Chapter 519 - A Lot of Progress

Jing Yi tried to look up at Qiu Ling but by now, it was so dark that he couldn't even make out his face. "Qiu Ling …"

"Mn?"

"Did we really spent this much time here just for that?"

"What do you mean 'just for that'? You made a lot of progress!"

"I —"

"Sh!" Qiu Ling accurately put a finger onto Jing Yi's lips and hushed him. "Don't say anything. You did very well. This morning you only knew how to take in spiritual energy. Now, you're able to control it. That's the basis for everything afterward, a … fundamental step if you want to call it that way. How isn't that a lot of progress?"

Jing Yi blushed. Qiu Ling's other arm was still lying around his waist while his finger was still gently pressed against his lips and his breath brushed his face. They were … much closer than he liked under the current circumstances but if he didn't think about that, he felt well. This was … just so familiar.

He closed his eyes again, his lips curving up in a smile. Well, Qiu Ling wouldn't see it anyway. He could … indulge in this for just a moment.

Unfortunately or maybe it was fortunate, he was wrong about that. As a dragon Qiu Ling had less trouble to recognize Jing Yi's features in the darkness even though the image wasn't as clear as during the day. Thus he saw how Jing Yi closed his eyes again and he also noticed the smile on his lips. He wasn't really sure what it meant though. What was his beloved doing?

He didn't ask though since he was supposed to be a refined person right now. Mn, most likely, he'd be able to figure it out on his own anyway. He just had to search for clues.

Qiu Ling stared at Jing Yi's face, grateful for the darkness surrounding them. Ah, he should really use the time on this mission to do this more often! Anyway, his beloved seemed very content right now. So maybe … he liked being with him?

Qiu Ling tilted his head. Was his approach really showing results already? Ah, Heavens! Someone should have told him earlier! He wouldn't have needed to suffer the last few days then!

Anyway, it was nice as long as that meant he would get his beloved back soon. Mn, in this case … he should continue with this. What should he do in this situation?

He continued to stare at Jing Yi and finally sighed. "Well, it's late already. How about searching for a place where we can sleep tonight?"

Jing Yi smiled wryly. "That sounds good but how are we supposed to search for an—"

A small flame ignited in the darkness, illuminating everything a step around it.

Jing Yi stared at the flame and then at Qiu Ling's fingers half an inch below it. Well, he should have known. Qiu Ling knew how to use spiritual energy too. Why shouldn't he be able to conjure up some light?

"Alright, then … let's search?"

"Alright." Qiu Ling let go of Jing Yi with a heavy heart. Ah, he had to endure! Soon enough his patience would pay off and they would be even closer than before. Then he would be able to look back at this day and laugh. Together with his beloved, that was.

Qiu Ling walked down the path through the forest together with Jing Yi, making sure that his beloved didn't stumble in the darkness. If he did … Well, he certainly couldn't let him fall! Mn, it was necessary to catch him and wait until he found his footing again. Yes, very necessary.

Unfortunately, Jing Yi didn't stumble. He got slower the longer they walked though. Finally, he stopped completely. "Qiu Ling …"

"Mn?" Qiu Ling turned toward him and waited with bated breath what his beloved would say.

"Would you mind stopping here for the night?"

"Ah?" Qiu Ling looked around. There was nothing around them besides the path and the trees. In fact, the trees stood very close to the path. There wasn't even any good place to lie down. "That … Are you sure you want that?"

Jing Yi smiled wryly. "Well, we still haven't seen a good place and I'm afraid I can't go on any longer. We've been up the whole day. So …"

Qiu Ling looked at his beloved and furrowed his brows. Yes. Why hadn't he thought of that? His beloved had set off in the morning and even though trying to control his spiritual energy could be counted as a break from walking, it was still something that would use up a lot of energy. He was probably dead tired.

He didn't feel too good about letting Jing Yi sleep right on the path though. Well, there was nothing really bad about it. He just didn't like the idea. His beloved should have a nicer place to lie down.

"This … isn't such a good place. Uh … How about I fly up and take a look around if there's a better one around? You could just sit down here for the moment."

"Will that work? It's so dark already."

"Mn, don't worry about me! I'll be back in a minute!" Qiu Ling straightened up and wanted to soar into the air when he noticed that he had forgotten something very important. "Uh, right." He took something out of his spatial ring and pushed it into Jing Yi's arm. "Here. Just sit down for now." With that, he soared up into the sky, skillfully evading the tree branches.

Jing Yi stayed behind, darkness engulfing him again. He sighed but there was a smile playing around his lips. Ah, Qiu Ling. He had probably completely forgotten that he would be without light if he just left like that. That was so typical of him. Still, it was nice that he put himself out on his account this much even though they weren't a couple anymore.

He patted the thing Qiu Ling had stuffed into his hands, his thoughts flickering through all the things they had experienced together. Ah, senior martial brother Yu had been right. Sometimes it might be better not to know about one's past life. Yu Jin might have managed to find the love of his life but he … he had only found a way to make someone miserable. And right now, he wasn't even sure if it would be just one person.