Chapter 21 - Oh No, I Did It Again

Zhong Jing Yi had debated for the whole day, who had lied and who had told the truth. He didn't believe Madam Pan, but he believed his mother and they had both said the same thing. The old man hadn't seemed like he lied, but how could his mother have been a mud monster once? It was impossible! So it seemed like the friendly old man had lied, but Jing Yi just couldn't understand why.

That was why, untypical for him, Jing Yi looked at his father the next morning and followed him to the door, when he wanted to leave for work. Mister Zhong halted and looked at his son questioningly. Jing Yi looked back at his mother, then lifted his arms.

Mister Zhong was dumbfounded, then thrilled. My son wants to be hugged! He bent down and hugged his son. A minute later, he let go and stood up again, wanting to go to work. Jing Yi stared at the back of his father, who couldn't understand him. He gripped his robe, not letting go, even when Mister Zhong stepped out of the door.

Mister Zhong looked back and then turned to his wife. What does our son want?, his gaze seemed to say.

Madam Zhong snorted. "Look at you! Is Jing Yi really your son? He obviously wants you to take him with you! Hmph!" She turned away. Why does my son want to go with his father today? What did I do wrong? She couldn't understand.

Meanwhile, Mister Zhong felt enlightened. My son wants to accompany me! He squatted down and picked up his son, afraid that Jing Yi would reconsider, if he didn't react fast enough. "We're off then!", he happily bid his farewell, closed the door and hurried to work. Ha! Look at this! My son is accompanying me today. And I didn't need to coax him at all. Maybe taking him to the forest back then wasn't such a bad choice? Maybe he thought about it really hard, after he came back, and found out, he liked it after all?

Mister Zhong wouldn't have been that thrilled and Madam Zhong wouldn't have been that brooding, if they knew, what their son was thinking. Jing Yi just wanted to look for the sagely old man, because after a day of thinking hard, he decided, that he probably misunderstood the old man. He didn't believe the old man would lie to him. There had to be another explanation!

If Qiu Ling knew, he would be happy, because Jing Yi trusted him so much, and feel endlessly guilty, because this trust was misplaced in this case. He had indeed lied.

Even though he didn't knew, Qiu Ling followed gloomily behind the father and son. It wasn't because Jing Yi trusted his mother more than him. Even though he felt hurt deep down, he knew, that Jing Yi couldn't remember his life in the nine heavens at the moment and that he had only seen him in the appearance of an old man, he didn't know for more than an hour. It was already quite good, that Jing Yi had trusted him so much. It was just …

Would it have been different, if he saw my true appearance?, he couldn't help but ask himself. He wanted to believe, that that was the case. There had to be some fateful connection between their souls, that couldn't be severed regardless of life and death. What was a mere trial in the human realm for such a connection?

"Ah." Qiu Ling sighed. "Why am I even thinking about this? He's merely three years old at the moment. When he's older … I'll have more than enough time to try it. Right now, love is something he isn't even thinking of." He sighed again. How long a human life seemed, if one was in the mortal world. If he hadn't been so anxious about something happening to Jing He, while he was here, he would have waited in the nine heavens for his return.

Two month without him seemed long, but it wouldn't feel as long as accompanying him through twenty years of growing up, before he could make a move on him. And even more so … What would happen at the end?

Qiu Ling halted his steps and watched the father and son departing further. A human life wasn't that long. He could wait until it ended. But how would that feel? Seeing Jing He dying in this world?

Qiu Ling shook his head and hurried after them. No, this wasn't something he should be thinking about. He should just … just wait. Everything would sort itself out somehow. He could help Jing He in his time here in the mortal world, but he couldn't do more.

Mister Zhong reached the paddy and put down his son. "Just stay here and watch your father working!" He smiled brightly and couldn't help looking at the other men, wanting to brag about how his son had accompanied him today.

Mister Mao looked at them and lifted his eyebrows. "I hope you didn't take him without your wife's approval again."

Mister Zhong was taken aback. Nobody had said a word about that for the last two weeks! Why was he bringing that up now of all times? Not being in the mood for bragging anymore, Mister Zhong started to work. The other men, who arrived slightly later, glanced at Zhong Jing Yi, but only talked about it between themselves.

Like that, nobody but Qiu Ling noticed, when the child got up and hurried to the forest. Mister Zhong, who had worked extra hard, to make a good impression in front of his son, only looked back half an hour later. His face lost all color and only one thought crossed his mind:

Oh no. I lost my son again.