Qiu Ling flew directly toward the capital city of the Nine Heavens.

Seeing him not hesitate in the slightest before he picked the direction, Jing He only thought to himself that this was as expected of him. This man had traveled extensively in his youth. Of course, his sense of direction would be impeccable.

With nothing else to speak of, Jing He directly clung to this fact. “I wasn’t sure of the way. I … I never traveled before so everything just seemed the seem and I couldn’t even tell the cardinal directions. You’re so good at this.”

Qiu Ling turned his head but it took a moment for him to answer. “I’ve taken this path many times.”

Jing He raised his eyelids, glancing at him. Yes, from the capital of the dragon realm to the capital of the Nine Heavens, you had to cross the mountains or otherwise go around them. Of course, Qiu Ling would be familiar with the path. How often had he come to see him, after all?

He nodded with some apprehension, feeling as if the gap between them widened further. “I didn’t think of flying either. I guess I’m not used to it.”

“Mn. If you never had to, that makes sense.”

Qiu Ling said so but didn’t add more, making Jing He’s fingers tighten on his shoulders.

Qiu Ling … was probably angry. It made sense as well. He had rejected him which couldn’t be easy to take. Despite that, his upright character still compelled him to come and save him from his own stupidity. Inwardly, he might be questioning how he had ever fallen for him and resent the curse of the dragons more than he ever had in the past.

Jing He lowered his head again, his eyes closing all the way. He didn’t dare to look at him any longer. He didn’t dare to see the disappointment and anger that should be contained in that gaze. He didn’t want to have those memories of Qiu Ling. He always only wanted to remember the love he had once felt for him.

The two of them flew in silence for a while until Qiu Ling suddenly stopped and descended.

Jing He pressed his eyes shut further. Most likely, they had already arrived at the capital city. This meant that they would have to separate in another moment. They would have to bid farewell again even though he hadn’t made use of this short chance to see each other again yet. He had wasted it, this precious opportunity.

Qiu Ling landed and Jing He forced himself to open his eyes, looking at that familiar face again. His lover’s expression … it seemed a bit odd as if he was forcibly bearing something. Maybe this was the fury he tried to contain? He had never seen Qiu Ling lose his temper but a man like him should be proud. After treating him the way he had, the humiliation of being rejected might be hard to bear.

Jing He focused on Qiu Ling so much that it took him until he was set down on a big stone before he realized that they actually weren’t outside the capital city or anywhere close to his palace. No, looking around … they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. At the very least, not to mention the capital, he couldn’t even see a city close by. Maybe in the distance, there was the faint silhouette of a village but it was so far away that he wasn’t sure if it truly was what he thought it might be or if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

While he was still in a daze, Qiu Ling knelt down in front of him, quietly looking up.

Jing He immediately forgot about their surroundings and lowered his head, requiting his look. He wasn’t sure if he should say something. Maybe he should ask where they were? But he couldn’t quite bring himself to speak up either. He was afraid that Qiu Ling would loathe to answer him or just generally think less of him for not even knowing this. Thus, he kept quiet, silently stroking An Xin’s fur to try and keep calm as the two of them looked into each other’s eyes.

“My love …” Qiu Ling finally opened the conversation but trailed off directly after. He seemed to hesitate about something but finally reached up, resting his hands on Jing He’s knees. “You know that I love you, right?”

Jing He’s eyes widened. He had expected a lot but a love confession had not been among those things. In fact, he had doubted he’d ever hear sweet words from Qiu Ling again in this life.

Qiu Ling only nodded. “I do. I always will. It’s not just because of the curse either but because … I just feel that way for you and I don’t want to stop no matter what happens.” He fell silent again and just looked at him before finally sighing. “You had to make a decision.

“I … had hoped you would decide on me, I … might have expected that you would. But I promised you that I would not interfere and would give you the time and space to make this decision irrespective of anything else. I wanted you to find what was right for you. If that future doesn’t contain me, I … will accept it, no matter what it means for me.”

Qiu Ling lowered his head but raised his gaze again just as fast. “This doesn’t change my feelings for you though and if you are ever going to be in trouble, I will be there. No matter what it is, I will rush to your side as soon as you call me. So I want you to do just that. It doesn’t matter if it is just because you got lost or … because you’re … lonely and want someone to talk or if anything significant has happened. No matter what it is, you can reach out to me and I will be there for you. I’m not just saying that either. I am reminding you so you won’t try to bear it alone again. Do you understand?”

Qiu Ling looked at him inquisitively but Jing He couldn’t even nod under that focused gaze. He just felt … that he really didn’t deserve this man and that he absolutely had to do everything he could to ensure that this special love could be given to somebody else in the future because that was what Qiu Ling deserved. That, and so much more. He couldn’t hold him back.