Chapter 976 - A Little More

Jing Yi had woken up when Qiu Ling had left but soon fallen asleep again. When Qiu Ling returned, he had once again been pulled out of his dreams but this time, he was unable to find back. He quietly lay beside him, deeply worried about what was going on.

It wasn't like Qiu Ling to suddenly vanish and he had even done it twice on the same day. Once could definitely be explained but the second time was strange especially considering that it had been in the middle of the night. The longer he thought about it, the more he felt that there was only one possibility: Qiu Ling had once again gone to see that person.

He felt that this was the likeliest possibility. After all, Qiu Ling had done this before. And there was no question about whether or not he missed Jing He. Even though Jing Yi didn't want to admit it, he knew deep inside that this was true. If he couldn't guess at least that much after gaining so many of Jing He's memories of the time with Qiu Ling, then he really would have to be stupid.

After a while, Jing Yi couldn't take it anymore. He sat up, very much like what Qiu Ling had done at the beginning of the night and then climbed over his body, wanting to leave. He noticed the strip of paper on the table and picked it up, looking at the few words that Qiu Ling had left behind.

Originally, he hadn't noticed him writing anything and had only woken up when he closed the door. Now, it turned out that Qiu Ling had at least made sure that he would know what was going on if he woke up in the morning and he still wasn't there.

Seeing the message though Qiu Ling hadn't specifically told him where he went. If he had wanted to see him, it would've been impossible to find him. Well, if it was outside of the mortal realm, he wouldn't have been able to go there anyway.

But this … It just made it more likely that he had really gone to see that person, didn't it?

Jing Yi left the hut and paced up and down in front of it. He would've liked to do something worthwhile like cultivating or practicing but he just couldn't focus. His thoughts couldn't help but circle around Qiu Ling leaving him to go and see Jing He.

He just couldn't understand. Yes, Qiu Ling loved Jing He but … He wasn't even awake! Right now, it should be as if he was asleep without any possibility of him waking up. Why would he even go there? Why would he do that instead of spending time with him?

He shook his head, trying not to think about it any further. Qiu Ling had already done so. He couldn't change that anymore. He could only try to make Qiu Ling spend more time with him going forward.

Maybe he could ask him if they could return to the capital city or maybe even that other realm. When they had been in there, they had spent every waking moment together. He really wanted to go back to that. Well, they had also promised that they would return to the capital city and Guanyu was still missing. So they should probably focus on that.

He sighed and sat down in front of the hut, looking up at the sky that was slowly getting brighter. Maybe there was no way for him to win over Jing He. Maybe he just wasn't as good as him. It could be. But he had thought that since he was here and Jing He wasn't, he would have a chance. It was hard to admit that maybe he had been wrong about that.

Anyway, he wouldn't stop trying. But he also couldn't only focus on that. There were other things as well. Never mind the matter with Guanyu that was mostly her own fault, there were also Xiao Dong and Shao Hai and senior martial brother Nian's lover. They had promised to help with that. They definitely couldn't go back on that. He should ask Qiu Ling tomorrow what exactly it had been that he had thought of.

In the end, Jing Yi continued to sit in front of so hut until Qiu Ling woke up.

Noticing that his beloved was not with him, Qiu Ling leaped out of the bed and rushed outside, his eyes wide open and panic written inside them.

Jing Yi looked up at him with surprise and then couldn't help but laugh. "What happened? You wouldn't have gotten scared because I wasn't there, would you?" Actually, he couldn't help but be feel a little schadenfreude. Qiu Ling had left him to go and see Jing He without bothering to wonder how he would feel when he woke up and couldn't find him anywhere. Now, he had gotten a taste of his own medicine and woken up without him at his side. And he had at least been nice enough to stay in front of the hut.

Qiu Ling heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Jing Yi. "So you're here." He went over and then sat down next to him, pulling him into his arms. Maybe it was because he had seen Jing He last night but when Jing Yi hadn't been at his side when he woke up, he panicked. He probably still feared to lose him.

Jing Yi carefully hugged him back but his thoughts couldn't help but return to the same problem as before. "You went out last night, didn't you?"

Qiu Ling nodded without reservation. "I did."

"Why?"

Qiu Ling tensed when he heard that question. Why? How was he supposed to explain? He glanced at Jing Yi's expression and saw that it wasn't quite right. Most likely, his beloved could already imagine.

He sighed and leaned back against the hut. "I … You know I love you, don't you?"

"But you love him a little more, don't you?"

Qiu Ling glanced at him and then shook his head. "That's not it. To me, you're both the same person. But I've come to realize that it's different for you and yesterday, I couldn't help but think that most likely, it will also be different for Jing He. He'll likely have the same opinion as you. And that … makes things a little difficult.