The two of them fell silent afterward and made their way over to the palace without saying another word. Both were having their own thoughts in their mind, not quite sure what to say or do. It really seemed that right now, the situation between them was at an all-time low.
When they arrived, Qiu Ling gave Jing Yi a careful look, still not quite sure how to deal with the situation. He felt even more that it would be best to find a way to deal with this soon. Thus, he gave a faint smile and then nodded to the books in Jing Yi's hands. "Do you want to go and read them immediately?"
Since Jing Yi was pretty much at a loss as well, he nodded his head and then just went to the table where they had been sitting before, putting the books down, and taking a seat.
Qiu Ling glanced at him, feeling a little pained in his heart. Things really were difficult. It would be nice if they could find a way to deal with everything. Unfortunately, he didn't think it would happen anytime soon. He looked at him for a moment longer and then motioned to one of the other rooms. "Then, I'll go to speak with An Bai and Xiang Yong. If you need anything, you know how to find me."
Jing Yi nodded without turning his head. He only looked up when Qiu Ling's steps had receded outside the room. After being left alone, he couldn't help but sigh. This situation … he really didn't know what to do about it anymore. He wasn't sure if he could live with it if it continued being like this.
He just wanted to be special in Qiu Ling's eyes too. To be loved by him, not because of the fact that he was Jing He's reincarnation but because he was important all by himself. But no matter what he did, it just didn't work out. He was never good enough. And most likely, even up until the moment when he breathed his last, he would never be. Because to Qiu Ling, nobody could ever beat Jing He who already had this special position in his heart.
"You are too biased, do you realize that?" He shook his head and then turned back to the books in front of him. In any case, if there was nothing else he could do, then he might as well follow his original intention and read up a little bit on the matters of the immortal realms. He didn't know what to use it for yet but maybe he would find a way. In any case, while the chances might be low, it could never hurt to try. A lot of times in his life, things had worked out that way.
Looking at the books, it was hard to say if he had been lucky with what he grabbed or not. Some of these were rather narrow in their topics, one of them dealing with a specific kind of plant that could only be found in the immortal realms, another one being a book recounting the troubles of somebody who might've been a famous person in one of the three immortal realms, and yet another speaking about some form of arrays that he didn't understand at all.
On the other hand, there were also some that were more helpful. The one that he put the most hopes on was one that recounted the history of the Nine Heavens. He narrowed his eyes and pulled the book closer, slowly starting to skim through it. He actually didn't know too much about the immortal realms.
While Qiu Ling had told him a little bit in the time that they had been together, he naturally couldn't compare with the type of knowledge that Jing He definitely had. Even the most basic questions about the realms … he wouldn't be able to answer. He vaguely knew that the name of the Nine Heavens was pretty descriptive because there were eight states other than the capital, meaning that the whole realm was made up of nine parts — or, well, Heavens — under the rule of the Heavenly Emperor.
He also knew that there were differences between the immortal and mortal realms in terms of the type of creatures and plants one could encounter and Qiu Ling had mentioned just today that the cultivation of the humans wasn't important to any of the immortal races.
But other than these few things, Jing Yi actually didn't know what the realms and races were like. The differences between these places, how they had come to be, what exactly made a god a god and a dragon a dragon … He really had no idea. In this type of world, he was ignorant like a child. Starting from this kind of basic information was a bit embarrassing but it was the best he could do. Trying to look at the finer details would just make him confused.
He sighed and then slowly started to read. In any case, every bit of information that he could get was good. Maybe he would unexpectedly have more time in the Nine Heavens than he expected right now. Then, he would be able to read up on quite a few things. Also, the history of the Nine Heavens would probably also include things like Tian's curse, right? So there might also be some information about the trials that he could make use of.
Telling himself this, he started to read more carefully, paying attention to anything that might be of help to him. Unfortunately, this kind of introduction to the topic really couldn't amount to much. By the time he finished reading, he felt like while he had a bit more information in his hands, there was still not even a hint of a solution in there. He would definitely have to find out much more if he really wanted to make significant progress.
It was just … he was afraid that it would take way too much time. After all, looking outside … His expression dimmed a little when he saw that the last light of the day had already faded and night had arrived. If he didn't get more than just a few days, then there really was no way for him to save himself.