540 A Beautiful Soul

Qiu Ling tightened his grasp on Jing Yi until their bodies seemed to stick together.

Jing Yi could feel Qiu Ling's heartbeat at his back. It was steady but faster than normal. Regardless of what he said this embrace was obviously agitating him. But who was he to judge? His own heart raced. The warmth transmitted from Qiu Ling's body made him sweat and he couldn't help but incline his head toward him, hoping to get a glimpse at his face.

His wish got fulfilled. Qiu Ling leaned forward, his cheek touching Jing Yi's while his eyes closed. He seemed concentrated as if there was nothing in this world that could distract him. One of his arms snaked around Jing Yi's waist and secured him in place while his other hand came to rest on his chest.

Jing Yi took a trembling breath. Qiu Ling's hand seemed heavy as if he could already feel the impact it might have on his soul. Or maybe it was his heart that would be impacted. He didn't know for sure.

"Try to relax. I know it's not that simple but … that will make this easier."

"Alright." Jing Yi bit his lower lip. Why did he sound so breathless? It wasn't like Qiu Ling had never hugged him before. There was no reason to feel like this.

"You … If you're feeling uncomfortable like this —"

"No. It's … alright." Jing Yi looked away when he repeated his previous words. What was he doing here? How could this be alright? Qiu Ling and he, they were stuck together like this even though they had officially broken up. This couldn't be a good idea!

"If you want to sit differently …" Qiu Ling's eyes opened slightly and his grab on Jing Yi unwittingly tightened. Ah, he had said he'd wait but being this close just made him realize how much he craved his touch. Why couldn't they forget about this stupid thing with Tian and —

Ah, wait, that wasn't important now. He first had to check Jing He's soul.

Qiu Ling cleared his throat. "Alright, if you don't mind it, then I'll start now. I'll be as careful as possible. If it hurts … Just grab my hand and squeeze, alright? Or maybe bite me if it helps or —"

"It's alright." Jing Yi patted the hand on his waist, leaned his head back onto Qiu Ling's shoulder and also closed his eyes.

This had to be done. There really wasn't any reason to act so coyly. He should just let Qiu Ling do what he intended to do. After all, it was true what he had said before: He did trust him. Actually, he trusted him just as much as he trusted his mother. In his heart, there wasn't any separation between them. They were both a very important part of his life.

Jing Yi's eyes cracked open and he watched the white clouds float across the sky. Indeed. He thought of Qiu Ling as important as his mother. Shouldn't this already tell him what his heart wanted? He glanced at him but Qiu Ling wasn't looking back. He seemed completely absorbed in his current task. Well, there was no reason to decide anything right now. He should at least wait until Qiu Ling had finished. Thus he closed his eyes again and surrendered himself to Qiu Ling's hands.

The dragon king didn't start immediately. He tried to feel for the other dragons' presence to see if there was somebody close by who could help if something happened. Unfortunately, he only sensed Xin Lan.

His lips twitched. His two so-called trusted aides had disappeared and only the person that hated him was left. Great. If they got attacked while he examined Jing He's soul … Ah, but there was nothing he could do. And even if Xin Lan hated him, his father was back and had certainly married the old geezer already. So he could be considered his stepson, couldn't he? Xin Lan should at least want to save his life.

With that thought, he stopped caring about their surroundings, silently regarding the task of guarding them as Xin Lan's, and concentrated on Jing He's soul.

He pulled him yet a little closer and reached out with his energy, feeling for the intangible thing that was his soul. He didn't need long. In fact, just taking a casual look was enough. After all, part of his soul was bound to Jing He's. He just had to search for this part of his soul and he would automatically find Jing He's soul.

He took a moment to admire it. Jing He's soul was of a half-transparent, silvery-white that seemed to twinkle with little stars. In the dragon realm, this kind of soul would be regarded highly. It was something very beautiful.

His own soul instead … Qiu Ling really wanted to sigh. It was black for the most part, actually a very fitting match for Jing He's pretty white soul but, unfortunately, there were a few red streaks mixed inside. Even the part that he had used to bind to Jing He's soul had one of those streaks as if it wanted to remind him that even when he managed to attain Jing He's heart and start his own family with him, he would never be able to escape his own origin.

No, he couldn't deny that his mother was part demon. He couldn't deny that he himself had some demon blood even though it was only a little amount. Those ugly red streaks would be proof of that forever. There was no way to eradicate them and have his soul finally match Jing He's. This would forever be a stain on his life.

Qiu Ling frowned and pushed the thought aside. As long as Jing He could accept him even though he was part demon, it didn't matter to him. His mother was long dead and he himself felt more like a dragon than like a demon. In fact, he had the demons to the bones. They had been the ones to take his family from him, after all.

Well, that was long in the past. Now, only Jing He was important. He was his family now and he would stay his family in the future. This time the demons wouldn't ruin this.

Qiu Ling's lips curved up in a smile and he gently wrapped his beloved's soul in a layer of his own energy. He had to make sure that nothing bad would happen to this one family member he had found for himself. His beloved, his reason to live … he couldn't let him suffer any harm.