Chapter 357 - Enduring for the Time Being

In the secret realm, Leng Jin Yu was still trying to find out more about Jing Yi's memory.

"Well, it is a memory of a past life. Naturally, it would feel real. Say, that dagger you saw was there something special about it?"

"Special?" Jing Yi frowned slightly and thought back to it. "It was red. Completely red."

"I see."

Leng Jin Yu pondered but couldn't remember ever having heard of such a weapon. Neither in the mortal realm nor in the Nine Heavens. The color alone might be enough to have it identified though. He just needed to find someone who was more knowledgeable in this area than him. The God of War was probably a likely candidate to have such knowledge. He would ask him when he had an opportunity to return to the Nine Heavens for a while.

Meanwhile, Jing Yi's thoughts had already wandered back to the other memory he experienced. "Senior Martial Brother Yu, actually, it's not what I saw today what bothers me. You have to know while staying in the Hei Dian Sect with Qiu Ling I ate one of the fruits of the Beguiling Night Tree without knowing what it was. I already saw something back then."

"Something that makes you even more nervous?"

Jing Yi nodded. "It was actually nothing much just that … it is a little difficult in my situation."

Leng Jin Yu wasn't so stupid as to think that Jing Yi had figured out that he was a god undergoing his trial so his situation, in this case, could only either mean him being a spy in the demonic sect or his relationship with Qiu Ling. Since he already wasn't in the Hei Dian Sect anymore it would be strange if it was the former. That task didn't seem as important as his relationship anyway so …

"This is about Senior Martial Brother Qiu?"

Jing Yi nodded again. "Yes. What I saw was … someone I was probably in love with in my previous life. It made me feel strange and I was a little worried that … it would somehow influence my relationship with Qiu Ling. He reacted quite well, so I'm probably worrying too much but still. I'd rather not remember any more than that. It might be a problem to what I have now and I don't want that. Qiu Ling and I are very happy."

"I see." Leng Jin Yu looked back at the window.

This would probably make a great love trial … He couldn't take any chances though. Getting a god undergoing his trial to remember something wasn't wise. Especially if the trial was such a serious issue like the one with the crown prince. As far as he understood this was his last chance to accomplish these trials or else he would have exceeded the limit given by Heaven. This really wasn't a situation where he could try things out.

"Well, the effect of the Fractured Crystal Leaf will run out as soon as the spiritual energy you took in from it runs out. So not absorbing anything more will solve most of the problem already. As for the bit you still have in your body …" He sighed. "I'm sorry. There is nothing I can do. As far as I know, there is no way to dissolve it. A powerful alchemist might be able to do it but, well, it's not like we could find one here."

"So I'll have to endure it."

"Mn. I'm sorry about that."

"There's no need. It was my own fault in the first place. I just shouldn't have picked it."

"You didn't know what it was."

"That's true but I at least should have noticed that. There are differences between it and the Crystal Grass. Senior Martial Brother Yu spotted them immediately even though you aren't an alchemist and said you don't know much about herbs. But I who actually wants to become an alchemist wasn't able to. This is probably my just desserts."

Leng Jin Yu shook his head and took Jing Yi's hands into his. "You're looking at it the wrong way. I don't know much about herbs but because of what I experienced I searched for information on herbs like the Fractured Crystal Leaf for a long time. I'm bound to recognize it when I see it.

At the same time, you only started to learn alchemy a few weeks ago. It's normal not to know about herbs yet that you can't work with for now anyway. Instead, you focused on other herbs just like the Crystal Grass. Mistaking the Fractured Crystal Leaf is normal."

"It shouldn't be. There were differences. I should have noticed them. I should have … At least I should have been uncertain if it was the right one but I didn't even think about it." He lowered his head. If he hadn't been so dumb, then this wouldn't have happened. If this caused problems between Qiu Ling and him, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Maybe that's true. You can't change it now though. So instead of agonizing over that, you should try to learn more so that something like this won't happen to you again."

"Mn. Senior Martial Brother Yu is right. I should do that."

Jing Yi smiled slightly before his eyes dimmed again. Continue to learn … Back in the Hei Dian Sect, there had been people helping him. Especially Qiu Ling. Without him … Would he be able to make progress at all? Well, at least Qiu Ling had handed the two manuals over to him before they left the Hei Dian Sect so that he could 'read if he got bored on the way'.

Ah, who could tell him what his fiance was thinking? As the person who had taught him how to read and write to a large extent, Qiu Ling should have been pretty clear that he wouldn't be able to read these books on his own.

Well, most likely Qiu Ling had indeed known and was just pursuing his own goals. After all, who would he ask about it if he didn't know something? That would naturally be his fiance! He knew Qiu Ling well enough already to understand that this was something exactly to his fancy. He just loved being 'helpful' and coming to his rescue. At times it really made him wonder how Qiu Ling's mind worked.

"I miss him." Jing Yi knew that his senior martial brother had nothing to do with his relationship and probably didn't even want to know anything about it but he couldn't help saying it out loud.

"That's understandable." Leng Jin Yu sighed, reminded of that person he didn't know. Someday, he would find out who he was. And then they would hopefully be just as much in love as the crown prince and the dragon king. He could only hope that he wouldn't become as silly as the dragon king because of that.

He stood up and smiled at Jing Yi. "It's late already, you should go to sleep. That will also make it easier for the powers of the Fractured Crystal Leaf to take effect. I'll go and have a closer look around."

"Can I help?"

Leng Jin Yu shook his head. "No, we're already in the palace of the secret realm's master. It's dangerous around here. With your cultivation base, I'm afraid …" He sighed before finally leaving.

Jing Yi watched the door close and blinked. Huh? How had they ended up in the palace of the secret realm's master already? Wasn't it supposed to be in the mountains? He couldn't even begin to imagine how this might have come about. In the end, he could only ignore the matter for now and resolve to ask Yu Jin the next day.