression, seeming completely unfazed as if this had nothing to do with either them or their king.
Seeing these gazes, Elder Gongxi blew his top. He rushed over, pointing at Qiu Ling's nose. "You! Are you really going to pretend that you didn't attack me the last time we saw each other?"
By now, all eyes were drawn to this conflict.
Qiu Ling looked around and then turned back to Elder Gongxi and raised his brows. "Excuse me? Have we met before?" Don't kid him, he had perfected the art of being shameless for several millennia. He would be able to deal with one measly Elder.
Elder Gongxi stared at him, his mouth hanging open.
The two Elders next to him really wanted to facepalm. "See, Elder Gongxi? Didn't we say it wasn't him?"
Elder Gongxi looked at the two of them, clearly vexed. "What are you saying? He looks exactly like Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple!"
The other people turned to look at Qiu Ling and some sharp-eyed ones couldn't help but admit that he did indeed look a lot like that disciple. Come to think of it, Grandmaster Zhangsun had already arrived but there was no disciple beside him. It seemed that it was becoming ever more likely that Elder Gongxi was actually right.
Qiu Ling still kept a straight face though. "Oh? How miraculous! I'd really like to meet that person one day. In any case, I came to watch the wedding of one of our people today. I believe that whatever personal vendetta you have against that person who looks like me, you should at least wait one day before you make a fuss about it.
"An Bai, Xiang Yong, let's go." He turned away, not bothering to give Elder Gongxi another look, and then left, nodding at Jinde and Leng Jin Yu before he just stood to the side. At this moment, he really was that awe-inspiring king of the dragon race, making everyone who had just come around to believing Elder Gongxi doubt themselves again. How could this man be that shameless person who had actually attacked an Elder? No, that was completely impossible!
As unlikely as the other option sounded, they would still rather believe that they were completely unrelated doppelgängers. Yes, that had to be the case.