Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 2)

269 What Happened?

Jing He wasn't very proficient in using a transmission stone. The first time he had done so had been at the Spring of Fate, after all. Still, as a god, he immediately felt the ripples of spiritual energy coming from his spatial bracelet. He felt surprised for a moment but then pulled out the stone which was clearly the source of this surge of energy. Holding it in one hand, he looked at it in a daze.

This was the transmission stone Qiu Ling had given him. It was a simple one that could only be used to contact the person holding the other half of the pair. In turn, this also meant that the only person who could use this stone to contact him was the holder of the second stone which was Qiu Ling. So ... the one reaching out was the man he had abandoned. Jing He had no idea what to do with that.

The transmission stone quietly continued to pulse with light, seemingly not wanting to stop at all as if it would continue to remind him of its presence forever.

Jing He pulled himself out of his daze and gingerly imbued some spiritual energy. No matter what, he couldn't ignore Qiu Ling's attempt to contact him. Even if he knew that it was better not to see him or speak to him, he didn't think it was right to pretend not to have seen.

A projection of Qiu Ling appeared above the stone, his expression looking slightly relieved. "My love, you —" He stopped right in the middle, a trace of awkwardness creeping into his gaze.

Jing He's heart fluttered at the familiar term of address and he hastily spoke up so Qiu Ling wouldn't think to take it back. "Did something happen?" Otherwise, he couldn't imagine why Qiu Ling would reach out to him after he had hurt him like that.

Qiu Ling gave him a deep look. "I wanted to ask you that question."

"I ... I don't understand." He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? Well, apart from rejecting him after that vision but ... Qiu Ling had seemed to take it surprisingly well last time. Or could it be that he had now thought it through and wanted to vent his deserved anger on him?

Qiu Ling's gaze seemed to turn complicated. "When I left the Nine Heavens, I told mother-in —" He stopped again and shook his head. "I mean, I told your mother that you had made your decision and would return home shortly so I had to leave to give you some space. Today, she contacted me to ask whether I had heard from you again because you hadn't actually made it home. My love ... where are you? Did something bad happen? Do you ... need my help?"

Jing He stared at him in a daze, not knowing what to do for a moment. Those little accidents in Qiu Ling's speech which showed the familiarity that had brewed over the course of many years tugged at his heartstrings and so did the way he cared about him and immediately reached out to find out whether something had happened. To lose this man ... it truly was the regret of a lifetime.

Jing He lowered his head, trying to hold back the tears that once again wanted to spill over. Taking a deep breath, he calmed down a little and finally felt ready to look at Qiu Ling again. "I am on my way back. I just ... I never went up the Tian Shan so I couldn't find the way at first. The Supreme Sovereign finally sent me down the mountain but ..." He trailed off and lowered his eyelids, feeling embarrassed. He had always wanted to show his best side in front of Qiu Ling. Now, he had to admit that he couldn't even make his way around without help. What kind of face did he have left?

Qiu Ling tilted his head. "You ... can't find the way again?"

Jing He hesitated and finally shook his head. "I should be on the right way. It's just ... it takes a little longer. I wanted to go to the Shan Dian Trench first so that I won't accidentally stray into the demon realm. I figured that would be too dangerous."

Qiu Ling nodded at once, clearly agreeing with that statement. "So you are still in the central mountain range?"

"Yes." This time, Jing He nodded. He had no idea where exactly in the mountain range he was but he was sure that he hadn't left it. The other mountain ranges in the three immortal realms were all a little further away, separated by hilly terrain at the very least so he shouldn't have accidentally ended up anywhere else.

Qiu Ling sighed. "Alright. You stay where you are. I will come to find you and bring you back."

"You —" Jing He wanted to say that he didn't have to, afraid that this would inconvenience Qiu Ling. But then, he changed his words. "You are very kind." Anyway, if he could see him in person one last time, he also wanted to do so. Even if it couldn't change the inevitable outcome, at least there would be one more memory between the two of them, one more thing for him to cling to when he finally had to bid farewell to him forever.

Qiu Ling smiled and the transmission stopped, leaving Jing He with a dull transmission stone.

He still looked at it with a smile before putting it away and then lowered his head, kissing An Xin's furry head. "Let's wait here. Qiu Ling is going to join us soon. Then, we won't have to worry any longer. We ... can also spend some more time together." He looked up, trying to figure out where exactly the dragon realm was. Surely, Qiu Ling would come from there. Or could it be that he had first returned to the Nine Heavens after hearing from his mother? He didn't know so, in the end, he could only sit down, quietly waiting for the man he loved to appear in front of him again.