Chapter 176 - Inadvertently Helping

In the end, Qiu Ling actually ended the kiss. This wasn't the time for that. "We were … on our way up."

"Qiu Ling." Jing Yi stroked his cheek and smiled. "You know if you really love me, then you should also trust me. So if there is something tormenting you, then we can talk about it."

Qiu Ling nodded, though he didn't plan to actually follow through with that. It was bad enough that he had lost his calm in front of Jing Yi once. That couldn't happen a second time.

Jing He would remember everything when he woke up. Not immediately, but in the end, he would. He couldn't let him see anything bad. Jing He should always feel secure at his side. How would he be able to do that if he saw him like this?

"I'm sorry. I …" He shook his head. "It's because I love you so much. When I thought that you had to suffer because of me I …"

"It's alright. It's not your fault. My father …" Jing Yi sighed. "Maybe his time had just come. It has happened long ago, too. There is no need to worry about it now. Come on now. Didn't want you to show me a place? I'm curious about it so let's hurry up."

"Mn." Qiu Ling took his hand again and they continued upward.

Jing Yi looked up at him once again. He really wanted to say something but after what had happened just now he didn't dare to. What if he asked another question that would hurt Qiu Ling? He didn't want that. This was supposed to be a memorable day for them. And one with nice memories.

Jing Yi silently stepped closer to Qiu Ling and grabbed onto his arm. Qiu Ling turned toward him and raised his brows. "Oh, it's … it's a little chilly, don't you think so?"

Qiu Ling looked up as if he could actually see the temperature. Then, he waved his hand. The temperature around them instantly increased. That wasn't the only thing that happened, though.

Jing Yi's eyes went wide and he stopped. What was that just now? He felt like … like he could feel something moving around them.

"What is it, my love?"

"What did you do just now?" Jing Yi jerked around and gripped Qiu Ling's robe.

"You said it was cold so I made it a bit warmer."

Jing Yi's mouth opened and closed again. This guy … He had spirit veins, too? Then why was he … Jing Yi shook his head. That wasn't important right now.

"Qiu Ling, can you repeat that?"

"Is it still cold?" Qiu Ling frowned a bit. He had felt like it was a mild day in the first place. Now that he had adjusted the temperature once it was quite warm already. His beloved wouldn't be falling sick, would he?!

Slightly worried, Qiu Ling waved once more and the temperature rose.

Jing Yi closed his eyes, trying once again to feel what he had been unable to notice these last few years. It wasn't really clear but he could feel the warm breeze touching his skin and hear the currents turning around them. It wasn't as much feeling the spiritual energy as noticing the airflow around him. It was still somehow special.

In the last years, he had tried concentrating on the elements. He had sat on the earth and next to the water and gone outside when a storm was brewing just to experience what the elements were like. But he had never felt this close to the revelation.

Qiu Ling wanted to say something but finally stopped himself when he saw Jing Yi's concentrated expression. I just used my magic. Maybe he figured something out because of that? After all, that human cultivation sounded pretty similar to our magic. It might have helped him.

Silently, Qiu Ling lifted his hand and made the wind slowly turn around them, the hot and cold currents interchanging. Then, he just waited.

Jing Yi still clung to his robes and had his eyes tightly shut. He concentrated on the things he could sense but those were just things of physical quality not spiritual.

No, what he actually needed …

His fingers slowly unclenched and his hands wandered over Qiu Ling's chest to his shoulders and down his arms as if on their own. What he had felt just now hadn't come from the wind itself but from Qiu Ling. He had managed to feel it because he had been so close to him, closer than he had been to anyone else in the last years.

Qiu Ling smiled. He understood somehow. "I'll show you." He gently turned Jing Yi around in his arms, so that Jing Yi's back rested against his chest, then he interlaced their fingers with each other. He rose into the air and sped toward the summit. Forget that place he had thought about and how it might help with closing the distance between them. It was much more important to follow this approaching insight of his beloved. This had been his dream since five years ago. It was time to make it come true.

They landed on top of the mountain and Qiu Ling looked up at the sky. He would help him. He definitely would.

Qiu Ling took a deep breath and silently lifted their hands. His magic coursed through his body and called out to the winds above. They stopped whatever they had been doing and started to move in a circle, slowly descending.

Jing Yi held his breath. He could feel it. Not in the winds for now but from Qiu Ling. It was like water rippling along a small stream. It flowed down his arms into his hands and back up again, building a never stopping cycle.

So that was how it was supposed to be …

Jing Yi tried to sense the same cycle inside himself. He pressed his eyes together and frowned, concentrating as much as he could. He felt his limbs, their warmth and the tension within. The cycle he had felt from Qiu Ling eluded him, though.

Jing Yi lightly sighed. He wasn't resolved to just give up. After five years he had finally managed to sense something even though it was not in himself. This was a first step. He just had to try further.

Next, he concentrated on the wind. It whirled around them, faster and faster, howling and making the trees below them groan and creak. He could feel their suction growing stronger and the only thing that seemed to hold him in place were the hands holding onto him. As for the spiritual energy inside these winds …

Jing Yi sighed and opened his eyes, leaning heavily against Qiu Ling. He had been so close. Why was this last step still eluding him?

"What is it, my love? Just tell me." Qiu Ling rubbed his cheek against Jing Yi's hair. Finally, he was able to do something for him. He definitely wouldn't let this chance pass!